OK Supremes divide on Tulsa DA race

By David Arnett

TulsaJusticeUpdated: The Tulsa County District Attorney’s race became a great deal more complicated today with a divided decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court rendered in favor of Representative Fred Jordan’s campaign for the office.

While the Oklahoma Constitution prohibits a legislator from taking public office during the term of a Legislature which has voted to increase the emoluments (salary, benefits, etc.) for that office; the Court ruled the prohibition “inapplicable” if the candidate is “incapable of commencing” the work of the office “until after the conclusion of the legislator’s term.” The Majority opinion noted Jordan’s term will end on November 19, 2014 and the term of the district attorney will begin on January 5, 2015.

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One Jew’s Open Letter to the World

A friend in Israel & CAIR-OK

Editor’s Note: Liberty Counsel received the following from Israel: one man’s story from inside the only democracy in the Middle East.  Following his letter, a release from the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) is quoted.

IsraelDefenseIt has taken me some days to write down something coherent… but this is how I feel tonight. I feel like I weigh 500 pounds. Everyone I know feels like they are walking through water. And sad. We are all so very, very sad. This is what I know right now, today:

The ugliness, the venom and sheer, violent hatred you are seeing in Paris, London, Berlin, LA, Boston, Denver…. this is just the beginning. We Jews are the canaries in the coal mine for all of humanity. Today, they are throwing bricks at synagogues and smashing chairs and saying “Kill the Jews.” Tomorrow it will be someone else.

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Grand Jury calls for removal of Greer County Court Clerk

Sandy Hopingardner

Sandy Hopingardner

The Oklahoma Multicounty Grand Jury has issued a removal application against the Greer County court clerk, Attorney General Scott Pruitt said Thursday. The removal application issued by the multicounty grand jury accuses Sandy Hopingardner of financial mismanagement in her duties as Greer County court clerk.

Hopingardner is accused of failing to maintain accurate and complete financial business records, failing to use monies collected and deposited in the Greer County Treasurer’s Office designated for the court’s operations and failing to collect and disburse fees and assessments to appropriate agencies including the Oklahoma Court Information System Revolving Fund, the Office of Attorney General Victim Services Unit and the Greer County District Attorney’s Office, among others.

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Bill to eliminate unnecessary, outdated reports

Senator Tom Coburn

Senator Tom Coburn

Today, U.S. Senators Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) and Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced S. 2651, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General Mandates Revision Act of 2014, which would eliminate excessive, unread and outdated reports mandated by federal law.

“Congress mandates hundreds of reports that often waste valuable time and resources on unnecessary and outdated products that no one reads. S. 2651 attempts to relieve this burden for the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General. This legislation will provide flexibility for the office to perform more important audits vital to its oversight function and mission of preventing waste, fraud, and abuse,” Dr. Coburn said.

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John Feehery: How to win voters

Senate1In a recent column for The Hill, John Feehery suggests that prospective politicians could learn a great deal from Dale Carnegie.

Feehery writes: Amid the Great Depression, Dale Carnegie’s book, How To Win Friends and Influence People, was published by Simon & Schuster and went on to be one of the biggest-selling self-help books in history.

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