Category Archives: Tulsa Speaks

Forbes covers OK shame in civil forfeiture

PoliceCivilForfeitureAnalysis: The story on Forbes.com posted February 18 and continues national interest in an Oklahoma issue hotly debated and previously covered (here, here and here) by Tulsa Today. Civil forfeiture is how Oklahoma district attorneys can take your cash, guns and vehicles (top three seized) without a criminal conviction. It is literally both highway and home robbery.

Forbes begins: Without ever having to file criminal charges, police are routinely seizing (and keeping) cash, cars and other valuables. Known as “civil forfeiture,” the practice has netted law enforcement billions of dollars in revenue nationwide. Determined to end unjust forfeitures, an unusual coalition of libertarians, constitutional conservatives and civil-rights activists have banded together to press for reform in state legislatures across the country.

And nowhere has that battle raged fiercer than in Oklahoma.

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Bartmann pleads for Sanders/Clinton alternative

Bill Bartmann

Bill Bartmann

Analysis:  Reuters reports, “A prominent Democratic donor worried about the party’s chances of winning the presidency emailed dozens of fans of Vice President Joe Biden on Friday, urging them to remain prepared to donate if Biden jumps into the race.”

Yes, Tulsan Bill Bartmann, never known to shy from hubris, apparently understands enough history to warn fellow Democrats that proud Socialist Bernie Sanders and closet Socialist Hillary Clinton cannot win the next presidential election in the United States of America.

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Bernie Sanders’ $19.6 trillion in tax hikes

BernieSandersAnalysis: The Washington Examiner recently posted details of Sen. Bernie Sanders plans to raise taxes on every American.  Yes, someone has to pay for all the free-stuff government under the socialist (as he proudly declares) or communist (as some suspect) Sanders promises to deliver.

History shows the choice is between free-stuff or freedom so what’s the plan to pay?

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Estela Hernandez to join OCPA

Estela Hernandez

Estela Hernandez

Analysis: Oklahoma Republican Vice Chairman Estela Hernandez announced Sunday afternoon to the State GOP Executive Committee by email that she will submit a letter of resignation from that position today to join the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs tomorrow, January 19. The OK GOP is losing a significant talent gracious under fire.

Hernandez wrote in part, “I want to begin by thanking each of you for all your support and encouragement you have given me. Thank you for your time and commitment by serving on the OK GOP Executive Committee.  I respect and admire each of you and it has been a privilege to work along side you.

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Dems damned to define difference

Democratic presidential candidates from left, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee take the stage before the CNN Democratic presidential debate Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Democratic presidential candidates on stage before the CNN Democratic presidential debate Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Editorial: It’s another damning moment for the Democratic Party.  Apparently they can’t find a difference in the policies of their party and socialism. Hillary Clinton, in an otherwise friendly interview on MSNBC, struggled to answer that question Tuesday when asked by host Chris Matthews. (We have no idea if Mathew’s leg was quivering so don’t ask.)

At first, the Democratic presidential front-runner seemed to suggest the question should be directed at her rival in the race, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist.

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