Free Republic

A youthful attempt to party their way to popularity and some exaggerated MySpace boasting have turned into a $320,000 tax nightmare for five current and former University of Central Oklahoma students. “This is crazy,” said Julius Baroi, co-founder of Kegheadz, a loosely organized Edmond-based party business. “The Tax Commission claims we owe more than $300,000. We don't have enough money between us to pay $6,000 to hire an attorney. They won't listen to us.” Paula Ross, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Tax Commission, said she couldn't comment on an individual taxpayer's case. Although the Tax Commission wants to tax Kegheadz like...

KUWAIT CITY — Seven U.S. soldiers were killed early Thursday morning when their transport helicopter crashed in southern Iraq, officials said. Enemy fire was not involved in the incident, the military said. The CH-47 Chinook helicopter went down just after midnight around 60 miles west of Basra. All aboard were killed. In its initial news release, the military said five bodies had been recovered and that two soldiers were missing; hours later, that was updated to say the bodies of all seven aboard had been recovered. "It is a tough day for the coalition and we are deeply saddened by...

TvPoll: McCain-Palin By 41, Inhofe By 25 A new TvPoll for KWTV-Channel 9 indicates a Republican sweep of the state this year. The new poll reinforces earlier polls showing the McCain-Palin Republican ticket trouncing the Obama-Biden Democrat ticket and incumbent Senator Jim Inhofe running far ahead of Democrat Andrew Rice. In the new poll, McCain-Palin are at 68.8 percent, Obama-Biden at just 27.4 percent. In the Senate race, Inhofe is at 55.7 percent, Rice at just 30.6 percent.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline)--The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday declined to block a two-month state tax amnesty program set to begin Monday, which is aimed at generating state revenue. The tax amnesty was challenged by Oklahoma City attorney Jerry Fent, who sued arguing that it is unconstitutional for the state to waive penalties and interest on back taxes.

President Bush received updates on Hurricane Ike throughout the day. Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto: He's very comfortable that Texas emergency management authorities are doing everything they can. They have a very strong team down in Texas for dealing with the hurricanes. Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the residents in the affected areas. The President encourages all the residents of Texas to listen to the guidance they're getting from their local emergency management authorities. And if they're getting direction to evacuate, to do it quickly; but just to pay very close mind to their personal safety and listen...

Large and dangerous Hurricane Ike approaching the Upper Texas coast. Mandatory evacuations began in earnest Thursday as an estimated one million coastal residents headed inland. There were widespread reports of gas stations running out of fuel. The National Weather Service posted dire storm surge predictions of 20-25 ft storm surge along the coast and bay heads. Hurricane warnings covered a 400 mile swath of the Gulf of Mexico. Wholesale gasoline prices spiked 30 percent Thursday, or nearly $1 a gallon, out of fear of what Ike might do. Public Advisory Updated every 3 hours Discussion Updated every 6 hours Buoy...

An Owasso man is searching for answers after his wife's death in a hit-and-run accident. As a former police officer and fire chief, Bob Shouse believes that when a driver leaves the scene of an accident, that alone is cause for an arrest. That's why he can't understand why the man who fled after crashing an SUV into his wife's motorcycle, causing her death, was never taken into custody and now might have left the country. "My wife and I had a relationship that most people dream for," said Shouse, who lives in Owasso. "The whole family is in shock,...

The three years John Roberson spent as an Army drill sergeant were not enough to satisfy his itch to teach. Troops to Teachers We interviewed some faculty from the Crooked Oak school district about how... "I often thought, ‘Well, if I enjoy this, being an instructor, I might enjoy being a schoolteacher at some point in my life,'” the retired sergeant major said. So after tours of duty in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the California-born Roberson came to Oklahoma for a second career.

Talk about a stinging endorsement! A tattoo shop in Moore, Oklahoma is giving Barack Obama tattoos for free. The tattoo has a picture of the senator with "Obama 2008" to the left. The shop owner says it's his way to show support to the democratic presidential candidate. "I don't have any extra money to donate to the cause," said Phillip Calfy, tattoo shop owner. "I'm a tattoo artist and a lot of people that are into the tattoo thing like free tattoos." The owner says he's done around 100 of the tattoos.

The Keetoowahs are the traditonal people, the keepers of the language and heritage. They came west 20 years before the Trail of Tears, trading their land in North Carolina for new land the US gave them. Later the "civilized" tribes came and "white-manned" the Keetoowahs out of their land and other Federal entitlements. Learn more about the Keetoowahs at http://unitedkeetoowahband.org/History.htm http://www.keetoowahcherokee.org/

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A new poll found little support among Oklahoma voters for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. The Oklahoma Poll found that Republican John McCain has broad support in the state to lead Obama by 32%age points, 56% to 24%.

I'm standing while typing this, so consider it a writer's rendition of a standing ovation. Presumably, this standing "O” is for Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops. Perhaps it should be directed at OU president David Boren, or to Stoops and Boren. Maybe athletic director Joe Castiglione is in there somewhere. Whoever is responsible for dismissing freshman wide receiver Josh Jarboe, bravo. Jarboe was allowed to keep his scholarship after felony gun charges were lowered to misdemeanors in Superior Court at DeKalb County, Ga. Jarboe pleaded guilty to bringing a gun to school and carrying a pistol without a license last...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn underwent tests Friday for what was described as an irregular heartbeat. His office told news outlets that the 60-year-old Oklahoma Republican was expected to return to work at the Senate over the weekend. An aide said Coburn was at a hospital for the tests for "common arrhythmia.'' He was not admitted to the hospital, the aide said. Coburn's office would not comment further. A physician, Coburn describes himself as a two-time cancer survivor. In 2003, just months before deciding to run for the Senate, he confirmed that he had undergone surgery and treatment for...

OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline)-Oklahoma Attorney General W.A. Drew Edmondson is featured in a county commissioner's anti-gay campaign comic book. In the comic created by Oklahoma County Commissioner Brent Rinehart, a devil threatens a small child with a pitchfork, saying" "If I can get the kids to believe homosexuality is normal!" while an angel yells, "Not with Brent around you won't!"

One of the unappreciated casualties of the War of 1861, erroneously called a Civil War, was its contribution to the erosion of constitutional guarantees of state sovereignty. It settled the issue of secession, making it possible for the federal government to increasingly run roughshod over Ninth and 10th Amendment guarantees. A civil war, by the way, is a struggle where two or more parties try to take over the central government. Confederate President Jefferson Davis no more wanted to take over Washington, D.C., than George Washington wanted to take over London. Both wars are more properly described as wars of...

Your states have passed significant changes in enforcement of immigration laws. What do you see around you? Have you observed changes in your schools, workplaces, markets?

TULSA — While dog-sitting for his mother earlier this month, Bryan Whalen discovered video recordings of his mother and two other people engaging in sex acts with three dogs, according to an affidavit filed Monday in Tulsa County. Authorities have charged Diane Whalen, 54, and Donald Roy Seigfried, 55, with crimes against nature, a felony that includes bestiality, said Capt. John Bowman of the Tulsa County sheriff's office. Seigfried was arrested and released Tuesday on $10,000 bail. Bowman said Whalen had not been arrested, but authorities were in contact with her lawyer. Bryan Whalen was feeding and taking care of...

AUSTIN — The Texas Transportation Commission on Thursday selected San Antonio's Zachry Construction Corp. and a Spanish toll road developer to plan a superhighway from Texarkana to Brownsville. The $5 million contract calls for Zachry American Infrastructure and ACS Infrastructure to create a financial plan for the Interstate 69 segment of the Trans-Texas Corridor. "This team represents the best in the balance of local and global expertise necessary to complete a project of this scope," said David Zachry, chief operating officer of Zachry Construction Corp. The private developers' plan calls for seven new loops around Corpus Christi and other cities...

While much of the U.S. Constitution invites legitimate debate as to the “Framer’s Intent,” the twenty-eight words which comprise the Tenth Amendment are as unambiguous as they are forgotten. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” One of the clearest and most compelling proofs that our Founding Fathers indeed envisaged a limited federal government, the Tenth Amendment is a vital safeguard against an overreaching central authority. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most routinely discarded pieces of our...

Steamed over a perceived increase in federal usurping of states' rights, Oklahoma's House of Representatives told Washington, D.C., to back off. Joint House Resolution 1089, passed by an overwhelming 92-3 margin, reasserts Oklahoma's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and, according to the resolution's own language, is "serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates." The Tenth Amendment states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." Traditionally, this language has meant that...

STATE OF OKLAHOMA 2nd Session of the 51st Legislature (2008) HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1089 By: Key AS INTRODUCED A Joint Resolution claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over certain powers; serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates; and directing distribution. WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."; and WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines...

Oklahoma City (AP) - Democratic Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma said Tuesday Barack Obama is "the most liberal senator" in Congress and he has no intention of endorsing him for the White House. ... Boren, the lone Democrat in Oklahoma's congressional delegate, said that while Obama has talked about working with Republicans, "unfortunately, his record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion."

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., said Tuesday he will not endorse Barack Obama for president. "I still remain very concerned about the (Obama) voting record being the most liberal of the United States Senate," said Boren, a superdelegate to this summer’s national Democratic convention in Denver. He expressed support for what he described as a "centrist" agenda, adding his party’s presumptive nominee’s record does not reflect that approach.

A federal judge today blocked enforcement of employer-related provisions of the state's controversial immigration law, ruling it likely interferes with federal regulations regarding the hiring of unauthorized workers. Several business groups challenged House Bill 1804 — which has been called the toughest immigration statute in the nation — in federal court in Oklahoma City. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The State Chamber, the Oklahoma City and Tulsa chambers of commerce, and the Oklahoma restaurant and hotel and lodging associations contend the law places unreasonable burdens on businesses, according to the lawsuit filed Feb. 1 by the National Chamber Litigation Center....

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Jack Mildren, a former lieutenant governor and the first quarterback in the University of Oklahoma's vaunted wishbone offense, died on Thursday, his brother said. He was 58. Mildren, who had been undergoing treatment for stomach cancer, died at Integris Baptist Medical Center, spokeswoman Brooke Cayot confirmed. Mildren was diagnosed two years ago with cancer but had continued to serve as a vice chairman for Arvest Bank and host a daily sports radio show on WKY 930-AM. Legislators at the state Capitol observed a moment of silence for the former lieutenant governor, who walked the halls there in...

Posted at 6PM on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 OWASSO, OK Police are seeking the help of residents to identify a woman. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19686350&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=597380&rfi=6 "The Owasso Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the person shown in this photograph. This person is not a suspect in a crime, but needs to be identified as soon as possible so her well being can be established," said Owasso Police Chief Dan Yancey. Anyone with information about the identity of the woman should contact Detective Jason Woodruff at 272-COPS (272-2677). ©Neighbor Newspapers 2008

A tornado that spun across the Oklahoma-Missouri border killed several people as severe storms raked the nation's heart Saturday, taking at least 11 lives, mangling buildings and trapping people in rubble in the storm-weary region. At least six people were killed as the tornado flattened the northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher before the funnel struck about 15 miles away near Seneca, Mo., and killed at least three, authorities said. The death toll in Oklahoma could climb, said state Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten. The tornado in Picher — a depressed and pollution-scarred mining town that many residents had already fled...

Exponential growth in addiction met with a dramatic reduction in supply, creates a situation where a large number of people get sick and desperate. Prices spike as addicts clamor to find the drugs they need so badly. Alternative, and often illegal, methods for raising funds are employed. Progressively risky behavior and criminal associations occur. People lose jobs, lose housing, and lose families, dismantling a network of support systems that are challenging, if not impossible, to rebuild. The magnitude of people potentially involved will send shockwaves through the criminal justice, social services, health care, and criminal justice service delivery systems as...

SAMHSA announced in March 2008 that Oklahoma topped the nation in prescription painkiller addiction. Effective law enforcement strategies by the DEA and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs have abruptly shut down many of the online pharmacies, loose physician prescription practices, and multiple doctor sourcing. The result is a dramatic reduction in supply. The huge growth in painkiller addiction fueled by cheap and easy supply is being faced with a shutdown in supply. The result will be a sudden overwhelming number of sick and desperate people. Before we become too judgmental of such people, let us not forget...

HOWDY FREEPERS!!!!!!!As the day begins one of the web sites I frequent in my first rounds of web surfing is the Oklahoma Political News Service. (http://www.okpns.com) This web site has won critical acclaim as a reliable source for poltical information here in Oklahoma and has been mentioned in news stories on radio stations here in Oklahoma such as KTOK.Recently, OKPNS did an analysis of the race between Inhofe and Rice. The analysis made reference to a blog in the Daily Kos that Rice writes in which he spouts off talking points that quite frankly are more appropiate for San Fransisco...

Senator Inhofe Excerpt: "Despite this gloomy EIA analysis, proponents of Lieberman-Warner are still claiming the bill will not impose economic harm to America. Only in Washington could higher energy prices be characterized as not negatively impacting the U.S. economy. If Democrats have their way, Americans will pay significantly more at the pump, in their homes, and in many cases, with their jobs, all to accomplish an undetectable impact on the climate. "The question now is which U.S. Senator will dare to stand on the Senate Floor a month from now to vote in favor of significantly increasing the price of...

EDMONTON - TransCanada Corp. alone plans to ship more than one million barrels a day of oilsands production to the United States with an expanded pipeline construction program unveiled today. The Alberta oil and gas delivery mainstay added a second leg to its new Keystone export service that would more than double the system's capacity and extend it to the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico. TransCanada president Hal Kvisle said the added route is a companion instead of competition for projects underway by Enbridge Inc., which is also advancing more than one million barrels daily in new oilsands...

Oklahoma's unemployment rate, which was a seasonally adjusted 4.3% and 4.4%, respectively, in September and October 2007 (4.1% and 4.2% unadjusted), has fallen to a seasonally adjusted 3.1% in both February and March of this year (3.5% and 3.2% unadjusted). The unemployment rate in most states has gone up from September 2007 to March 2008. In states where the rate has gone down, none has shown an improvement like that seen in the Sooner State -- not even close. Why is that? What has happened in Oklahoma that hasn't happened elsewhere? Well, one thing Oklahoma did last year was to...

For years, Texas has been planning a privately financed super turnpike from Mexico to the Oklahoma border. But like rush-hour traffic, the plan for a Trans-Texas Corridor is only inching along. "It ran into a firestorm of controversy in Texas,� said Neal McCaleb, a former Oklahoma transportation secretary. Critics have a wide range of concerns about the corridor, which has a key stretch that would parallel Interstate 35. (Another stretch would extend from the Texarkana/Shreveport area to Mexico.) Particularly upset are landowners who may be in the corridor's path. The Texas Transportation Department calls many concerns myths. The department says,...

A Tulsa County judge heard legal arguments Friday in a court action that challenges the constitutionality of a new state law dealing with illegal immigration. District Judge Jefferson Sellers did not rule on the matter and did not set a date for a decision. Attorneys now have the opportunity to submit proposed "findings of fact and conclusions of law." Those pleadings are due two weeks after a transcript of the court hearing is prepared, and the transcript is expected to be ready in a week. The plaintiff in the case is Michael C. Thomas, identified as a resident taxpayer of...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sB4k_ejTPw The most notable statements in this video are from the ACLU officer in Arkansas Rita Sklar who compares immigration reform activist to 1930's Nazi activist in Germany. Rita Sklar's claim of scapegoating is partially correct, but the scapegoating is from bankers in Oklahoma trying to blame economic downturns on immigration reform activist for their sub-prime loans to illegals! The study put forth by the Arkansas Friendship Coalition is lie! I got this message from IRON- "The Oklahoma economy is going to maintain a stronger economy than all states around us because we cut off at least 6,000 off medicaid...

Members of KeepArkansasLegal, along with other immigration reform activist protested a press conference held by a pro-illegal immigration group. Here is the link to our blog with video footage and a description of what happened: http://keeparkansaslegal.blogspot.com/2008/04/video-footage-of-illegal-immigration.html and the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng1cg4HmzIU

As the state's population continues to grow in its urban centers, expansion plans for the highway system continue to be the focus for transportation improvements. The Trans Texas Corridor proposal is aimed to alleviate traffic congestion, improve air quality and provide safer traveling for drivers, among other goals. In 2002, Texas Governor Rick Perry released the plan to create the passageway, which spans northeast from Laredo to Oklahoma and is set to total 4,000 miles in the next 50 years. The $140 billion project calls for the incorporation of new toll roads, commuter railways, power lines and gas pipelines, while...

Several Oklahoma legislators are concerned that individuals and organizations are quietly working on plans to create a privately-operated tollway in Oklahoma. Many referred to Spain-based Cintra, which has been involved in the development of a proposed Trans-Texas Corridor. Cintra also took over the operation of the Indiana East-West Toll Road from the Indiana Department of Transportation in 2006. Oklahoma State Sen. Randy Brogdon and state representatives Eric Proctor, Richard Morrisette, Scott Inman and Charles Key all expressed concern that efforts to open up Oklahoma to a privately operated tollway system were being kept out of the view of the general...

For Peyton Gilbert, the battle over the Trans-Texas Corridor is reminiscent of the moment in 1836 when Lt. Col. William Travis drew a line in the sand at the Alamo and invited those willing to fight thousands of Mexican soldiers to step across. "That line in the sand is the Trans-Texas Corridor, and it's a threat to our sovereignty again, just like at the Alamo," said Gilbert, 14, who is from Whitehouse, near Tyler. Gilbert was among a large crowd of people who marched down Congress Avenue to the Capitol on Saturday afternoon to demonstrate against the proposed highway-rail-utility corridor...

BELTON - There appears to be no easy way to address the challenges that inflation has brought to the Texas Department of Transportation. “We’ve seen 60 percent inflation over the last five years for transportation projects,” said Chris Lippincott, a TxDOT spokesman. To look to the federal government for assistance would appear foolhardy at this point as the Federal Highway Trust Fund is expected to become insolvent by 2009. The fund was created in 1956 to ensure a dependable source of financing for U.S. interstates and highways. “The Federal Highway Trust Fund is expected to go into the red very...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The federal government is investigating whether the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety violated the civil rights of Iranian immigrants by refusing to provide them with driver's license tests in their native Farsi language. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched the investigation in March after a complaint filed on behalf of two Iranian nationals living in Bartlesville accused the state agency of unlawful discrimination based on their national origin, according to a letter from the NHTSA to Public Safety Commissioner Kevin Ward. Public safety officials said Tuesday that offering state driver's license tests in Farsi could force...

FORT WORTH -- The Trans-Texas Corridor is now so controversial, merely uttering the words in most political circles is taboo. "We're calling it a 'regional loop' because you can't say 'Trans-Texas Corridor' in the state of Texas anymore," said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. "The Trans-Texas Corridor is a lightning rod," he told visiting state representatives this week while explaining how the corridor would connect to regional highways by 2030. Opposition to the proposed construction of a $184 billion network of toll roads during the next 50 years is so strong statewide that...

SH 130 Concession Company LLC finalized the legal details of a financial close with Texas DOT on a $1,360m toll concession to build SH130 segments 5&6 Thursday and Friday last week in bankers' offices in New York City - at Orrick, 666 Fifth Avenue. The actual money flows should occur on Thursday or Friday (Mar 13 or 14) this week, Jose Maria Lopez de Fuentes, president of Cintra North America, told us this morning. Hundreds of documents and over 20 lawyers were involved last week representing TxDOT, private equity people, banks, mostly European, the TIFIA loan group from FHWA, and...

Topeka — Agreements with Mexico and Canada are setting the stage for construction of a huge highway that will gobble up Kansans’ property and jeopardize U.S. security, representatives from a wide range of groups said Monday. “Through incrementalism, apathy and inattention, our national sovereignty is being sacrificed on a cross of greed, socialism and globalism,� said state Rep. Judy Morrison, R-Shawnee. Morrison has introduced House Concurrent Resolution 5033 urging Congress to withdraw from further participation in the North American Free Trade Agreement and Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. At a hearing before the House Federal and State Affairs...

Concealed weapons on college campuses gets House approvalBy TIM TALLEY, Associated Press Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Legislation that would allow concealed weapons on college campuses in Oklahoma was approved by the state House Thursday despite opponents who said putting more guns on campus makes no sense following recent massacres at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University. “This has to be the craziest thing I have ever seen,” said Rep. Ray McCarter, D-Marlow, one of several lawmakers who said the measure is opposed by college administrators and most Oklahomans but is supported by the National Rifle Association. “How silly can...

A lone Cherokee Indian walked the barren earth where bulldozers had cleared the way for construction of a monument to the people who were at the Blythe Ferry staging area prior to the Trail of Tears in 1838. Alva Crow of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee from Cherokee, N. C., arrived at Blythe Ferry Landing, west of Georgetown, two hours early. It was a difficult journey for Crow, who is undergoing chemotherapy. “I am blessing the people who were here that made the removal on the Trail of Tears is here,” he said. “The people who passed away is...

Driving down to Austin lately has become a real trip. I-35 is usually packed for most of the 185 miles, and what used to take three or four hours now can take five or six. Flying down can take almost as long, when you figure in airline security delays, more flight delays, and the time it takes getting into and out of crowded airports. But what if it took 45 minutes to travel from the Metroplex to Austin by train or an hour to make a trip to Houston? Advocates of high-speed rail lines are floating these ideas once again...

AUSTIN - When it comes to road improvement and maintenance, by most accounts, the South Plains and Panhandle are fortunate. Despite a $1.1 billion accounting error, the Texas Department of Transportation recently reported no projects in the region have been canceled or delayed while cities like Dallas, Houston and Laredo had at least a half dozen highway projects delayed. But the $1.1 billion-error, which occurred because TxDOT inadvertently counted some bond money twice and consequently allocated more funding than it had, is just the latest problem plaguing the beleaguered agency. For months, TxDOT executive director Amadeo Saenz and other transportation...

Oklahoma's crackdown on illegal immigration draws Texas lawmakers' interestCrackdown on illegal immigration draws criticism, Texas interest 11:31 PM CST on Wednesday, February 13, 2008By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News rtgarrett@dallasnews.com OKLAHOMA CITY – Welcome to the nation's laboratory for a crackdown on illegal immigration. Last year, Oklahoma's Legislature passed, by huge margins, the nation's toughest law on illegal immigrants, making it a felony to harbor, transport, shelter or conceal undocumented immigrants. This summer, the same law also will allow U.S. citizens to sue employers if they think they were fired in favor of illegal workers. Employers in...