Free Republic

This week, The Heritage Foundation is updating its Voter Fraud Database with 89 new entries, including 75 convictions and a slew of overturned elections and civil fines targeting vote fraudsters. With these latest additions, the database now documents 581 cases of proven voter fraud and 848 criminal convictions. Heritage’s database proves not only that voter fraud is real and ongoing, but also that it is not isolated to any particular state or region. With the addition of cases from Nebraska and Oklahoma—two states previously unaccounted for in the database—Heritage now has documented proof of electoral fraud in 47 states. This...

OKLAHOMA CITY – Police say a fight over Star Trek and Star Wars led to an assault in the metro.Jerome Dewayne Whyte, 23, was arrested July 1 on a complaint of assault and battery, possession of marijuana and outstanding Oklahoma County warrants.Oklahoma City Police Department reports show that Whyte and another man were in the living room of an apartment in the 1400 block of NW 16 Street when they began arguing if Star Wars or Star Trek was better. The victim told police he became frustrated and stated "You're just a trick" before walking back to his room.

Oklahoma City barber shop responds after photo of Confederate flag haircut goes viral A haircut by a popular Oklahoma City barber shop has ignited a firestorm on social media. Employees at Fade N Up said a white customer requested a Confederate flag be shaved into his head by a black barber, and the barbershop posted the photo on social media. The photo created the firestorm on Facebook with many condemning the customer and the shop. However, the shop's owner said the picture doesn't tell the whole story. “I was thinking it was some racist-type stuff but, as he sat down...

East Central University said they will remove crosses, Bibles and other religious symbols from a campus chapel to appease a bunch of out-of-town agitators. It’s unclear when the Oklahoma school will commence with the Christian cleansing of the Kathryn P. Boswell Memorial Chapel. The chapel opened in 1957. “We will continue to use the building as we always have, for all faiths,” ECU President Katricia Pierson said in a statement to the Ada News. “We do not want to presume to embrace one faith over another. We support all cultures and attempt to make them comfortable when they are here.”...

Protests erupted in Tulsa, Okla. Saturday following the police shooting of a knife-wielding man outside a convenience store. Two deputies and one police officer shot and killed 29-year-old Joshua Barre, who is black, on Friday morning after receiving multiple 911 calls saying he carried “two butcher knives” and threatened people, police said, local media reported. Barre’s mother, Etta Jones Barre, described her son as “mentally ill,” CNN affiliate KTUL reported

On 17 May, 2017, SB 35, the recognition of military, guard and reserve members to carry concealed weapons based on a military, reserve, or national guard valid I.D. card, was signed into law by Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin.SB 35 was popular in the legislature. It passed the Senate on 15 March, 2017, 40-2.  It was amended on 11 April in the House. It passed the House  on 19 April, 2017, 85 – 0.The amended version then passed the Senate unanimously, 46-0. It was signed by Governor Fallin on 17 May, 2017.Many states accept military service as meeting the requirement for...

Since February, the EPA has announced some two dozen major regulatory actions on climate, water pollution, pesticide use and other areas. Trump’s executive orders calling for the elimination of Obama’s Clean Power Plan and of a rule protecting small and intermittent waterways rank as the highest-profile moves. “Administrator Pruitt is implementing President Trump’s executive orders to protect the environment, save manufacturing jobs and promote American energy independence,” spokeswoman Liz Bowman said. The EPA is revisiting tighter fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks as well as standards that would cut emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from existing...

Former Sen. Tom Coburn reiterated his calls for an Article V Convention to rein in the federal government. Mr. Coburn first proposed the Article V convention idea when he was still in the Senate, but the idea has started to get traction with 12 states signing on to be part of it. The proposal aims to re-balance the branches of government and the federal and state governments as well. An Article V Convention can be invoked when two-thirds of state legislatures call to change the Constitution.

OKLAHOMA CITY - A group of conservative Oklahoma legislators is catching heat over comments made exclusively to News 9 about their budget proposal. Friday, students sat in legislators chairs, tackling some of the same issues lawmakers deal with. One thing on their minds is a proposal to identify students here illegally and report them to authorities. “I grew up with people that had illegal parents and that weren’t here legally. And they’re doing so much with their lives now because they’ve had this opportunity,” said student Bailey Rodriguez. “So knowing the fact they could not have this opportunity and be...

Republican Rep. Mike Ritze told CBS affiliate KWTV that he has another proposal in mind: rounding up the state’s 82,000 non-English-speaking students and handing them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Identify them and then turn them over to ICE to see if they truly are citizens, and do we really have to educate noncitizens?” Ritze asked.

Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin says his department is seeking to close perhaps more than 1,100 VA facilities nationwide as it develops plans to allow more veterans to receive medical care in the private sector. At a House hearing Wednesday, Shulkin said the VA had identified more than 430 vacant buildings and 735 that he described as underutilized, costing the federal government $25 million a year. He said the VA would work with Congress in prioritizing buildings for closure and was considering whether to follow a process the Pentagon had used in recent decades to decide which of its underused...

Citing state budgeting uncertainties, Oklahoma transportation officials announced Monday that they have suspended construction on about a dozen highway projects, including the next phase of the I-240/I-35 interchange project in south Oklahoma City. "That's going to give us a black eye," Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman J. David Burrage said, describing the situation as "bad." Burrage made his remark after another commissioner noted that many contractors already have bought materials for projects that are being suspended. Companies that suffer financial losses because of work suspensions likely will file claims with the agency, officials said. The dozen or so suspended contracts may...

Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday announced that President Donald Trump appointed her as co-chair of the Council of Governors. Ten governors, appointed by the president, serve on the bipartisan council with a focus on collaboration between federal and state governments on issues related to the National Guard, homeland security and disaster response. “It is an honor to have been named co-chair of the Council of Governors by President Trump,” Fallin said in a statement. “As a previous chair of the National Governors Association, I look forward to continuing my excellent working relationships with the other governors to provide suggestions and...

State transportation officials may be forced to suspend construction on some partially completed highway projects if the Legislature follows through with a proposal to cut its off-the-top funding from income tax revenues to $320 million, says Mike Patterson, executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. The transportation department was scheduled to receive $571 million in off-the-top funding from income tax revenues next fiscal year, but a joint legislative committee passed a revenue measure Thursday evening that calls for reducing that amount to $320 million. Patterson said such a drastic cut would force his department to suspend several construction projects...

Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Justin Green said that although an investigative report was taken following Saturday’s accidental shooting at the Wanenmacher’s Tulsa Arms Show, no criminal charges would be pursued against the shooter. Green said the man who was shot, former TCSO Sgt. Rick Treadwell, had told investigators he did not want charges to be filed. Treadwell identified the shooter as Brian Pounds, a Tulsa County Assessor’s Office employee. Pounds, a former candidate for Tulsa County commissioner, served as a reserve deputy under former Sheriff Stanley Glanz.

Royce and Keri Young are greeting and saying farewell to their daughter, Eva, who was born Tuesday with the sole purpose of giving life to others. Keri Young knew during her pregnancy that her daughter would be born with anencephaly, a birth defect that prevents the proper formation of the brain. They were told that because of this, the baby would likely not survive for long. In a selfless act of courage, she asked if the newborn's organs could be harvested. When she learned this was possible, she decided she would carry the baby to full term. *** "Will people...

Second District Congressman Markwayne Mullin meant he and his businesses have paid more in federal income taxes than he’s received in congressional salary when he told an audience in Jay it is “bullcrap” that “you pay for me to do this,” a spokeswoman for Mullin said Tuesday. Mullin owns several companies under the Mullin Plumbing umbrella. “The congressman is referencing the federal taxes that he and his businesses have paid to the government over the years, prior to his being in office,” said Amy Lawrence. “Like all business owners, Congressman Mullin pays his taxes, which contribute to congressional salaries.” In...

Rep. Markwayne Mullin is facing backlash for telling constituents during an Oklahoma town hall Tuesday that the idea they pay his salary is “bullcrap.” The Oklahoma Republican told the crowd in Jay that he “paid enough taxes” as the owner of multiple businesses in order to pay his own salary. “You said you pay for me to do this. Bullcrap. I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got there and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go,” Mr. Mullin said in a video...

The University of Oklahoma is defending its decision to offer students in greek life a series of “unlearning” workshops on topics such as racism, sexism, ableism, and classism. OU Student Affairs, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, and the Center for Social Justice are jointly sponsoring "Unlearning: Workshops for the Greek Community," the first of which is scheduled to take place Friday, with seven additional sessions throughout April, according to OU Daily.

No charges will be filed against Zachary Peters, the man who shot and killed three teenaged criminals who broke into his home, an Oklahoma prosecutor declared Monday. However, the woman who acted as getaway driver for the home intruders will be charged with first-degree murder. Investigators say that the 23-year-old Peters was alone in his house near Broken Arrow in Tulsa on March 27, when he used an AR-15 rifle to shoot Jakob Woodruff, Jacob Redfearn, and Maxwell Cook. Jack Thorp, Wagoner County Assistant District Attorney told the Associated Press (AP):”It is the opinion of this office that Zachary Peters...