THE LEGISLATURE IS IN SPECIAL SESSIONWILL THE FRAT HOUSE ATMOSPHERE CONTINUE?
THE WATCHMAN
With the legislature being called back into special session it brings back the question of will they actually legislate or will it turn into another Frat House Party. One can only guess as to what they do but either way it goes they'll protect the rich and stick the bill on those that can't afford it.
The first article we found that really made us think of this was this 'Frat Party' Culture Continues At The Capitol - Sooner Politics.org. We do encourage you to open the link and read the article. The Republican Party is having huge problems in both chambers over misconduct by their members. That misconduct is showing up at the voting booth. Republicans are losing special elections as fast as they happen. That is a clear example of the erosion of ethics in our government. It should be noted that some of those special elections have yet to be held. So we are in a special session deciding on raising the taxes on the middle class and poor, with some districts not even being represented. That's no way to run a government.
The next article of interest we found was this In The Know: Tulsa senator's resignation creates seventh legislative vacancy this year. Senator Dan Newberry timed his resignation conveniently so he could draw his legislative salary to the end of the year. That's more money out of the tax payer's pocket. It also leaves the expense of another special election to come out of the tax payer's pockets next year. Do these fools think we citizens enjoy paying for all these special elections? We don't. That's money that could have gone to a much better use elsewhere.
The next article of interest we found was this Scandal leads to changes at state House of Representatives | News OK. This article was written at the beginning of the last session and agreed to by Speaker McCall. It would impose certain requirements on all Representatives for the first time in state history. He also agreed to make the House employment policy clearer "on the proper chain of command and authority between the House and its employees."
A special House committee recommended the new requirements and policy update after completing an investigation that focused on complaints made about Rep, Dan Kirby, R Tulsa. They also recommended that he be expelled for accepting and, at times, soliciting topless photos from legislative assistant Carol Johnson and for once taking her to a strip club. The House is expected to vote on expulsion on Tuesday or Wednesday unless Kirby resigns. Representative Kirby did resign.
There were financial settlements made in this case that came into the tens of thousands of dollars. Speaker Jeff Hickman and the entire House of Representatives and Senate along with the Governor allowed those payments to be made without any restitution to the state by Mr. Kirby. Do you feel like they think they don't have to answer to you about how they spend your money? They just don't care about you and your money as long as they get theirs.
In relation to the above article we found this Oklahoma representative accused of sexual harassment rescinds resignation | KFOR.com. After all the payments were made, and all the resignations were accepted, he decided to rescind his resignation. We don't know the truth behind all of this. Only the former Representative and the alleged victim know if it was true. Either way he didn't have the fortitude to stand up for himself in the first place and should never have been in office.
The next article of interest we found was this Republican State Senator Stripped Of Duties Amid Scandal - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |. This article was dated July 7, 2017. This is one of the more recent indiscretions of our state lawmakers. In a letter sent from the Senate president pro-tem, Senator Mike Schultz, sent only to Republican lawmakers He relieved Senator Bryce Marlett of his Chairmanship of the Senate Energy Committee and his Vice-Chairmanship of the Rules and Transportation Committees. We ask where was the schedule of a vote for censor or removal from the Senate. Was this a case of doing the least amount of harm to his already destroyed reputation as possible?
The next article of interest we found was this http://kfor.com/2017/07/05/oklahoma-state-senator-bryce-marlatt-named-as-suspect-in-lewd-acts-case-involving-uber-driver/. We do have to give some credit for the swift action taken by Senator Schultz for the speed in which he acted on the allegations. It took him all of two days to strip the Chairmanship and Vice-Chairmanships away from him while the matter was under investigation.
The next article of interest we found was this http://newsok.com/state-sen.-bryce-marlatt-jailed-tuesday-morning-in-sexual-battery-case/article/5563751. This article was dated September 12, 2017. It indicates that six days after being arrested for sexual battery, he tendered his resignation. It was effective immediately. That leaves his district without representation in the Senate Chamber during this special session.
The next article of interest we found was this Senator tenders resignation amid embezzlement accusations | News OK. This article was dated in August of 2015. He was embezzling from the Better Business Bureau in Tulsa while he worked for them and during the entire time he was in the legislature. We know he was sued for the money, however, we didn't check into any criminal charges he may have faced.
The next article of interest we found was this Donations, Lobbying Reflect Influence of Oil and Gas Industry | Oklahoma Watch. The special session went into recess on Wednesday afternoon after spending a grand total of 38 minutes of debate. We sure got a lot of work done for our $90,000 dollars spent. There was no progress made on the tax issue either. The Republicans are wanting to protect the tax credits that the Oil and Gas industry enjoys and put all the tax on the smokers in Oklahoma. The Democrats want to raise the oil and gas tax back up to where it was several years ago and split the difference on the tobacco tax. The truth be known the oil and gas industry by way of their lobbyist run the state of Oklahoma. Our legislative body is owned and operated by them.
The next article of interest we found was this http://oklahomawatch.org/2017/05/23/oil-and-gas-donations-to-legislators/. You can go through this list and find your legislator and it will tell you exactly how much money in campaign donations each individual took from the lobbyist. It was just a couple of years ago that the Senate and House voted to raise the amount of donations that they could accept from lobbyist. Where does the average citizen go for justice?
In conclusion there is only one thing we citizens can do. We can get ready to pay higher prices for everything so that the rich get richer and they stop the good people from running for office. We are calling for a petition for a vote of the citizens of the state of Oklahoma to have all future tax increase approved by a vote of the people. We further call for a petition for a vote of the Citizens of Oklahoma to give the citizens the right to recall all elected officials including statewide and federal elected officials. As an old quote goes: A people in fear of their government lives in tyranny. A government who fears the people lives in freedom.
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