Hawks in the U.S. and Israel believe military action against Iran is justified because Iran enriches uranium for its nuclear power plants and medical uses. This enrichment activity is entirely legal under the Treaty for the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Nevertheless, hawks characterize this as a "nuclear weapons capability" and insist that it must cease, or be stopped by force. The U.S. and the world cannot afford another war.
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 ThinkProgress caught up with Lankford, a Republican, last week and asked him about his position on job discrimination against gay people.
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 dunk.
But is this good news? Does it point out an inherent problem for arena naming rights?
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 indignation based on Biblical teachings? Maybe it's coming soon. I wouldn't be surprised.
As we all know, Chesapeake Energy Corp. and its Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon have received an overwhelming amount of media and shareholder attention recently as the company has reported losses.
McClendon has stepped down as chairman of Chesapeake's board of directors, though he remains CEO, and agreed to end a program that allowed him to buy a stake in each of the company's wells. The company's largest shareholder group has urged the Chesapeake board "to be open to any offers to acquire the whole company" and a U.S. Senator has called for a Department of Justice investigation into some of the company's dealings.
("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 host Mike Malloy.)
In my last post, I cited a recent Media Matters report that criticized The Oklahoman for slanted coverage on the environmental safety of the natural gas drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking.
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 controversial drilling method on its editorial page.
(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 legislature this year, but she's still pushing for a smaller cut and automatic triggers for additional cuts in the future.
According to media reports, Fallin, a Republican, essentially blamed the Oklahoma Legislature for not having the "appetite" for a large cut in the income tax this year. Fallin's plan, passed by the Senate, would have dropped the top income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 3.5 percent next year.
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 execution is carried out.
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 Democratic legislators. The anti-abortion bill could have led to limits on birth control and in vitro fertilization methods, according to its opponents, and would have likely resulted in lawsuits. Even conservative Mississippi voted down a personhood ballot initiative.
"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 rate from 5.25 to 3.5 percent next year and then lower the rate by one-quarter of a percent each year revenue growth is 5 percent or more.
(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 recent devastating budget cuts and not implement a new tax cut. The Tulsa School District, for example, is in the process of eliminating 150 positions because of budget cuts.
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 than James Inhofe?" He also tweeted, "Oil Whore Jim Inhofe has betrayed every man and woman who lost their livelihood on the Gulf due to BP's overwhelming negligence..." and "We need to have Inhofe retire to a solar-powered gay bar."
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 right, search for ways to raise cash for the company. Now a Reuters article is citing several people who say $1.1 billion in loans made to McClendon that use his stake in the company's oil and gas wells as collateral have raised questions about his "fiduciary duty." Here's a key paragraph in the article:
Gov. Mary Fallin has vetoed a legislative bill that would reduce the legal liability of mobile home parks that allow residents to ride out storms in their offices.
Meanwhile, she has signed into a law a similar bill that reduces the legal liability of gun ranges, gun shops and gun shops if injuries occur at their businesses.
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 Keystone pipeline from Cushing to the Gulf Coast, an act that should have brought cheers not jeers from this crowd.
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-degree murder in the case.
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 policy, to cut government spending.
An Oklahoma senator has made a fresh attempt to bring creationist ideas as a challenge to evolution theory into the state's public science classrooms.
State Sen. Steve Russell, an Oklahoma City Republican, has filed a floor amendment to House Bill 2341, which originally dealt with textbook adoptions.
The amendment inserts the language of House Bill 1551 into the bill. HB 1551, originally sponsored by controversial state Rep. Sally Kern, an Oklahoma City Republican, finds certain topics, such as biological evolution, can cause controversy and requires school districts "to assist teachers to find more effective ways to present the science curriculum where it addresses scientific controversies." The bill, passed by the House, didn't receive a hearing in the Senate Education Committee and thus was presumed to be killed for the session.
Oklahoma has long been known as a place with kooky liquor laws. No cold beer in liquor stores, which can't sell mixers or ice. No wine or strong beer in grocery stores.
Remember "liquor by the wink" when you supposedly had to join a club and bring your own bottle to get a gin and tonic at a hotel bar?
The prevailing wisdom on all this for years is that the liquor store lobby and the Southern Baptist lobby have joined together in an unholy alliance to deprive Oklahomans of the same basic shopping convenience enjoyed by millions of people throughout the nation.
This is a community blog operated since 2006 by people dedicated to promoting and restoring progressive values in Oklahoma. A courageous band of patriots, we fight right-wing tyranny in one of the reddest of red states. Do you want to help by posting here? Do you want traffic back to your blog or site? We welcome posts written by liberals and centrist to conservative Democrats and Independents. Register above and start posting. Crossposting is allowed. Questions? Contact kurt.hochenauer@gmail.com.
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