House Benghazi hearing live on C-SPAN

The US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee conducts a hearing today with Foreign Service officers focusing on information turned over to the committee by whistle-blowers on the Benghazi terrorist attacks. Click here to watch the hearings live beginning at 10:30 CST.

Buck Sexton provides background and offers a compelling analysis under the headline, “Benghazi Revelations Today Could Obliterate Obama’s Credibility and Sink Hillary’s 2016 Ambitions.”

Sexton, former CIA officer assigned to the Counter Terrorism Center and Office of Iraq Analysis has also served as an analyst for NYPD Intelligence Division. Sexton has field experience in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa with a B.A. in Political Science from Amherst College. Sexton writes:

We may finally learn the truth about Benghazi. Eight months have passed since the September 11th attacks on the U.S. Mission there, but a moment of reckoning has come. The House Oversight Committee has brought forth whistle-blowers with direct and unique knowledge of the Benghazi attack and the Obama administration’s inept, dishonest response to it.

Today could be politically devastating for the president and his party. Or it could merely solidify that which we already know about the Benghazi debacle.
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Governor Mary Fallin signs historic Workers’ Comp Reform

Governor Mary Fallin

Governor Mary Fallin today signed into law Senate Bill 1062, a bill that reforms the workers’ compensation system in Oklahoma. The bill, by Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman and House Speaker T.W. Shannon, seeks to reduce costs for businesses. It moves the state from a court-based workers’ compensation system to an administrative system, allowing for more timely processing of claims and reducing the adversarial nature of the process for both workers and employers.

“For decades, Oklahoma has had one of the most expensive and inefficient workers’ compensation systems in the country, a constant obstacle for business owners looking to expand operations or create more jobs,” Fallin said. “Senate Bill 1062 completely overhauls our flawed workers’ comp system, dramatically reducing the costs to businesses and freeing up private-sector resources that can be invested in jobs rather than lawsuits. Additionally, our reforms ensure injured workers are treated fairly and given the medical care needed to return to work. This is an important pro-growth policy that will help us attract jobs and build a stronger and more prosperous Oklahoma. My thanks go out to Pro Tem Bingman, Speaker Shannon and the entire Legislature for sending this bill to my desk.”
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Who owns you?

If hacked, the hacker owns the site – it’s a question of control – the good news for Tulsa Today is that we have recaptured this site and it is back in local hands. We have moved to a higher security server and we are redesigning. Now, dear reader, let’s talk as this redesign is underway.

Those who control your information control what you think you know and your priorities. They control your vote. They control your culture. Whoever controls your information controls you. We have been your independent reporting team in Tulsa and we change to fit your needs.

Tulsa Today (est. 1996) is the oldest independent online local news source on the Internet anywhere and we have often been targeted by those who would silence our voice. For three months, leading to the 2012 national election, Tulsa Today was hacked daily. Daily we applied the patch to remove the hack. The hack was back the same day. Every day the cycle continued until the storm “Sandy” rolled onto the Northeastern seaboard then that particular attack never came again.

Think about that for a moment. If a hacker from the northeast daily launches attacks on a local news and opinion site in Oklahoma then, in regard to the First Amendment and to use NASA’s phrase – Houston, we have a problem. A presumably intelligent computer savvy operator spends regular time over a considerable period to silence a community site halfway across the country… why?

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Gov. Fallin with legislative leaders agree

Staff Report

Governor Mary Fallin, Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman and House Speaker T.W. Shannon Tuesday announced agreement and impending action on key legislative items.

Included were major issues of income tax cuts, workers’ compensation reform and a plan to address long-term infrastructure needs. Three bills were identified as having the support of both the governor and majorities in the House and
Senate.

House Bill 2032 would cut the top income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 5.0 percent on January 1, 2015. It would cut the rate further, to 4.85 percent, on January 1, 2016. The second cut is contingent on total revenue growth in FY 2016 being equal to or greater than the FY 2016 fiscal impact of a 0.15 percent tax cut. The bill also provides for a total of $120 million to fund repairs to the Oklahoma State Capitol.
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Social Media Marketing in times of tragedy

Marsha Friedman

If you’re using social media for marketing, what should you say following a tragedy like the deadly blasts at the Boston Marathon on April 15?

The horrific elementary school shootings in Newtown, Conn.?

The October storm that took lives and devastated communities across the Northeast?

Sometimes, nothing at all.

The age of digital marketing brings with it new challenges, including how to respond during a national tragedy. Remember, as recently as Sept. 11, 2001, we had no MySpace, much less Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Except for email, no vehicle for delivering instantaneous marketing messages existed. After 9/11, one of the most painful days in American memory, most of us had time to pause, reflect and put on hold print, radio and TV marketing campaigns that might be viewed as inappropriate or offensive.

In recent months, there has been lively debate on this topic in the marketing community, including how and when to tie – or not to tie — a marketing message into the news of the day, a widely used strategy.

Gaffes can occur with the most innocent of intentions in any media content, marketing or not. Earlier in April, a new episode of the musical comedy “Glee” upset and angered parents in Newtown, Conn., because the plot featured a student bringing a gun to school, where it accidentally discharges.
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