Oklahoma
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3:45 a.m.
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My first take on the state income tax cut agreement between Gov. Mary Fallin and some Republican legislators is this: It's an awful plan that primarily benefits the wealthy as it reduces available money for education and other core state services. Legislators should reject it. In addition, it appears some Oklahomans will actually pay more in taxes under the plan. How does a supposed vaunted ta...
Blue Oklahoma - Sun 2:09 p.m. - 8 clicks 
My first take on the state income tax cut agreement between Gov. Mary Fallin and some Republican legislators is this: It’s an awful plan that primarily benefits the wealthy as it reduces available money for education and other core state services. Legislators should reject it. In addition, it appears some Oklahomans will actually pay more in taxes under the plan. How does a supposed vaunted...
Okie Funk - Sun 1:45 p.m. - 7 clicks
1. “The Fog” by Accents (from Growth and Squalor) 2. “Future Cougar” by Best Practices (from The EP LP) 3. “Know Your Enemy” by The Coloradas (from The Coloradas) 4. “ Independence ” by Easter Island (from Frightened(?)) 5. “It Could Be” by Gary B & the Notions (from How Do We Explode) 6. “Diana” by Guantanamo Baywatch (from Chest Crawl) 7. “ La...
Oklahoma Lefty - Sat 7:29 a.m. - 12 clicks
Title: A Thousand Times ( BandCamp ) Artist: Two Suns ( BandCamp , Facebook , MySpace , SoundCloud , ReverbNation , Last.fm ) Two Suns is a fascinating and wickedly proficient musical project. The brainchild of Norman, OK's Jake Davidson, Two Suns' latest is the lead single to the upcoming album A Few Pieces at a Time (questi...
Oklahoma Lefty - Fri 1:33 p.m. - 13 clicks
Today, in a shot against personal liberty and a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives voted against an Amendment to the NDAA that would ban indefinite detention of American citizens. The final vote was 182 for the amendment and 238 against the amendment. All 5 of Oklahoma's Congressmen voted against this amendment. Personally, this is real...
Otter Limits - Fri 12:52 p.m. - 14 clicks
"If there is one thing that has increased crime, it's been the automatic pistol. It's made no practice necessary to be an outlaw. . . ."-Oklahoma's own Will Rogers. I know I'm a lone voice crying out in the wilderness in red-state Oklahoma, but the new law allowing people here to openly carry weapons in public is a terrible mistake based exclusively on ideology and false claims. Here's the ...
Blue Oklahoma - Fri 10:46 a.m. - 14 clicks
On the list of endorsement on his re-election campaign website , the following quote appears: "Sheriff John Whetsel has been endorsed by the Oklahoma State Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) as well as every FOP Lodge in Oklahoma County..." As a matter of fact, as stated in my previous post Whetsel Loses FOP Endorsement , Sheriff Whetsel for a fact, did NOT get the endorsement of the Oklaho...
Otter Limits - Thu 6:51 p.m. - 14 clicks
Johnny Badseed and the Rotten Apples is an alt country band from Tulsa , OK . The band recently released the album Fill Yer Boots on BandCamp (read my review here ). This interview was conducted via Facebook April 30- May 17, 2012 . For more information on Johnny Badseed and the Rotten Apples, check out their Facebook , BandCamp , ReverbNation , and...
Oklahoma Lefty - Thu 8:11 a.m. - 12 clicks
For the first time in 16 years, Sheriff John Whetsel was denied the endorsement of the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) in Oklahoma City. Despite bringing his own voting staff members, Whetsel was unable to garner the endorsement. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice removed all federal inmates due to unconstitutional management of the jail facility. Today Oklahoma County taxpayers are a...
Otter Limits - Wed 12:52 p.m. - 14 clicks
An excerpt from Pamela Eisenbaum's lecture on "The Paul I Know: A Jewish Evaluation" for the Oklahoma Institute for Biblical Literacy at the Oklahoma City University on May 12, 2012. Eisenbaum is... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Wed 6:54 a.m. - 14 clicks
U.S. Rep. James Lankford has joined the legendary ranks of Oklahoma's political conservatives who openly express archaic views about gay people, and it's been captured on video by the ThinkProgress blog . Last week, I wrote about the somewhat muted response from Oklahoma's conservatives to President Barack Obama's announcement that he supports same-sex marriage and that remains true, but T...
Blue Oklahoma - Tue 2:05 p.m. - 21 clicks
Title: The Mooks ( BandCamp ) Artist: The Mooks Hailing from Ottawa , Canada , The Mooks are part of the Centretown Recording Alliance (a collective/label run by Ottawa artists; Tumblr , BandCamp ). Sadly that’s all I can find on this band, which is a shame because this is a really good EP. Both songs on the release are garagey pop punk numbers play...
Oklahoma Lefty - Tue 5:25 a.m. - 15 clicks
I wonder how many times the word "Chesapeake" will be spoken on national television as the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Los Angeles Lakers Monday in round two of the NBA playoffs. Of course, the Thunder host the Lakers in the Chesapeake Energy Arena Monday so it's highly likely the company name will be repeated often with or without accompanying shots of the building's sign. It's a slam d...
Blue Oklahoma - May 13 - 8 clicks
The conservative Oklahoma political response to President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that he supports same-sex marriage was strangely muted. Conservative politicians here have used their opposition to gay rights as a fear-mongering campaign tool for years and the anti-Obama hysteria runs deep in one of the reddest states in the county. So where's all that faux outrage and indignati...
Blue Oklahoma - May 10 - 7 clicks
Stephen Jones Sings Madamina from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo. Stephen Jones, Vocal Performance and Music Education Student at the University of Oklahoma, sings "Madamina" from Mozart's opera "Don... ...
Mainstream Baptist - May 9 - 4 clicks
My family and I went on a hike in northwestern Oklahoma over the weekend. On beautiful white gypsum trails, in an area that is mostly covered by cedar trees, prickly pear, and is known for it's rattle snakes. We didn't see any snakes this time. Which was surprising. After last week, with all the snakes out and about, they seem to have holed up for some reason. We also went herping this weeke...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - May 8 - 3 clicks
Ugandan Orphans Choir at NorthHaven Baptist Church from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo. Excerpts from the May 6, 2012 worship service at NorthHaven Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma featuring the Ugandan... ...
Mainstream Baptist - May 7 - 3 clicks
("Senator James Inhofe, a pig from Oklahoma who refers to the EPA in a number of ways, but he hates the EPA. James Inhofe wants to die breathing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide. He wants to die eating genetically modified food. He wants to die because he can't breathe because there's carcinogens in everything he touches, everything he drinks, everything he eats."-Progressive radio talk show...
Blue Oklahoma - May 6 - 2 clicks
Robin Meyers at the Raindrop Turkish House from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo. Dr. Robin Meyers, pastor of Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City and author of several bestselling religious... ...
Mainstream Baptist - May 4 - 2 clicks
Connect 2012 from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo. Joel Gregory preached the sermon at Connect 2012 the annual gathering of the Cooperating Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma. This year's gathering was held at... ...
Mainstream Baptist - May 3 - 2 clicks
Media Matters recently published a scathing critique of The Oklahoman under the new ownership of Philip Anschutz. The article's main point is that the newspaper distorts facts about the natural gas drilling method hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and notes its Colorado billionaire owner is involved in the gas and oil industry. The newspaper, according to the article, also supports the co...
Blue Oklahoma - May 3
(Good news: The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled the proposed personhood ballot initiative is unconstitutional. This follows the demise of a personhood bill in the Oklahoma Legislature. The anti-abortion personhood movement is based on giving civil rights to a fertilized egg in a woman's womb.) Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has finally conceded her income tax cut plan won't make it through the l...
Blue Oklahoma - May 2
I am a veteran, but I served before the 500,000 who've now served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I served from 1990-1995, "visiting" Guantamo Bay, Puerto Rico and Okinawa. But all of America's veterans, whether they are combat vets, or those who served in peace; whether they were drafted or served voluntarily... I salute them. There are many issues that veterans face, starting with...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - May 1
Michael Selsor is pictured above. The photograph is courtesy of Fault Line Productions Today, May 1, 2012, members of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP) and others will stand in silent vigil for death row prisoner Michael Bascum Selsor outside the Governor's Mansion at 820 NE 23rd Street, from 5:15 pm until they receive notice of a stay of execution, or until the e...
Blue Oklahoma - May 1
Still not a person The Oklahoma Supreme Court today issued yet another blow to the Every Sperm is Sacred movement that keeps trying to define a fertilized egg as a person with all of the rights and constitutional protections as an actual, you know, person. Thus far, the amendment has failed in every state in which it has been proposed, but that hasn't stopped the extremists from conti...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 30
The so-called personhood bill that would give civil rights to a fertilized egg in a woman's womb at the moment of conception has died in the Oklahoma Legislature, but not before some ugly, political theatrics among ultra-conservatives. Senate Bill 1433 had generated intense opposition, especially from the Oklahoma Coalition For Reproductive Justice , other groups, college students and some D...
Blue Oklahoma - Apr 29
N ow that Mitt Romney will be the Republican candidate for president, it's instructive to look back at Romney, his ideas and his background. In today's installment, we recall this telling passage from columnist Ruben Navarrette , published January 15 in the Tulsa World : Here's the problem with Mitt Romney, and why…his electability is in doubt. It's not his religion, his so-called moderat...
Alternative Tulsa - Apr 29
"In a minute there is time/For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse."-From T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" Is the Oklahoma Senate's decision to pass Gov. Mary Fallin's major income tax cut proposal reckless or is it just part of ongoing political negotiations? On Wednesday, the Senate voted to approve Fallin's proposal, which would lower the top income tax ...
Blue Oklahoma - Apr 26
See article Head of Oklahoma Democrats Compares Tea Party to McVeigh According to this article, OK Dem Chairman Wallace Collins told a reporter that McVeigh would have been a tea party member. He is quoted as to have saying: "...it's widely known that McVeigh was anti-government. I think he was a right-winger, and I think the current tea party people....they're anti-government....." OKGOP ...
Otter Limits - Apr 25 - 2 clicks
(Be sure to watch the highlights of an April 5th forum on the proposed income tax cut plans in the above video.) The reasons for Republicans to drop plans for any type of income tax cut this legislative session continue to mount. Parents and educators in the Tulsa area, for example, have begun an effort to convince state leaders to restore school funding to 2007-2008 levels because of ...
Blue Oklahoma - Apr 24 - 2 clicks
The do nothing (and occasionally do the wrong thing) House Republicans in Congress to continue to wage class warfare by attacking the middle class and working poor. The House Agriculture Committee, chaired by an Oklahoma Republican, voted yesterday to cut $33 billion from the food stamp program over the next ten years. As a Democratic member of the committee said, "Taking a m...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 22
You have to appreciate all the attention actor Alec Baldwin has given Oklahoma's two U.S. senators lately. Back in March, the 30 Rock television star called Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe an "oil whore" in a tweet to his some 700,000 followers on Twitter, which created a minor controversy but also awareness. The tweet, from @alecbladwin, went like this : "Is there a bigger Oil Whore alive t...
Blue Oklahoma - Apr 22
This is a preliminary state questions post. The final results on what will be on the ballot have not been decided so I will be updating this throughout the election season. Property Tax Amendment Prevents annual increases in property taxes. I approve of this amendment and will be voting yes on it. Affirmative Action Ban Amendment Bans affirmative action programs in Oklahoma. Would prohibit...
Otter Limits - Apr 21
The Republican caucus in the Oklahoma legislature will not bring the personhood amendment up for a hearing . Their reasoning is that it may inadvertently ban contraception and open them up to further legal challenges. I heard Leader Steele say on the radio they've already managed to make abortion extremely difficult, so they're satisfied for the moment. This is good news, but we're not out of...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 19 - 2 clicks
I think most people here can agree that Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Corp. is a significant financial component of the local and state economy and any major calamity to its overall business structure could have widespread, devastating effects. Recently, it was widely reported that decreasing natural gas prices have made Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon, the company's founder, pictured righ...
Blue Oklahoma - Apr 19 - 2 clicks
T he Good Friday murders of three African Americans put Tulsa in the national headlines recently, but not in a good way. Not only were the shootings horrific in their own right, but they also reminded people of Tulsa's troubled racial history , especially the infamous 1921 race riot that destroyed the city's Greenwood District, home to many blacks. The folks at NPR's Morning Edition fo...
Alternative Tulsa - Apr 18
SB 1433 has already passed the state Senate, and is now in the House, set to come to the floor about 1:30 today. Reproductive justice advocates ( Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice and Planned Parenthood) have mounted a significant campaign against the legislation, and has (finally) been joined by doctors publicly opposing the measure. The Democrats have also been busy, and have pr...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 18
Excerpts from Mustafa Akyol's 4-13-2012 lecture at the University of Oklahoma about his book "Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty." During his lecture Akyol talks about the... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Apr 16 - 2 clicks
I wrote about how President Barack Obama received a rude welcome to Oklahoma during a recent visit to Cushing, but I failed to note U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn joined in the presidential smackdown as well. I wrote about the rude welcome here . Four local energy executives, Gov. Mary Fallin and The Oklahoman editorial page criticized the president as he announced his support to expedite the K...
Blue Oklahoma - Apr 15
We've enjoyed so much good news this week, in both the Trayvon Martin case ( with the much needed arrest of Zimmerman ) and the State of Conneticut Abolishing the Death Penalty (see kossack's drnononono 's D [ here ]); which has been compounded by the fact that Mitt the Pitts has become " THE " only 1 left in the GOP race ( and, as you may already know, the Universe has made Mitt ...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 14
9AM CDT Update: At the 8AM forecast update, the SPC extended the high risk area to include a much larger area than it did last night. Oklahoma City, Tulsa, most of eastern and central Kansas, and a large chunk of Nebraska are now under the high risk zone, with areas just around that under the moderate risk zone. I've uploaded the new maps and included them below. Still looks like we're on track...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 13 - 2 clicks
C omedian Jimmy Fallon on former Sen. Rick Santorum , winner of last month's Oklahoma Republican primary: After dropping out of the GOP race, Rick Santorum emailed his supporters to ask for help paying off his campaign debt. So if you believe in his message of responsible spending and no handouts, just give him a handout to cover all his irresponsible spending. ...
Alternative Tulsa - Apr 13 - 2 clicks
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook ...
Alternative Tulsa - Apr 13 - 2 clicks
Continuation of todays Severe Weather Alerts: Tornado on the ground in Norman OK, as of 4:16 central time, near OU campus. LIVE STREAM: http://kfor.com/ ...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 13 - 3 clicks
Oklahoma State Sen. Ralph Shortey One has to wonder. Was it the wild turkey or Oklahoma State Sen. Ralph Shortey that was being threatened? Who had the right to "Stand your ground"? Was the turkey protecting its home turf? Or was this habitat invader merely defending himself against an unprovoked attack? Whatever the case, the turkey lost out, according to the Republican legislator, who s...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 13 - 2 clicks
So my spouse, on a computer in the other room, sends me a link to a Think Progress piece about Paul Ryan in which actual religious people are criticizing his plan, and I figure as long as I'm there, I should look at the front page. And what do I find there but a headline, Oklahoma State Senator Justifies Need For ‘Open Carry’ Gun Law Due To Threat From Wild Turkeys . Indeed. Seems...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 13 - 2 clicks
American Baptist Churches Central Region held a "Preaching Symposium" in Anadarko, Oklahoma on March 31, 2012. John Williams (linked above), Executive Minister for the Central Region of the American... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Apr 12 - 2 clicks
Will a new open carry law in Oklahoma make it more likely the state will experience an incident like the Trayvon Martin case? Probably. Martin, of course, is the 17-year-old African American who was killed by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, a watch patrol volunteer in Sanford, Fla. The case has generated widespread protest and media attention, and Zimmerman has now been charged with second-degre...
Blue Oklahoma - Apr 12 - 2 clicks
The 4-8-2012 Easter Sunday service at NorthHaven Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma. Kelly Miller, Interim Minister of Music, leads the choir and orchestra. Dr. Mitch Randall, pastor, preaches a... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Apr 11 - 2 clicks
W e're number five! We're number five! Okay, it's not a good thing. But the latest government figures show that Oklahoma is number five in teen births. As we like to say around here, thank God for Mississippi , which topped the list. (Thank God too for the other states ahead of us: New Mexico, Arkansas and our friends in Texas.) On the other hand, the teen birthrate nationally is fallin...
Alternative Tulsa - Apr 11 - 2 clicks
J ust a few weeks ago, Oklahoma Republicans went big for former Sen. Rick Santorum as the GOP nominee for president. Today, Santorum dropped out. Yes, Sooner fans, Saint Rick of Pennsylvania is history. He's not going to be the Republican nominee for president in 2012. This means that Oklahoma conservatives will have to vote for—yes!—Mitt Romney, the godfather of Obamacare and a state supp...
Alternative Tulsa - Apr 10
The decline in state tax revenues last month and the continued decline in gross production taxes on natural gas will make any income tax cut this legislative session especially irresponsible and unconscionable. If Republicans proceed with a tax cut, it would represent a complete capitulation to "starve the beast" ideology, which advocates widespread and deep tax cuts, rather than responsible...
Blue Oklahoma - Apr 10
The April 8, 2012 Easter Sunrise service at Spring Creek Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Birds chirp, geese honk, and humans sing as all nature participates in this unique worship experience led... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Apr 9 - 2 clicks
The April 6, 2012 Good Friday service at Spring Creek Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. The adult choir and orchestra, under the direction of Music Minister Susan Clothier, present "Footprints in... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Apr 9 - 2 clicks
We need to keep the pressure on the Tulsa Police, FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service to find this creep. If he has any sense, actions indicate otherwise, he would turn himself in. This is someone that took the effort to drive into town and seek out minorities for execution. This was done at 1 am local time. A handgun was used. Do you know where your local racist is? The same gunman fired i...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 7
I attended the tax forum sponsored by the Oklahoma Policy Institute yesterday. OPI enlisted an impressive group of economists and business leaders to speak against legislative proposals to eliminate... ...
Mainstream Baptist - Apr 6 - 2 clicks
A ltTulsa has no special insight into Republican politics in Wisconsin, but we're predicting a big Mitt Romeny win in that state's primary tomorrow. How big? We can't say, but we think Rick ("Holier than Thou") Santorum is over and done, a victim of his Far Right extremism. Santorum won the conservative GOP voters in Oklahoma a few weeks back, as well as victories in Tennessee, Alabama an...
Alternative Tulsa - Apr 2 - 2 clicks
Lankford says that the Ryan Budget 2012 (Take II) reflects the GOP's values. Even Blue Dog Democrat Dan Boren wouldn't eat this dog food! The budget approved by House Republicans ends Medicare and turns the wreckage into a voucher program. The right wing seems to yearn for the pre-Medicare era when 30% of seniors lived in poverty and 51% had no health care coverage. This ...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Apr 2
Back in August 2009 I wrote a post titled Becoming An Elephant . At the time I was living in Washington State and was fairly active in the GOP there. After I moved back to Oklahoma, I got mildly active initially but ended up registering as an Independent because I was not thoroughly impressed with the GOP establishment here in Oklahoma. Something about them rubbed me the wrong way. A few mo...
Otter Limits - Mar 31
Fellow Oklahoma blogger Capitalist Sooner has written an excellent post titled "Why I am a Republican." He made some really good points in this post, here is just a small excerpt from it that speaks on what I like to call the stepchildren of the GOP, the Libertarians: "While I can appreciate the attraction to not being in a political party...it is not possible in this time to ef...
Otter Limits - Mar 29 - 3 clicks
"Unconstitutional" So said District Judge Brian Dixon today in a ruling on Oklahoma's ultrasound law. The law never went in to effect, and now never will, said representatives of the Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice , which was a party in the court challenge brought by the NY based Center for Reproductive Rights . This is a victory for Oklahoma women, certainly for OCRJ and it...
DailyKos (Oklahoma) - Mar 28 - 2 clicks
