Sen. Coburn to Hold Area Town Halls Today

Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D., will be holding several town halls meetings today in the Muskogee/east-centrak Oklahoma area. The times and locations are list below.


Muskogee Town Hall
Thursday, August 13, 2009
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
NSU-Muskogee Auditorium
2400 W Shawnee
Muskogee, OK 74401

Sallisaw Town Hall
Thursday, August 13, 2009
2:30 PM-3:30 PM
Carl Albert State College (Sallisaw Campus)
Stites Multipurpose Room
1601 S. Opdyke
Sallisaw, OK 74955

Webbers Falls/Gore Town Hall
Thursday, August 13, 2009
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
First Baptist Church - Fellowship Hall
120 McCorkle street
Webbers Falls, OK 74470

See you at the Muskogee town hall!

Muskogee City Council Meeting - August 10th

For those interested, here's the August 10th City Council meeting.



I was actually unable to attend this meeting, unfortunately, so I will definitely watch this video!

EDIT: This was by far the shortest council meeting in a long time, and with no controversy!

Sen. Coburn to host Town Halls

From the Doctor's/Senator's office:

Dr. Coburn to Host Town Hall Meetings across Oklahoma
August 6, 2009

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. will be holding a series of town hall meetings in Oklahoma throughout August. Dr. Coburn will take questions and address important issues for Oklahoma and the nation at each event.

“I encourage everyone to attend and participate in these town halls. These settings provide not only a chance for Oklahomans to hear my views on current events but also gives me the opportunity to hear directly from the people who I am representing in Washington,” said Dr. Coburn.

Muskogee Town Hall
Thursday, August 13, 2009
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
NSU-Muskogee Auditorium
2400 W Shawnee
Muskogee, OK 74401

Sallisaw Town Hall
Thursday, August 13, 2009
2:30 PM-3:30 PM
Carl Albert State College (Sallisaw Campus)
Stites Multipurpose Room
1601 S. Opdyke
Sallisaw, OK 74955

Webbers Falls/Gore Town Hall
Thursday, August 13, 2009
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
First Baptist Church - Fellowship Hall
120 McCorkle street
Webbers Falls, OK 74470

Broken Arrow Town Hall
Friday, August 14, 2009
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
The Main Place
Broken Arrow Community Playhouse
1800 S. Main Street
Broken Arrow, OK 74012

Jenks Town Hall
Friday, August 14, 2009
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Jenks City Hall
211 North Elm
Jenks, OK 74037

Bristow Town Hall
Thursday, August 20, 2009
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Bristow City Hall
Bristow Court Room
110 W 7th Ave.
Bristow, OK 74010

Bartlesville Town Hall
Thursday, August 20th 2009
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Bartlesville Community Center
Community Hall
300 SE Adams
Bartlesville, OK 74003

Downtown Oklahoma City
Monday, August 24, 2009
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Chase Bank building lobby
100 North Broadway, NW Corner of Main and Broadway
Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Del City Community Center
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
4:00 PM -5:00 PM
Del City Community Center - Main Community Hall
4505 SE 15th
Del City, OK 73115

[emphasis mine]

Here's one elected official in Oklahoma who isn't afraid to meet his constituents.

Ken Miller Pulls out of Speaker Race

State Rep. Ken Miller (R, Edmond), chairman of the Appropriations and Budget Committee, has pulled out of the race for Speaker-designate (the precursor to becoming Speaker for the next term). The only candidate now is State Rep. Kris Steele (R, Shawnee), the current Speaker Pro-Tempore.

Miller made his announcement first in an email to the Republican caucus, where he said:

"After much thought and positive conversations with Kris over the weekend, I have decided to not seek the position of speaker-designate and support Kris in his efforts to become the next Speaker of the House. Later today, he and I will be releasing a joint statement on our shared goal of moving our state and caucus forward. I am honored to have been a part of the conversation concerning future House leadership and appreciative of the encouragement I received. I look forward to working closely with Kris and each of you to advance our state and majority."

This afternoon, Steele and Miller released the following statement:

Miller Endorses Steele for House Speaker

OKLAHOMA CITY (August 10, 2009)—House Appropriations and Budget Chairman Ken Miller announced today his support for Representative Kris Steele to be Oklahoma ’s next Speaker of the House.

"After having positive and substantive discussions over the weekend, I am pleased to announce my support of Representative Steele in his efforts to become the next Speaker of the House,” said Miller, R-Edmond.

“While I am honored to have been a part of the conversation concerning future House leadership, I do not plan to seek the position of speaker-designate in the fall and look forward to working closely with Rep. Steele to move our state forward," he said.

With no other House Republicans expressing interest in the position, Steele is likely to become the next Speaker of the House.

“Representative Ken Miller is a valuable member and a talented legislator. I’m honored and pleased to have his support and look forward to working together with him to grow our economy and tackle the important issues facing our state,” said Steele, who is currently the speaker pro-tempore of the House.

“The dialogue that Representative Miller and I have had will move the Republican caucus forward more unified than ever and that’s a tribute to his leadership,” said Steele, R-Shawnee.

Speaker Chris Benge, who is term limited and cannot seek re-election, praised Steele and Miller as strong leaders and said House Republicans will be in capable hands.

“This has been a very positive process and it demonstrates that Republicans have the ability to govern while smoothly transitioning leadership,” said Benge, R-Tulsa.

“I look forward to working with both of these leaders of our caucus as we enter next session and continue the pro-growth policies that have improved Oklahoma so much over the past few years.”

Though Benge remains Speaker of the House through November of 2010, Republicans will formally vote on Benge’s replacement this October. The winner will receive the title of “Speaker-Designate” and stand before the entire House for election as Speaker in November of 2010.

Miller's move was a little unexpected, even though most insiders have said for some time that Miller would not be able to beat Steele. This came after Miller waged a somewhat negative campaign in the caucus.

Miller was the establishment candidate, and this defeat strikes a blow at the grip political consultants and other party insiders have had on the State House for several years, particularly under the tenure of Speaker Lance Cargill and Speaker Chris Benge.

Candidate Dan Arnett to Host Town Halls

The following is a press release from Republican Congressional Candidate Dan Arnett.

Dan Arnett to Host a Series of Town Halls in August

The Second District’s representative, Dan Boren, will not be having any face-to-face forums to meet with his constituents during the August recess. In response, Dan Arnett will host a series of town halls across the Second District to allow Oklahomans to express their views on the topics of the day in the upcoming week. These town halls will be open to all Oklahomans, whether Democrat or Republican. The gatherings will all take place outside of Dan Boren’s Oklahoma offices across the state. Dan Arnett, 25 from Henryetta, is a candidate for congress and will be at these town halls to answer questions about his campaign. Says Arnett, “Mr. Boren is more than welcome to attend these town halls I have set up… it will save us postage when we do not have to mail the questions his constituents ask him.”

August 15 at 9:30am in McAlester (118 East Carl Albert Parkway)

August 15 at 3pm in Durant (112 N. 12th Avenue)

August 17 at 11:30am in Muskogee (431 W. Broadway)

August 17 at 5:30pm in Claremore (309 W. 1st Street)

Arnett is not the only candidate who has decided to hold town hall meetings - Howard Houchen has planned two town halls as well. (UPDATE: Houchen says he will hold town hall meetings in Choctaw County on August 21st, and Bryan and Pushmataha Counties on August 22nd)

Stay tuned to the Muskogee Politico for the latest developments in the 2010 Second District race.

The Conservative View: Road to the Poor House

The following is a weekly column written by Russell Turner, a Republican county commissioner from Adair County.

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Road To The Poor House

Being from Oklahoma I have a strong admiration of one of our most famous philosophers, Will Rogers. During his life he also experienced an economic upheaval early in the 20^th century. We Americans would do well to read some of the observations of the people that lived through the great depression. While technology has increased, human emotions and drives remain the same as they did all of those years ago. I once heard a quote by Will Rogers that went something like this, ” Americans are the only group of people in the world that ever went to the poor house in a new automobile”.

Over the past week there has been a feeding frenzy over the CASH FOR CLUNKERS promotion for buying a new car. Maybe I am wrong, but I feel that the reason our country is in the financial trouble it is in today is because we Americans have a bad habit of spending more than we can afford. Many people have the goal of having a new car, while that is ok we need to remember an auto is just a tool to get us to work and do the errands we have to do. I was raised not to waste things like food, money, equipment etc. Whenever I see someone pouring a liquid into a perfectly good auto and destroying an engine, it seems like such a waste to me. Some of these so-called clunkers may not get as good gas mileage as some of the newer cars, but they could serve the needs of many people who cannot afford to buy a new car. We Americans far too often are ready to fall for a deal that is too good to pass up. This whole scheme is supposed to help pull the American auto industry out of a slump, but from the numbers I have seen the majority of the new cars being bought are foreign imports.

Instead of getting more American manufactured autos on the road we will be having less. The cash for clunkers promotion will only give a short term boost, the only true solution is for government to get out of the way and allow American ingenuity and innovation to solve the problem and build the cars that the American public want instead of what some government bureaucrat thinks they need. I guess until then we will be on the road to the poor house.

If you want to contact Russell, or wish to subscribe to his email list, click here.

Call Dan Boren

Call Congressman Dan Boren's congressional offices and demand that he hold town hall meetings in his district during the congressional recess in August.


Washington, D.C. office
(202) 225-2701
(202) 225-3038 fax

Muskogee office
(918) 687-2533
(918) 686-0128 fax

Claremore office
(918) 341-9336
(918) 342-4806 fax

McAlester office
(918) 423-5951
(918) 423-1940 fax

Durant office
(580) 931-0333
(580) 920-0041 fax


Dan Boren should have the political courage to meet with his constituents, and not hide during the August recess. Perhaps he realizes that he is not representing his constituents, and does not want to be held responsible.

Pro-Growth Cities

In tough economic times like today, it is important that cities encourage continued business growth. It can be difficult to achieve this, but one way is to avoid passing new ordinances that make it harder for businesses to expand.

I live in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The recession took a while to hit our area, but the inevitable has occurred. As is the case across the nation, growth has slowed, and jobs have been lost. One would think that the city leaders would be doing everything they could to reverse that trend, and they are to a degree, but you would be surprised at some of the things city leaders can overlook.

For example, in January of this year, the city council passed an ordinance effectively banning metal buildings from being built, unless the metal facade was covered in brick or some other material (or unless the structure is built in areas zoned agricultural, industrial, or for mobile homes).

Most metal buildings are constructed by businesses for one simple reason: they are relatively cheap to build. A metal building is significantly lower in cost and faster in build time than conventional construction.

One of the main reasons for this is that metal buildings are not very pretty. What is forgotten is that today's metal structures can be accessorized with various forms of facades or wainscots (which should be left up to the owner, not forced on them by government). Muskogee's leaders have, in recent years, been a little obsessed with making the town look nice, to the detriment of existing business. Another example of this was the portable sign ban ordinance that was struck down by the courts a few years back. And for another instance, see my post from June, when a rezoning request from a small businessman was denied.

In the midst of economic turmoil not seen in decades, municipal leaders in my town are more concerned about how the city looks than about economic growth. A town can look as nice as possible, but still be dead economically.

The council recently pushed for, and the voters passed, a sales tax increase (which mainly dealt with infrastructure improvements, with a bit of "pork", if you will). As a result, a businessman friend of mine now has his orders shipped to his property in the country, which saves him a lot of money since it is located outside the city limits.

Just a few miles to the east, the small town of Fort Gibson takes a different perspective. Fort Gibson does not charge some construction-related fees that most cities do. The town has had substantial growth for several years, which might not be a total coincidence.

Cities would do well to enact pro-growth measures, and eliminate hurdles to growing business in their town, especially when dealing with small business. In a time of recession, this is not an option - it's a must.


Cross-posted at Cities of Vision - a think tank for cities.

A Blogging Milestone: One Year on the Web

On July 31st, this blog reached another milestone - one full year in existence. I've just been so busy that I didn't realize it until today!

From its inception on July 31st, 2008, this blog has had over 7700 hits, 187 comments, and such a wide variety of topics covered that it would bore you for me to list them all.

Thank you for reading my blog, and I look forward to another great year of discussing things with you on the Muskogee Politico!

Sincerely,

Jamison Faught
The Muskogee Politico Blogmaster

Activist: Boren Must Hold Town Halls

The following is a letter from Bobbie McAuliffe, a grassroots activist from Poteau.

The U.S. House of Representatives schedule says the period from August 3 to September 4 of this year is the Summer District Work Period for our Congresspeople.

This is the time when interested people in the legislative districts look forward to face to face meetings with those elected to serve us.

Many of us who have attempted to find out when our chosen one will be in our area during the recess have been told he will not be holding town hall meetings this year. My question of “Why not?” has not been answered.

Dan Boren should be reminded who he works for and that we deserve a progress report from him.

It is not unreasonable for us to expect him to hold 2 meetings a week in the district during this period, is it?

If you agree with me please do not just nod your head in agreement and say something like “I am glad you are doing this.” I am one voice. It will take many voices to turn his elitist thinking around and schedule some open meetings.

Probably the best way for us to get a message to him would be through one of his offices in the district. McAlester office: (918) 423-5951, Muskogee office: (918) 687-2533, Claremore office: (918) 341-9336, Durant office: (580) 931-0333

Bobbie McAuliffe
Poteau

I agree; Boren needs to grow a backbone, and face his constituents. He should be representing their interests anyway. By not holding town hall meetings in his district during the August recess, he is practically admitting that he only cares about the people around election time.


On a side note, if any of my readers want to submit a letter or article, I would be happy to consider posting it. If any candidates or local party organizations have an event, I would also be more than happy to help publicize the event.

Gun Owners of America event with Sen. Coburn

The following is from the Gun Owners of America.

An Evening with Senator Tom Coburn

Hosted by:

Gun Owners of America

You are cordially invited to the presentation of the

“Gun Owners of America
Friend of the Second Amendment Award”

Presented to

The Honorable Tom Coburn, M.D.
United States Senator

Date: August 14, 2009

Time: Reception 6:30 pm, Dinner 7:30 pm

Where: Southern Hills Marriott, 1902 East 71st, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136

Cost: $75.00 per person, $135.00 per couple
Please RSVP by August 1st*
(Business attire)
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Visit www.gunowners.org/okcoburn to register online

Dear Friend of the Second Amendment,

Gun Owners of America would like to invite you to join us in Tulsa for a dinner and award presentation to the U.S. Senate’s leading Second Amendment defender.

On August 14, 2009, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn will receive a “Friend of the Second Amendment Award” in appreciation for the tremendous amount of work that he has done to defend our Constitutional liberties.

Along with receiving this prestigious award, Senator Coburn will speak about what is going on in Congress concerning your gun rights, and what gun owners can expect in the coming months from the Obama Administration and the anti-gun congressional leadership.

Senator Coburn is the most effective pro-gun leader in the Senate, standing up for the rights of gun owners across the United States. This year Senator Coburn led, and won, the fight to repeal the National Parks Service gun ban. Senator Coburn believes, like you do, that Americans should not be forced to sacrifice their Second Amendment rights when entering National Parks.

Senator Coburn is also on the front line of other battles in Congress, including efforts to protect the Second Amendment rights of veterans, repeal the gun ban in the District of Columbia, and to block anti-gun bills like a new semi-auto ban and legislation that would close down gun shows.

Senator Coburn has earned the “Friend of the Second Amendment Award” for his leadership in the Senate and for his willingness to stand up against those who work to take away our Constitutional freedoms.

In addition to Senator Coburn’s address to gun owners, you will enjoy a fabulous meal, entertainment, and many raffle items — including several firearms, free range time, a Life Membership to Gun Owners of America, and more.

You will not want to miss this exciting opportunity to hear Senator Coburn’s insights into what is happening behind the scenes in Congress, while at the same time supporting Gun Owners of America —“the only no compromise gun lobby in Washington.”

At a time when strong conservative leadership is scarce, it is crucial to show our support of those who are protecting our right to keep and bear arms. We hope to see you in Tulsa.

Sincerely,

Tim Macy
Vice Chairman

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Cost: $75.00 per person, $135.00 per couple

Visit www.gunowners.org/okcoburn to register and for more information

You can also RSVP by phone at (703) 321-8585

*RSVP by August 1st and be automatically entered into a drawing to receive $100 in free raffle tickets!

White House Wants Your Help: Report ObamaCare Misinformation

The White House has issued a plea for help. Yes, Uncle Sam wants YOU to report "misinformation" regarding the President's health care reform plan.

From WhiteHouse.gov:

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

I decided to help them.

I reported WhiteHouse.gov and HealthReform.gov for misinformation. You can, too!

I'll make it easy - just one simple click, and it will all be filled out for you. Click here to send your email to the White House.