Not too late to debate: Taking a second look at the Real ID Act

Not too late to debate
Cybereye—commentary:
Taking a second look at the Real ID Act
By William Jackson

A BIPARTISAN BLAST was launched against the Real ID Act earlier this month at a forum the Cato Institute called the beginning of a long-overdue debate on the law establishing mandatory national standards for state driver’s licenses and identity cards.

“Invasive, expensive and an affront to all of those who cherish privacy rights” was the way Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) described the act. “It will not deliver a real security benefit.”

On the other side of the aisle, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Real ID was not merely an unfunded mandate but the mother of all unfunded mandates. He said the massive, interconnected databases of identity documents, which the law would create, would constitute “one-stop shopping for every computer hacker around the world.”

The forum did not represent a balanced discussion. It was difficult to find anyone in the room willing to defend the three-year-old law that establishes what amounts to a national ID. “Unconstitutional” was the kindest thing anyone had to say about it. But the participants were absolutely right in saying it is time to begin what Sanford called an incredibly important debate.

The law was passed without hearings and without an up-or-down vote in the Senate. The estimated cost of implementing it is between $9 billion and $23 billion, most of which states must fund. Federal funding for the program will come primarily from homeland security grants, which will divert money from other projects. Money and effort spent on implementing Real ID will hinder states’ efforts to improve their licensing and credentialing programs.

And no one in authority has been paying serious attention to securing the vast amounts of digitized data that the law requires.

Serious debate on the law has started at the state level. According to the Cato Institute, 18 states have passed resolutions or laws objecting to or refusing to implement the law, and legislation is pending in several other states. Although most states are in technical compliance with a May deadline for signaling their intention to obey the law, they met the deadline only because of blanket extensions granted by the Homeland Security Department, often whether states wanted them or not. Sanford said that when South Carolina notified DHS of its intention not to comply with the law, DHS responded by issuing an extension that had not been requested.

Whether or not you like the law, it is clear that Real ID is not well-thoughtout, and its impact on 50 states and millions of people was ignored when it was imposed on the country. The law should be suspended or repealed outright until a proper debate can be held and real concerns addressed.

“The states have led the charge on this, and I think that the federal government is starting to pay attention,” Tester said.

Let’s hope so.

American Minute - May 28 - Noah Webster & Webster's Dictionary

American Minute
with
Bill Federer

He left Yale for four years to fight in the Revolutionary War.

After graduation, he became a lawyer and taught school in New York.

Dissatisfied with the children's spelling books, he wrote the famous Blue-Backed Speller, which sold over one hundred million copies.

After twenty-six years of work, he published the first American Dictionary of the English Language.

His name was Noah Webster, and he died MAY 28, 1843.

In his 1788 essay, "On the Education of Youth in America," printed in Webster's American Magazine, Noah Webster wrote:

"Select passages of Scripture...may be read in schools, to great advantage.

In some countries the common people are not permitted to read the Bible at all. In ours, it is as common as a newspaper and in schools is read with nearly the same degree of respect."

Noah Webster continued:

"My wish is not to see the Bible excluded from schools but to see it used as a system of religion and morality."

In his book, The History of the United States, published in 1832, Noah Webster wrote:

"All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."

HOO-AH: Special Forces honors fallen on Memorial Day

The U.S. Army Special Forces Command, together with the Special Forces Association, honored the memories of fallen comrades by holding the 40th Annual Special Forces Memorial Day Ceremony here today.

The ceremony was a time for members of the Special Forces Regiment to remember their fallen brethren, retired and active duty, past and present.

Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko, USASFC(A) commanding general, hosted the event, which was held on Meadows Field.

“I am honored to be with you today, on a day so rich,” Csrnko said. “With me, our nation’s flag flies at half-staff to express our profound gratitude for the acts of brave patriots, who gave the full measure, so that we might live free to place flowers on their graves and speak words of eulogy.”

It was those actions on which Memorial Day was original founded.

In 1867, a group of Confederate women visited a cemetery in Columbus, Miss., to decorate the graves of those sons and fathers who died serving the Confederacy. What the women also found in the cemetery were the unkempt and forgotten graves of many Union Soldiers. The women could not bring themselves to ignore the graves, so they carefully decorated them, until there was nothing which could distinguish them from the graves of the Confederate Soldiers.

A reporter from the New York Tribune witnessed the acts and soon the story spread across the country. It inspired Gen. John Logan, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Union’s veteran organization, to designate May 30, 1868 be a day to decorate the graves of fallen Soldiers. Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day was formally established in 1882 as a day of remembrance for those who have died in national service.

However, many Americans today do not fully understand the meaning of Memorial Day, Csrnko said.

“This is a sacred day for all war veterans,” said retired Sgt. Maj. Gary Betterton, national president of the Special Forces Association. “None of us have to be reminded why we celebrate this day. What about the general public, and more important, future generations? The day has simply become another day off from work. Perhaps another reminder is due.”
This reminder and the act of relaying the message of sacrifice is the duty of every veteran, Betterton said.

“Far too often the nation as a whole takes for granted the freedoms all Americans enjoy,” he said. “This is a national debt that can only repaid by honoring the nation’s dead.”

Without remembrance, future generations of Americans may not know their heritage and history.

“We would do well to heed the words of Abraham Lincoln, who said, ‘Any nation who does not honor its heroes will not long endure,’” Csrnko said. “Well, we do remember. We remember that Soldiers serve, and some die, to preserve our bedrock freedoms. Among them are the freedom of association, of speech, participation in governance, the freedom of worship and the freedom to pursue happiness.”

Remembering the sacrifices of those lost in battle and speaking kind words of them are important, but Csrnko wonders if that is enough.

“In our hearts we know we can’t fully discharge our solemn obligation to these men and women with mere words or gestures,” he said. “They did not die for words or wreathes alone. They died so that in freedom, our nation might endure. It is therefore fitting this Memorial Day that we return our thoughts to the renewal of our own dedication to the cause of freedom. It is a personal matter for us to renew our commitment, our involvement in a freedom that our dead have purchased at such a dear price.”

More than 83 Special Forces Soldiers have lost their lives since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began. Many more have been injured, and thousands are continually serving in harm’s way every day.

“Right now as I speak to you, young heroes are risking their lives somewhere out there,” Csrnko said. “They do this for us. They do this for their country. They do this, because like millions before them, they accepted the defense of freedom in a very personal matter not to be left solely to others. They were stirred from within by a desire to make a difference, and in doing so they became the strength of our nation.”

Memorial Day is not only a day for remembering those heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, but also for remembering those who endure the hardships of war far from home, he said.

“So let us pay tribute today to those heroes who gave their full and final measure,” he said. “Let us make a personal commitment to do two things before the arrival of summer. Visit the gravesites of our fallen Soldiers and give thanks. Also, let us reach over and shake the hand of a living hero, whether it is someone in uniform waiting in line at the grocery checkout, or a veteran standing on a parade route saluting Old Glory as she passes by. Tell them you understand the depths of their commitment. Tell them you honor their service. Tell them simply, thanks. In this way we will continually renew the spirit of involvement reflected in the kind and good acts of those southern ladies in 1867.”

A color guard from the 7th SFG(A) posts the colors before the 40th Annual Special Forces Memorial Day Ceremony held on Memorial Plaza May 26.

Army Staff Sgt. Terry Cullers sounds a bell as each
fallen soldier’s name is read Monday during the
Special Forces Memorial Day ceremony on Fort Bragg.

Retired Sgt. Maj. Gary Betterton, national president of the Special Forces Association, and Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko, USASFC(A) commanding general, place a wreath at the base of the Special Forces statue, Bronze Bruce. The wreath-laying was part of the 40th Annual Special Forces Memorial Day Ceremony held on Memorial Plaza May 26.

Planning for a Sustainable Energy Future by Mary Fallin

All over the U.S., rising gasoline prices are hurting families, businesses and consumers. We’re burning up gas on the way to work, paying more for food, and struggling with rising overhead costs. Skyrocketing prices are hitting us where it hurts: our wallets.

With that in mind, I propose taking 5 steps that will help control gas prices and reduce our dependence on foreign oil:

1. Eliminate Barriers to Exploration: Congress has placed an enormous amount of American oil “off limits,” enough to power 60 million American cars for 60 years. Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the Gulf Coast and other federal lands to environmentally responsible exploration and drilling can massively expand the amount of oil and natural gas we produce. The sooner we start drilling, the sooner we can move to a more secure energy future.

2. Build New Refineries and Expand Old Ones: In the 1980’s, the U.S. had 321 operable refineries. Today we have less than half that. Government restrictions on building new refineries delay our ability to turn oil into gasoline and ultimately raise prices. These restrictions should be eliminated.

3. Expanding our base of Alternative Energy: American business is the greatest source of innovation and technological advancement in the world. By supporting private enterprise as it invests in wind and solar energy, nuclear energy and biofuels, we can harness the power of the private sector for the public good.

4. Reject Tax Hikes: Higher taxes on gasoline or the companies that produce it will eventually be passed on to consumers in the form of increased prices.

5. Encourage Conservation: Whether it’s changing our driving habits or making our homes and businesses more energy efficient, we can all do our part to conserve energy. Saving fuel will help by driving down demand and controlling costs.

Taking these five steps can go a long way towards meeting our nation’s energy needs. In the long run, however, Congress must outline a path towards a sustainable energy future. When that future comes, I am confident Oklahoma can continue to play a leading role in powering our nation.

OMG Ed Kelley get something right !

See Incumbent Protection Act of 2008

The Oklahoman Editorial
Money games:
Reform bill leaves a bit to be desired
Tue May 27, 2008

BEFORE leaving the Capitol last week for their summer vacations, members of the Legislature took a step to help bolster their re-election chances down the road.

Members in the House and Senate gave easy passage to House Bill 2196, which bans them from receiving campaign contributions from lobbyists, or from companies and groups that use lobbyists, during the legislative session. That's laudable, because as House author David Dank says, it "puts some important distance between giving money and passing legislation.” Goodness knows that distance has too often been lacking.

Our problem with the measure is that it also prevents legislative candidates from raising campaign cash in this way during the session. Making challengers cool their heels for four months places them at a real disadvantage, one that's exacerbated by the fact incumbents, simply as a result of their position, almost always have more money at their disposal.

Dank, R-Oklahoma City, has argued that challengers won't be handicapped by this change because they often begin their campaigns far, far in advance of when the primaries are held. Indeed some do, but it's also true that many do not. For them, the four-month fundraising moratorium will be a heavy burden.

If lawmakers were really interested in fostering reform, they would have approved a portion of Dank's bill that sought to forbid the transfer of funds between political action committees. Instead that language was removed, so this shady practice will be allowed to continue.

The governor is likely to sign HB 2196 because it's touted as ethics reform. Who's not for that?

CREATION OF NEW STATE AGENCY A MISTAKE

Hat Tip to Steve @ FAIR AND BIASED

Weekly Opinion/Editorial
CREATION OF NEW STATE AGENCY
A MISTAKE
By Steve Fair

Before the Oklahoma legislature adjorned last week, they passed Senate Bill #1865 which would create a state Office of Accountability and Innovation within the Legislative Service Bureau. It is intended to make government more efficient by creating an agency to conduct regular performance audits of state agencies. The Senate author is co-Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, R, Oklahoma City. The House author is Speaker of the House Chris Benge, R, Tulsa.

After the Senate passed the measure 32 to 15 last week Coffee said “Republicans are strongly committed to making government more accountable, more effective and more innovative,” stated Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.

“The Office of Accountability and Innovation will give the Legislature the tools to help state government better serve the people of Oklahoma. One can look at success of the recent performance audit of the Department of Corrections as an example of the honest assessments and innovative recommendations we expect to receive from the legislative Office of Accountability and Innovation.”

According to Coffee, the new agency will conduct regular performance audits of agencies, recommend best procedures to improve government efficiency, review tax policy and suggest new ways to make government more accountable and effective.

The legislation creates a Joint Committee on Accountability and Innovation that will consist of five House members and five Senate members. The committee will appoint a director of the office of accountability to serve a four-year term.

The bill is on the way to the governor's desk where Governor Henry is expected to sign it. While accountability is a good thing, creating another state agency is not.

If the description of the duties and responsibilitites for this new agency seem familiar, it’s because they are very similar to the job description for the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector.

In Article VI, Section 19 of the Oklahoma Constitution the Auditor and Inspector is charged with examining the state and all county treasurers’ books, accounts and cash on hand or in bank at least twice each year. The Auditor and Inspector is to provide checks and balances within the Executive Department of Oklahoma State government.

The State Auditor and Inspector has access to all books, accounts, reports, vouchers and other records of information in any department, institution or agency. Pursuant to various statutes the State Auditor and Inspector establishes accounting procedures, and forms, and provides assistance to counties and other forms of local government. The State Auditor and Inspector also performs special investigative audits upon request by certain state officials and upon petition by citizens.

Why do we need an additional oversight agency controlled by ten state legislators when we already have an elective office created by the Oklahoma Constitution charged with doing much of what the new agency will be doing? I fail to see how creating a new agency will make Oklahoma government more efficient.

Proponents of the new agency point out the new agency will do performance audits. What are performance audits? A performance audit refers to an examination of a program, function, managment of or the procedures of a state agency. Most “performance audits” are carried out by exernal auditors, but in most states they are done by elected officials like the State Auditor. Performance audits are objective and systematic, generally using structured and professionally adopted crititerium. But in reality, the State Auditor’s office has the constitutional authority to do “performance audits” now.

The creation of this new agency is partially in reaction to current State Auditor Jeff McMahon being indicted in January on conspiracy, fraud and racketeering charges. It’s clear by the bi-partisan vote on SB 1865 the legislature doesn’t have any confidence in the State Auditor’s office to do performance audits.

Another factor is that Republicans want an agency to conduct ongoing studies on improving Oklahoma’s taxation system. By doing so, perhaps we could make the state more attractive to business looking to expand or relocate. But creating a state agency because an elected official fails to do their job is not a good reason to create another layer of bureaucracy.

Growing government is not an innovation.

That’s the problem with government- it’s too big now.

We didn’t need another state agency to watch the other state agency who is watching the other state agencies.

American Minute - May 27 - Peter Marshall, U.S. Senate Chaplain

American Minute
with Bill Federer

Twentieth-Century Fox made a motion picture in 1955 titled A Man Called Peter, about the life of U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall, born MAY 27, 1902.

Peter Marshall emigrated from Scotland, was ordained a Presbyterian minister, and became a U.S. citizen in 1938.

A novel titled Christy, written by his wife, Catherine, was made into a CBS television series.

His son, Peter Marshall, Jr., is the renowned author of such best-selling books as: The Light and the Glory, From Sea to Shining Sea and Sounding Forth The Trumpet, which chronicle the Providential expansion of liberty throughout American history.

On January 13, 1947, U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall stated:

"The choice before us is plain: Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration. I am rather tired of hearing about our rights...The time is come...to hear about responsibilities...

America's future depends upon her accepting and demonstrating God's government."

Opening a session of the 80th Congress, July 3, 1947, Peter Marshall prayed:

"God of our Fathers...may it be ever understood that our Liberty is under God and...to the extent that America honors Thee, wilt Thou bless America."

These are the times that try men's souls...

Thomas Paine could have been talking about the Oklahoma House and Senate Republican Caucus or the Oklahoma Republican Party as 'sunshine patriot'

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is darkness only that gives every its value."

-- Thomas Paine (The American Crisis, No. 1, 19 December 1776)

Blogs4Borders for May 26, 2008

Hat Tip to MJ and Jake @ Blogs4Borders!
Jobs Americans Won't Do? Or jobs Americans can't get hired for?

100% Preventable! Americans continue to pay the bloody price for open borders! When will the madness end?

American Minute - May 26 - John Wayne

American Minute
with Bill Federer

Oscar winning actor Marion Michael Morrison, better known as John Wayne, was born MAY 26, 1907.

A U.S.C. football player, he worked behind-the-scenes at Fox Studios, before being discovered by director John Ford, who cast him in epic western and war films.

On MAY 26, 1979, Jimmy Carter said:

"I have today approved...a specially struck gold medal to John Wayne. For nearly half a century, the Duke has symbolized the American ideals of integrity, courage, patriotism, and strength and has represented to the world many of the deepest values that this Nation respects."

Ronald Reagan said November 5, 1984:

"I noted the news coverage about the death of my friend, John Wayne. One headline read 'The Last American Hero.'...No one would be angrier than Duke Wayne at the suggestion that he was America's last hero.

Just before he died, he said in his unforgettable way, 'Just give the American people a good cause, and there's nothing they can't lick.'"

In his album, America-Why I Love Her, 1977, John Wayne stated:

"If we want to keep these freedoms, we may have to fight again. God forbid, but if we do, let's always fight to win...Face the flag, son...and thank God it's still there."

X-State Sen. Lawler is looking to return to the Legislature

X-State Demo Sen. Daisy Lawler is looking to return to the Oklahoma Legislature - this time in the House of Representatives.

The Comanche Democrat announced plans to seek the House District 50 seat currently held by Duncan Republican Dennis Johnson. The district includes portions of Stephens, Cotton and Comanche counties.

A retired educator, Lawler won the Senate District 24 seat in 2002, but lost in her bid for re-election in 2006.

Lawler's husband, Larry, also served in the Senate for one term from 1991 to 1995.

Good Money After Bad at the NRCC?

Good Money After Bad at the NRCC?
By Mary Ann Akers And Paul Kane
Thursday, May 22, 2008; Page A23

As if the spring hasn't been tough enough on House Republicans, there is also the issue of bills piling up from the investigations into the alleged embezzlement scheme at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

New reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show that the NRCC spent more than $210,000 on legal and accounting bills in April. Those payouts, to the law firm Covington & Burling and the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, bring the total amount spent by the committee to $355,000 since party officials in January accused their former treasurer of cooking the NRCC's books for several years.

The cash-strapped NRCC is paying the legal-and-accounting team to scour a decade of financial records to determine how much money was allegedly diverted by Christopher J. Ward, the NRCC's former treasurer. He is under FBI investigation for possible embezzlement and bank fraud.

The $355,000 in legal and accounting fees is almost as much as the NRCC spent earlier this month in a Louisiana special election, where $436,000 went toward campaign ads in attacking Don Cazayoux (D-La.), who won anyway.

There's no telling what the final tab will be. In mid-March, when NRCC officials revealed that several hundred thousand dollars to $1 million was missing, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters that the internal audit already had cost about $370,000. The NRCC could be on its way to paying as much to its lawyers and accountants as was taken from the committee.

Karen Hanretty, NRCC spokeswoman, said the final audit is "near completion" but has been delayed by difficulties obtaining some old financial records.

The Vito-Dollars

Now that scandal-plagued Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) has decided to retire, we wonder what he'll do with all the money sitting in his campaign coffers. His Republicans colleagues wonder, too.

He has several options, including donating it to his struggling GOP brethren, who are buckled in for what promises to be a very rough ride in this November's congressional elections. Of course, he also could keep the money to pay legal expenses, if the House ethics committee approves it.

As of March 31, Fossella's campaign had $248,496 in cash on hand, thanks to the generosity of several GOP members who had donated money to Fossella's reelection effort before his May 1 arrest on drunken-driving charges. That quickly ballooned into an infidelity scandal and questions of whether he romanced his previously secret mistress (and mother of his previously secret child) on the taxpayers' dime.

Fossella was considered vulnerable even before the scandal. He was placed on the House Republicans' Regain Our Majority Program (ROMP) list. And lots of prominent Republicans helped Fossella, including House GOP Chief Deputy Whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), whose leadership PAC gave $5,000 to Fossella's campaign, and Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), whose leadership PAC gave $1,000.

But now, with GOP money problems and the looming threat of a Democratic tidal wave, the NRCC would love Fossella to show a little reciprocity in the goodwill department. They'd like Fossella's campaign money, or at least a good chunk of it, to help their candidates.

"Considering that Vito Fossella has helped this committee's efforts in past election cycles, and given that New York's 13th District will now be an open seat, we hope he will aid efforts to keep this seat in the red column," said NRCC spokeswoman Julie Shutley.

Fossella is giving no hints about what he'll do with the money. "No decisions have been made," says Susan Del Percio, Fossella's crisis communications consultant.

Ears and Earmarks

It's a good thing Sen. Tom Coburn's staunch opposition to federal funding for the arts hasn't meant the death knell for the Kennedy Center, or the Oklahoma Republican might not have had the pleasure of seeing his daughter, Sarah Coburn, star opposite Placido Domingo this month.

Coburn, the Senate's most famous crusader against funding for home-state projects known as "earmarks," has watched two of his daughter's performances in "Tamerlano" at the Washington National Opera house. Performances end tonight.

The 30-year-old diva has quickly risen to national prominence. Peter Gelb, the general manager of the New York Metropolitan Opera, made a special trip to Washington to see her perform May 4. He sat with Domingo's wife, Marta, next to the president's box.

The Financial Times described Sarah Coburn as a "luminous soprano" who is "superbly expressive," and Opera News called her "blissfully sublime."

Though father Tom has certainly been described as expressive, he concedes that Sarah's talent and looks come from her mother, a former Miss Oklahoma.

Coburn supports elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts but said he contributes a "great deal privately." His daughter makes him CDs of operas, which Coburn says he listens to in the mornings "when nobody's around."

"I've fallen in love with opera," he said. Does he cry at the opera? "I have before," he admitted. "I also laugh a lot -- all the plots are the same: Either it's a jealous husband or an upset father."

Coburn is not playing the role of upset father in his daughter's love story. She met a nice Northern guy online and is set to marry him in New York on Sept. 1. "We're gonna have the first Yankee in our family," Coburn said.

Today's "Waxman of the Week," which honors the zealous pursuit of congressional oversight, goes to the award's namesake, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).

Waxman showed this week that it's not just how many subpoenas you issue or how toughly you word letters to administration figures. Sometimes, it's all about how you wield the gavel.

Republicans were still steaming mad yesterday at what they called Waxman's threats to throw one of their own out of a committee hearing. The committee was questioning Stephen Johnson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, about new smog standards.

When his time was up for questioning, Waxman kept after Johnson -- to the chagrin of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who demanded that Waxman stop. "On whose time does the chairman speak and ask these questions?" he asked, accusing Waxman of breaking the rules.

The diminutive Waxman banged the gavel six times in Issa's face, effectively quieting him.

"I will have you physically removed from this meeting if you don't stop," he said, before turning back to Johnson. "I want to know an answer to the question."

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) yesterday called Waxman's actions "outrageous threats and intimidation" and demanded an apology.

Waxman never got an answer from Johnson about White House involvement in EPA decisions, which Waxman considered the real issue. He laughed at Boehner's suggestion that he was a threatening force. "Just look at me," he said. "How can you not quake in my presence?"

ABC announces times for two Oklahoma football games it will air

ABC television network has announced it will broadcast two Sooner football games.

ABC will televise the Oklahoma-Cincinnati contest at 2:30 p.m. Central time Sept 6 from Owen Field. The game will be the first time the two teams play each other; in 2010, the Oklahoma team will play the Bearcats at Paul Brown Stadium in Ohio.

The 102nd Oklahoma-Texas football game will be televised at 11 a.m., ABC said. ABC has aired the last nine games between the two schools.

Earlier, ESPN announced it will air the Oklahoma-Washington game Sept. at 6:45 p.m. Sept. 13. The game will be played in Seattle.

Howard to file for clerk

Also see -
Hudson announces for
Cleveland County Clerk

Tammy Howard, Cleveland County clerk, said recently she will seek election to the post.

Howard, a Republican, has held the position of county clerk since being appointed by Cleveland County commissioners in 2007.

"As your county clerk I will continue to seek out new innovative ways and finding cost saving solutions in running the county clerk's office in unison with the other elected officials." she said.

Howard brings more than 19 years experience with Cleveland County government.

She also has served as a Slaughterville Town Trustee and is a member of chamber of commerces, Norman Rotary Club and various county government associations.

Howard resides in Slaughterville with her husband, three children and two grandchildren.

Norman Chamber of Commerce recently announced the formation of the Greenovation Committee

Becoming a green machine

Following an inescapable trend in U.S. business today, the Norman Chamber of Commerce recently announced the formation of the Greenovation Committee, a group charged with making the city "the most progressive environmental innovator in the region," Chamber President Mike Bergey said.

"The Greenovation Committee will promote environmental and smart growth initiatives with Norman businesses, the City of Norman, and the public," Bergey said. "We hope to lower environmental footprints, save money, create 'green collar' jobs and make Norman the most progressive environmental innovator in the region."

The group will be led by co-chairs Trey Bates and Carol Price Dillingham, a member of the Norman City Council.

"I asked Trey Bates to co-chair because he is an officer of the chamber, and therefore very familiar with our existing programs and people," Bergey said. "He is a green developer, and he shares my concern that Norman is not progressive enough in this area."

Bergey said Dillingham, an attorney, was picked to aid in dealings with the city and a lot of the red tape that comes along with working with municipalities.

"Councilwoman Dillingham provides the Greenovation Committee with a direct two-way link to city leadership and a deep understanding of some of the divisive issues that have diverted our attention, as other communities moved past us on environmental leadership," Bergey said.

Bergey said forming the Greenovation Committee was a natural step for him to take as head of the chamber. He is president of Bergey Windpower, a company that sells wind turbines used to produce renewable electricity.

"After 30 years in the sustainable energy business, I know that environmental stewardship and economic development need not be in conflict if you are smart about how growth is pursued," Bergey said.?"Businesses can save operating costs by investing in efficiency -- energy, water, materials use -- while lowering their environmental footprint."

Native Roots Market, a grocery store that sells locally produced goods like buffalo meat, pork and the usual fare, is already doing what Bergey envisions for the future.

Owned by Norman residents Matt Runkle and Sara Kaplan, the business has been open since last year in the heart of downtown Norman.

"We weigh our trash to monitor how much we produce and we donate a lot of the produce we can't sell to various businesses that still have use for it," Kaplan said.

Any edibles not fit for consumption by humans or other animals are taken to nearby compost heaps, many of those belonging to friends or community gardens.

"We try not to waste anything," Kaplan said. "One of our long-term goals is to produce zero landfill waste."

Native Roots also encourages customers to use reusable bags for groceries and donates 11 cents to charity each time someone brings their own bag into the store.

But selling top-quality, locally produced meat and produce aren't the tasks the store undertakes on a day-to-day basis.

"Not a lot of people understand what we're doing here, so education is an important part of our business," Kaplan said. "Somebody has to lead the way, because in 10, 20, 30 years, people won't have a choice."

And while both Kaplan and Runkle agree the Greenovation Committee is a step in the right direction, they are leery of the growing, almost faddish popularity of a culture they've studied for several years.

"It can't really be a fad," Runkle said. "Because if you buy into it, your life changes. It's not something that can be changed once you start living this way, it affects every choice you make."

As for the possibility of receiving some help from government, whether local, state or federal, Kaplan and Runkle said that would be great -- but not just for business owners.

"Tax credits for energy efficiency would be a great start," Kaplan said. "But they should be across the board to homeowners as well."

Runkle suggested putting a limit on the size of stores to control quality.

In the meantime, Bergey said the chamber is doing the right thing by its 1,300 members and the future of business in the City.

"Consumers are gravitating toward products and services that are better for the environment and they are voting with their wallet," Bergey said.? "Businesses are being judged not just on the environmental-friendliness of their products, but also on the environmental impacts of their facilities and processes."

Bergey said the response to the new committee has been "overwhelming" and he sees a bright, "green" future for the city's business community.

"It looks like there's a lot of pent up green-ness in Norman," Bergey said. "I think we have the opportunity to make some real progress and put Norman on the map as a smart city."

Andrew Knittle 366-3527 Aknittle@normantranscript.com

Norman police conduct sobriety checkpoints

Norman police conduct checkpoints

"Hello, sir. I'm with the Norman Police Department and we're conducting a DUI checkpoint tonight. Have you been drinking?"

The answer Friday night and into early Saturday morning was resoundingly "No," followed by an explanation of some kind such as "I just got off work," "I've been fishing out at the lake" or "We just came back from graduation."

The NPD sobriety checkpoint was a success, M.P.O. Lance Arnold said.

Officers stopped 565 cars going east and west on Lindsey Street near Wiley Road. They only arrested four people for driving under the influence between 11:30 p.m. and 3 a.m. One of those also was arrested for possession of a controlled dangerous substance and another was cited for controlling an open container.

That low number of arrests means these checkpoints have been working.

"Deterrence is the main thing we're seeking in one of these things," Arnold said.

Police have noticed a decrease in arrests since they restarted DUI checkpoints about three years ago. For example, Arnold said when they conducted the first one near Lake Thunderbird they arrested 15 people for driving under the influence in the first 45 minutes. A year later they held one at the same place and only arrested three or four the whole time.

And even the four arrests at the checkpoint Friday night means four drunk drivers were taken off the road.

An older gentleman was the first arrest of the night shortly after midnight. He told officers he was on his way home to Edmond and tried to convince them to let him just get a room for the night instead of arresting him. The officers didn't go for the deal, instead arresting him and handcuffing him before transporting him to jail.

A young man was discovered driving a car through the checkpoint. He seemed under the influence of drugs, but denied using any, Officer Jeff Casillas said instead of involving him with the law, the officers called his parents to pick him up.

Officer Jason Schneider had worked one DUI checkpoint before. He said people can respond to the checkpoint in strange ways. Some try to drive around the checkpoint, but are apprehended by officers in "chase cars" stationed at either end of the checkpoint.

One 18-year-old man Schneider arrested for DUI last time told him he'd ruined his life. Schneider said he replied he didn't make the young man drink and drive.

Most of the drivers going through the checkpoint Friday night were polite. Some thanked the officers and wished them well. Workers from Pizza Shuttle across the street even brought the officers complementary pizza.

Arnold said when the checkpoints were started up again three years ago, many of the drivers who were stopped would be angry or rude.

"The vast majority now are very positive, thanking us for doing what we're doing," Arnold said.

One of the main reasons citizens are so positive now is they see the checkpoints aren't that disruptive. With about 15 officers working the checkpoint, cars go through quickly.

Officers try to limit their interactions with each driver to less than 30 seconds. A brief introduction to what they're doing and a few questions is enough.

"You can pretty much tell," Arnold said. "You can smell it or by the way someone acts."

Those drivers who were suspicious were told to drive into a nearby parking lot where officers conducted standard field sobriety tests.

The drivers got out of their vehicles and were made to walk in a line or follow the officer's finger from left to right and back. Many of those pulled over for further testing were then released.

The goal of the checkpoint isn't to deter drinking, but intoxicated driving, Capt. J.D. Younger said. Officers were encouraged by the designated drivers they met and the taxis that left the parking lot from Opie's Club nearby.

Ultimately, the DUI checkpoint is meant to raise awareness about drunk driving.

"I think the common thing you see with most people who drink and drive is they haven't thought about it beforehand," Younger said.

And it's important to think about it, because 35-40 percent of all fatal car crashes involve alcohol, Arnold said. More people are killed by drunk drivers in the U.S. than all violent crime combined, he said.

The Norman Police Department's DUI checkpoints are conducted by officers on overtime, not taking away anyone on normal patrols, Arnold said. The overtime is paid for through grants, so the cost to the city is negligible, he said.

The police department will conduct another DUI checkpoint this holiday weekend to try to keep the roads safe.

"This is unfortunately one of those weekends where the state highway department sends out on Tuesday how many people died over the weekend," Arnold said.

Hopefully, Arnold said, drivers will plan ahead and make good decisions. And hopefully, the DUI checkpoint will help.

Transcript Staff Writer

Hoo-Ah: In Iraq, Good News Isn't News

JD Johannes interviewed (then) Colonel Gurganus about a reporter who doggedly pursued the preferred media narrative.

Real ID has so many pitfalls and not enough money to back it up

OPINION

Our View

Real ID has so many pitfalls and not
enough money to back it up
MAY 25, 2008

Prepare for backups and even repeat visits to the Motor Vehicles office with the coming of Real ID. That's fair warning from the Delaware administrator about the looming federal security law that lumps counterterrorism with ordinary state transactions to license drivers.

That is, unless Congress repeals Real ID because of its logistical and financial burdens. And there is a contingent of Washington legislators who think the law should be scrapped and redone more reasonably.

The overarching logic of Real ID is compelling after the country's tragic experience. Americans know the sorry saga of the 9/11 hijackers who passed through airport security, belatedly red-flagging failures in intelligence, aviation, immigration and border control. While in the United States, those terror plotters also opened bank accounts and obtained personal identification from several states' motor vehicles departments.

The 9/11 Commission that investigated the 2001 plot concluded, "Targeting travel is at least as powerful a weapon against terrorists as targeting their money." And the commission recommended, "The federal government should set standards for the issuance of birth certificates and sources of identification, such as drivers licenses."

But the execution of the Real ID law is a huge technical challenge. The law ordered that driver licenses and identification with photos be tamperproof, machine-readable and verify U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status.

So every issuing jurisdiction must not only supply such materials and do background checks to vouch that an applicant's documents are valid, all these old and new documents must be interchangeable everywhere for 245 million U.S. drivers.

Americans are inherently jealous of their liberties and privacy, even though modern interaction at every level of life involves institutional accumulation of personal information literally from birth. Of necessity, we all have documents and records -- regardless of conspiracy theorists' dire scenarios about bureaucratic intrusion.

Fraud does have potentially disastrous consequences in national security as well as personal identity theft by common criminals. Yet U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii, of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, fears Real ID might actually make identity theft "one-stop shopping" for thieves.

Moreover, he and others cite the huge financial gap between varying multi-billion-dollar estimates for Real ID's execution and the paltry millions allocated to help states do all this work. Sen. Akaka and several cosponsors are for repeal.

Since the Homeland Security Department's creation, recurring disappointments and delays with technology still being invented for such tasks certainly raise doubts about Real ID's effective start date of 2010.

With a year and a half to go before Real ID is supposed to be ready to roll, it's time to decide if it's really possible to link up such a fail-safe system, and at what price. And will the government back up a federal security commitment with the right amount of money?

If this is only going to be an unreliable make-work project, pull the plug.

American Minute - May 25 - Ralph Waldo Emerson

American Minute
with Bill Federer

"America is another name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine Providence in behalf of the human race" wrote poet Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Born MAY 25, 1803, Ralph Waldo Emerson was friends with writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott.

He composed some of the best loved poems in American literature, including The Concord Hymn, written in 1837 for the dedication of the monument where the battle at North Bridge took place April 19, 1775.

Ralph Waldo Emerson's most recognizable stanza is inscribed on the base of Daniel Chester French's Minute Man Statue:

"By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;

Here once the embattled farmers stood; And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps,

And Time the ruined bridge has swept, Down the dark stream that seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream, We place with joy a votive stone,

That memory may their deeds redeem, When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

O Thou who made those heroes dare, To die, and leave their children free,

-Bid Time and Nature gently spare, The shaft we raised to them and Thee."

Lawmaker questions school board appointment

A state lawmaker from Oklahoma City is questioning whether former Mayor Kirk Humphreys can immediately take over as the chairman of the city's school board.

Democratic Rep. Al Lindley has requested an opinion from Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office to clarify the timing of Humphrey's appointment.

Gov. Brad Henry recently signed a bill that would remove the waiting period before a school board chairman can serve in that role. However, the bill doesn't take effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session.

The Legislature adjourned its session late Friday night.