State employees, including the corrections officers and state troopers who protect us, haven’t received a pay raise since 2006, but our country-club Republicans allocated $7 million to needlessly remodel Capitol legislative offices, including a conference room “complete with a catering area and offices.” We incarcerate over 26,000 people (27 percent for drug offenses), costing hundreds […]
politics
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Freshman class
OKC City Council Credit: Mark Hancock Their approaches James Greiner represents northwest OKC’s Ward 1 while John Pettis Jr. leads the residents of Ward 7, primarily in the city’s northeast section. Both enjoyed landslide victories against incumbents. The two possess some innocuous similarities. This is their first time to hold public office, both are young […]
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Google-eyed for Inhofe
Credit: Brad Gregg Protesters gathered at Google’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters last week to present a 50,000-signature petition opposing the company’s cozy relationship with Inhofe, who calls manmade climate change “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” (We think he’s letting Justin Bieber off the hook with that one, but whatev.) A Google […]
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Time to inform, not denounce
Attorney General Scott Pruitt continues his futile attempt to have it declared unconstitutional. Gov. Mary Fallin refuses to accept our tax dollars back from Washington, D.C., to cover Oklahomans most in need of health coverage. Insurance Commissioner John Doak calls the ACA a “disaster,” and although his agency has received a federal grant to inform […]
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Unlikely allies
Al Gerhart Credit: Mark Hancock “For us, it’s the concern we have any time we see a prosecutorial process or law enforcement being used to potentially chill speech that is, in our mind, protected political speech,” said Brady Henderson, legal director of ACLU of Oklahoma. “It may not be pleasant speech, it may not be […]
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The anti-Obama premium
I am no fan of President Obama. There are many reasons to be concerned about his administration: IRS abuse, Obamacare, domestic spying on citizens and so on. However, trying to associate our state’s infrastructure issues — such as our Capitol building or weigh stations — with something Obama would do is ridiculous. This ultimately will […]
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No toke over the line
Gov. Mary Fallin recently signed a new law that makes it illegal for drivers to have even a trace of marijuana in their blood, saliva or urine while in control of a vehicle. Technically, beginning Oct. 1, someone could smoke a joint on Saturday and then get arrested for drunken driving the following Monday morning […]
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Culture wars
Sen. Kyle Loveless Credit: Shannon Cornman The money would have sealed the completion of the project, which originated 18 years ago as a concept for advancing Oklahoma’s Native American culture. Having faced numerous hurdles before, museum supporters advised legislative leaders to delay action and focus attention on the tornado victims. Bill Anoatubby, governor of the […]
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Build the cathedtral
Shadid supports his premise with statistics and facts from other projects and cities. This kind of research is vital when entering into something as important as the expenditure of taxpayer funding. We must be careful to remember, however, that facts and statistics can be read multiple ways and stated in a supportive fashion rather than […]
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Going after Google
Credit: Brad Gregg State Attorney General Scott Pruitt doesn’t. He is so disgusted by the revenue-sharing practice — known as monetizing — that he and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning wrote a strongly worded letter last week to the multinational Internet-based giant, noting that they are “prepared to take appropriate action to safeguard our citizens.” […]