This is a community blog operated by Oklahoma liberals dedicated to taking back this state for the people. A courageous band of true patriots, we fight right-wing tyranny in one of the reddest of red states. Do you want to help by keeping a diary here? Do you want traffic back to your blog? We welcome diaries written by liberals and centrist/ conservative Democrats. Register to the right and start posting. Crossposting is allowed. If you need help, contact Kurt, kurt.hochenauer@gmail.com.
After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld one of the country's strictest voter ID laws in April, several states rushed to pass similar bills before the year's end. By December, more than 25 states introduced legislation to require voter ID at the polls. Though none of these bills were successful this year, lawmakers in several states are hoping to revive such restrictive requirements in 2009.
Since July of this year, at least seven states have pre-filed or carried over voter ID legislation for the 2009-2010 sessions, including Nevada, Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Blue Oklahoma recently received the following information:
A change.gov community discussion about health care reform and the vision of quality, affordable health care for all Americans will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Dec. 29 at the Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City.
Participants can just show up or they can rsvp and find out more here.
Mayflower Congregational Church is located at 3901 NW 63rd Street.
As the entire country moves left, why does Oklahoma stubbornly cling to its conservatism?
I was at the Tulsa County Democratic Party watch party when CNN announced that Barack Obama had won the 2008 presidential election. The room erupted in cheers, and more than a few people were moved to tears. I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I had to find a quiet corner away from the news cameras where I could sit and soak in the moment.
The Oklahoma Observer is increasing its web presence, and that's great post-election news for liberals in Oklahoma.
Arnold Hamilton. pictured right in the YouTube video, and his wife, Beverly, now operate the journal, which is an important Oklahoma institution. They took over the publication from legendary Frosty Troy and his late wife, Helen. Troy still writes for The Observer.
Progressive bloggers and writers in the state owe much to Troy, who has relentlessly stood up to the rich and powerful in this state. He paved the way. The Observer has been one of the few, consistent liberal voices in Oklahoma for more than three decades. It has provided an extended forum for liberals to discuss state issues outside of Oklahoma's conservative corporate media. The publication remains influential in the state political scene.
The Observer motto is: "To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."
Hamilton recently announced The Observer was improving its Web site. "In the coming months," Hamilton writes, "we believe you'll find it a must-stop on your daily Internet rounds, an indispensable read to stay in the know on Oklahoma government and politics."
The journal offers subscriptions to both its print and online versions. Check it out.
(This was crossposted on Okie Funk.--Kurt Hochenauer)
OU Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford deserves every award and accolade he's been given in recent days. He's an amazing football player and, by all accounts, an excellent student.
Bradford has won the Heisman Trophy and the Davey O'Brien award. He was selected as a first-team All-American by the Associated Press.
I'm pleased to announce Bradford has also won the Okra Player of the Year award given, well, by myself, misterokrahead of Blue Oklahoma.
This award doesn't come with a trophy or a ceremony, but when the Gators go down Jan. 8, okras will dance in the fields.
We know that youth turnout is very difficult to actually count because so many states (I'm talking about you Kansas and Oklahoma) don't parse data based on little things like age or gender or any identifying information other than who voted for which candidate. I guess we should be grateful, right?
Sadly, we have to use exit polling to understand how these young people voted in so many states. Exit polling is traditionally unreliable because they disproportionately survey older voters and as we know young voters are difficult to both find and contact (what with that darn modern technology and all...).
Battleground states have more accurate data because everyone needs to know every little tiny vote. Also states with more sophisticated election boards or Secretaries of State tend to have data available for people like us who want to take a closer look without having to deal with a partisan infrastructure for data. Not very independent...
What I've been looking at this week is comparing states that have active youth outreach vs. states that don't and how the turnout differed.
Montana has had Forward Montana working on the ground since before the 2006 election. They are active every month of every year, not just in the lead up to an election.
This year Montana had a 22% turnout in the exits that went for Obama 61/37. In 2004 it was 21% of the vote share but they went for Bush 52/43.
With the economic disaster facing the United States, we may live through the 1930s again. If we learn the values of cooperation and sacrifice, we may come out of this mess stronger than we were before.
By Bryan Lower
The influence that the Great Depression had on American cannot be overstated. Economists mark the Great Crash of 1929 like it was the birth of Christ. The decade of privation that followed was America's long journey through the wilderness. Her very survival was in question, and there was uncertainty about what kind of country she would be when she emerged from the morass. Would America still be the home of free enterprise? Would democracy prevail? Would the communists gain a foothold in the land of the free?
I'm sure a lot of people really do enjoy going to Applebee's. It's easy, it's cheap, and the service and food are safe and predictable. It's the same quality of service and food you'll get at Chili's, and at TGI Fridays, at the Olive Garden, and any number of the other chain restaurants dotting the city. Waiters and waitresses are bubbly and friendly, they wear cute outfits, and they always have an extensive menu of easily recognizable and non-threatening food.
The problem is that none of it is actually good food. The food lies there, limply on the plate, telling you, "Some kid making $8 an hour has made 100 of me during today's shift, assembling products from a menu designed by a corporation hundreds of miles away." Sure, the food is fine, and it won't kill you, and it'll fill your belly, but does it really excite you? Are you positively engaged in the dining experience, or are you just eating food?
Over at my own blog, I've written a fairly extraneous preface to these awards, and a more pertinent rationale for each choice, which you can read here.
I hate to admit the guilty pleasure I had in seeing the state's metro dailies go at each other recently over the amount of money Tulsa and Oklahoma City hospitals receive for indigent health care.
The Oke started the volley:
"We have advocated for a stop to claims that Tulsa's been treated unfairly when it comes to indigent-care spending. ... This issue shouldn't be yet another bedlam competition."
The World responded:
"Oklahoma City facilities are touted as regional destinations for certain types of services, and it's true they are, in large measure because taxpayers have subsidized those facilities since statehood, making them the premier health-care institutions that they are."
Anytime the Oke and the World call each other out, I have a smile on my face for the rest of the day. It's sort of like seeing a rich uncle lose his composure at Christmas because someone mentioned his deadbeat son.
Yet my favorite comment came from State Treasurer Scott Meacham (as quoted in the World):
"The reason Tulsa doesn't get as much money is because there isn't a state-owned facility there, which is why they want one."
Maybe I'm just slow, but that seems like some seriously circular reasoning, coming from a state official.
Digging through my files, I found some interesting stats that shed some light on who visits whom.
In 2005 Integris Southwest Medical Center, Integris Baptist Medical Center, OU Medical Center, Midwest Regional Medical Center, St. Anthony Hospital and Edmond Medical Center saw from 10,276 to 17,991 emergency room visits from each of four Zip codes in the Oklahoma City metro area.
We are starting a Drinking Liberally chapter in Oklahoma City and will be meeting every Tuesday night at the Bricktown Brewery, 1 N Oklahoma Ave (downstairs bar) 5PM-7PM starting on December 2, 2008.
We have a group that has been meeting there every week for over two years and we decided to form a Drinking Liberally chapter to help promote Progressive and Liberal ideas and provide a safe haven for all our left-leaning friends in Oklahoma City.
Here's a snippet from Saturday's issue of the Oke.
As always, the Oke's editorials speak entirely for themselves.
By any other name...
What's in a name change? Not much if it's the newly dubbed "OKWatchdog."
The Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights, a trial lawyer front group, says the new name "more clearly reflects" the organization's purpose, which we would argue is to keep the world safe for trial lawyer enrichment.
OKWatchdog "will be Oklahomans' eyes, ears and conscience," among other tasks, its executive director said in a news release. He lists a range of anti-business activities on which the group will concentrate. We continue to wonder why these groups don't just call themselves what they are.
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, for example, changed its name to the American Association for Justice, but there remains an American Trial Lawyers Association whose membership includes such luminaries as Gloria Allred, who represented Paula Jones in her sexual harassment case against Bill Clinton.
We presume OKWatchdog will vigorously oppose the agenda of the American Tort Reform Association, which isn't afraid to call itself what it is.
The Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights is now OKWatchdog.
As the state's leading voice for consumers and patients, we think the new name more clearly reflects our purpose.
We intend to be Oklahomans' eyes, ears and conscience at the Capitol, in communities and in the public forum. What makes us unique is that we are focused on Oklahoma. Ordinary Oklahomans need a voice. Our mission is to give them one.
The name isn't the only thing to change.
Our action-oriented Web site, www.okwatchdog.org, includes a large collection of consumer information and research, and provides simple ways to get involved. We also have a companion site for cell phones and other mobile devices.
Most of us don't have the time or knowledge to focus on issues that could impact our well-being. OKWatchdog will continue to provide Oklahoma-specific resources to help people to take charge of their lives.
OKWatchdog appears on popular social networking sites and nonprofit portals. We have profiles on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Change.org, Idealist.org, YouTube and Twitter.
With our new name, user-friendly Web site and social networking presence, we intend for OKWatchdog to be a one-stop shop for information on abusive insurance companies, identity theft and everything in between.
Visitors to www.okwatchdog.org can find out how powerful forces seek to cut ordinary Oklahomans out of decisions that affect them and learn how to fight back. They can research topics ranging from automobile safety to the five-year anniversary of lawsuit reform in Texas. They can write letters to the editor and contact their legislators, all with the click of a mouse.
OKWatchdog continues the evolution of consumer advocacy in the state. We began in 2005 as the Oklahoma Center for Consumer & Patient Safety. We became the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights this summer.
Our accomplishments over the last three years include:
-Spotlighting legislators' support for consumer and patient safety during the 2007 and 2008 sessions
-Drawing attention to nursing homes' reckless practice of not carrying insurance
-Issuing regular white papers, reports and alerts on issues of importance to Oklahomans
-Mobilizing opponents of deep cuts to public services from the Taxpayer Bill of Rights
-Offering an alternative viewpoint to the propaganda of Big Insurance, corporate CEOs and those they control
Hospital patient advocacy continues to be a major initiative for us. According to a landmark 1999 report from the Institute of Medicine, 98,000 hospitalized Americans die each year and 1 million more are injured due to preventable medical errors. Other focus areas include identity theft, protection of senior citizens and product safety.
I hope you find our new persona exciting, and I hope you continue to follow and support us.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we accept tax-deductible donations on our Web site and Facebook cause.
"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change." President-elect Barack Obama
Across the country, food banks are struggling to keep up with increased demand. And with the holidays approaching, Democrats Work is doing something about it. We need your help.
(Below you will find media information submitted to blue oklahoma or found on http://peacearena.org about tomorrow's rally. I have made minor editing changes.--Kurt Hochenauer)
There has been another location adjustment made. It seems we were double booked for the steps of the State Capitol Building, so the rally has been moved back to the City Hall, which is at:
200 N. Walker
Oklahoma city, OK
73102
Sorry about the confusion!
Meeting Time and date: Saturday, November 15th at 12:30 P.M
We will be having a pre-action and sign making gathering
When: Friday, November 14th at 7 pm 'til as long as needed.
Where: The address is 1147 NW 79th Street - Oklahoma City . That's within a block of Western Avenue by the Western and Wilshire intersection. Call 537- 7763 if you need directions.
If you can bring sign making supplies: poster boards, paints, markers, slats ΒΌ" wooden slats, staple guns, chips, dip, drinks, etc. Nothing required though.
We have a few speakers currently lined up for the demonstration, for example:
C. Sean Spivey
Jim Nimmo
Carpooling is encouraged, and carpool groups will be meeting at Angles at 11:30 am and will head to the City Hall at noon. Please, let me know if you're going to be offering rides from Angles Club.
Angles Club
2117 NW 39th St
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
Guy Peters and Katie Austin have offered to help with recording the rally. If anyone else wants to assist with the documentation, feel free.
Aviva Pressman has offered to help lead us in song.
Based only on the Official Facebook Event Page, we currently have 144 confirmed participants, 251 potential participants, and 950 have yet to respond.
Forgive me for just posting a link, but it's 1 AM and I'm too tired to repost. I just want to point to a post I just made on my own blog about something wonderful I heard on the radio today which I think Blue Oklahomans will also enjoy.
This op-ed appeared yesterday in The Edmond Sun. If you've read all there is to read about the presidential race but still need your progressive fix, please read on.
Texas tort reform not so alluring
Jeff Raymond
November 04, 2008 11:56 pm
- The allure of Texas to tort reform backers is unmistakable. It also has proved a red herring.
You've probably read about how Proposition 12, Texas' 10-gallon tort reform, has rejuvenated our neighbor's health care system and made the state a haven for well-intentioned doctors fleeing runaway juries.
Too bad things aren't that simple. Nothing gets in the way of a good tale like the truth.
"Five years later, the ($250,000) cap is being credited for slashing liability insurance premiums, boosting the ranks of doctors in the state, and improving medical access to patients," the American Medical Association crowed last month (See "5 years of tort reform: Lone Star success story," American Medical News, Sept. 15, 2008).
Yes, tort reform has brought doctors to Texas. They just haven't flocked to areas that need them most, undercutting what was perhaps supporters' strongest argument in favor of passing the constitutional amendment.
The Texas Observer chronicled the influx of doctors (See "Baby, I Lied," Oct. 19, 2007) and made some disturbing findings.
Prior to Proposition 12's passage 152 counties had no obstetrician. Four years later the number remained the same. Moreover, 49 percent of Texas counties had no obstetrician, neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon, and a number of counties had no physicians.
"Proposition 12, and the far-reaching changes in Texas civil law that it dragged behind it, was built on a foundation of mistruths and sketchy assumptions. The number of doctors in the state was not falling, it was steadily rising," the newspaper reported, citing Texas Medical Board data.
"There was little statistical evidence showing that frivolous lawsuits were a significant force driving increases in malpractice premiums.
"The campaign's promise, that tort reform would cause doctors to begin returning to the state's sparsely populated regions, has now been tested for four years. It has not proven to be true," the newspaper concluded.
A study in the recent issue of Health Affairs examined county-by-county data to determine how often doctors move, where they go and why they go there (See "The Diffusion Of Physicians," September/October 2008).
"The overall tendency of movers was to go to places with lower physician-to-population ratios but higher per capita incomes and lower unemployment," the authors wrote. "These trends, if they continue, may help decrease access to physician care in rural and urban underserved areas."
Doctors, it turns out, move for many of the same reasons the rest of us move and choose many of the same places.
However, the most important factor in where physicians choose to practice, the authors found, is residency location.
Research shows Oklahoma doesn't have a shortage of doctors, either.
The Journal Record newspaper (See "Is Oklahoma losing doctors?" April 3, 2008) found 4,787 medical doctors and 880 medical and osteopathic physicians, respectively, practiced in the state in 1997. By 2007 the numbers had risen to 5,718 and 1,324, respectively.
Oklahoma's mid-2007 population estimate was 3,617,316, Census data show. Its mid-1997 population estimate was 3,372,900. This is a 7 percent increase.
The state's doctor population grew by 24 percent during the same decade.
If improving access to health care is the goal, tort reform has failed to live up to its promise in the Lone Star State. That's one distinction we should let Texas keep.
JEFF RAYMOND is executive director of the Oklahoma Foundation for Consumer & Patient Rights.
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We know that youth turnout is very difficult to actually count because so many states (I'm talking about you Kansas and Oklahoma) don't parse data based on little things like age or gender or any identifying information other than who voted for which candidate. I guess we should be grateful, right?
