Bad Policy, Bad Politics

Government pre-K for three-year-olds is bad public policy. Turns out it's also unpopular.

The (Pro-)Life of Riley

When it comes to getting state government out of the abortion business, it seems state Sen. Nancy Riley (R, D, Whatever–Tulsa) was for it before she was against it.

Here's a direct-mail piece candidate Riley sent in 2000. You'll note that in the body of the letter there were only five words she deemed important enough to put in ALL CAPS.

Dear Friend,

In 1973, the Supreme Court decided to make law instead of interpreting it. As a result of this power grab, countless babies have been aborted – “legally” – since 1973.

And there seems to be no end to the violence against the unborn. It is frightening where we’re headed.

The calloused attitude toward life by our highest government officials is dragging our whole society down. We hear stories of teenagers giving birth to babies, killing them, then throwing them away.

Any sane person can see the horror of killing a newborn.

But what is outrageous is that if a teenager had instead been a doctor who killed the baby by piercing its brain with scissors after partially delivering it, the whole grisly tragedy would have been completely legal!

Ever since my opponent has been in office, we have seen no restrictions on abortions, no parental notification or parental consent laws.

My opponent believes in parental consent for getting tattoos, but has not sponsored any legislation supporting parental consent or parental notification.

We know where his priorities are.

That’s why it’s so important that you and I do all we can.

And it’s one of the reasons why I’ve decided to run for the State Senate – and why I need your help.

I believe in the God-given and constitutionally guaranteed right to life.

I have 3 children that I love more than life itself.

There is nothing more sacred than the gift of life.

I want to be your State Senator because I plan to fight for the principles that I hope you and I share. I want to hold our Senators accountable to the people of Oklahoma.

I want to be there in the Senate to remind our lawmakers that abortion-on-demand is the killing of babies, not the removal of some formless mass of cells.

I will introduce and fight for bills that uphold the sanctity of life – the lives of both mother and child – and I will fight to curb the carnage that has resulted from the unrestricted access to abortion.

We need leadership on the pro-life issue, unlike my opponent who has not introduced any parental notification legislation in over 10 years.

As your State Senator, I won’t just fight for a vigorous legal defense of our state’s Partial Birth Abortion Ban.

I will also fight for:

** Tough parental consent laws;

** Enforcement of a mandatory “cooling off” period before anyone can receive an abortion;

** And, absolutely NO STATE FUNDING FOR ABORTION.

We need to turn the tide on the abortion-on-demand holocaust one legislator at a time.

I believe I can make a difference in the State Senate as your champion for the unborn. But in order to do that, I’ll need your vote on November 7.

Your vote will make a difference in the lives of thousands of unborn Oklahomans.

Sincerely,


Nancy Riley
Republican Candidate
Senate District 37

Honoring the Sooner Boomer

"The University of Oklahoma has put outside the student union a patio stone engraved with the name of the student suicide bomber," Nolan Clay reports today in The Oklahoman.

OU's student affairs division arranged to have the stone placed, an OU alumni affairs employee said. OU officials say families pay for such memorials but the student's father said OU offered to place the stone and never billed him.

A stone costs $150.

Joel "Joe” Henry Hinrichs III, an engineering student, died Oct. 1, 2005, when his bomb went off at a campus bench a short distance from an OU night football game.

The FBI investigated whether the student, 21, tried or intended to enter the packed stadium but reported finding no conclusive evidence.

The student's father traveled from Colorado to Oklahoma to visit with university officials after the death. Joel Hinrichs Jr. said OU's dean of students, Clarke Stroud, offered to have the stone placed.

In an e-mail, the father told The Oklahoman the dean "very kindly understood that Joel's act was one of loneliness, not of aggression, and offered to have the stone placed in the memorial courtyard; he also indicated that the wife of the university president might select a tree to be placed on campus, also in Joel III's memory.”

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has more.

He Voted For It Before He Voted Against It

The flip-flopper has been outed.

State Sen. Charles Laster (D-Shawnee) voted for important pro-life legislation three times (once in committee and twice on the Senate floor) before he voted against it today.

Even though today's attempt to override the governor's veto fell short, the battle is not over. "Today's vote is just the beginning," says Sen. James Williamson (R-Tulsa). "Our fight on behalf of unborn Oklahomans will continue for as along as necessary until we override this veto.

"Sen. Laster’s flip flop on this life-and-death issue is surprising and disappointing. ... [His] explanation for changing his vote on SB 714 involves the same arguments that were used against this bill during every previous vote, yet Sen. Laster still voted for the bill every time until today."

'He Doesn't Care If People Like Him or Not'

That's one reason, says this article on National Review Online today, that the good doctor is such a good senator.

Henry's True Color

A few years ago I made the case (unpersuasive to some) that Gov. Brad Henry is -- how to put this? -- a liberal. Today my friend Gary Jones, chairman of the state Republican party, makes the same argument in a little piece called "With No Place to Hide, Henry Shows True Colors."

You knew it was going to happen sooner or later, especially with Republicans now in control of the House and parity in the Senate. Governor Henry -- who has taken credit for many Republican initiatives over the years -- has reverted back to his liberal ways, showing us all his true colors.

In recent weeks Henry has vetoed a bipartisan budget bill (setting the stage for another special session that will waste more of our tax dollars) and vetoed bipartisan pro-life legislation that would have prohibited state funds, facilities, and employees from being used to perform abortions.

With no place to hide, Henry is being forced to make decisions on conservative legislation that makes him squirm. It's not going to get any easier for him either, as bipartisan lawsuit reform legislation now awaits his signature.

Four years ago, Gov. Henry promised to bring "Texas Plus" tort reform to Oklahoma. SB 507 includes 18 of the 28 reforms proposed by the governor, and it's imperative that he be a man of his word and sign this legislation.

So will he sign it? I'm not holding my breath.

'Meandering Small Voice'

That, providentially, is one way to anagram "modern evangelicalism." We think we're being culturally relevant, but the culture knows better. Enjoy:



HT: Caleb Roberts

'The Greatest Civil Right We Could Offer'

"Legislation making it possible for cities and universities to sponsor charter schools in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties narrowly passed the House on Friday," The Oklahoman's Jennifer Mock reports today.

Charter schools are public, tuition-free schools that are accountable to a contract with a sponsor. They are operated by parents, teachers and community members, usually offering a specialized curriculum. ...

Rep. Tad Jones, R-Claremore, says he hopes school boards will begin to accept the growing trend of charter schools. The specialized schools have to meet the same standards of other public schools, but have more flexibility to teach toward individual students' needs, Jones said.

If a charter school is unable to bring up test scores, the sponsor can close the school.

Meanwhile, low-performing public schools can continue to operate without much improvement.

"If a charter school fails, it disappears,” he said.

"Now there is accountability; you have to perform or you aren't going to exist.”

Wealthy Oklahomans have the choice to send their children to top-notch private schools, but low-income students often are stuck in low-performing schools without any alternatives.

Rep. Jabar Shumate [pictured here], the author of the bill, said all children should have the opportunity to receive a quality education.

"If the public schools were doing their jobs, charter schools wouldn't be needed,” said Shumate, D-Tulsa.

"When you don't offer communities good schools, you see those communities die. (Education is) the greatest civil right we could offer any child in this country.”

Cliff Hudson, Oklahoma City Public Schools board chairman, said the legislation will undermine traditional public schools and the renovations done under the MAPS for Kids project.

Ironically, Hudson is one of those "wealthy Oklahomans" referenced above who did in fact send his own children to private schools.

Getting State Government Out of the Abortion Business

My friend Tony Lauinger, chairman of Oklahomans for Life, correctly points out that Governor Brad Henry's veto this week of pro-life Senate Bill 714 isn't the end of the story. It's simply "one more obstacle to be overcome in getting state government out of the abortion business in Oklahoma."

A two-thirds majority vote in the 48-member state Senate is necessary to override the governor's pro-abortion veto. The pro-life bill passed the Senate last week, 32-16, exactly the two-thirds margin that will be necessary to override the veto -- so long as no one changes sides.

All 24 Republican senators support the bill and support the override of the veto. Our job is to make sure all eight Democratic senators who have supported the bill up to now continue to do so, and that they vote to override the veto. There is tremendous pressure on these eight pro-life Democrats from pro-abortion groups. We must make sure they hear from pro-life Oklahomans thanking them for their support for the unborn child, and asking them to continue to support SB 714 by voting to override the governor's veto.

The eight Democratic senators who cast pro-life votes for SB 714 last week, their hometowns (and other major district towns), Capitol phone numbers (leave message on voice mail after hours), and email addresses, are:

1) Susan Paddack, Ada, (Pauls Valley, Holdenville), 405-521-5541
2) Sean Burrage, Claremore, (Pryor), 405-521-5555
3) Tom Ivester, Elk City, 405-521-5545
4) Charlie Laster, Shawnee, 405-521-5539
5) Jay Paul Gumm, Durant, 405-521-5586
6) Mary Easley, Tulsa, 405-521-5590
7) Earl Garrison, Muskogee, 405-521-5533
8) Kenneth Corn, Poteau, 405-521-5576

Please thank these senators for their support of the pro-life bill, SB 714, and ask them to continue to do so by voting to override the governor's veto. To send an email to all eight senators, just send it to Pro-LifeDemocrats@OkForLife.org and your message will reach all eight of them. Your message will say, "Dear Senator, Thank you for defending the unborn child by consistently supporting SB 714. Please vote to override the Governor's veto of this pro-life bill. Thank you."

There are three other Democratic senators who voted for SB 714 earlier in the process, and then reversed their position and voted against the bill last week. They, their hometowns, and Capitol phone numbers, are:

1) Nancy Riley, Tulsa, 405-521-5600
2) Joe Sweeden, Pawhuska, 405-521-5581
3) Charles Wyrick, Fairland, (Miami, Grove) 405-521- 5561

Please urge these senators to support the pro-life bill, as they had earlier in the legislative session, by voting to override the governor's veto. To send an email to all three senators, just send it to Pro-LifeBill@OkForLife.org and your message will reach all three of them. Your message will say, "Dear Senator, Thank you for supporting SB 714 earlier this session. Please vote to override the Governor's veto of this pro-life bill. Thank you."

And amid your political activism, don't forget to pray. As the proverb says, "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will." (Hey, it's not like you weren't warned this blog is Reformed.)

Also, in case you missed it, earlier this month U.S. Senator Tom Coburn wrote to Oklahoma's state legislators urging them to support SB 714, "which would prohibit state funds and facilities from being used to perform abortions."

As a practicing physician, I have had the privilege of experiencing firsthand the miracle of birth more than 3,000 times and I know how precious newborn life is. While this bill would not prohibit abortion, it would ensure that the tax dollars of Oklahomans are no longer used to extinguish the life of the unborn.

I am disappointed that the Oklahoma State Medical Association is opposing this legislation. As a doctor, the oath I take is to “first do no harm” and the OSMA’s position contradicts this oath. A letter you may have received from the OSMA Council on State Legislation dated March 27 claimed that this “legislation impedes on the Physician's ability to practice medicine.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that every tax dollar that is spent to perform an abortion is a dollar that has been taken away from providing medically necessary health care for patients. More than 18 percent of Oklahoma’s population is uninsured, the seventh-highest rate in the country. How can we justify spending limited public resources on abortion when our fellow Oklahomans can not even afford basic health care?

NBC's Shame

Hugh Hewitt discusses it here.

That's OK, There's a Lot of That Going Around

Here's an Oklahoma state representative, a Democrat from Norman named Wallace Collins, saying last week: "I'm only a public school graduate so I'm not very literate."

'Parental Choice Is A Very Important Part of Educational Excellence'

So said President George W. Bush in a recent meeting with Catholic school leaders and parents in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

Urge Henry to Sign SB 714

My friend Tony Lauinger, state chairman of Oklahomans for Life, sends word that Senate Bill 714 was approved by the Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 32 to 16. This legislation essentially gets state government out of the abortion business by restricting abortions in state-owned facilities or by state employees. However, the bill doesn't become law until signed by Governor Brad Henry, and the pro-aborts are out in full force pressuring Henry to wield his veto pen.

Now, the bad news is that Henry is not someone who's committed to protecting the life of the unborn. "In a nutshell, I’m pro-choice," he told the Tulsa World in 2002. "It [abortion] is one of the most intensely personal issues and should be decided by a woman, her doctor, her husband, if she has one, and her God." He added, "I don’t believe the government should intrude in people’s personal lives."

The good news, however, is that Henry has shown himself to be blissfully unencumbered by principle. In his quest to be re-elected last year in one of the most conservative states in the nation, he repeatedly defied his base -- cutting the state income tax, repealing the death tax, even signing some pro-life legislation. Which is to say: There's hope he will sign this bill, but he needs to hear from you. Please call the governor's office (405.521.2342) between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and urge him to sign SB 714 into law.

Henry's not going to see the light, but he needs to feel the heat.

UPDATE: Some docs are urging Henry to sign the bill.

Happy 5th Birthday, Jack Henry!

Putting the 'Public' Back in Public Forum

I get a fair number of anonymous comments on this blog from persons unknown. Some comments are intelligent. Some are silly. Some are spam. In the past I have posted a few of these anonymous comments, but after reading a recent piece by blogger Dean Barnett, I've decided from here on out I'm only going to post comments from people who identify themselves.

Governor Sleepy

"Brad Henry is the single laziest governor we've ever had," says liberal journalist Frosty Troy, who has covered state politics for nearly half a century (and who endorsed Henry for re-election). "He shows up late at the Capitol and keeps pretty much a social calendar."

JFK, Tax Cutter

Royal Err Force

Will Rogers once said something like, "I'm not a member of any organized political party. I'm a Democrat."

That quote comes to mind as I realize that I'm not participating in an organized baseball league. I'm coaching T-ball.

My son Jack Henry (pictured here at right) is thrilled to be out there with his Royal teammates. Sure, they oftentimes don't know what they're doing. They make errors galore. But they're having a ball and, more importantly, they look cute in their uniforms.

National Historic Landmark

U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne yesterday named the Price Tower (shown here in the foreground) a National Historic Landmark. The 19-story structure in Bartlesville was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Honestly now, you get extra credit if you knew that the current Secretary of the Interior was named Dirk Kempthorne.

Another Reason to Homeschool

WorldNetDaily reports today that

The FBI and Homeland Security Department last month distributed a bulletin to law enforcement across the country warning that Muslims with "ties to extremist groups" are signing up to be school bus drivers. They also noted "recent suspicious activity" by foreigners who either drive school buses or are licensed to drive them.

"The enemy is infiltrating us at all levels, and certainly school bus drivers are one area to look at," warned retired Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, president of Killology Research Group, an anti-terror consultancy that trains the FBI and other law enforcement. "And how about high school, middle school, and elementary school cafeteria workers? Janitors? Delivery people?"

Grossman says some school district security officials he works with have expressed concerns about some of the Muslim employees schools are hiring. ...

"Islamic terrorists are already in place in the U.S. and, yes, that includes bus drivers, cafeteria workers and also airport workers," added Grossman, a former Army Ranger and West Point professor.

Happy 12th Birthday, Lillie!

Edmond Homeschooler Wins Spelling Bee

Edmond eighth-grader Audrey Foote, a homeschooler, won the Central Oklahoma Spelling Bee at OPUBCO yesterday.