Free Republic

**SNIP** But to believe Bowman’s ouster of Engel is a sign that the Ocasio-Cortez wing of the Democratic Party is taking over would be a severe misreading of the political landscape at the congressional level - and nationally. She attracts an inordinate amount of attention for a first-term lawmaker, keeping up an active and innovative social media presence, and appearing frequently on television. It’s easy to conflate the publicity with political influence. In fact, the vast majority of Justice Democrats who have run over the past two House cycles have lost, often in humiliating fashion. Since emerging on the national...

President Donald Trump says his reelection campaign will hold telephone town halls to speak to supporters as the coronavirus pandemic has made holding large, in-person campaign rallies more difficult. Trump held what was described as his "first ever TELE-Rally" on Friday, delivering 23 minutes of stream-of-consciousness remarks on a variety of topics, including his administration's Covid-19 response to criticisms of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. "I wanted to be with you, and this is really replacing our rallies that we all love so much," Trump told supporters dialed into a telephone call, noting that, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, "we're...

Ye’s running. Kanye West is officially on the ballot as a presidential candidate in the state of Oklahoma. Only hours after the rapper filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, he formally entered the presidential campaign. A public affairs officer for the Oklahoma Board of Elections told New York that a representative for West showed up at the Oklahoma Board of Elections with a properly executed statement of candidacy and the $35,000 filing fee. This was the last day that independent presidential candidates could file to appear on the ballot in the Sooner State. A copy of...

“On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise.”Playwrights, novelists, and screenwriters spend entire careers without penning an opening line of such weight and power. Yet this sentence isn’t the epigraph for a new book, nor the first screen for a new HBO miniseries — it’s the start of one of the most well-reasoned and poignant Supreme Court rulings in recent memory.On the last day of announced decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020, as most of the political world waited for rulings on President Trump’s tax returns, history was made elsewhere. In a 5-4...

The Supreme Court issued one of the most consequential decisions of its term on its last day Thursday. No, it wasn’t either of the decisions about President Donald Trump’s tax returns. Instead, it involved a case that received little attention at the time it was argued. But how often can court watchers say that a case stripped a state of its sovereign power to prosecute crimes committed by certain individuals in nearly half of the territory it purportedly controls? Not often—if ever—before Thursday. But that’s exactly what the court did in a 5-4 opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma that Justice...

Two more protesters Friday were charged with terrorism after a further investigation into the damage to an Oklahoma City bail bonds business May 30. Haley Lin Crawford and Sydney Lynch are accused in the felony charge of acting with a large crowd of others to unlawfully break the windows of CJ's Bail Bonds. They are the youngest so far to be charged in Oklahoma County District Court over protests May 30 and 31. Crawford's 18th birthday is Saturday, records show. Lynch turned 18 two weeks ago. Both are from Oklahoma City. Investigators said they were identified from a recording made...

Norman citizens are uniting to make sure their voices are heard after city leaders cut $865,000 from the police department’s budget. “You’re not helpless. For so long it seems like we were all helpless at the whims of the people in office, but now we’re awake,” Unite Norman leader Russell Smith said. Smith told KOCO 5 that the group has raised closed to $50,000 in just 48 hours and is working to file a petition to recall Mayor Breea Clark and eligible city council members.

Breaking News: President Trump commuting the sentence of Roger Stone...... How about "revenue raisers" or in plain language "higher taxes" to deal with tax revenue shortfalls and recovery from the coronavirus situation? Government officials across the country beginning to broach the subject. Among them New Jersey's Governor Phil Murphy..... A Kentucky judge's order putting a cloud over Democrat Governor Andy Beshear's mask (muzzle) order..... "Over the past several week I have been asked repeatedly about what the Town of Eagar plans to do about Covid-19, masks, visitors, riots etc. It is somewhat alarming how many expect and almost invite a...

News outlets are falsely reporting that health officials blamed President Trump’s in-person rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma last month for a rise in coronavirus cases. The Associated Press posted a story titled, “Health official: Trump rally ‘likely’ source of virus surge.” The AP cited Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart, who never directly mentioned the Trump rally and said there were “several large events” that may have contributed to the spike in cases. “Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed new cases on Monday, a one-day record high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday,” the report said. “Although the health department’s...

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a huge swath of the state of Oklahoma is Native American land for certain purposes, siding with a Native American man who had challenged his rape conviction by state authorities in the territory. The 5-4 decision, with an opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, endorsed the claim of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to the land, which encompasses three million acres, including most of the city of Tulsa. The decision means that only federal authorities, no longer state prosecutor, can lodge charges against Native Americans who commit serious alleged crimes on that land, which...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled by a 5-4 margin that nearly half of Oklahoma is an Indian reservation in the eyes of the criminal-justice system, preventing state authorities from prosecuting offenses there that involve Native Americans. The decision was potentially one of the most consequential legal victories for Native Americans in decades. It was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Westerner who has sided with tribes in previous cases and joined the court’s more liberal members.

Gorsuch joins 4 LIBS to rule much of Oklahoma belongs to INDIANS.

President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa in late June that drew thousands of participants and large protests "likely contributed" to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said Wednesday. Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed new cases on Monday, a one-day record high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday. By comparison, during the week before the June 20 Trump rally, there were 76 cases on Monday and 96 on Tuesday. Although the health department’s policy is to not publicly identify individual settings where people may have contracted the virus, Dart said those...

The Lincoln Project, a Republican super PAC, in a new ad slammed some of President Trump’s top GOP allies in the Senate, accusing a slate of Republican lawmakers of “cowardice” and “betrayal.” The ad, released Wednesday, states, “Someday soon, the time of Trump will pass. This circus of incompetence, corruption and cruelty will end. When it does, the men and women in Trump’s Republican Party will come to you, telling you they can repair the damage he’s done. They’ll beg you to forgive their votes to exonerate Trump from his crimes, ask you to forgive their silence, their cowardice and...

On Tuesday, 15-year Tulsa Police Department veteran and Sergeant Craig Johnson died at a hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to his head on Monday. Six-week rookie Officer Aurash Zarkeshan was also in critical condition after also being shot in the head during the same struggle with a suspect. Though Monday's CBS Evening News was the only broadcast newscast to report on their hospitalization, neither they nor ABC, or NBC informed their viewers about Sgt. Johnson’s passing. Proving that the shooting warranted national attention, CBS fill-in anchor Major Garrett delivered a meager 16-second news brief on Monday: Two Tulsa, Oklahoma,...

Oklahoma voters narrowly approved a state question to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income residents. With all precincts reporting Tuesday, State Question 802, which asked voters to expand Medicaid, passed by 6,488 votes. The question will enshrine Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma’s constitution — effectively preventing Oklahoma’s GOP-controlled Legislature and Republican governor from limiting or undoing the expansion.

(CNN)A Tulsa, Oklahoma, police officer has died and another is in critical condition after they were shot during a traffic stop early Monday, police said. A suspect has been arrested. Sgt. Craig Johnson died Tuesday, Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said at a news conference. David Ware, 32, was arrested Monday in the shooting and faces a first-degree murder charge and two other felony charges, shooting with intent to kill and possession of a firearm after former conviction of a felony, according to an online court record from the Oklahoma State Courts Network. A man accused of being an accomplice...

TULSA, Okla. — A man is in custody after two police officers were shot during a traffic stop in east Tulsa early Monday morning. Tulsa police say a man shot two of their officers during the stop around 3:30 a.m. near 21st and Memorial. Officer Aurash Zarkeshan pulled David Anthony Ware over after seeing his car with a paper tag that had expired, according to court documents. Tulsa Police Sergeant Craig Johnson stopped to back Zarkeshan up. Zarkeshan told Ware to get out of the car because it was going to be towed, but police say Ware refused. Police say...

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH)- After attending the Black Lives Matter Children's March in early June, OKCPS Superintendent Sean McDaniel announced new additions to OKCPS schools. Monday night Dr.McDaniel highlighted the conversations the district is having and said one of the by-products of the march will be making formal clubs that will be Black Lives Matter chapters.

Twitch, a streaming platform owned by Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos, has temporarily banned President Trump’s account for “hateful conduct” stemming from footage of the president’s speeches. “Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch. In line with our policies, President Trump’s channel has been issued a temporary suspension from Twitch for comments made on stream, and the offending content has been removed,” a Twitch spokesperson told Fox News. A rebroadcast of Trump’s 2015 campaign launch -- when he famously criticized people crossing the Mexican border to illegally enter the United States -- and comments Trump made at his recent Tulsa rally...