TMM forum: faithful response to “gun violence”

The Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry in a recent press release declares that “gun violence” is a catalyst for conversation – a contradiction as guns cannot be violent – guns are inanimate.

The stated goal is to “have a conversation take place through the minds of faithful people, who may well have different opinions on gun control, or gun rights or reasons for so much gun violence, but who wish to bring HOPE to the destruction and despair that is caused by gun violence.

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Interview with Dewey Bartlett

In the race for Mayor of Tulsa, Dewey Bartlett is the incumbent having served for over three years.  In this exclusive Tulsa Today interview, Bartlett discusses the job, the city, and the first so-called “non-partisan” race in Tulsa’s history.

Question: Mayor Bartlett, would you describe the state of the City when you took office.

Question: Mayor Bartlett, would you describe the state of the City when you took office.

Bartlett: The big event the first day, December 7, at 11:00 am was when City Finance Director Mike Kier told me that the budget projections (twice previously revised downward) were off in the final tally by about $2 million.   The check for sales taxes arrived that day from the State of Oklahoma.  At the rate the City of Tulsa was spending money, we would be out of cash and unable to pay the salaries of employees by March.  To make it to the end of the fiscal year we would have to cut our expenses by $10 million – which meant significant layoffs.

My first thought: he was joking.  He wasn’t.  I called my staff for a meeting and Kier made the presentation again and, when he was done, the entire room was shocked silent.

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Drought relief measure heads to Governor

On Monday, the Oklahoma Senate gave unanimous approval to a measure that will help provide financial assistance around the state during severe droughts.

House Bill 1923, authored by Rep. Dale DeWitt and Ron Justice, would create the Emergency Drought Relief Fund and an Emergency Drought Commission.

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Drought relief measure heads to Governor

On Monday, the Oklahoma Senate gave unanimous approval to a measure that will help provide financial assistance around the state during severe droughts.

House Bill 1923, authored by Rep. Dale DeWitt and Ron Justice, would create the Emergency Drought Relief Fund and an Emergency Drought
Commission.

“Our state is going through one of the worst droughts in its history.  Water plays a critical role in our daily lives, and we’ve seen how devastating not having it can be for our agricultural community, municipalities, counties, and private citizens,” said Justice, R-Chickasha.  “We tend to take for granted that water will always be available but we’ve learned that isn’t always the case.  It’s imperative that we have a fund for emergency drought relief activities to protect our state from the devastating effects of a severe drought.”

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China agrees Korean peninsula must be denuclearized

China’s top diplomat agreed Saturday that nuclear weapons must be removed from the Korean peninsula amid the North’s heightened rhetoric with its missile and nuclear testing.

During a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry to Beijing; China expressed support in negotiating with the isolate, ignorant starving totalitarian nation to stabilize the region Fox News is reporting.

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