Based on rhetoric surrounding Oklahoma’s income tax debate, some lawmakers seem to think so. Gov. Mary Fallin and other state leaders are eager to cut the top income tax rate this year. They say we can offset some of the cut by eliminating “special interest” tax credits and deductions. Yet when the details emerge, we […]
politics
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Ill-conceived
Brad Gregg House Speaker Kris Steele said April 19 that the body would not hear Senate Bill 1433, which would proclaim that embryos have all the same rights as folks not encased in a womb. The bill is dead now that the House Republican Caucus voted to pull out the legislative equivalent of a vacuum […]
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Talking turkey
Brad Gregg Senate Bill 1420, which allows physically disabled individuals to use laser sights while hunting on private property, recently passed the House. Co-authored by Shortey and Rep. John Bennett, the measure passed the house on a 92-0 vote and heads to the Senate for final approval. “This bill was filed to address the needs […]
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Trying something new for the economy
Many letter writers seem to feel they must make a derogatory comment about someone who disagrees with them. In his opening paragraph, D.W. Tiffee (“Oklahoma is not OK,” Feb. 29) claims that the Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs is “deranged” because it supports a reduction in or the elimination of state income taxes. Remarks like […]
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Identity crisis
Senate Bill 1569, authored by none other than Sen. Ralph Shortey (he of fetus-food bill notoriety) requires candidates in Oklahoma’s presidential primaries to present the state Election Board with a photo ID and proof that they satisfy all requirements for office. Cue the “natural-born citizen” arguments. In a news statement on the bill’s passage, Shortey […]
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Open books
Last year the city saw unprecedented spending on City Council elections on behalf of independent expenditure groups that attempted to shield their financial backers, a situation made possible by the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case, Federal Election Commission v. Citizens United. The proposal, passed on to council from that body’s legislative committee, supported a state […]
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Drug testing no answer
First, some background. The state Department of Human Services already does some drug testing as a condition of receiving a check from the government. Basically, the way it works is that the applicant is interviewed by a DHS employee, and if that employee thinks you are on drugs, a drug test is ordered. (I’m not […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Game Change
If Sen. McCain’s choice of the largely unknown Alaska Gov. Palin as his veep choice seemed out of nowhere then, there’s good reason: Because it pretty much was. McCain, here played by Ed Harris (Man on a Ledge), wanted Sen. Joe Lieberman, but was talked into someone “more transformative” by hired gun Steven Schmidt (Woody […]
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Fade out
Senate Bill 1623 has made it past the state Senate Finance Committee and is awaiting further action in the Senate. Authored by Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa, it would eliminate a number of special tax credits and subsidies in order to compensate for revenue lost by reducing the state’s top marginal income tax rate from 5.25 […]
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Oratory overkill
If so, somebody page Oklahoma’s U.S. Rep. John Sullivan when that time arrives. At a Feb. 22 town hall meeting in Bixby, the Tulsa Republican decided to open mouth and insert foot when a constituent asked about the national debt. Sullivan voiced his support for Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget to curb debt and said […]