Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin was named vice chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) during the closing session of the annual NGA meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia on Sunday. 

Fallin previously served on the NGA Executive Committee. Delaware Gov. Jack Markell was named NGA chairman. Fallin is a Republican and Markell is a Democrat; the chair and vice-chair rotate political parties each year.

Fallin is the first NGA vice chair from Oklahoma and the first Republican woman to serve as vice chair. She is the third woman of either party to hold the position.
   
“I’m honored to have been selected by my peers to serve as NGA vice chair.  It’s not only a privilege for me personally, it’s also a welcome acknowledgement of the legislative successes we’ve made in Oklahoma and the state’s continued economic growth and forward progress,” Fallin said.  “The NGA is a well-respected and trusted source of innovative public policy solutions for our nation’s governors.  I’m excited by the opportunity to serve and eager to share the great ideas and policies of the Sooner State with the rest of the NGA.”

The NGA was founded in 1908. Its members are the governors of the states, territories and commonwealths. Among the services the NGA provides to governors is representing states on Capitol Hill and developing innovative solutions to public policy challenges through the NGA Center for Best Practices.
 
The NGA is governed by a nine-member Executive Committee elected by all governors in attendance at their Annual Meeting. The NGA chair and vice chair are voting members of the Executive Committee.

The chair, in consultation with the vice chair, makes all committee and task force assignments.

Led by the chair and vice chair, governors set the association’s priorities and determine its activities.

The Vice Chair also is the chair of the NGA Center for Best Practices Board.

As the spouse of the NGA vice chair, Oklahoma First Gentleman Wade Christensen will now serve as the vice chair of the NGA Spouses’ Leadership Committee. 

According to newly released evidence from the FBI, there appears to be no racial motivation in George Zimmerman’s killing of Trayvon Martin.

As NBC Miami reports:
The FBI found no racial bias behind George Zimmerman’s shooting of Miami Gardens teen Trayvon Martin, according to dozens of documents related to the case released Thursday.
 
Chris Serino, the lead investigator in the case, told the FBI that while Zimmerman was “overzealous” and had a “little hero complex,” but was not racist. Co-workers, neighbors, and friends of Zimmerman said he did not have any racial bias. Nonetheless, the DOJ investigation into the killing as a hate crime is still open, no doubt in large part to the initial media bias that turned the Trayvon killing into a national story.
 
The documents also show a political motivation at work in the Trayvon arrest. Sanford Police Sgt. Arthur Barns said the black community “would be in an ‘uproar’ if ZIMMERMAN is not charged. The community will be satisfied if an arrest takes place. As for the civil rights investigation, it is determined to be a violation of Trayvon Martin’s civil rights then it will reflect negatively on the Sanford Police Department and fingers will be pointed at them for not doing their job properly.”

Tulsa Today has noticed a significant lack of national media coverage of this FBI report.  However, on news web sites with more independent thinking like www.Breitbart.com where we first found this report, readers are posting comments significant in support for George Zimmerman including links to his defense fund:

George Zimmerman Defense Fund
P.O. Box 622793
Oviedo, FL 32762-2793
For information on the fund click here for www.gzdefensefund.com.