Stitt praises DHS certification of Oklahoma's REAL-ID compliance

GOVERNOR STITT PRAISES DHS CERTIFICATION OF OKLAHOMA'S REAL ID COMPLIANCE  

  

OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 15, 2020)—Governor Kevin Stitt today praised the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) announcement that the State of Oklahoma is in full compliance with the REALID Act and regulation. 

This notification comes after three years of hard work by employees at the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) to implement a new system and standards to allow Oklahoma to come into compliance with REAL ID regulations. 

“The team at the Department of Public Safety has worked tirelessly to update systems and take the necessary steps to implement this critical program,” said Governor Kevin Stitt.“Thanks to their dedication, Oklahomans will be able to use their REAL ID compliant licenses to travel seamlessly across the U.S. and enter federal facilities. By implementing REAL ID, we are also ensuring our state remains competitive, successfully attracts new businesses and retains our hardworking people as we continue to make Oklahoma a Top Ten state.”

DPS issued the first REAL ID compliant credential to the public on June 29 and is currently in week eight of a 16-week statewide rollout. By mid-November, Oklahomans will be able to obtain a REAL ID compliant credential at all DPS facilities and tag agent locations. 

“I am extremely proud of all of our employees and partners and their dedication to seeing this project through,” said DPS Commissioner John Scully. “Employees working on this project have worked weekends and nights to ensure that our state achieved this goal. Not only have we achieved becoming REAL ID compliant, but we have also modernized our entire credential issuance system. We thank Oklahomans for being patient with our agency as we implement the new system and work through growing pains.” 

Due to circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, DHS extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline through October 1, 2021. This means regular Oklahoma driver licenses and ID cards will continue to be accepted for boarding a plane and entering federal facilities until that date. 

Oklahomans can learn more about REAL ID and how to obtain one at www.realid.ok.gov.

'Unite Norman' succeeds in getting councilmember recall certified

RECALL CERTIFIED! Unite Norman’s Recall Effort Certified for Council Member Petrone

Mayor’s Recall Certification Will Not Be Announced Till Tomorrow — and Unite Norman Cautions about Legal Precedence Below;

ALSO: Grassroots Groups Cautions against Council Member Bierman’s Planned Doxxing of List of Petition Signers in the Mayoral Recall effort, Citing Intimidation and Harassment

NORMAN — Unite Norman responded to the City Clerk’s announcement today that the signature-gathering effort to recall Council Member Petrone is certified and will now head to the ballot box.

The announcement comes after the grassroots organization turned in more than 20,000 signatures to recall Mayor Clark, and thousands of signatures to recall Council Member Petrone, and after forcing the resignation already of Council Member Wilson in Ward 5.

Small: the Electoral College matters to minorities

The Electoral College matters to minorities

By Jonathan Small

Rather than have a nationwide popular vote, the United States chooses its president through the Electoral College with the outcome tied to multiple state-level elections. This system ensures voters in smaller states like Oklahoma are still prized by presidential candidates. But it has also ensured minority groups of all types can wield greater influence even as consensus-building is incentivized.

The Electoral College’s benefit has accrued not only to those interested in specific issues—such as pro-life voters or environmentalists—but to racial minorities as well.

Consider this. In the last presidential election, roughly 130 million people voted. Roughly 35 million votes were cast by racial minorities. If we eliminated the Electoral College and chose the president based solely on popular vote, the president could be selected solely by white people.

But in the state elections that ultimately choose the president through the Electoral College, black voters represent a key share of the voting population and have greater sway.

Music Monday: God's Gonna Cut You Down

This week's Music Monday is God's Gonna Cut You Down, an American folk song posthumously released and sung in 2006 by Johnny Cash.

Enjoy!

See below for all previous Music Monday posts. Do you have a song you'd like to suggest for a future Music Monday? Email me at JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com.

OCPA column: Notable support for school choice

Notable support for school choice

By Jonathan Small

In politics, as in retail, consumer demand drives product selection, only politicians offer policies rather than baked goods. So it’s notable that multiple speakers strongly advocated for school choice policies every night of the recent Republican National Convention.

That type of strong, vocal support only happens when politicians are certain a policy is both popular and beneficial, as several speakers demonstrated.

Sarah Hughes, whose eight-year-old son is a beneficiary of a Wisconsin school choice program, told national viewers her son “would have slipped through the cracks in public schools” but now has been provided the educational opportunity that will allow him “to succeed.”

Tera Myers, whose son has Down syndrome and is a beneficiary of an Ohio school-choice program, likewise noted her son says school choice “helped my dreams come true” and allowed him to become the “best I can be.”

Such stories are not outliers, nor are they isolated to places far from Oklahoma. Our state has seen dramatic success stories generated by school choice.

For example, in north Tulsa this year Crossover Preparatory Academy continued educating students through distance means when Tulsa Public Schools effectively threw in the towel, other than having online review of past content.

Many of the low-income, all-male and mostly minority students at Crossover Preparatory Academy in North Tulsa attend that private school because of a state tax credit for donations to scholarship-granting organizations.

The benefits of their private-school education can be seen by comparing those students to their socio-economic counterparts still in Tulsa Public Schools. A TPS official recently told the State Board of Education that district now expects that kids “who might otherwise have been predicted to be two years below grade level” are instead going to be “approximately three years below grade level.”

The kids at Crossover still have opportunity thanks to education, but many kids in TPS do not and will pay the price for years.

Former Rep. Jason Nelson, who created a state program that pays for children with special needs to attend private schools, has reported some parents “have told me that it saved their child’s life.” That is not hyperbole. Oklahoma’s school-choice programs have served children with special needs, teens recovering from addiction, survivors of horrendous childhood abuse, and more. School-choice has not only changed lives but saved them. 

As the nation grapples with issues of inequality, one of the best paths forward is to expand school choice in Oklahoma and elsewhere. As Donald Trump Jr. bluntly noted, if officials really want to “help minorities in underserved communities,” the best option is to “let parents choose what school is best for their kids.”

Ja’Ron Smith, deputy assistant to the president, noted at the RNC that education “is the great equalizer.” He’s right. It’s time we give all students of all races and economic backgrounds a greater chance at success through school choice.

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

Music Monday: Living By Faith

This week's Music Monday is the hymn Living By Faith, written in 1918 by James Wells and R.E. Winsett. This particular video is of congregational singing at Southwest Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.

Enjoy!

Lyrics:

1. I care not today what the morrow may bring,

If shadow or sunshine or rain,

The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything,

And all of my worries are vain.

Refrain:

Living by faith in Jesus above,

Trusting, confiding in His great love;

From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,

I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.

2. Though tempests may blow and the storm clouds arise,

Obscuring the brightness of life,

I’m never alarmed at the overcast skies—

The Master looks on at the strife. [Refrain]

3. I know that He safely will carry me through,

No matter what evils betide;

Why should I then care though the tempest may blow,

If Jesus walks close to my side. [Refrain]

4. Our Lord will return for His loved ones some day,

Our troubles will then all be o’er;

The Master so gently will lead us away,

Beyond that blest heavenly shore. [Refrain]

See below for all previous Music Monday posts. Do you have a song you'd like to suggest for a future Music Monday? Email me at JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com.

1889 Institute: Checking Government-Granted Privilege

Checking Government-Granted Privilege

By Byron Schlomach

Among young people, socialism is as popular as capitalism. Our social fabric is increasingly frayed, and conservative populists are no happier than young socialists about our nation’s general state of affairs. This is not due to Trump Derangement Syndrome, but to a vague sense that increasingly, the economic “game” is loaded in favor of a few over the many. Unfortunately, in many respects this is true.

History and experience has taught that income inequality caused by market forces is a strength. The fact that one can get fabulously wealthy by producing goods and services others find useful is a powerful spur to innovation and hard work. It’s an incentive that has lifted billions out of poverty within the last 30 years. But now, after years of constant drumbeat by socialists, income inequality appears to present an existential threat to the United States.

OKGOP Chair again calls on redistricting petition head to release donors, expenses

REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN AGAIN CALLS FOR REDISTRICTING PETITIONS HEAD TO RELEASE DONORS, EXPENSES

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, September 1, 2020 – In light of a third initiative petition filed by a political advocacy group aimed at disrupting Oklahoma’s redistricting process, the chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party said today that Andy Moore, leader of People Not Politicians (PNP), must immediately release the organization’s donors and expenses.

“This is the political story that keeps on giving,” said David McLain. “The latest PNP filing is nothing more than a political scheme to buy Mr. Moore’s left-wing, out-of-state donors more time to push their disingenuous petition on Oklahoma voters. Their plan is to increase the size of the state legislature for the 2025 and 2026 sessions, and draw legislative lines on a proportional basis, leading to many counties and cities across the state being disenfranchised. This would be true political gerrymandering.”

“Other states, Oregon for example, are using the exact name as Mr. Moore’s group which confirms my belief that his effort is a component of a national plan to advance a liberal political agenda across the United States. It is why, for the third time this summer, I call on Mr. Moore to release all donors and expenses related to his three redistricting petitions dating to October 2018. His organization has funded salaries, hired attorneys and a public relations firm, produced videos, and engaged in other campaign expenses that have never been disclosed.”

Hofmeister encourages school blood drives as supply plummets

Hofmeister encourages school blood drives as supply plummets

OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 1, 2020) – As blood supplies have dwindled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister today urged schools to host drives for staff and students to help ensure the Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI) can meet demand.

Blood drive cancellations are driving supplies to critically low levels. To maintain a strong blood supply, 1,200 donations a day are needed in Oklahoma. With more than 30% of total donations in the state collected from donors associated with education groups, school-based drives are critical.

“One of every three units of blood used in our state is collected from blood drives held with the educational system,” said Hofmeister. “School-based drives are essential to ensuring a strong blood supply for our friends and neighbors. I encourage all educators to uphold the Oklahoma Standard of helping one another through difficulty by supporting blood drives.”

Rep. Sean Roberts: 90% of COVID-positive Oklahoma inmates are Asymptomatic

Rep. Sean Roberts Shares That 90% of COVID-19 Positive Inmates Are Asymptomatic

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, today released the following statement regarding COVID-19 within the Oklahoma Dept. of Corrections:

“Our state has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases, which is fueled by a high number of positive tests in our prison systems.

According to the latest data my office has received from the Oklahoma Dept. of Corrections, 720 inmates are positive for COVID-19 after obtaining nasopharyngeal swab tests. Of those inmates, 89.6% are asymptomatic. Only 75 inmates, which makes up 10.4% of those who tested positive for COVID-19, in our state’s entire prison system, are experiencing any symptoms.

State Rep. Frix Appointed to State Pension Commission

Frix Appointed to State Pension Commission

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Avery Frix, R-Muskogee, recently was appointed to the Oklahoma State Pension Commission by House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka.

The purpose of the commission is to establish uniform reporting standards among the state’s retirement system and to make necessary recommendations.

“It’s an honor to be selected to serve our state retirees in this capacity,” Frix said. “Since taking office in 2016, I have fought to secure additional dollars going directly to those who served our state as teachers, law enforcement, firefighters or other state employees. These people dedicated years of their lives to improve the lives of others, and they deserve someone in their corner making sure they get everything promised to them in return for their hard work.”

Lucas applauds Trump for expanding access to telehealth

Trump Administration Further Expands Telehealth, Focuses on Rural Areas

Cheyenne, OK – Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (the Order) further expanding access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in rural communities. Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) released the following statement today applauding the Trump Administration’s actions and committing to continue to work to further expand access to health care in Oklahoma’s rural communities:

“Earlier this month, President Trump took an important step to ensure those living in rural communities across Oklahoma have better, more reliable access to medical care. When Americans were asked to stay in their homes, the responsibilities and need for care prompted quick changes for both the well-being of patients and health care providers. Thanks to telehealth, Americans are receiving better access to the doctors of their choice all while avoiding unnecessary exposure to coronavirus,” said Congressman Lucas.