After state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters slipped in new social studies standards that raise doubts about the 2020 presidential election, some lawmakers said it was a move too far. Even the governor criticized Waters for trying to teach kids that Trump beat Biden. But despite that criticism, the state Senate declined to take up a […]
Chicken-Fried News
Chicken-Fried News
Posted inNews
Church school?
Sometime next month, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether the Catholic church should be allowed to open its own public charter school in Oklahoma and receive state tax dollars to do so. For many, the idea of a religious public school seems to be a clear violation of the separation of church […]
Posted inNews
Lunch insecurity
For the second year in a row, Oklahoma will not participate in a federal summer food program. Gov. Kevin Stitt has proclaimed that Oklahoma doesn’t have a childhood hunger issue. At least that should be the takeaway after he again declined to participate in the federal summer food program meant to feed kids who rely […]
Posted inNews
Real ID
In a state where lawmakers have long argued more background checks are needed for voter registrations, many of the same lawmakers resisted efforts more than a decade ago to strengthen the security of IDs, such as driver’s licenses. After the federal government introduced the REAL ID program following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Oklahoma Legislature […]
Posted inNews
Cockfighting returns?
Oklahoma voters banned the sport of cockfighting more than 20 years ago, but efforts to legalize or lessen penalties have resurfaced in recent years. A political action committee largely made up of cockfighters began pumping thousands of dollars into lawmaker coffers a few years ago, which helped allow some bills to receive a hearing and […]
Posted inNews
School board elections
If there’s one thing education doesn’t need more of, it’s partisan politics. But in an era when Oklahoma’s top education official is pushing school-sanctioned religion and fealty to President Trump, state lawmakers want to see local school board elections injected with that same kind of right-wing pandering. Senate Bill 6, which was advanced last month […]
Posted inNews
Shopping carts
Oklahoma’s House of Representatives recently advanced a bill that would increase the penalty for stealing a shopping cart. A person could end up in jail for a year and pay a $1,000 fine if House Bill 1689 were to become law. Oklahoma has a special connection to the shopping cart. It was invented here in […]
Posted inNews
Power from the people
There’s nothing that scares Republican lawmakers more than giving more power to the people. Oklahoma is a politically conservative state, but when given the chance, voters have supported some fairly progressive issues in statewide votes, including Medicaid expansion and medical marijuana. That’s why the initiative petition process that puts issues on a statewide ballot has […]
Posted inNews
Stitt-Walters feud
Gov. Kevin Stitt, who essentially gifted Ryan Walters to Oklahoma, is now criticizing him for creating “political drama” in the state Department of Education. The governor recently replaced three members of the state board of education who have provided some resistance to Walters’ agenda. Walters has desperately tried to become a mini Donald Trump, and […]
Posted inNews
Veto threatened
Legalized sports betting is sweeping the nation, but like most new trends, it isn’t likely to hit Oklahoma for several more years. That’s largely because Gov. Kevin Stitt has opposed any sports betting effort that includes the state’s tribal governments. Yes, the governor’s feud with Native Americans is still going on. “We need more of […]