Free Republic

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled against publicly funding the first-ever religious charter school in the United States, concluding that the measure would be unconstitutional.The state’s highest court ruled 7-1 Tuesday in the case of Drummond v. Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board that it was unlawful to publicly fund St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.“The framers' intent is clear: the state is prohibited from using public money for the ‘use, benefit or support of a sect or system of religion,’” stated the high court opinion. “The St. Isidore Contract violates the plain terms of Article 2, Section 5...

Oklahoma’s Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down the approval for the state’s soon-to-be-opened and highly contentious publicly funded religious charter school, a loss to religious conservatives in the state amid concerns of the blurring of religion and public school. The state Supreme Court ruled in a 6-2 decision that the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Catholic Charter School in Oklahoma City violates Oklahoma’s constitution, finding publicly funded charter schools must be nonsectarian. In its decision, the high court found the school is a governmental entity that, under state law, must be “equally free and open to all students as traditional...

The statehouse is on fire. Not literally, of course. No hook–and–ladder trucks surrounding the Capitol with sirens blaring and lights flashing. No firefighters hauling hoses up the steps and into the marbled halls. No television news helicopters circling. Metaphorically, however, Republican primary voters this week stoked embers of discontent into a bonfire that engulfed the Senate – and even singed the House where House Appropriations Chair Kevin Wallace was forced into an Aug. 27 runoff and Stillwater Rep. John Talley was defeated. Three incumbent senators – including the incoming Senate president pro tem – were dethroned. Three more barely survived....

A Boeing 737 aircraft suddenly plummeted to less than 500 feet of the ground over Oklahoma, terrifying residents who feared the jet was going to crash. Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 was still nine miles away from Will Rogers World Airport just after midnight on Wednesday, when records show it dived to between 400 and 500 feet as it flew over a high school in the City of Yukon. Doorbell camera footage showed the Boeing 737 MAX-8 then hovering above houses, before it flies out of frame. A resident was startled awake by the plane's engine and wondered if the aircraft...

Leadership of the Oklahoma Senate was in limbo on Wednesday following the defeat Tuesday of Ada Republican Sen. Greg McCortney in the primary election. McCortney had been elected by colleagues to be the next president pro tem of the Senate following the departure of Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, who was term-limited and could not run for reelection this year. McCortney, who was first elected to the Senate in 2016, emerged as a leader as lawmakers dealt in ensuing years with challenges ranging from serious revenue shortfalls to early regulation of the medical marijuana industry to the state’s response to...

The fractiousness accompanying the Oklahoma Republican Party’s supermajority status in state government showed itself again in Tuesday’s primaries. Four GOP incumbents, including the Senate president pro tem-elect, were defeated. Three, including the House Appropriations and Budget Committee chairman, were forced into the Aug. 27 runoffs. That might not seem like a lot — 21 other incumbents won primaries Tuesday — but until recently it would have been an almost unprecedented event. From 2000-2014, a total of only three incumbents lost primaries or runoffs. Then, in 2016 alone, three incumbents, all Republicans, were taken out. And in 2018, an even dozen...

Four Republican incumbents have lost primary battles for seats in the Oklahoma state legislature. Voters in all 77 counties in the southern state went to the polls on Tuesday to vote in a series of primary votes for state legislature positions and four incumbent GOP figures were defeated by challengers within their party. Oklahoma Senate floor leader Greg McCortney, who had been tapped as the next president pro tempore, lost the Republican primary to Jonathan Wingard in the Senate District 13 race. Wingard received 52 percent of the vote and McCortney received 48 percent. Only Republican candidates entered this race...

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A local hotel is offering up a reward after a bag with more than $1,200 in cash was stolen. The District Hotel was in the process of closing. The outdoor bartender was counting the money, put it in a bag and then set it down. “We were having a party here at the pool, and by closing, someone decided that they were going to go back and rob our outside bar here at the pool,” said Tim Selby, Co-Owner of District Hotel. They are in shock and disbelief that $1,200 was stolen from right under their...

Uniparty Republicans and teachers’ unions in Oklahoma recently concocted a new plan to sabotage the fight for educational freedom — silencing the state’s Department of Education. But their efforts failed. Make no mistake, their efforts weren’t about silencing me — they were about silencing parents in the fight for school choice in the Sooner State. I wish I were exaggerating, but I’m not. RINO Republicans in the Oklahoma legislature recently cut a deal with the union to silence my department. The language in the budget bill said the "Department of Education shall not be encumbered or expanded for the purpose...

OKLAHOMA CITY – Races for the statehouse on Tuesday saw some surprises. Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, lost to Republican challenger Jonathan Wingard, of Ada. McCortney, considered to be more moderate than some of his GOP colleagues, was the Senate Majority floor leader and was slated to become the next president pro tem. He did not immediately return a message left seeking comment. No Democrat, Libertarian or independent filed, so Wingard will represent Senate District 13. House Appropriations and Budget Chairman Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, faces a runoff with Republican Jim Shaw, of Chandler, for state representative District 32. They were the...

Republican Rep. Tom Cole, who was appointed chair of the House Appropriations Committee in April, is on defense in his state’s 4th Congressional District as one of the last remaining members of the Republican Party’s establishment wing.

The Libertarian Party of Florida’s Executive Committee approved a motion over the weekend calling for the Libertarian National Committee to investigate allegations concerning the validity of votes cast for the presidential ticket during the party’s recent national convention. The resolution, first shared via X on Sunday, urges the LNC to investigate claims that the presidential and vice-presidential nominations at the party’s recent national convention may have been compromised by ineligible votes. While the party states that it remains committed to supporting its 2024 presidential ticket and will place it on the ballot, the resolution highlights concerns about potential legal and...

If you live in these states, GO VOTE!

Former President Donald Trump is putting American workers first— unlike the incumbent leader in the White House now. Trump discussed the proposal of eliminating taxes on servers' tips in his pitch for a new policy position that could inch him closer to victory in November. The former president introduced the idea during a rally in Nevada over the weekend where many Americans work at hotels, restaurants, and in the entertainment business and rely on tips to make ends meet. “This is the first time I've said this and for those hotel workers and people that get tips, you're going to...

Oklahoma is one of three states holding key primary races next Tuesday, with newly appointed House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole‘s (R-OK) contest drawing more fireworks than the district has seen in years. Oklahoma is one of several Republican strongholds with competitive primaries for House seats in 2024 as Democrats look to flip the lower chamber back to their side and the GOP seeks to expand its razor-thin majority. Notable House races next week include Cole’s in the 4th Congressional District and Rep. Frank Lucas’s (R-OK) race in the 3rd District. Eyes are on the 4th District in particular, as...

An Oklahoma judge already facing a felony case in Texas in connection with an alleged drive-by shooting and road rage crash now faces an indictment for allegedly perpetrating a drive-by shooting at his brother in-law’s house in the Sooner State. Investigators said the victim was stopped at a traffic light and Lovell “nearly” pushed her car “into cross traffic.” After his arrest, the judge allegedly claimed not to remember anything about the shooting but acknowledged rear-ending the other driver who “cut him off.” Cops said he “did not admit the collisions were intentional,” though. Read the Oklahoma indictment here. The...

Political newcomer Paul Bondar is running to unseat incumbent Congressman Tom Cole in the Republican primary for Oklahoma’s Fourth Congressional District this June. Bondar’s campaign purchased ad time on Oklahoma television stations. This week, the ads began airing. Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole becomes chair of House Appropriations Committee “Paul Bondar is a successful businessman, devout Christian, and Trump Republican,” a narrator proclaims in Bondar’s ad. “Tom Cole voted with Democrats for billions in new deficit spending. Paul Bondar opposes new federal spending.”

An Oklahoma man is facing up to 12 years in prison for having ammunition in his carry-on bag at a Turks and Caicos airport, according to a GoFundMe page for his family. Ryan and Valerie Watson, the parents of two young children, were flying home from their island vacation, where they were celebrating a friend's 40th birthday, on April 12 when they were arrested at the airport. "They had their lives turned upside down when they tried to return home, as local airport security found four rounds of ammunition unknowingly left in a duff[le]bag from a deer hunting trip," a...

University of Texas which was laying off around 60 employees in order to belatedly comply with a state law prohibiting DEI. I say belatedly because the law in question took effect at the beginning of the year but it seems UT's first reaction wasn't to get rid of DEI offices and employees but instead to simply rebrand them. For instance, at the University of Texas the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement was renamed the Division of Campus and Community Engagement. But one of the authors of SB 17, the Texas DEI prohibition, caught wind of what was happening and...

<p>ENID, Oklahoma (AP) — Voters in the northwest Oklahoma city of Enid ousted a city council member with ties to white nationalism, according to unofficial results posted Tuesday on the Oklahoma Election Board website.</p><p>With all four precincts reporting in Enid’s Ward 1, results show voters chose to recall 42-year-old Judd Blevins. They instead selected Cheryl Patterson, a grandmother and longtime youth leader at an area church, to fill the seat.</p>