For years, regardless of even present-day record funding levels, Oklahoma has ranked among the bottom tier of states based on academic outcomes. Now, parents and Oklahomans from all walks of life and corners of the state are ready for change. That was the key message sent in the recent state runoff election for the Republican nomination for state superintendent of public instruction.
Congratulations, America! You just got put on the hook $300,000,000,000 (300 billion dollars) in free college for other people. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School estimates the plan will cost each taxpayer in America $2,100.
Below are statements from four of Oklahoma's members of Congress, slamming the move by President Biden.
OKLAHOMA CITY (August 22nd) – State Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, plans to refile legislation prohibiting anyone under the age of 21 from undergoing gender reassignment medical treatment in the state. Hamilton had originally filed the legislation in the 2021 session, but the measure did not receive a hearing.
Like other parents across Oklahoma, I am concerned by disturbing trends in many public schools, including pornography in school libraries, the fact that boys have been allowed into girl’s bathrooms and locker rooms, and the disturbing reality that Critical Race Theory concepts have been incorporated into many classroom settings.
But even if those practices are completely removed from all schools, that will not mean all is well.
An even bigger problem is often ignored—the fact that many Oklahoma schools fail to teach students core academic subjects such as reading, math and science.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 19, 2022) – Today, Governor Kevin Stitt issued Executive Order 2022-18 to protect Oklahoma’s teachers’ and school district employees’ First Amendment rights by fighting back against liberal teachers’ unions. With the executive order, Oklahoma educators will be assured of the freedom to decide whether or not to participate in unions, rather than allowing union bosses to intimidate teachers into handing over part of their salaries.
Today is the Oklahoma Runoff Election. If you haven't voted yet, you have until 7:00pm to cast your ballots. If you don't know where to vote, or want to see your sample ballot, use this helpful link from the Oklahoma State Election Board to find out.
Here are some links to various posts and additional resources about the primary candidates that you may find helpful.
This information is very important for all registered voters, particularly since redistricting took effect this year:
State Election Board Offers Tips, Reminders for Oklahoma Voters
(Oklahoma City) – Voters head to the polls Tuesday for the runoff primary and several nonpartisan elections. The State Election Board offers these tips and reminders to Oklahoma voters ahead of the August 23 Election.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (August 17th) – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) recently introduced the No Taxpayer Funds for Illegal Alien Abortions Act to prohibit any employee or contractor with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) from transporting any illegal immigrant across state lines for the purpose of procuring an abortion.
Washington, D.C. (August 17th) — After watching the Netflix documentary, "Our Father," Congresswoman Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) introduced H.R. 8600, the Protecting Families from Fertility Fraud Act. This legislation would establish a new federal crime for knowingly misrepresenting the nature or source of DNA used in assisted reproductive procedures and other fertility treatments. This new crime sets a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and includes fines and mandatory restitution to victims.
Cheyenne, OK (August 17th) – Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) will hold town hall meetings in Creek, Osage, Kay, Pawnee, and Payne Counties on Monday, August 22nd and Tuesday, August 23rd. Residents around the locations are invited to attend and share their thoughts on current events in Washington, DC and across Oklahoma.
Tuesday is the Oklahoma Runoff Election, and voters all across the state will be heading to the polls to decide nominees in many different races. Below are a few of my voting picks. I know I'm just a lowly blogger, but hopefully the information in this post will be helpful with your voting plans.
If you don't know where to vote, or want to see your sample ballot, use this helpful link from the Oklahoma State Election Board to find out. Early voting continues today (8am to 6pm) and tomorrow (8am to 2pm) at your county election board.
Dark money has become a scourge in Oklahoma politics.
Clay Staires, candidate for State House District 66, is one of the conservatives being opposed by big-money, Chamber-style, establishment dark money groups. Watch this 2-minute video he put out talking about the DC-based dark money attacking him (and other conservative candidates):
OKLAHOMA CITY (August 17th) – Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, today said he is considering proposing legislation that could be brought forward in the House's current special session to assist Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in the current drought.
OKLAHOMA CITY (August 17th) – The Oklahoma-based public affairs firm Amber Integrated has released a survey measuring attitudes about the current political environment held by Republican voters likely to vote in the August 23 run-off elections.
There's some funny business going on in the House District 21 runoff down in Bryan and Marshall counties. A dark money group operated by the Choctaw Nation is funneling huge amounts of last-minute money -- all on behalf of an individual who is not on the ballot. It appears that this may be an attempt to circumvent ethics rules on behalf of one of the runoff candidates.
Patrick McGuigan, respected conservative journalist and inductee of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, is out with an editorial endorsing Josh Brecheen for Congress in the 2nd District runoff election.
As a general rule, there is something to commend about both candidates in any given runoff election in Oklahoma. But not always.
(Oklahoma City, August 16th) – Early voting for the August 23 Runoff Primary begins Thursday for voters in all seventy-seven (77) counties. Early voting is available Thursday, August 18 and Friday, August 19 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Early voting will also be available Saturday, August 20, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
As I dug into Frix's campaign donations, I discovered that this was not an isolated occurrance.
Voters should ask: why is it that anti-Trump, pro-Clinton/pro-Biden donors are pointedly choosing Frix in the GOP runoff?
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (August 16th) – A bill by Senator James Lankford (R-OK) along with Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) to simplify the process to apply for federal disaster recovery aid has advanced in the Senate. The bill would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a universal application across federal agencies for disaster survivors who are seeking federal assistance to recover from disasters. The bill was approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
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OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 15, 2022) – Governor Kevin Stitt announced the appointment of Ken McQueen to serve as Oklahoma’s Secretary of Energy and Environment following the resignation of Ken Wagner effective September 3, 2022.
On Wednesday, 2nd District GOP runoff candidate Avery Frix accepted a $5,000 maximum contribution from the UA Union Plumbers & Pipefitters Vote! Political Action Committee, an anti-Trump, pro-Obama, pro-Clinton, pro-Biden labor union with deep pockets for liberal candidates.
This PAC is a huge supporter of left-wing candidates, with 91%+ of their tens of millions of dollars in donations going to Democrats, and the remainder generally going to the most moderate Republicans in office.
Republican voters in the 2nd Congressional District will get a chance to watch a live debate between Josh Brecheen and Avery Frix on this coming Tuesday, August 16th, on News On 6 (KOTV-Tulsa).
Chairman McBride suggests immediate teacher bonuses to address shortage
OKLAHOMA CITY (August 10th) – The House education budget chairman on Wednesday suggested Oklahoma immediately offer teachers relocation and retention bonuses funded by a portion of more than a billion dollars of federal pandemic relief funding available to the public education system.
House Appropriations & Budget Education Subcommittee Chairman Mark McBride, R-Moore, suggested the State Department of Education and local districts collaborate to offer $4,000 relocation bonuses for public school teachers who move to Oklahoma and $5,000 retention bonuses for existing teachers who stay here.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 9, 2022) – Governor Kevin Stitt responded to President Joe Biden and the Democrats’ disastrous $740 billion spending bill:
OKLAHOMA CITY (August 10th) – State Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, released the following statement after the FBI raid of former President Trump’s home on Monday night.
“This rogue Biden regime continues to outdo itself. This weaponization of the FBI and the DOJ against former President Trump is unprecedented and should frighten those who cherish their freedoms.
Lankford, Cotton, Colleagues Move to Stop Contraband Cellphone Use in Prisons
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (August 8th) – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) to introduce the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act, legislation to prevent contraband cellphone use in federal and state prison facilities by allowing state and federal prisons to use cell phone jamming systems. The bill gives state and federal prisons the authority to implement a jamming system to protect inmates, guards, and the public at large. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Kennedy (R-LA), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined Lankford and Cotton in introducing the bill. Representative David Kustoff (R-TN) introduced companion legislation in the House Of Representatives.
Roberts Campaign Comments on Dirty Attacks by Liberal Leslie and Corrupt Campaign Consultant Fount Holland
(August 8th) Today, the Roberts for Labor team was notified about a press release asking for Roberts to resign his candidacy for Oklahoma Labor Commissioner. The press release was a political hit job pushed by Liberal Leslie, corrupt consultant Fount Holland, and Rep. Carol Bush, a Fount Holland client who endorsed Democrat Kendra Horn for US Congress.
This political hit, masquerading as a press release, was designed to go after Roberts for allegations relating to his first marriage 22 years ago. Roberts' ex-wife has released the attached statement detailing these erroneous lies and endorsing him for Oklahoma Labor Commissioner. Our campaign now calls on Representatives Bush, Townley, Roe, and Hasenbeck, as well as Senator Garvin, to stop harassing Roberts' ex-wife and immediately issue apologies.
Corrupt political consultant Fount Holland is best known to most Oklahomans for facing felony charges with then State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister and three others in 2016 for illegal contributions to Hofmeister's campaign.
Oklahoma schools devote a larger share of funding to non-instructional uses than their counterparts in several surrounding states and a dramatic surge in administrative spending in some of Oklahoma’s largest school districts suggests that situation is poised to get worse, based on data in a recent report by a state watchdog agency.
In a report reviewing Oklahoma’s K-12 public-school funding, officials with the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) found that administrative spending in Oklahoma schools is growing at a faster pace than instructional spending.
LOFT found that, between 2010 and 2021, Oklahoma public schools’ administrative expenditures increased by 40 percent while spending on instruction grew at a slower rate of 35 percent.
National and state headlines may lead Oklahoma parents to fear “woke” indoctrination in public schools is inevitable and cannot be stopped. That’s not the case.
Indeed, actions taken in recent years are already bearing fruit.
A 2021 law, HB 1775, banned classroom instruction or staff training that advocates that “an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.” Thanks to that law, State Board of Education was recently able to penalize both Tulsa Public Schools and the Mustang district for violating the anti-Critical Race Theory law.
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| (In NYC on the IRPE-paid trip. L-R: Rep. Avery Frix, Rep. McDugle's then-mistress, Rep. Baker's husband, Rep. Kevin McDugle, Rep. Rhonda Baker) |
Tulsa's News On 6 and Oklahoma City's News 9 partnered with SoonerPoll to survey the Republican runoff elections for U.S. Senate, State Superintendent, and 2nd Congressional District. Here are the topline results:
I don't normally post press release about congressional letters, but this one I think rises to a level of importance. The purchase of American farmland by hostile entities such as Communist Chinese-connected individuals and corporations is something that must be stopped.
Lucas, Colleagues Call on USDA to Disclose Foreign Purchase of U.S. Farmland
Cheyenne, OK – Recently, Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) joined Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting information about USDA’s process for compiling data and reporting on foreign purchases of U.S. agricultural land. Foreign ownership of domestic agricultural land has risen sharply in recent years, with Chinese land holdings alone increasing from 13,720 acres to 352,140 acres between 2010 and 2020.
While I understand the wisdom of having some savings put back for the state... nearly three billion dollars (over a quarter of the annual budget) seems a bit much. That is money which has been wrung from the taxpayer. How about giving some of it back?
OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug 3, 2022) – Governor Kevin Stitt achieved a historic $2.8 billion in state savings with the close of FY 2022. Under Governor Stitt’s strict fiscal management, Oklahoma has seen 3 years of historic General Revenue Funds collections and unprecedented state savings growth.
Too often, government officials assess the effectiveness of “economic development” like the guy who brags about winning $100 on a scratch-off ticket after spending $1,000 on the lottery. But this approach ignores the true cost.
Such is the case with corporate welfare as highlighted by the failure of “Project Ocean.” Advanced by officials this year, the project was a nearly $700 million corporate-welfare program. But even lavish subsidies failed to attract Panasonic. We all need to understand why.
