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Oklahoma police investigating the shooting deaths of two girls have told area residents with guns to bring them in for a test to determine whether they were used in the attack, sparking concern among those who own guns for hunting and self-defense. According to reports in the Tulsa World the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation sent letters to members of the community who were registered as owning .40-caliber handguns suggesting they voluntarily bring in their gun or guns for a test. The individuals who were "invited" to bring their guns in but didn't now will be included in the ongoing...

Oklahoma Rebellionby Walter Williams  (July 16, 2008) 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...

By Tony Thornton Staff Writer MUSKOGEE — The John McCain biographies are replete with information about his paternal grandfather, a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. His maternal grandfather, Archibald Wright? Not so much. Nancy Calhoun thinks she knows why. "This is one skeleton that the McCains probably wish would stay in the closet,” said Calhoun, who is director of genealogy and local history at the Muskogee Public Library. Wright spent more than two decades in Muskogee. His twin daughters, including McCain's mother, Roberta Wright McCain, grew up in a three-story home that still stands at 1027 W Martin Luther...

OSBI agents went to gun dealers and pawnshops to create a list of .40-caliber Glock owners. WELEETKA — Authorities working to narrow their leads in the June 8 shooting deaths of two girls used old-fashioned legwork to come up with a list of area gun owners with .40-caliber pistols, one of two weapons used in the slayings. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents knew the caliber of the guns used in the killings, so they merely checked with area gun dealers and pawnshops to determine who had bought or recently pawned .40-caliber Glocks. "It's a typical procedure of any investigation"...

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has been given an evening speaking slot at the Republican National Convention and will focus his remarks on wasteful government spending and earmarks, his office said Thursday. Coburn, who, like GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), is a vocal opponent of pork barrel spending, will address the convention on Tuesday night. Giving the Oklahoma senator a coveted evening slot will highlight McCain’s commitment to curbing wasteful spending and is seen as a nod to fiscal conservative voters fed up with the deficit spending that occurred during Republican control of Congress and continues under the Democratic...

OSBI agents went to gun dealers and pawnshops to create a list of .40-caliber Glock owners. WELEETKA (OK) — Authorities working to narrow their leads in the June 8 shooting deaths of two girls used old-fashioned legwork to come up with a list of area gun owners with .40-caliber pistols, one of two weapons used in the slayings.Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents knew the caliber of the guns used in the killings, so they merely checked with area gun dealers and pawnshops to determine who had bought or recently pawned .40-caliber Glocks. "It's a typical procedure of any investigation"...

Gun Owners' Weapons Tested (Tests Will Be Matched With Evidence From Scene Of Weleetka Double Killing.

Agents test fire weapons to narrow leads in the June 8 killing of the girls near Weleetka. WELEETKA — More than three dozen guns from the Weleetka area were test fired over the weekend as authorities worked to narrow their leads into the June 8 slayings of two girls. Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said more than 60 letters were sent out to registered owners of .40-caliber handguns, asking them to voluntarily submit their weapons for testing on Saturday and Sunday at the Okfuskee County Courthouse at Okemah. Brown said about 40 of those owners...

OKLAHOMA CITY - Even Democratic officials concede Republican John McCain will beat Democrat Barack Obama in the presidential race in Oklahoma.

Coburn is a medical doctor who continues to deliver about 400 babies a year. When told that it would be a violation of Senate rules to earn such outside income, Coburn stopped collecting money. He actually loses money for delivering the babies since he pays for malpractice insurance out of his own pocket. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey found that 77% of voters say such conduct is appropriate for a senator while only 8% disagree. But, according to Politico.com that’s not good enough for the six senators on the ethics committee, three from each party. They have ordered Coburn to...

In July, federal authorities indicted Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, on corruption charges on the grounds that Alaska's Prince of Earmarks concealed hundreds of thousands of dollars of gifts and improvements to his Alaska home provided by a powerful oil services company. Also this summer, amid the mortgage meltdown, newspapers reported that a number of senators -- including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.; Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; and Barack Obama, D.-Ill. -- were the beneficiaries of sweetheart home loans. In June, the Senate Ethics Committee began an initial look into Dodd's and Conrad's discounted Countrywide Financial VIP loans, as is...

The Oklahoma Legislature's only doctor says U.S. senators should thank Sen. Tom Coburn for delivering babies for free, instead of trying to censure him under ethics rules. State Rep. Doug Cox called the situation "ridiculous," referring to recent reports of an escalation in a long-running fight between Coburn and the Senate Ethics Committee.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2008 – During World War I, the Choctaw Nation began a long tradition of service to the country when a group of Choctaws volunteered as “code talkers,” sending messages for the military in a code derived from their own language to confuse German spies. Today, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma continues that tradition of service, extending it to include support of its members and employees who serve in the National Guard and reserves and families of military members. The organization is being recognized for its efforts with the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Serving...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Members of the U.S. Senate don't typically earn money from another job after they're elected to the august body because of concerns that they will be unduly influenced by customers or colleagues. Oklahoma pro-life Sen. Tom Coburn is an OBGYN and is coming under fire for helping his patients. When he is not in Washington, Coburn works at the Muskogee Regional Medical Center. The hospital changed from a public one to private ownership in April and, following that decision, Coburn has come under fire for working there. However, Coburn changed his practice and now delivers babies...

Sun August 3, 2008 How State Comp Funds End Up In Campaigns A secretive organization has raised close to $1 million throughout the last decade for political purposes, mostly from injured Oklahoma workers who sometimes don't even know they've donated. Many of the donations to Working Oklahomans Alliance may be illegal, an investigation by The Oklahoman found. The organization could be penalized $1,000 or more for each violation. The lawyers who control Working Oklahomans Alliance specialize in workers' compensation cases. These lawyers raise money for a political fund by withholding a portion of their clients' workers' compensation awards. The lawyers...

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%.

Oklahomans may be surprised to learn the state shares a dark past with Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Eugenics, the wonder science of the early 1900s, hailed by academics worldwide as a means to improve a race by sterilizing those who possessed serious heredity defects, was also embraced by Gov. Alfalfa Bill Murray. This book, "In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics” (W.W. Norton, $24.95) by Victoria F. Nourse, examines how a scientific theory about nature was transformed into the basis of social policy ordained by the power of the state of Oklahoma. The case's...

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - A man believed to have died in the Big Thompson flood has been found living in Oklahoma. Darrell Johnson, 63, didn't know he had been counted among the 144 people who died in the flash flood that swept down Big Thompson Canyon on July 31, 1976 until he was called by canyon resident Barb Anderson last year.

Frustrated by Tom Coburn's "unprecedented obstructionism," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cobbled together a "Tomnibus" of 35 bills with "broad—virtually unanimous—bipartisan support" that Coburn had blocked. On Monday the Oklahoma Republican blocked them again.Unable to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome Coburn's opposition, Reid castigated the Republicans who had sided with the obstreperous obstetrician. "You go home and explain to...the next person you see in a wheelchair, 'I voted against you because Harry Reid was being a tyrannical guy in the Senate,'" the Nevada Democrat said. He also accused the Republicans of voting against victims of stroke, Lou Gehrig's...

August 01, 2008, 4:00 a.m. Cheers for Dr. ‘No’ By the Editors Some people, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says, “you cannot negotiate with.� Terrorists? No: Tom Coburn, the conservative Republican from Oklahoma. Coburn has driven Reid to such a state of consternation by blocking action on 35 bills creating 36 new government programs, and costing $10 billion over five years. Lowlights include $1.5 billion to subsidize the DC Metro, $12 million to fund a botanical greenhouse in Maryland, and $17 million to enact a prohibition on the import or export of monkeys and apes. Some of the new...

A doctor who was granted permission to get an Iowa medical license despite patient allegations of improper touching has been arrested in Oklahoma. Kirk Smith, 35, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of three counts of forcible sodomy and lewd molestation on a person under 16, according to the Tulsa County District Court. Formal charges had not been filed as of Wednesday. He was released from jail after posting bond. An arraignment was set for Aug. 15. The Tulsa World reported the alleged victim was a female relative. According to the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision, no disciplinary action...

By Michelle Malkin  •  July 30, 2008 11:07 AM How afraid is the Democrat leadership of truly maverick conservative GOP Sen. Tom Coburn, who is waging war with Hapless Harry Reid over binge spending and secrecy? They’re so afraid of his effectiveness that they are trying to kneecap him with bogus Ethics Committee complaints about his practice of not charging for delivering babies at the Muskogee Regional Medical Center. Coburn continues to serve as an OB/GYN in Oklahoma.Jill Stanek read my mind: If Sen. Coburn were aborting babies for free instead of delivering them, he’d be getting awards instead of ethics...

On March 13 the Oklahoma House passed House Joint Resolution 1089, sponsored by Rep. Charles Key and Sen. Randy Brogdon, “claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over certain powers,” by an overwhelming vote of 92 to 3. Opponents of the measure in the Senate managed to keep it from being debated and voted on before this year’s legislative session ended. The rest of the nation took little notice of the Oklahoma House’s affirmation of the Tenth Amendment at the time. However, suddenly in mid-June news of the vote on HJR1089 went viral. Google...

WASHINGTON — Congress has dealt for decades with catchall bills known as omnibus legislation. Now, for the first time, comes the Tomnibus. A product of Democratic frustration with the tactics of Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican and physician who has become the Dr. No of the Senate, the Tomnibus is a $10 billion collection of Coburn-blocked measures assembled by the Senate leadership in an effort to break his solitary grip on the legislative process. Engineered by Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, the bill includes 35 of the most irresistible-sounding measures stuck on the docket, including the...

Instead of a keepsake photo of a political hero or his family, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has a large framed picture next to his desk that serves as a constant reminder of his political ideology. Inside the black frame and matting is a single word, in large white letters: "No." Coburn has become best known as the lawmaker who says no -- no to increased funding for unsolved civil rights crimes, no to creation of a national registry for victims of the disease ALS, no to more money for child pornography prosecutions. Using every parliamentary tactic at his disposal, Coburn...

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...

A one-thousand dollar reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people involved in the recent burning of several dogs. As we told you last week, five dogs were discovered at three different locations in the Tulsa County area. All had been burned down the middle of their backs with acid or some other type of chemical. Two of the dogs have since died. We know they were burned," Deputy David Long told NewsChannel 8's Bill Mitchell last week. "Whether it was some kind of acid or some kind of accelerant that...

Sen. Tom Coburn spoke on the floor for more than an hour Monday evening to protest the plan by Majority Leader Harry Reid to call up — possibly during the weekend — a yet-to-be-unveiled package of smaller measures held up by the Oklahoma Republican’s opposition.

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!"

I learned a lot this week. Namely, Boy Scout leaders are pedophiles in togas. Obviously, that is preposterous and offensive. Sadly, it's part of the information I gathered while reading a comic book produced by the re-election campaign for County Commissioner Brent Rinehart. The whole 16-page affair is expected to be mailed to voters, Rinehart told The Oklahoman. The point was to be lighthearted, he said. Lighthearted campaign materials: Good idea. Insulting as many people as possible with cartoon drawings: Bad idea. Then again, I've never run for political office, so who am I to say what works in the...

WASHINGTON, DC - Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today introduced the Drive America on Natural Gas Act to promote the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) vehicles. Inhofe also introduced the American Affordable Fuels Act to relieve pain at the pump. "As Americans continue to suffer from high gas prices, we need to take advantage of our abundant domestic supply of natural gas for use as a transportation fuel," Senator Inhofe said. "The Drive America on Natural Gas Act adds flexibility to the current Renewable Fuels Standard...

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...

OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma City church called off plans to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle at a weekend gathering of teenagers, the church's pastor said. Plans called for Windsor Hills Baptist to give away the weapon as a way of encouraging attendance at the gathering but plans changed when one the event's organizers was unable to attend, KOCO 5, Oklahoma City, reported Sunday. The church's pastor, Bob Ross, said officials anticipated hundreds of teenagers from as far away as Canada would attend. "We have 21 hours of preaching and teaching throughout the week," Ross told KOCO 5. The...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIxK9HWideQ&feature=user

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STILLWATER: Oklahoma State University today becomes the largest campus in the state to ban tobacco. Getting Burns Hargis to work early sure has paid off for OSU. OSU President Burns Hargis said the policy aims to make OSU a clean and healthy environment. "We have enough afflictions that affect the human condition without voluntarily adding to the problem, he said. "It sets a strong example and a consistent example of our commitment to be a healthy and attractive campus. OSU's wellness center offers cessation help and, in some cases, medication and nicotine replacement products, to students and employees. Student Charles...

June 30, 2008 -- CHICAGO -- Capt. Dan Rooney delivered a perfect strike Thursday afternoon in Wrigley Field. But, the pitch he made off the mound meant much more. The 35-year-old PGA Professional from Broken Arrow, Okla., and founder of Patriot Golf Day and the Folds of Honor Foundation, Rooney will be serving his country once again this fall by making his third tour of Iraq as an F-16 fighter pilot.

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...

http://www.ok-safe.com/files/documents/1/HJR1089_int.pdf the vote was 92 to 3: http://www.okhouse.gov/51LEG/Leg_Votesxx.aspx?include=okh01983.txt

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...

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...

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 731 PM CDT THU JUN 12 2008 CASS MN- 731 PM CDT THU JUN 12 2008 ...A tornado warning remains in effect until 8:00 p.m. CDT for Northern Cass County... AT 727 PM CDT...National Weather Service Doppler Radar continued to indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. This possible tornado was located near Walker... or 12 miles West of Leech Lake moving Northeast at 33 MPH. This possible tornado will be near... 7 miles Southeast of Steamboat Lake by 735 PM... Crooked Lake and 6 miles Southeast of Wilkinson by...

WASHINGTON—Nothing personal, Sen. Obama, but our re-election comes first. Barack Obama, for all his attention and primary successes, does not go over so well in a fair number of Democratic lawmakers' home districts. So it seems there is little chance that some will endorse him for president. Some are counting on Republican votes in their re-election bids. Some are newly minted and in rematches with 2006 opponents. Some may be wary of how their constituents will react to a black presidential candidate. Some, too, have made it a practice of distancing themselves from the national party, fearing the inevitable campaign...

Rep. Dan Boren, the lone Democrat in Oklahoma's congressional delegation, has declined to endorse Barack Obama, describing the Illinois senator as "the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate." "Our nominee is not my first choice," Mr. Boren said in an Associated Press interview. Mr. Boren, who is seeking a third term in a conservative district, argued problems such as a stalling economy and high gas prices require a bipartisan spirit and "unfortunately, [Mr. Obama's] record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion." Also at source: Obama Establishes Internet War Room Plagued by e-mail rumors that he is a...

No Suspects Or Motive In Case; Best Friends, 11 And 13, Shot To Death On Rural Road TULSA, Okla. (CBS) No suspect or motive has been identified in the mysterious killing of two girls who were shot to death along a dirt road in rural Okfuskee County, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. On Sunday, the bodies of 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker were found on an isolated county road near this small town, about 70 miles south of Tulsa. The pair, best friends who lived a few miles apart in an impoverished part of the...

Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s campaign, in an internal memo, is disputing one Democratic congressman’s characterization of the Illinois senator’s record after the member went on the record Tuesday saying he would not endorse his party’s nominee. Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) told The Associated Press that Obama is too liberal for his district, and he does not work well with Republicans despite his rhetoric. In the internal memo, which was obtained by The Hill, the campaign lays out surrogate talking points and says that “unfortunately, Congressman Boren has his facts wrong.” The document outlines a way for surrogates to refute...

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."

OKLAHOMA CITY — 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. However, Boren will vote for Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August and will vote Democratic on Nov. 4. "I think this is an important time for our country," Boren said in a telephone interview. "We're facing a terrible economic downturn. We have high gasoline prices. We have problems in our foreign policy. That's why I think it's important." Boren, the lone Democrat in Oklahoma's...

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.

Ward Connerly's critics often blame the success of the millionaire businessman's anti-affirmative-action campaign on some dubious political sleight of hand. Now they'd like to make the former UC regent's controversial initiative disappear before it reaches the ballot in five states. Connerly's measure won handily in his home state of California and in Washington and Michigan, affecting race- or gender-based programs in public employment, education and contracting. Connerly spearheaded California's Proposition 209 in 1996, which amended the state constitution to outlaw race and gender-based preferences in state hiring and state university admissions. His twelve-year tenure on the Board of Regents ended...