Gann: Is OK leadership willing to ignore liberty and capitalism to “Go Green”?

Oklahoma Going Green to Land a “Big Deal”

by State Rep. Tom Gann

Leadership in the State of Oklahoma has been on a fishing expedition to land a "Big One" to propel Oklahoma into a "diverse" energy economy. This effort has resulted in a proposal to include huge taxpayer dollar giveaways, but it could implement Biden's "Green New Deal."  

Kish: is a Socialist running for Mayor of Norman?

The following press release comes from Nicole Kish, candidate for mayor in the city of Norman:

Is a “Socialist” Running for Mayor of Norman?

SHOCKING ARTICLE UNEARTHED: Prior News report — as well as propaganda hanging on his walls, bookshelves & his own Social Media — tell us who Bob Thompson really is.

Norman — An OU Daily article two-and-a-half years ago instructs us on who Bob Thompson really is, and more importantly, what his plans would be if elected Mayor of Norman.

Despite carving himself out as a centrist tired of divisive politics on both his own website and to “OU Nightly,” and suggesting to The Norman Transcript “the need for non-partisan deliberation,” Midway Bob in his own words previously claimed to be among the most liberal of liberals.

In a 2019 OU Daily article, in his own words Thompson boasted that he owns “the most liberal spot in the most liberal town in the most liberal county in Oklahoma, and we’re like ground zero,” Thompson said happily.

But the biggest surprise? He’s a huge fan of Socialism.

Even we had to look twice, to make sure we were reading it correctly.

He talked at length, glowingly, about Socialism.

According to the OU Daily article, dated March 24, 2019, hanging in Thompson’s deli is “a framed picture of this political activist Eugene V. Debs on the wall” — whom Thompson claimed is his favorite author.

Thompson boasted of having at least 30 works of his favorite author — a known Socialist activist, founder of the Socialist Party of America and a Socialist Party candidate for President. After serving time in prison, the author became radicalized to Marxism and vowed a war on Capitalism. The Socialist author and activist was also a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, a Socialist group which Brittanica calls “radical,” even by Socialist standards.

“I've read all the books about (Debs') speeches,” Thompson said in the OU Daily article. “I probably have 30 volumes at home,” Thompson said. “People think that socialism is all… that it's all about people not working. I was always a worker and I got to be an owner, but I didn't have any desire to be that kind of person that got where he was going by making other people do his work. To me, socialism is a very work-ethic oriented deal.”

While Thompson appears to be more of the “workers unite!” brand of Socialism, he does in fact appear to be a Socialist.

In addition to boasting about his tomes on Socialism, he has posted multiple photos on Social Media promoting Socialist materials including a copy of Eugene V. Debs’ book on Socialism, which Thompson said is his “Morning Devotional.” While some laughed at the photo, Thompson did not appear to be joking.

Additionally, photos of Bob’s Midway Cafe prominently show at least one famous Socialist propaganda poster, that of Che Guevara, a Marxist revolutionary credited with killing people.

So, WHO IS BOB THOMPSON?

Jesus hates Social Justice

"Jesus hates Social Justice."

To some, that's a provocative statement. Oklahoma combat veteran and political/cultural commentator Jarrin Jackson makes the argument that it's a 100% Biblical certainty in a recent video.

Watch here:

He's absolutely right.

The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel was drafted in 2018 by prominent evangelical pastors and leaders, including John MacArthur, Voddie Baucham, Phil Johnson, Tom Ascol, Darrell Harrison, Tom Buck, James White, Paul Washer, and others. The signers made the following introduction to the document, also called the Dallas Statement:

In view of questionable sociological, psychological, and political theories presently permeating our culture and making inroads into Christ's church, we wish to clarify certain key Christian doctrines and ethical principles prescribed in God’s Word. Clarity on these issues will fortify believers and churches to withstand an onslaught of dangerous and false teachings that threaten the gospel, misrepresent Scripture, and lead people away from the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Specifically, we are deeply concerned that values borrowed from secular culture are currently undermining Scripture in the areas of race and ethnicity, manhood and womanhood, and human sexuality. The Bible’s teaching on each of these subjects is being challenged under the broad and somewhat nebulous rubric of concern for “social justice.” If the doctrines of God’s Word are not uncompromisingly reasserted and defended at these points, there is every reason to anticipate that these dangerous ideas and corrupted moral values will spread their influence into other realms of biblical doctrines and principles.

We submit these affirmations and denials for public consideration, not with any pretense of ecclesiastical authority, but with an urgency that is mixed with deep joy and sincere sorrow. The rapidity with which these deadly ideas have spread from the culture at large into churches and Christian organizations—including some that are evangelical and Reformed—necessitates the issuing of this statement now.

In the process of considering these matters we have been reminded of the essentials of the faith once for all handed down to the saints, and we are re-committed to contend for it. We have a great Lord and Savior, and it is a privilege to defend his gospel, regardless of cost or consequences. Nevertheless, while we rejoice in that privilege, we grieve that in doing so we know we are taking a stand against the positions of some teachers whom we have long regarded as faithful and trustworthy spiritual guides. It is our earnest prayer that our brothers and sisters will stand firm on the gospel and avoid being blown to and fro by every cultural trend that seeks to move the Church of Christ off course. We must remain steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

The Apostle Paul’s warning to the Colossians is greatly needed today: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). The document that follows is an attempt to heed that apostolic command. We invite others who share our concerns and convictions to unite with us in reasserting our unwavering commitment to the teachings of God’s Word articulated in this statement. Therefore, for the glory of God among his Church and throughout society, we offer the following affirmations and denials.

The Statement has fourteen articles of affirmations and denials, which you can read here (also in PDF here).

1889 Institute: Two Stories on why Socialism Fails

Strange But True: Socialism Fails

By Byron Schlomach

What follows is a true story – actually, two true stories, or the same story that occurred in two different places in very different times and circumstances. Read on to find out where.

They had been discussing amongst themselves for months, concerned with poverty, hunger, and lack of progress in growing crops, so important to feeding themselves and building a thriving community. They should have succeeded. They all worked together – clearing, tilling, sowing, weeding, and reaping – everyone in the same fields at the same time. Anyone weak in one skill should have had it made up by others working beside them, so that all should benefit from each other’s labor.

They had a common purpose, which was to prosper and live peaceably. Mostly, they liked and took care of each other. Everybody got an equal share of the yearly harvest. But something was amiss. Harvests were more meager than the farmers knew they should be.

So they finally discussed the problem and what to do about it. It was not a problem of bad soil, or a lack of knowledge, or lack of skill. Instead, they realized none of them truly worked as hard as they were capable. Why? Because they got the same share of the yearly output regardless of their personal effort, all attempted to let others do the work. Nobody was working to their full capabilities because nobody was rewarded extra for doing so, and nobody lost more than others for avoiding work.

The solution was amazingly simple. They divided the fields and worked their own plots individually, keeping the gains for themselves. The next year, the harvest was bountiful, not because of great weather or new, special seeds, but because everyone worked harder. And since most had produced more than they could eat, everybody had more because of trade.

This story has likely played out many times in many settings for ages, but two come to mind. The Pilgrims practiced socialism for two or three years, nearly starving themselves to death. Some 355 years later and half a planet away, farmers in a Chinese village, Xiaogang, defied Communist decree with the same results as when the Pilgrims abandoned socialism. The two stories are the same in every important detail except that the Chinese farmed separately in secret and mutually agreed to raise the children of any that might be arrested.

These two examples of socialism’s failure teach us that all humans respond to incentives and are self-interested. Thus, giving everyone equal shares as a way to guarantee security actually results in poverty and insecurity. As William Bradford, the Pilgrim governor put it, rather than socialism, “God in His wisdom saw that another plan of life was fitter for them.”

Byron Schlomach, 1889 Institute Director. Contact: bschlomach@1889institute.org.

OCPA column: Bernie Sanders reveals teacher union goals for Oklahoma

Bernie Sanders reveals teacher union goals for Oklahoma

By Jonathan Small

In a recent column published by The Oklahoman, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, declared himself connected at the hip with Oklahoma teacher unions. There’s good reason to take that claim seriously—the Oklahoma Education Association’s national parent, the National Education Association, has given Sanders an “A” rating for years—so one should take seriously Sanders’ agenda as one shared by his teacher union comrades.

It’s an agenda that means more money for the government and less money for working Oklahoma families—even though Sanders tries to pretend otherwise. And it’s an agenda that would limit educational opportunity for Oklahoma children.

Over two years, Oklahoma lawmakers have increased K-12 school appropriations by 20 percent, funneling $638 million more into the system for teacher pay raises and classroom funding. Much of that funding came from more than $1 billion in tax increases and other revenue measures passed since 2015.

Sanders says those tax increases have “not been nearly enough” and calls for even more taxes. But Sanders decries Oklahoma’s recent tax increases—explicitly demanded by Oklahoma teacher unions—as falling “heavily on working families.” And he argues Oklahoma school problems were caused by state “tax cuts favoring the wealthy and large profitable corporations.” Since 2005, Oklahoma’s income tax was cut from 6.65 percent to 5 percent. That tax cut kicks in at $8,700 of taxable income for single filers. Who knew that earning $8,700 made one “wealthy”?

So Sanders is in the odd position of praising unions for forcing Oklahoma tax increases on working families, even as he decries those tax increases, and then argues that tax cuts that benefitted those working families were a mistake. Make of that what you will.

And Sanders says he now wants additional tax increases—on the “wealthy,” of course.

Sanders also took aim at EPIC charter schools, an online provider, saying that school is “draining” $112 million from public schools, and declared as president he would put “a moratorium on the expansion of charter schools.”

Never mind that every dollar spent on a student at EPIC—which is a public school—would have been spent on those same students in other public brick-and-mortar schools, so there’s no diversion of funding from education at all. And never mind that charter schools disproportionately serve low-income and minority students who would otherwise not get a quality education. Sanders and his teacher union allies are willing to sacrifice those children simply out of ideological pique.

In 2019, Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders chose a different path than the 2018 teacher-walkout model that Sanders praises. Instead of raising taxes, they increased state savings—something the OEA opposed, even though those savings will protect schools from budget cuts in future downturns.

Let’s hope saner heads continue to prevail in 2020, because if Sanders and his teacher-union allies prevail, the tax-increase drubbing Oklahomans took in 2018 will become the rule, not the exception.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.

OEA tweet: "teaching is a political act"

Union declares teaching is political

by Ray Carter, Center for Independent Journalism

Just weeks after roughly 60 of its members attended a conference where participants voiced support for abortion, transgender rights, reparations for slavery, and more, the Oklahoma Education Association tweeted that teaching “is a political act.”

On July 28, a message on the OEA’s official Twitter account stated, “As teachers, we need to realize that teaching is a political act. It affects everyone, and therefore we need to advocate for good policies that invest public resources wisely in the common good. We can no longer shut up and teach.”

That text was a quote pulled from a linked “Education Week” article by Rep. John Waldron, a former teacher and Tulsa Democrat. In that article, Waldron decried an anti-abortion measure passed by Oklahoma lawmakers and criticized the decision to place $200 million into state savings. Waldron also compared “deep-red” states like Oklahoma to the Confederacy as examples of “government under single-party rule.”

Shortly after comparing proponents of slavery and modern lawmakers, Waldron wrote, “One of the reasons we have so many states run by one party is that we have learned to vilify the other side rather than listen to it.”

The OEA tweet is only the latest instance where union officials have voiced apparent support for the intermingling of teaching and politics.

In a 2016 column urging political activism, OEA president Alicia Priest declared that “everything about public education is political. The reforms, the elected school board, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the standards, your salary and benefits, the textbooks that are approved for your use—ALL politically driven decisions.”

Among the benefits of increased political activity, Priest wrote, was “the treasure of building power.”

Other union activists have been even more explicit in advocating political stances via the education system.

On Feb. 8, Priest tweeted a picture of herself and Aaron Baker, an 8th-grade history teacher in Del City. Both were attending the National Education Association Foundation Gala, and Priest noted Baker was an “OEA awardee” at the event.

That tweet was notable because Baker, who has also been a participant in the OEA’s delegate assembly, has often proclaimed that he injects politics into educational settings. Among other things, he has written that he teaches his students “that the phrase ‘law and order’ is steeped in systemic racism,” that “concentrated wealth multiplies poverty,” “that most of the time, when people kill people, they use guns,” and that “the greatest nuclear threat the world has ever seen is the United States of America.”

Baker has also written, “There are seeds of an Oklahoma Socialist revival germinating in the rich soil of progressive #oklaed.”

Some officials who have won election with OEA backing have avoided the explicit rhetoric of the union, but have often fallen in line with the union’s demands when it comes time to vote.

In a November 2018 video podcast with The Oklahoman, Sen. Cari Hicks, an Oklahoma City Democrat and former teacher who was endorsed by the OEA, downplayed the role of partisanship in policymaking.

“Education, to me, is nonpartisan,” Hicks said.

But she subsequently joined a party-line effort to block most of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s nominees to the State Board of Education. As a member of the Senate Education Committee, Hicks opposed confirmation of Carlisha Williams Bradley; William Flanagan, Jr.; Estela Hernandez and Jennifer Monies.

Hicks opposed Flanagan’s nomination after he expressed support for charter schools and virtual education and said officials could reduce administrative duplication and waste in Oklahoma schools.

Hicks announced her opposition to Hernandez and Monies before either nominee appeared before the committee. The Oklahoman reported that Hicks said she “was aided in her decision by a set of criteria put together by Democratic lawmakers focused on education,” but “declined to share the criteria.”

Stitt’s Board of Education nominees were opposed by the OEA.

Ray Carter is the director of OCPA’s Center for Independent Journalism. He has two decades of experience in journalism and communications. He previously served as senior Capitol reporter for The Journal Record, media director for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and chief editorial writer at The Oklahoman.

OCPA column: Distorting facts to fit a narrative

Distorting facts to fit a narrative

by Jonathan Small

President of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA)

In a recent interview, self-described socialist and congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tried to explain away low unemployment and recast world history in her own image.

Ocasio-Cortez claimed, “Unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs.” But as James Pethokoukis from the American Enterprise Institute points out, “…. only 4.8 percent of employed Americans hold multiple jobs. That’s lower than before the Great Recession and lower than during the 1990s boom. Indeed, that number has been declining for years.”

The socialist candidate went on to claim that, “Capitalism has not always existed in the world and will not always exist in the world.”

While no one can see the future, the history is clear. And it’s not on the side of Ocasio-Cortez. As Pethokoukis points out, “…. capitalism has pretty much always existed. People have been trading since there was something to trade.” And, let’s not forget that no other economic system has done more for the benefit and prosperity of humanity than capitalism.

Ocasio-Cortez’s comments are another instance of trying to change the facts to fit a political narrative. Such distortions are not just for blue-state socialists; unfortunately, it happens in Oklahoma.

Rep. Leslie Osborn, the former chair of the Oklahoma House Appropriations and Budget Committee, spent much of her time there advocating for tax increases. She routinely blamed current shortfalls on previous tax cuts. The truth, however, is that as soon as you zoom out and see the long term trends, Oklahoma government has been growing, not shrinking. Recent declines in revenue were almost entirely due to the effects of low oil prices rippling through our economy. Still, in the long run, the total tax and fee burden on Oklahomans has gone up.

It is not only candidates and elected officials who sometimes bend the facts. Multiple university presidents claimed last year that Oklahoma was “dead last” in spending for higher education. They cited a national report on higher education funding, but the report actually showed that Oklahoma spent more per capita than a dozen other states.

Everybody has their own ideas about politics and public policy. An open and honest debate is necessary to maintain a free society. When politicians and other government officials play fast and loose with the facts, or intentionally distort them for their own benefit, they corrode our very system of government.

We are all entitled to our own opinions, but we are not entitled to our own facts. Politicos in Oklahoma, and across the country, should stop bending the facts to meet their needs.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Socialist running for President as a Democrat

And no, I'm not talking about Hillary Clinton. I'm talking about her first official challenger in the Democratic presidential primary.

Meet Bernie Sanders, Vermont's Independent U.S. Senator who is a self-proclaimed socialist. Sanders has caucused with the Democrats since he arrived in Washington, D.C., in 1991 as Vermont's U.S. Representative. He was elected to the Senate in 2006.

He doesn't have a chance against the Clinton machine, but it will be interesting to watch nonetheless. At least Sanders is willing to say what he really is.

Thomas Peterffy and the Freedom to Succeed

Re-posted from Erick Erickson of RedState.com:

Thomas Peterffy is the founder of Interactive Brokers, an online brokerage firm. But he wasn’t always.

In 1956, Thomas Peterffy, unable to speak English, fled Hungary as the Iron Curtain was lowering on Eastern Europe. By the time Peterffy left Hungary, the communists were in charge. Around 350,000 people, many intellectuals and politicians, were purged by the communists. In 1956, Hungary went through a revolution that pushed out the Soviets until November of that year when the Soviets sent in 150,000 troops killing 20,000 people with a quarter million more fleeing for their lives.

Thomas Peterffy was one of those refugees. He went on to be an American success story. Now, this registered independent voter, has felt compelled to tell the world about the horrors of socialism and how it destroys success and erodes a nation’s work ethic. He has, out of his own pocket, produced an ad of him talking. He is, again with just his own money, running the ad on national news networks and in Ohio.

It is one of the most powerful ads you will see this campaign cycle. A refugee from a communist state has put his money where his mouth is and wants the world to know what happens when a nation punishes success.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

"Fight Socialism - Buy a Ford"

Picture taken by a reader, Paul Holybee, at Eufaula Ford. If you have a picture, story, or tip, submit it to muskogeepolitico@gmail.com.

The Conservative View: Celebrations and Hangovers

Last week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Celebrations and Hangovers

We Americans are a people that want to have good time and not worry about the consequences later. It is amazing how many people get themselves into financial trouble buying Christmas gifts and celebrating the holiday season. It is so easy to get the credit card out and buy all kinds of bling and other things that we really don’t need in the first place. We forget that there comes a pay up time; just listen to all of the wailing and gnashing when the credit card bill comes in January. After the historic socialistic vote on government run health care that our all knowing and wise congressmen and women imposed upon us mere mortals, one individual compared the new law to being as good as Christmas day and, with this new legislation, every day would be just like Christmas.

Far too many people have the idea that all of the expenses will be paid by the rich people and corporations of this country; sadly they do not understand economics. I have seen people get irate when the items that they need keep going up in price. Corporations must make a profit if they wish to stay in business. Corporations for the most part don’t pay taxes; they are merely the instrument by which the government collects taxes from the citizens of this country. Whenever the cost of production goes up, the price of the product that they are producing must go up if they are to survive as a business. All businesses do this; they are passing the cost of increased production on to the consumer. For example; if a company manufactures toasters and sells them for ten dollars, they have to have that amount in order to stay in business. If additional expenses are incurred (such as health care premiums) the price may jump to thirteen dollars. In reality the cost of health care premiums that you thought someone else would have to pay has just cost you, the consumer, a 30% jump in the cost of the toaster that you needed. What most people fail to understand is that, all the items that we need will rise in price.

Many people like to have a big party on New Year’s Eve and consume an excessive amount of alcohol, usually the next morning they wake up with a throbbing head and a huge hangover. For the Americans that are celebrating this new entitlement, it will be just a matter of time until their headache begins.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.

McCarville Too Much for Red China

The McCarville Report is, apparently, too much for the Chinese government. Oklahoma City politico Pat McFerron reports that the conservative blog is blocked by government internet censors.

He wrote to Mike McCarville, "Thought you might like to know that apparently your site is blocked by the Chinese government. I've been in Beijing and am now in Shanghai, and yours is the only website I regularly visit that have I have not been able to access. You should wear this as a badge of honor!"

MoveOn.org Seeks to Hold Coburn Protests

In an email sent this afternoon, MoveOn.org announced plans to stage "Whose Side Are You On?" rallies in front of Sen. Tom Coburn's Oklahoma offices. The email asked MoveOn members to host the rallies, to be held on October 14th. Coburn has been specifically targeted due to his outspokeness against nationalized/socialized health care.

The email stated that "The public option has strong momentum [ed. note: only in their minds...]. Four of five congressional committees have included a public option in their legislation, and a strong bloc of progressives in Congress says they will only support a bill with a public option."

It also said that "we've still got an uphill fight to win this one in the Senate—Big Insurance is spending millions to defeat real [ha!] reform, and conservative Democrats and Republicans are scuttling reform at every turn [you betcha!]."

Conservative activists are looking at ways to counter-act MoveOn.org's protests. MoveOn was not successful in disrupting Coburn's recent town hall meetings, and when they held a sign-waving event in Tulsa were greatly outnumbered by conservative activist and tea partiers.

Reagan On Socialized Medicine

Here's Ronald Reagan, speaking on socialized medicine in... 1961.



His words could not be more timely. Every word of this could apply to today.

Obama and Marxism

Obama Affinity to Marxists Dates Back to College Days

Barack Obama laughs off charges of socialism. Joe Biden scoffs at references to Marxism. Both men shrug off accusations of liberalism.

But Obama himself acknowledges that he was drawn to socialists and even Marxists as a college student. He continued to associate with Marxists later in life, even choosing to launch his political career in the living room of a self-described Marxist, William Ayers, in 1995, when Obama was 34.

Obama's affinity for Marxists began when he attended Occidental College in Los Angeles.

"To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully," the Democratic presidential candidate wrote in his memoir, "Dreams From My Father." "The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists."

(rest of article)

Obama: Redistribution of Wealth, Constitution Flawed

From an NPR interview in 2001.

Here...



... and here...



Here's the link to the interview (scroll down about halfway).