Oklahoma
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9:09 p.m.
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Interviews of Oklahomans who are concerned about the drum beat preparing Americans for war against Iran. Calling themselves "Americans Against the Next War," the group held a rally for peace in... ...
Mainstream Baptist - 12:28 p.m. - 8 clicks 
(Will Oklahoma progressives get shut out of the political debate this legislative session? What type of progressive political agenda, if any, could be successful? In posts this week, Okie Funk is giving its preview of the 2012 Oklahoma Legislature.) Let me start with the caveat that the record is clear that I do NOT support any cut to the state income tax right now because such a cut, eve...
Okie Funk - Thu 11:07 a.m. - 11 clicks
(Will Oklahoma progressives get shut out of the political debate this legislative session? What type of progressive political agenda, if any, could be successful? In posts this week, DocHoc is giving his preview of the 2012 Oklahoma Legislature.) Let me start with the caveat that the record is clear that I do NOT support any cut to the state income tax right now because such a cut, even if i...
Blue Oklahoma - Thu 11:07 a.m. - 10 clicks
(Will Oklahoma progressives get shut out of the political debate this upcoming legislative session? What type of progressive political agenda, if any, could be successful? In posts this week, DocHoc is giving his preview of the 2012 Oklahoma Legislature.) A few years ago, one of my politically active conservative friends and I were having a heated political discussion that ended with him ass...
Blue Oklahoma - Tue 1:29 p.m. - 11 clicks
T he Republican noise machine —fueled by Blowhard Radio and the shills at Fox News—is alive in well in T-town. How do we know? It was in the Tulsa World on Sunday when the paper published details of a GOP focus group run by SoonerPoll.com. Newt Gingrich was the favorite of the 11 registered Republicans who participated in the study—but only a slight favorite (see post below). But the "b...
Alternative Tulsa - Mon 6:48 p.m. - 20 clicks
Traci Royse, Music Minister at NW Baptist Church in Ardmore, Oklahoma sings "I'd Rather Have Jesus" at the church's 58th anniversary on January 29, 2012. Here's a link to the videocast of the 58th... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Mon 3:24 p.m. - 12 clicks
from Kurt Hochenauer's Okie funk : College Tenure Under Fire In Oklahoma Sun, 01/29/2012 A bill that could abolish tenure and threaten academic freedom at state college campuses has been introduced in the Oklahoma Legislature. State Rep. Corey Holland , a Republican from Marlow, has introduced House Bill 2598 , an approximately four-page measure that, if approved, would put profes...
PhotoTune - Sun 9:23 p.m. - 22 clicks
G ood ole Newt Gingrich —the gift that keeps on giving. Didya hear about his moon colony idea? Winning! But seriously, Sooner fans, Gingrich was the favorite Republican presidential hopeful in a focus group of 11 GOP voters held in Tulsa three days after his victory in South Carolina. As reported in today's Tulsa World , Gingrich was the choice of four voters , while Mitt Romney got t...
Alternative Tulsa - Sun 3:02 p.m. - 19 clicks
A bill that could abolish tenure and threaten academic freedom at state college campuses has been introduced in the Oklahoma Legislature. State Rep. Corey Holland , a Republican from Marlow, has introduced House Bill 2598 , an approximately four-page measure that, if approved, would put professors and administrative staff on an annual contract system. The bill states that " . . ....
Blue Oklahoma - Sun 1:22 p.m. - 13 clicks
F ans of Oklahoma legend Woody Guthrie can celebrate the singer's centennial year right here in T-town. The University of Tulsa has announced a day-long Woody Guthrie symposium for Saturday, March 10 at the school's new Lorton Performance Center. The event will feature panel discussions, a luncheon featuring the Texas activist and writer Jim Hightower , as well as a benefit concert at the ...
Alternative Tulsa - Sat 12:26 p.m. - 23 clicks
Preston Clegg's sermon on "Church Freedom: Saints in the Light" at the CBF Oklahoma Fall Gathering on October 15, 2011. Preston is pastor of Spring Creek Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. He is... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Jan 26 - 9 clicks
From TPM 1/25/12: "An Oklahoma Republican is pushing a bill to outlaw the use of human fetuses in food..basically enhancing flavor for artificial flavors.” State Sen. Ralph Shortey introduced a bill on Tuesday...Though...he is not aware of this occurring in Oklahoma, or anywhere for that matter, Shortey cited research he did on the internet that claimed that some companies use embryonic st...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 26 - 6 clicks
O h no! Tulsa's Big Bad Tulsa Government is watching your new trash cart. Even worse, Big Bad will be forcing you to— heavens! —recycle. Or maybe all of this is just made up by a bunch of paranoid people who have been listening to way too much talk radio. For those of you keeping score at home, we're referring to changes proposed by the city's Trash Board to buy new trash carts, whi...
Alternative Tulsa - Jan 25 - 7 clicks
N ames make news , editors say. Yes, they do—and was the case in Tulsa this week when evangelist Richard Roberts , former president of Oral Roberts University (and son of the late Oral Roberts), was arrested early Tuesday for driving under the influence. Ouch! Some details of the complaint, courtesy of the Tulsa World : Roberts was clocked driving his Mercedes (naturally!) at 93 mph i...
Alternative Tulsa - Jan 25 - 6 clicks
At least State Senator Ralph Shortey thinks there could be. Oklahoma GOPer Proposes Bill To Outlaw ‘Aborted Human Fetuses’ In Food You really cannot make this stuff up and I swear on all that is chocolate, this is not from The Onion. I mean really, when you think they can't get any nuttier, another one comes along. ...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 25 - 3 clicks
Meredith Stone's sermon on "Bible Freedom: Understanding Scripture as a Living and Liberating Authority" at the CBF Oklahoma Fall Gathering on October 15, 2011. Meredith is the Women in Ministry... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Jan 25 - 3 clicks
Remember that recent diary about an Oklahoma legislator who has proposed a bill to "outlaw aborted fetuses" in food? It was another field day for Kossacks to point and laugh at my adopted state. And with fodder like that, it's not easy to rise up and defend the mental well-being of Oklahoma voters. Slight comfort that the bill's author clarifies that he only means to address the use of embryo...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 25 - 4 clicks
I've been trying to respond to each of The Oklahoman editorials, published on NewsOK.com, that criticize that Occupy Wall Street movement to highlight the sheer inanity and cluelessness of perhaps the most conservative newspaper in the country. The newspaper, which is now owned by Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz, doesn't "get" the Occupy movement, and it has undoubtedly spent thousands ...
Blue Oklahoma - Jan 25 - 3 clicks
Kyndall Renfro's sermon on "Religious Freedom: Recovering Memory" at CBF Oklahoma's Fall Gathering on October 15, 2011. Kyndall, a native of Oklahoma, is a recent graduate of Truett Seminary now... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Jan 24 - 2 clicks
Well, it's good to know that lawmakers are finally cracking down on this problem : A bill introduced in the Oklahoma Legislature has some folks scratching their heads, as it prohibits "the manufacture or sale of food or products which use aborted human fetuses." The bill states: No person or entity shall manufacture or knowingly sell food or any other product intended for human consumpt...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 24
Dr. Lavon Brown's sermon on "Soul Freedom: The Priesthood of All Believers" at the CBF Oklahoma Fall Gathering on October 15, 2011. Dr. Brown is the retired Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Jan 23
By Nathaniel Batchelder Director, Peace House Oklahoma City Pray cooler heads will guide America in the dialogue and decision-making over Iran's position in the world. Iran does not have nuclear weapons, and there is no certain evidence that such a program is under way. Certainly Iran has the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and the interests of world peace demand th...
Blue Oklahoma - Jan 23
It's not often that members of Oklahoma's ultra-conservative Congressional delegation, including U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, and I agree on an issue, but the growing opposition to the SOPA and PIPA bills has created an interesting coalition of disparate proportions. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), pending...
Blue Oklahoma - Jan 22
T he AltTulsa gang fell behind last week—sorry!—and what a week it was in the Republican presidential sweepstakes. The most recent headline, of course, is the return of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich , who pulled off a big victory over his rivals in yesterday's South Carolina primary. In recent debates, Gingrich delivered the kind of Red-meat Republican rhetoric (yawn…) that Southerner...
Alternative Tulsa - Jan 22
Tom Guild is a retired Professor of Business from the University of Central Oklahoma. He is currently running for United States Congress in Oklahoma's 5 th district against Congressman James Lankford . He is running for the Democratic nomination of this office. You can view more information about him at his website here. Below is an interview that I conducted with Tom via e-mail this pas...
Otter Limits - Jan 20 - 2 clicks
Holy Ghost Haunted - John Moreland & the Dust Bowl Souls (from the album Everything the Hard Way) 21st Century Opium War - Ryan Harvey (from the album Blowback ) Rudie Can't Fail - The Clash (from the album London Calling) State of Love and Trust - Pearl Jam (from the album Rearviewmirror ) Hey Suburbia - Screeching Weasel (from the album Boogadaboogadaboogada !) Christian Rock...
Otter Limits - Jan 20
A qualified decision by the President Barack Obama administration to deny, at least for now, a permit to construct the Keystone XL pipeline, which would originate in Canadian tar sands and go through Oklahoma, was met with incredulous, political hyperbole by Gov. Mary Fallin. Her reaction ignores any potential environmental impact caused by the pipeline's construction, the possibility of a cat...
Blue Oklahoma - Jan 19
John Moreland is an alt-country/rock artist based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has been releasing EPs and LPs since 2006 both by himself and along with the bands Black Gold Band and his new band, the Dust Bowl Souls. Here is an interview that I conducted with him via e-mail today, January 18.............................. 1. When did you first start play...
Otter Limits - Jan 18 - 6 clicks
NorthHaven Worship 01-15-2012 from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo. Dr. Mitch Randall leads worship at NorthHaven Church in Norman, OK on the Sunday before Martin Luther King's birthday. The Sunday was... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Jan 18 - 7 clicks
The GOP push to grant personhood to human embryos, which can be viewed as an attack against contraceptive methods, is yet another absurd side show to needlessly incite a segment of the Oklahoma Republican voting base this year, but such an extremist law would surely face a major lawsuit and would never be enacted. Even Mississippi voters-yes, MISSISSIPPI--voted down a similar measure last year...
Blue Oklahoma - Jan 17
T ulsa's answer to a potted plant —Rep. John Sullivan—is out with his latest "Constituent Issue Survey" and it's more of the same claptrap we've come to expect from the First District congressman. That's right, Sooner fans, Sullivan is still trying to whip up more outrage over the president's health care reform plan. That's the same health plan that— heavens! —requires insurance companies ...
Alternative Tulsa - Jan 16
I opened the "Letter to the Editor" section of my local newspaper this morning, and I was amazed at what I saw. I wasn't amazed that it was written by an Oklahoman, but by the lack of intelligence this man seems to have, on top of the enormous amount of bigotry and hate he seems to possess. Recently, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an initiative passed by Oklahoma voters...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 15
T he Tulsa World reported this week that state tax revenues are up —way up. In December, general revenue collections were up 19.3 percent. And for this, we'd like to say "Thank you, President Obama." The Very Red Oklahoma, the Republicans are unwilling to share the credit with that horrible socialist, anti-American Muslim named Barack Obama. On no. Gov. Mary Fallin wants all the ...
Alternative Tulsa - Jan 13
Sweet Caroline - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (from the album Have a Ball) Fight or Flight - Face to Face (from the album How to Ruin Everything) Angels Wings - Social Distortion (from the album Sex, Love and Rock n Roll) If All Else Fails Play Dead - Red City Radio (from the album To the Sons & Daughters of Woody Guthrie) Snooper vs the Red Baron - The Staggers (from the album One ...
Otter Limits - Jan 13
State Rep. Mike Reynolds' legislative proposal that could prevent gay people from serving in the Oklahoma National Guard and state Rep. Sally Kern's obsession with supposedly protecting Oklahomans from Sharia Law when they go to court are really just bigoted, freaky sideshows to the main GOP play this year: Cutting taxes for rich people and cutting state government. Progressives, of course, ...
Blue Oklahoma - Jan 12
A recent editorial in The Oklahoman that argues the state "top income tax rate is too high" is an indication that Republicans and the corporate power structure here have cemented a plan to reduce the income tax again this coming legislative session. It's highly unlikely the plan can be stopped. The activists who oppose the upcoming cut do so with the best intentions but specific efforts and ...
Blue Oklahoma - Jan 10 - 2 clicks
Only a few months since Don't Ask, Don't Tell was recinded and gays and lesbians were allowed to serve openly in the U.S. millitary, a state legislator in Oklahoma is pushing legislation to ban gays from serving in the state's National Guard. Oklahoma's Republicans are often first-in-the-nation when it comes to repressive legislation, or at least attempts at such legislation. As a heterosexual...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 10 - 2 clicks
By Heather L. Weaver, Staff Attorney, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief Condemning an entire faith and singling out its followers for disfavored and unequal treatment by the government violates the Constitution, it turns out. That principle might seem obvious to anyone who has read the Constitution, but the State of Oklahoma and its voters did not get the message, prompting a f...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 10 - 2 clicks
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 37 page decision, has upheld a lower court's ruling that Oklahoma’s Sharia ban violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and was therefore unconstitutional . Appellants do not identify any actual problem the challenged amendment seeks to solve. Indeed, they admitted at the preliminary injunction hearing that they did not know of even a sin...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 10 - 2 clicks
Y es, sports fans, it's a new year and time for another installment of Urban Tulsa Weekly's "Hot 100," a list purported to be local "up-and-comers." Or so they claim. Let's say, for the sake of accuracy, that the list includes both hits and misses. One major miss is the inclusion of—you guessed it!— UTW publisher Keith Skrzpyczak. According to his own paper, the man is— hyperbol...
Alternative Tulsa - Jan 9 - 3 clicks
Violinist Angela Paganoni plays "Jesu Bambino" at NorthHaven Church in Norman, Oklahoma on the evening of December 24, 2011. ...
Mainstream Baptist - Jan 9 - 2 clicks
For any who may be reading this series for the first time : this is a thought experiment where I try to see what would happen if the size of the House of Representatives were doubled to 870 members from 435. And yes , I know Republicans have the trifecta. This entire series is theoretical to begin with, gimme a break. Ohhhhhhhhhhhk! La-homa where the wind comes sweeping down the plain! And t...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 8
Two recent public announcements here illustrate the state GOP's health-care philosophy, which is to protect the profits of insurance companies at whatever cost to patients. First, it was announced that Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, at the request of Republican Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak, signed a new rule that eliminates birth as a qualifying event for health insurance, which m...
Blue Oklahoma - Jan 7 - 2 clicks
T he AltTulsa gang loves to eat , so we were pleasantly surprised to hear Tulsa food blogger Sasha Martin today on the radio program Travel with Rick Steves (thanks, KWGS!). We're not sure how we managed to miss Sasha's blog for so long, but let's make up for it now by saying it plainly: This is creative cooking at its best and Sasha's website is well worth a look. For 2012, we'd like...
Alternative Tulsa - Jan 6 - 2 clicks
While most of us were preparing to celebrate with friends and family on New Year’s Eve, 18-year-old Sarah McKinley of Oklahoma was defending herself and her 3-month-old infant from a pair of armed intruders. ...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Jan 4 - 2 clicks
T hat's right, Tulsa boozers! We're Number 1 in Oklahoma. We referring to a Tulsa World analysis that revealed Tulsa County's first-in-Oklahoma ranking "for retail liquor stores' per capita sales." If we understand it correctly, this means Tulsa County residents spend more on liquor, wine and strong beer than any other county on a per capita basis. Tulsa County, the World repor...
Alternative Tulsa - Jan 4 - 2 clicks
FallinFAIL reports, "Mary Fallin's Family Values Hurt Oklahoma Children." excerpts: "Governor Mary Fallin and Insurance Commissioner John Doak created and signed an emergency rule (365:10-1-15) eliminating birth as a "qualifying event" for individual healthcare coverage." Says the Oklahoma Democratic Party in a press release. "She claims to be pro-life and in one single moment she put...
PhotoTune - Jan 2 - 2 clicks
(This week, I'm posting excerpts from 2011 Okie Funk and Blue Oklahoma blogs. Click on the headline to read the entire post. Thanks for reading Okie Funk and Blue Oklahoma. -Kurt Hochenauer) Okie Funk's First Take On OPUBCO Sale , Sept. 18. 2011 I have long been a critic of The Oklahoman in this space and elsewhere primarily for the extreme right-wing views on its editorial page. I have...
Blue Oklahoma - Jan 1 - 2 clicks
I moved around a lot as a kid and young adult. Due to that, combined with my incredible shyness until I was well past adulthood, I don't have any friends in my life now from before I was 30. Then, in 2003, I was forced by personal circumstance (joblessness, health issues) and family need (aging parents) to move to Oklahoma, where I didn't know anyone besides my family. Let me just interject...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Dec 31 - 2 clicks
A group of ORU students is campaigning in this weekend for one of their own, Rep. Michele Bachmann , who is running for the Republican presidential nomination. Bachmann studied law at the now-closed ORU law school. The Tulsa World reports this morning that the ORU students will spend the weekend campaigning for Bachmann in Iowa. They'll even earn course credit for their work, th...
Alternative Tulsa - Dec 30 - 3 clicks
O klahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe is not especially self aware. Not at all. So when the former Tulsa mayor—a first-rate political operator—claims that the Feds are playing politics, he's ignoring his own extensive history of hyper-partisanship. Inhofe's latest head-spinning hypocrisy occurred earlier this month when Inhofe pounced on a draft EPA report that linked hydraulic fracturing (or frack...
Alternative Tulsa - Dec 29 - 2 clicks
(This week, I'm posting excerpts from 2011 Okie Funk blogs. All these posts also ran on Blue Oklahoma. Click on the headline to read the entire post. Thanks for reading Okie Funk and Blue Oklahoma. -Kurt Hochenauer) So Far Inhofe Quiet On New Arctic Ice Melting Report , May 8, 2011 U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe-and by extension the fossil fuel industry in Oklahoma-has been remarkably quiet about a ...
Blue Oklahoma - Dec 29 - 2 clicks
The media has never been fair and balanced when it comes to serving Indian people and reporting on events which impact Indian lives. Many Indian leaders have felt that it is critical for Indians to have media which they control. One example of Indian media can be seen in The Indian Journal , a newspaper born in Indian Territory (later known as Oklahoma). ...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Dec 29
I n case you missed it, today is a big news day for Tulsa's Brady Arts District. The headline is this: The Woody Guthrie archive is coming to town. Thanks to the George Kaiser Family Foundation, thousands of Guthrie documents and song lyrics will be housed in a new archive now under construction in the Brady District just north of downtown. The archive is part of a series of art and cultur...
Alternative Tulsa - Dec 28 - 2 clicks
T ulsa City Council Chairman G.T. Bynum has been one of the few voices of reason at city hall in recent years. Some of his colleagues, as Tulsa voters know all too well, have been irrational hotheads. We can't say for sure, but Bynum's thoughtful approach to politics may be due his habit of reading biographies , a habit described in a recent Tulsa World article. Bynum told reporter Bri...
Alternative Tulsa - Dec 28 - 2 clicks
Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma has recently been hammering home her pet issue: eliminating the state income tax that makes up 32.1% of Oklahoma's total budget . After the last three years of deep cuts to the state budget that included a 48.6% cut to the Department of Transportation, a 43.7% cut to the Civil Emergency Management Administration, a complete defunding of the Oklahoma State Depart...
Blue Oklahoma - Dec 28 - 2 clicks
When OCCC elected to grant a contract to HigherOne to handle its financial aid payments, it did a disservice to its students. HigherOne is known for the kind of predatory banking practices that make the worst banks such onerous institutions. Fees that range from $29 to $38 for insufficient funds, a $50 lack of documentation fee, a $19 per month account inactivity fee after 9 months of no activit...
Blue Oklahoma - Dec 26 - 2 clicks
The NorthHaven Church Choir in Norman, Oklahoma under the direction of Dr. Mark Lucas perform "Tapestry of Light" by Joseph M. Martin on December 18, 2011. Part Five -- Bethlehem Light and Carols of... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Dec 24 - 2 clicks
This will be fairly brief as I am going to have to take Adam B's advice to "litigate in Court" rather than in public. While we are very happy that I have said nothing that is not already in the record, and known to the "other side", going forward we need to keep our own counsel about the details. We know you will understand. ...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Dec 24 - 2 clicks
I t's not exactly breaking news, but it's worth repeating: Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn is no fan of Newt Gingrich. Gingrich, of course, is running for the Republican presidential nomination. According to some polls, he's running well in Iowa and South Carolina. But Newt is problem for many Republicans, including Coburn. Why such antipathy? As Sen. Coburn explained earlier this month...
Alternative Tulsa - Dec 23 - 2 clicks
The NorthHaven Church Choir in Norman, Oklahoma under the direction of Dr. Mark Lucas perform "Tapestry of Light" by Joseph M. Martin on December 18, 2011. Part Four -- Carols of the Quest and A... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Dec 23 - 2 clicks
Tapestry of Light, Part Three from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo. The NorthHaven Church Choir in Norman, Oklahoma under the direction of Dr. Mark Lucas perform "Tapestry of Light" by Joseph M. Martin on... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Dec 22 - 2 clicks
Tapestry of Light, Part Two from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo. The NorthHaven Church Choir in Norman, Oklahoma under the direction of Dr. Mark Lucas perform "Tapestry of Light" by Joseph M. Martin on... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Dec 21 - 2 clicks
My husband Matthew wrote this letter & emailed it to AA's top executives based on an experience he had on one of their flights, in which the word "bisexual" was censored from an episode of 30 Rock shown on the flight. Read on. Hello, On November 24, 2011 (Thanksgiving day) I flew with your company on your flight 442 from San Francisco to Miami. The flight and...
Sinister - Dec 14 - 17 clicks
