May 10, 2007
On The Cover
Dissecting TABOR: Anatomy Of A Crooked Petition
By Pat Thompson
From the very first page I examined, I was amazed, and even appalled, at the gross and obvious discrepancies, and even fraudulent entries. With some 45 years experience as a court-qualified and certified Questioned Documents Examiner [handwriting expert], it is now second nature to me to quickly observe discrepancies between signatures and in analyzing and identifying handwriting.
What’s Inside
Frosty’s Notebook: Impeachment
By Frosty Troy
Democratic Congressional leaders have wisely chosen not to follow the impeachment path to oust Bush from an office he continues to disgrace. Few want the country to go through yet another traumatic process.
State Prisons Reach The Breaking Point
By Arnold Hamilton
The day of reckoning approaches for Oklahoma’s prisons. State lawmakers’ refusal to pay for their lock-‘em-up, throw-away-the-key approach to corrections is creating a crowding crisis that threatens another federal court takeover of the under-funded system.
GOP Breaks Pledge To Be Fair, Open
By Wallace Collins
I filed 13 bills for this session, none of which were heard by a full committee in the House.
Charter School Bill Damages Public Ed
Is a bill that would strengthen exclusive private charter schools the first step toward the Republican drive to destroy public education via charter schools and vouchers?
Republicans Kill Bill To Protect Unborn
An opportunity to help mothers and their unborn children was stifled by Republicans on the House floor.
Speaker’s Claims Simply Don’t Add Up
By David R. Morgan and Kenneth P. Kickham
Republican House Speaker Lance Cargill asserts that state government in Oklahoma has “grown dramatically” in recent decades. Has it? New research is conclusive: Oklahoma state government has not grown excessively given the corresponding expansion of the state’s economy. In fact, state government in Oklahoma has expanded more slowly than in most other states.
Sooner Poor Kids Need Health Care
A sad fact from the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy: There are 146,000 uninsured children in Oklahoma, with 84% [122,200] living in families whose income falls below 300% of federal poverty guidelines.
Hunger Task Force To Study Problem
The Oklahoma House of Representatives has unanimously approved legislation to set up a task force to study the issue of hunger in the state.
Josh Shipp Never Gave Up His Dream
By Lauren Merryman
After being abandoned at birth by his 17-year-old mother at an Oklahoma City hospital, Josh Shipp went through years of abuse.
Public Forum
America’s Sad State Of Affairs
By Bob Ward
Please advise me if I have suddenly become mentally ill. I listen to our corporate-controlled media on all levels and I see their propaganda machines working; their outrageous lying, and the total inability of Congress to change anything now or ever.
The Changing Role Of George W. Bush
By Kenny Belford
Remember back when we were children and part of playing involved dressing up, or donning some costume? “Who are you supposed to be?” was an often asked question.
CNN … Most Twisted Name In The News
By Sheila Samples
Thanks to the complete nervous breakdown of the U.S. media, it’s been a long, hard six years for those of us who believe that journalism exists for one reason only – to hold those in power to account, and to speak truth to that power.
Observations
The Beginning
You can bet HB 1804 won’t be the final word on “immigration reform” in the Oklahoma Legislature.
Tax Status
How many times have we preached it – Oklahoma is a LOW tax state, despite what the venal State Chamber and their Republican puppets in the Legislature maintain.
Wasted Billions
Think what that $500 billion wasted on the war in Iraq could have meant to the starving and HIV-ravaged children of the world.
Closed Shop
If Oklahoma remains a gerrymandered state you can thank the Oklahoma House Republican leadership.
Slander
On the way to passing legislation to allow cities and colleges to start charter schools, Rep. Jabar Shumate said this: “If the public schools were doing their jobs, charter schools wouldn’t be needed.” How dumb is that?
Slow But Sure
It has taken a long time, but women are getting their just due in state government jobs. The state has also increased minority employment.
