Weekly News Headlines And Commentary – Week of January 27th

ON THE WEBSITE

(more articles to come this week)

Oklahoma must stop carbon capture before its too late

Shane Smith – more on Oklahoma’s race to carbon capture!

Are Rural Oklahoma Courts Inept Or Corrupt?

Jenni White – a breakdown of our podcast with our ROPE Report Regular, ‘Mary’ with V1SUT. Yet another one not to be missed!

America’s Digital Currency Conundrum

Jenni White – a breakdown of our podcast with our ROPE Report Regular, Julianne Romanello. Digital currency is something we’d better all learn about – and fast – before it becomes something we can’t escape!

LOCAL NEWS

Election Bills To Watch in the 2025 Oklahoma Legislative Session

Wendi Montgomery Dial (Restore Liberty Oklahoma) – this is a GREAT run down of election bills that have been filed in the legislature for hearing this year. Here’s what you do: read the article, print out the article, familiarize yourself with the bills and what they do, watch the Elections and Ethics Committee in the House, or the Rules Committee in the Senate to see what bills are being heard. When a bad one comes up, IMMEDIATELY contact the members of the Committee and tell them they should vote NO, or Yes. Thanks to Wendi for such a great write up.

How much money are Oklahoma agencies asking for this year? Some requests spark pushback

Daily Oklahoman – Here’s my favorite takeaway from this article: State Agency, “If you are going to mandate that I need to do ______, I’m gonna have to have more money to do it.” Isn’t this what we’ve ALWAYS said here at ROPE? Bigger government costs more and steals your liberty when it sticks its hands in your pocket to fund it’s “more is more” approach to governing. Some of these are real doozies – like the AG’s request for multiple million more dollars. But then – whether it’s true or not – he does make the case that the legislature has made his office responsible for a number of new programs. More programs require more space, require more money….you get how this works. When – WHEN!!!?????? – will the government ever REDUCE ITSELF? I know, I know….when Hell freezes over…But then, maybe we just make a pact to vote out all legislators who agree to big budget increases.

Oklahoma bills would restrict student cellphone use, social media, sex ed

Oklahoma Voice – We’ve already gone over the cell phone bill – ANY BILL THAT TAKES AWAY LOCAL CONTROL (or regulates something that could be regulated at the point of origin – school board, municipality, etc) IS BAD! So many things on this list are BAD! Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, and Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, all have bills to FORCE schools to do things that local school boards should be doing. And please don’t say, “But the schools aren’t doing it”. YOU are the taxpayer. YOU live in the district. YOU go to the meetings. YOU make them behave. I get that you don’t want to go to meetings, you have other things to do, but your laziness is not an excuse for state’s government takeover of local governments.

Senators Jett, Prieto and Rep Kevin West – all three guys I really love – are blowing it with the Chaplain bills. Schools should not entangle themselves with religion. That’s to be done on private time. This has to stop. I’ve written on this before, but suffice it to say, if we can install Christian Chaplains in schools, so can the Satan Club.

There is a flurry of bills that have to do with sex education and I’m good with those. Why aren’t those under the auspices of local control? Because protecting child SAFETY is the state’s job. In addition, schools shouldn’t be teaching anything having to do with sex in the first place. Parents should do it or sent their child to a group outside school that provides that service. Taxpayers should pay only for teaching that specifically corresponds to an educational subject. We’ve bent over backwards accommodating those who believe that it’s the right of the child to have access to sex education for decades and look where that’s gotten us in terms of kids being able to read, write and do math. There is no legitimate argument for sex ed in schools. Zero.

Corporal punishment is – again – another issue to be left up to school boards. No, getting a board to the butt because you can’t behave in class does not equate to child endangerment. I got whacked a couple times myself and I deserved it. I grew up during the years of corporal punishment and taught in today’s world of “anything goes without consequences” and our schools, our teachers and our students are worse off without an ability to apply some wood to a seat when it is required.

Unpacking the Alleged Sexual Assault at Sperry High School

Sooner Sentinel – This is a horrific story of a sexual assault at Sperry High School undertaken by three students that was apparently filmed on someone’s phone – the video of which was seen by peers and possibly some school officials.

Though the students involved have been charged, the victim’s attorney claims that the school was not at all proactive in protecting the victimized student. As we’ve said numerous times through ‘Mary’ with V1SUT, schools MUST protect the innocence and safety of the children in their care – period. Marven is hopeful that this case will help bring light to the way schools handle student safety.

How KFOR Channel 4’s Misinformation Shaped Public Perception on Ivermectin and Representative Gabe Woolley’s ODHS Reform Bill

Sooner Sentinel – Another one from Marven Goodman, this time about the way in which KFOR (News Channel 4) misrepresented Representative Gabe Wooley’s bill to bring changes to DHS.

This is not surprising for me. I actually added a comment to the story, “So let me remind you of this (excellent article by the way)…Cheryl Williams and I were fired from the Oklahoma County Election Board by the State Election Board, accused of numerous things and turned over to the AG and DA for further investigation. KFOR who interviewed me about this situation, had the following to say during it’s video and written story, “White is the former mayor of Luther and was also in Washington DC during the January 6, 2021, insurrection.” So there you go.”

Truly, this is why I attempt to make sure and elevate OKLAHOMA news sources, blogs and substack authors. These ‘news’ stations owned by corporations only care about advertising revenue, not getting the story straight, so make sure to subscribe to the blogs I post here. Also, make sure to use your social media accounts to PUSH BACK against their narratives – as Marven has here!

Oklahoma CareerTech asks Legislature for budget increase as student waitlist grows

The Oklahoman – From the first paragraph, “Oklahoma’s CareerTech system is seeking to roll a $28.6 million one-time appropriations increase it received from the state Legislature last year into its base funds for this year, in addition to a $19.3 million requested budget hike for fiscal year 2026.”

From later in the article, “Oklahoma’s workforce is the backbone of our economy, and CareerTech is at the forefront of preparing individuals for high-demand careers,” Haken said in a news release after the budget hearing. “By increasing state funding for career training programs, we can expand opportunities for Oklahomans, equip businesses with skilled employees and ensure our state remains competitive in a rapidly evolving job market. Investing in CareerTech is an investment in Oklahoma’s future.”

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. This is how this USED to work; kids went to school, school taught them actual subjects like reading, math, science and history (NOT SOCIAL STUDIES). They also taught subjects like Home Economics, or shop. The student, then, with a well-rounded education, decided whether they wanted to go to college or directly to work. If they chose the work route, the business that employed the student out of high school WOULD TRAIN THE STUDENT ON THEIR OWN DIME. The student got on the job training and the company got a stable work force because there was loyalty created by training their own employees.

This doesn’t happen now. Now, Oklahoma chooses which companies will come to Oklahoma through their Workforce Development schemes that provide tax dollars for all kinds of CORPORATE WELFARE, such as JOB TRAINING. Today, a company doesn’t have to provide training for their hires, the government FUNNELS kids through government schools into the jobs that the corporations they bring to Oklahoma and fund with our tax dollars, want. Then, we train them for those jobs on our very own tax dollars.

Here’s the deal: taxpayers fund schools, taxpayers fund training students for preferred jobs, taxpayers fund preferred jobs through preferred corporation tax incentives (corporate welfare). So basically, Oklahoma taxpayers fund Oklahoma jobs – NOT the free market. Let us please remember this as our Republicans will use the phrase “free market” as often as they possibly can as though they understand what that means. Clearly, they don’t.

Legislative bills target Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, aim to reign in agency’s power

Oklahoma Voice – From the article, “Preventing tolls from being increased could potentially impact the OTA’s trust agreement and investors, said Bobby Stem, executive director of the Association of Oklahoma General Contractors, a trade association that advocates for road and bridge infrastructure.

“No legislator ever wants to take a vote to increase taxes or fees,” Stem said. “We understand why. However, this critical infrastructure will deteriorate if these investments are not made.”

Seriously? Maybe OTA and their contractor toady jobs program might have thought of all of this in light of the fact that ORIGINALLY, OTA was to fund ALL their work via tolls. Once the road was paid off, the tolls would be retired. Now, as I said, the OTA is a jobs program for their contractors at the taxpayer’s expense. THIS HAS TO STOP! Any bill that stops the OTA from raising rates and increasing their bonds, should be passed this session and taxpayers spared the further expense of roads already paid for. But then, should there even be an OTA in the first place? Why can’t the ODOT handle building or upkeep of these roads? Now THAT is the 64 thousand dollar question!

NATIONAL NEWS

Government Education is Unconstitutional, Says Top US Law Professor

Liberty Sentinel – Gotta love Alex Newman! From the article: “Tuomala holds that the U.S. Supreme Court will likely uphold a voucher system providing equal tax funding for private and Christian schools by government. However, going back to the principles hammered out in the Virginia establishment controversy, the Liberty law professor concludes that the state should not fund any schools.

More and more prominent legal minds are joining the chorus against the constitutionality of coercive government-funded education. Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, for example, argued that the escalating hostility to faith and values of parents—the vast majority of whom identify as Christian—makes the existing system unconstitutional.”

During Miguel Cardona’s Tenure As Ed Secretary, Schools Got Worse By Every Metric

The Federalist – Pretty interesting piece. The author documents how many learning metrics have plummeted since Biden was president.

If The U.S. Government Doesn’t Ban TikTok, Parents Should

The Federalist – (again, lol) From the article: “In a sense, TikTok (and knock-offs such as Instagram Reels and Youtube Shorts) really do harvest user data to manipulate people in negative ways. Otherwise-healthy human beings are brought low by an addictive algorithm that hacks (figuratively) into their psyches and reduces them to anxious zombies with shorter attention spans than the average goldfish. Over time, the app severely stunts its users intellectually, socially, and emotionally.”

4 Reasons To Be Skeptical About OpenAI’s $500B Stargate Project

Robert Bryce Substack – From the article: “The numbers are nothing short of gobsmacking. On Tuesday, in a splashy announcement at the White House, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed a new company called The Stargate Project that intends to “invest $500 billion over the next four years building new AI infrastructure” in the US. The new company will “begin deploying $100 billion immediately.”

I like Trump. I voted for Trump. However…we must all remember that Trump is FOREMOST a BUSINESS GUY. We must be very vigilant in how he operates on the business side of his presidency. As Michael has said on the podcast before, Trump likes to see the arrow go UP – he’s an investor – that’s what he does. And not every investment is good for America, or Americans.

How Many Births to Illegal Immigrants?: A Preliminary Estimate

Center for Immigration Studies – “…based on how births to illegal immigrants have compared to births to noncitizens in the past, our back-of-the-envelope estimate right now is that there were 225,000 to 250,000 births to illegal immigrants in 2023, amounting to close to 7 percent of births in the U.S.”

This is why ‘birthright citizenship’ must stop NOW!

Get To Know Brooke Rollins, Nominee for Agriculture Secretary

Successful Farming – Synopsis of the article; Brooke has all the right street cred for a ‘conservative’ but she knows nothing about farming or agriculture. Unfortunately, her Chief of Staff is a seed oil lobbyist whose hands have been in EVERYTHING BAD for nutrition in America. THIS is concerning.

Exclusive: J6er Speaks Out on Pardoned Prisoners Still in Jail

PJ Media – We all need to remember that there is a swamp – even in our own backyards – that doesn’t care whether Trump is president or not. Do not go back to sleep. We must be ever-vigilant.

January 27, 2025 0

Weekly News Headlines And Commentary – Week Of January 20th

Oklahoma schools chief sues federal government over immigration policies

Oklahoma Voice – Cynic that I am, this feels very much like a media stunt for a couple reasons; I would imagine this kind of suit would fall in the AG’s backyard, and we will be unburdened by what has been on the 20th of January, so I’m not sure how a suit like that will be dealt with, and finally, there was no dollar amount specified in the lawsuit. In October, Walters sent a letter to VP Harris demanding $474,900,000.00 in reimbursement for the education of student non-citizens, but this number wasn’t listed on the lawsuit apparently.

Cynicism aside, this should have been done at the beginning of Walter’s term when a ruling might have had a snowball’s chance of getting some kind of meaningful ruling, but it should have been done, nonetheless. For years, our immigration policy – or lack of one beyond, “let ’em all in” – has burdened schools with the cost of educating children here in this country illegally who can barely read in their own language let alone speak and/or read in English. Those on the left cry and scream when this is said, but that doesn’t make it any less true. It is a financial BURDEN to schools to staff bi-lingual classrooms for kids who should be able to speak English when they enroll – one that taxpayers foot.

The lawsuit comes hot on the heels of Walter’s proposed rule to check the immigration status of students before they are enrolled. Again, another thing which the left has screamed about, but which should be done. It never ceases to just slay me that the public school apologist crowd ALWAYS accuses those of us wanting accountability in our public schools of ‘hating children’ when we suggest a way to use tax dollars in the ways they should be used. Yet, students who don’t speak English can be disruptive to other students trying to learn. So who really ‘hates children’?

Another Oklahoma Voice article from today (the 20th) describes a hearing held by the State Board of Education which was attended by Board member Kendra Wesson and the OSDE attorney, that brought further complaint about the proposed rule.

(OK) Wetumka Schools Arrested & Confessed Pedophile Withholds Phone Passcode, Lies for Low Bail, Home Never Searched

V1SUT – Mary will be on with us on Wednesday (1.22.25) to talk about this, but please read it before hand. I’m sure you’ll have some questions for Mary to answer LIVE on the podcast (starting at 9am on all our social media channels). This is truly the perfect example of the miscarriage of justice going on in MANY small towns in Oklahoma while the victim/s have no recourse.

Commentary on State Sponsored University’s Balancing Act Between Athletic Triumph and Academic Integrity

Sooner Sentinel – writer Marven Goodman (who will be on our show next month with Representative Tom Gann talking about automated license plate readers) makes some excellent points here about the trend to make college more about sports than learning and a bit about the policies behind the ‘trend’.

From Goodman: Our colleges are at a crossroads, trying to use sports money without forgetting their educational mission. The plan includes not just giving money but also supporting athletes to finish their degrees, making sure they have something valuable when they leave college. But the big question remains: how do we judge success? If a football team wins big but the school’s academic reputation falls, what does that say about the school’s priorities?

Courage Is Contagious, and the Oklahoma House of Representatives Has Just Been Infected

The Oklahoma State Capitol – Jason Murphy writes about the 7 Representatives who were the only ones to vote NO on the new rules for the Oklahoma House on January 7th (Organizational Day) – Gann, Hildebrant, Jenkins, Shaw, Stegall, West (Rick), and Woolley – and what their leadership can mean for the House in coming sessions.

Jason will be on the podcast with us on February 12th to talk about the new House rules and I’m sure we’ll go over what happened on Organizational Day (1.7). If you haven’t seen it, you might check out the live video I did about it on the day after. Citizens of Oklahoma should know exactly what is happening at 23rd and Lincoln and this information will definitely help increase your knowledge base.

After Canoo shuttered factories, a bill seeks to keep other EV companies from getting cash from a state incentive program

Frontier – from the article, “Senate Bill 294, authored by Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, would exclude electric vehicle manufacturers from receiving payments from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund”. I don’t often agree with Senator Pugh, but I do here! Don’t forget, “EV startup Canoo files for bankruptcy and ceases operations“. This is what happens when businesses that have no business being in business are funded by tax incentives. The business goes under and the state has to try and ‘claw back’ the incentives. This needs to stop, so how about just closing the “Quick Action Closing Fund” altogether? I’ll go for that!

Another article from the Oklahoman quotes Governor Stitt as saying, “Building a business is hard,” he said. “Building a capital heavy business like this is even harder. We should never fault someone for taking a chance to chase the American dream. Canoo has been cooperative in its work with the state and I wish the best to everyone involved.”

In the event you don’t understand my frustration at this comment, let me explain.

Governor Stitt pledged over 100 million dollars to a private, stockowner-held, out-of-state company to come in and supply just about 500 workers. Figure that at half a million a job?
The company was in trouble from the start – in fact, investors sued Canoo in 2023 for “misstating” their financial projections. This lawsuit tells of the troubled management of this company from the beginning. Who in the Governor’s cabinet looked into this? Shouldn’t someone? Why would we have offered this out-of-state company millions in Oklahoma tax dollars when they had a proven poor track record?
Offering a private company taxpayer dollars is the classic definition of CORPORATISM, not CAPITALISM.

Efforts to raise the age of consent in Oklahoma return to Legislature

Oklahoma Voice – From the article: House Bill 1003, authored by Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, would raise the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18 years old in Oklahoma. The bill also includes what he calls a “Romeo and Juliet provision” which protects those who had sex with children between 14 and 18 years old from prosecution if they are within four years of age.

“We don’t want the 35 year old coach to be nice to the 16-year-old girl and gain her consent,” Olsen said. “We don’t feel like that’s a good situation. … We don’t want people taking advantage of 16 or 17 year old girls in that respect.”

We need to get behind this legislation – thank you Jim Olson. Let’s protect children from adult predators.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announces 2026 gubernatorial bid

KOCO News – In case you’ve been in a coma and didn’t see this coming from as far away as Kansas…

Tulsa police won’t share the locations of more than 200 surveillance cameras

Frontier – The headline pretty much speaks for itself. This is the reason we are having Marven Goodman and Representative Tom Gann on the program on February 7th. This is NOT okay for citizens of Oklahoma, let alone the United States of America who breaks the 4th AND 5th Amendment every time they SURVEIL their own citizens.

How Oklahoma Property Taxes Are Calculated and Who/What Really Owns Your Property

ROPE Report – Absolutely the most important article I think we’ve ever written. Please read and share.

Our Wide-Ranging Interview With Kendra Wesson, Oklahoma State School Board Member

ROPE Report – A great run-down of the interview we had with one of our favorite people. Check it out!

ARTICLES RELATING TO “GREEN” ENERGY

2024 ‘worst year on record’ for wind power lost as electricity supplied by wind falls

GRIPT (online Irish news) – From the article: “The drop has been attributed to grid constraints by Wind Energy Ireland. The energy company has published its annual report, which said that wind farms are closing because the electricity grid is not strong enough. Despite wind supplying almost a third of all electricity to the island of Ireland last year, the share of electricity provided by wind fell by 3 per cent compared to 2023.”

Big Wind & Big Solar Are Trying To Sue Rural America Into Submission

Robert Bryce (Substack) – From the substack: “In 2017, I talked to K. Darlene Park, a resident of Frostburg, Maryland, who was leading a fight against a proposed wind project in her neighborhood. She told me, “We feel this renewable energy push is an attack on rural America.”

The fight in Maryland is one of hundreds happening across the country. The Renewable Rejection Database now includes 764 rejections or restrictions of wind and solar projects since 2015. Among the latest examples came last November. On Election Day in Harpswell, Maine, a heavily Democratic electorate overwhelmingly rejected a proposed five-acre solar project. The vote against the project was 2,344 to 1,393, or 63% to 37%. That’s a decisive vote, particularly in a town that voted heavily for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump.”

Data centers, not homeowners, fueling Arizona’s steep energy demand

Channel 2 News (Phoenix) – This is a great article! It needs to be sent to every legislator. Please read the whole thing, but pay particular attention to the bulleted list about halfway down the page. Very eye-opening and just as with other ‘green’ energy projects, NONE OF THESE DEALS HAVE TAXPAYER ACCOUNTABILITY.

Top UN “Court” to Issue Landmark Ruling on “Climate Change”

New American, Alex Newman – From the article: “At the request of the United Nations and its member governments, the top UN “court” is set to rule on the supposed legal “obligations” of governments when it comes to fighting CO₂ emissions and the alleged man-made “climate change” they supposedly cause. Experts say it may be the most significant case ever heard by the global body.

The Biden administration joined governments around the world asking the court to take a strong stand on the issue. But critics are sounding the alarm. Agriculture, energy, transportation, and other industries are all in the crosshairs, fueling concerns over more government-mandated economic carnage ahead.”

Wall Street Climate Group Net Zero Suspends Activities Following BlackRock’s Exit

Breitbart News – From the article: “BlackRock, the globe’s largest asset manager with $11.5 trillion under management, walked away citing “confusion over the initiative’s climate efforts” and rising legal scrutiny from Republican lawmakers.

Far from serving the public interest, the Net Zero initiative that once had the enthusiastic backing. of BlackRock and other ESG cheerleaders on Wall Street is increasingly seen as out-of-touch with America’s economic needs and the political climate that is rejecting so many of the trendy causes adopted in 2020.”

Electric car range can plummet by up to 40% in winter, test reveals

This Is Money (UK) – Go figure…electrons don’t move very quickly in the cold…

The Cherokee Nation has been awarded $10.7 million for EV charging ports.

The Oklahoman – From Biden’s Infrastructure Bill: “The Cherokee Nation has received $10.7 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to install 112 publicly accessible electric vehicle charging ports across 12 community locations.”

January 20, 2025 0

Weekly News Headlines And Commentary – Week of January 13th, 2025

Oklahoma Government Is Turning Our Kids Into Commodities – The Women Of Broken Trust Speak Out

ROPE Report – This is the write-up from our visit with Sherrie Conley, Dayna Mooney and Roberta Lewis of the new non-profit “Broken Trust”.

Peter Murphy of CFACT; Green Energy is “pure crony capitalism”

ROPE Report – Lots of links with the clips from last Friday when Michael and I interviewed Peter Murphy. You might want to send this article to your legislator!

Oklahoma House lawmaker takes on second role as government affairs manager

The Oklahoman – I’m not sure how we’re not to see this as a major conflict of interest. How does one sit on the board of an organization – certainly one like the Freedom From Religion Foundation – without that influencing your legislative votes? How do you lobby for a group and then NOT vote in a way that would further their cause on the floor of the House?

Rep. Dollens says he can do it because he’ll vote the way his constituents want, but then there’s this; Dollens’ new job will be to, “identify[ing] and advance[ing] key legislative priorities, building coalitions in strategic states and developing initiatives to counter Christian nationalism”. Interestingly, he then goes on to say in basically just the next paragraph that he is “in no way a lobbyist.” Since he just articulated the definition of lobbyist in the prior sentence, I’m very confused. Does that mean Rep. Dollens is as well?

Federal Agency Gains Access to Monitor Guthrie Oklahoma Residents Through City Surveillance System

Sooner Sentinel – The Sentinel tells us in this installment, that the ATF has been allowed access to automatic license plate reader (ALPR) data by the Guthrie Police Department. What? Essentially, just like we learned from Rep. Tom Gann’s interim study on ALPRs, the contract that Guthrie PD has signed with ALPR data group FLOCK. This is – I would hope – obviously, distressing. Police departments should not be using FLOCK because they share their data with so many other organizations. But then again, just recently the Sentinel told us how the City of Edmond refused an open records request for information on with whom exactly the City was sharing their ALPR data, so how would we really know. ALPR cameras must go IMO.

Government Created Pathogens: Will MAHA Finally Expose Origins of Lyme Disease?

V1SUT – Well this was an interesting departure from the articles we usually share from V1SUT, but BOY was it interesting. She makes a pretty darn good argument that Lyme disease was a lab-created, warfare disease. It’s a bit long, but fascinating. When you have a minute read it. But careful though, it might red-pill you if you’re not already! LOL

The Fool Has Said…

Shooting The Oklahoma Breeze Substack – really, quite a great commentary on the environmental movement. It’s short and very well-written, so at least scan it. His thesis is that the climate change narrative is given to us by fools who are too arrogant and consumed by elitism to realize they are even fools. Jesus is the only person who can save the planet, so we’re sitting with fools if we believe we’re somehow going to ‘fix’ the planet via any of the climate crowd’s ridiculous nonsense. I would add, that the best way to fix the planet IMO is reducing, reusing and recycling as individuals. Also, instead of technology companies focusing on things like AI that will not only eventually harm us, but eat up massive amounts of energy, they should focus on how better to recycle the things we’re taking from the earth NOW so that more people can use them a second time.

Court Strikes Down Biden’s Title IX Trans Overhaul Nationwide

The Federalist – YES! But it would have been nicer had they sped up the process a bit so we didn’t have to fight over boys in girls’ restrooms. With Trump coming into office, I expect that this stupidity will start to die off. If not, he – and we; in our own localities – should put the nail in that coffin. Another piece of nonsense that the Left had to dream up for their Utopian vision to be complete, so GOOD RIDDANCE.

Edmond, Moore, Stillwater districts shine in latest edition of Oklahoma State Report Card

The Oklahoman – Who really knows for certain what the Department of Educational Quality and Accountability office is doing with the state report cards. It was reported that the data had changed for the year and that cut scores had been changed, but there is nothing on the website I could find that explains how the data was crunched. If we don’t know how the data was collected, how do we know what to think of the scores? We talked to Kendra Wesson about that briefly in our conversation from last Wednesday, but even she wasn’t clear, she just mentioned that the differences in scores from then to now were not outrageous in the scores she’d spot checked.

You can scan the article to see some scores reported for mainly central Oklahoma schools.

WAIT! I just went out to find the article on Oklahoma’s cut scores only to find out that Wisconsin and Ohio changed their cut scores – I didn’t have time to look for other states. So, because the A-F grading for schools was federally mandated in Obama’s ‘Race To The Top’ program in order for schools to get federal dollars, I’m thinking there might be something going on at the federal level that sparked the change. I don’t know and don’t have time to research it I’m sorry to say, but I think the chances are good…

Right of First Refusal Laws Benefit Utilities, Not Consumers

Real Clear Energy – YIKES! I didn’t know anything about this, but we’d better start looking to get rid of any “right of first refusal” laws that might have previously been passed, or that might be passed this year. Here’s the explanation RCE gives:

“The proposed bills would give electric utilities in these states a “right of first refusal” (ROFR) to build, own, and operate new transmission lines in their service area, preventing new projects from being competitively bid on by other energy companies. These bills would eliminate a key element of competition from the part of electricity grid development known as transmission planning.”

Bergstrom Introduces Legislation to Strengthen Classroom Integrity and Transparency

Oklahoma Senate Media – Although I’ve not read these bills myself yet, it looks as if these are the bills we need to help keep predators out of the classrooms and to help parents remove pornographic library books. We’ll definitely have to watch these. SB346 and SB348

Ryan Walters asks lawmakers for millions for Bible mandate, legal fights

The Oklahoman – I can say that this article finally has something upon which the Superintendent and I can agree fully – THE FEDERAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE SHUTTERED FOREVER.

Basically, however, this article is about Walters’ meeting with the state Senate education budget subcommittee where he submitted a request for…. drumroll please….. $3.95 billion dollars – which includes 3 million dollars Walters wants to spend on classroom Bibles.

Billion. Think on that. A BILLION dollars spent on Oklahoma public education systems graduating a vast majority of students who aren’t proficient in either reading or math. I want my money back. What a horrible return on ‘investment’ <eye roll>.

What’s Driving the Rise in Non-Denominational Christianity? You Might Be Surprised.

PJ Media – I think you probably won’t really, but I don’t want to tell you what it is because it’s a VERY SHORT, pretty interesting little article.

New Bill Calls for DHS Accountability to Protect Families and Uphold Due Process

OK House Media – New Rep. Gabe Woollley has “introduced House Bill 1100, a legislative measure aimed at ensuring accountability within the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS). The bill would require clear and convincing evidence to keep a child away from their parent or guardian. HB1100 would also impose felony kidnapping charges on the DHS employee who is responsible for approving the continued holding or release of a child for noncompliance.”

January 13, 2025 0

Weekly News Headlines and Commentary – Week of 1.6.25

Speaker-Elect Hilbert’s Legislative Priority Personifies Everything Wrong With Oklahom Government

ROPE2.org – After reading about our Speaker-Elect’s legislative priorities for the upcoming session, I thought it important – not only to write about it – but to talk about it in a live video (1.3.25). According to the Speaker-Elect, if he passes a cell phone bill and a budget, the House will have been more productive than in previous years.

So what’s wrong with a cell-phone bill? Watch the video, or read the article, either way, I’ve outlined it in bullet points, so it’s easy to follow and understand. Please, explain to those you know who will listen, exactly why this is bad. Oklahomans truly need to understand why we send legislators to the state Capitol, and it’s not to usurp local control and individual liberty.

Oklahoma Government Is Turnign Our Kids Into Commodities – The Women of Broken Trust Speak Out

ROPE2.org – In case it’s hard to share videos, I’ve put together an outline of our interview with Sherrie Conley, Roberta Lewis and Dayna Mooney of Broken Trust. It has three clips embedded and links to the live podcast and might be easier to share with others…

Social Media Post Calling Out Gubernatorial Politics Gets Tons Of Pushback – Makes Point Of Post

ROPE2.org – Though I’ve been at this investigation/writing gig for nearly 20 years, I have been known to publish some stinkers, but this wasn’t about what readers thought it was about…

Here’s the Real Hockey Stick

Robert Bryce Substack – One of the members of one of my ‘climate change is a hoax’ groups turned me on to Robert Bryce. Wow. This guy makes debunking climate change look like a child’s game. He is so easy to read and makes so much sense that I almost order you to read this article and then surf some others.

In this piece he shows that the amount of money going into climate change today is 21 times more than it was 10 years ago. Guess where all that money is coming from? YOUR POCKETS! Again, you’ll want to be with us live to talk to CFACT’s Peter Murphy on Friday (1.10) to hear more and why we’ve got to make this STOP.

Wyngard Files Bill To Eliminate Wind Energy Tax Credit, Save Taxpayers Money

Oklahoma Senate Media – File under “Really Great News”. Although Governor Mary Fallin in one of her few acts of conservative sanity, stopped wind turbine tax credits in 2017 a whole lot of wind energy companies were grandfathered in.

“Senate Bill 239 would eliminate the zero-emission subsidy for wind production after tax year 2025. Eliminating this tax credit will save taxpayers up to $16 million annually.”

It may not be on my timeline – of course I want them all gone next week – but this is a great start and this bill deserves the support of ALL Oklahomans!

Oklahoma Judge Issues Split Decision In Student Pronoun Case

The Oklahoman – So, on one hand, the Board created a rule that was, as the judge said, “valid and enforceable”, but then found that the Bord violated the student’s right to due process by not providing the student an opportunity for a hearing before the Board denied the student’s request to change their pronouns in their school records.

Gosh, is it just me, or does it seem like so much to do with education is simply off course?

Oklahoma To Obtain Drone Monitoring System After Mysterious Sightings In Other States

The Oklahoman – Without any kind of public discussion, Governor Stitt instructed public safety commissioner and homeland security adviser, Tim Tipton, “to procure the systems to support state and local law enforcement in responding to recent unmanned drone activity.”

“Drones and unmanned aerial systems are an exciting new industry here in Oklahoma,” Stitt said. “We want to make sure that industry has room to thrive.”

Awesome. They also collect TONS of information about American citizens as well thanks to all kinds of run-amok federal laws that allow the government to spy on its citizens.

Then, you have renown psychologist Peter Breggin warning that the drones people have reported seeing are “part of a psychological operation to justify a huge power grab by the federal government” likely as a way to control Americans.

Only a select few – and certainly not us plebes – really know what’s going on, but I can say this; as so many other comments our Governor has made in the press, his justification for spending tax dollars on equipment that would help the police ‘respond’ to drones is nothing less than concerning. What does this mean? How would they be used?

Again, our Governor justifies something that could affect all Oklahomans via the idea that ‘it’s good business’. At some point, I sure wish he’d see our liberty as ‘good business’.

Nailing Normal and New Narratives

David Arnett Substack – Really a great article about how Oklahoma ‘news’ tilts left though people like the Editor at the Tulsa World will kick and scream and say it doesn’t. What’s that old saying about, ‘you can’t fix a problem you won’t admit to having’ or some such thing?

This is why ROPE Report will constantly call attention to local substacks/blogs/reporting. The only really great reporting is the reporting done by locals who have skin in the game. Make sure you’re following these people – like David, and our friend V1SUT, Restore Liberty (Wendi Montgomery Dial), Oklahoma State Capitol (former Rep Jason Murphy) and the Sooner Sentinel (former Logan County Commissioner, Marven Goodman) –

Investigative Report: A Bold Bid to Reshape Oklahoma’s House of Representatives

Sooner Sentinel – Here, Goodman dissects and discusses Tom Gann’s filed legislation to change the way business is done in the Oklahoma House. Please read and then let’s support Gann’s effort. It’s the only way to put the power back in the laps of ‘the people’ where it belongs.

Government Strangles The Economy; Each Fed Regulator Kills 100+ Jobs

PJ Media – This has to be put into your internet savings bank and used over and over and over again anytime government wants to see themselves as ‘helping’ us.

Here’s an excerpt from the article: from a 2017 Auburn University study – Each $1 million change in the regulatory budget is associated with a change of about four regulator jobs. With our new update, we now find that a 10% cut in the regulatory budget results in a loss of 21,756 regulatory jobs. Given the average jobs impact of 3 million jobs over the five-year horizon, our updated analysis finds that one regulator costs the U.S. economy the equivalent of 138 private sector jobs per year. Each regulator costs the U.S. economy $11 million annually.

January 6, 2025 0

New Feature: Weekly News Headlines And Commentary – Week of 12.30.24

Every week for our newsletter, I compile a list of news articles and add a bit of commentary. Because I just need another thing to do in the week, I’m going to begin posting those here on the website as well. Hopefully, this posting will make it easier for readers to share!

PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Are state report cards too good to be true?

KTUL Tulsa – A really good story about how Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters has allowed school report cards to be changed to show students performing MUCH better than they are in reality. This is truly awful and yet, not only has it happened, but even after the public has been notified, nothing appears to be in the works to restore transparency and solve the problem.

The New House Committee System of Consolidated Power: A Death Blow To Real Wind Turbine Reform?

Jason Murphey – Recently, our new speaker-elect, Kyle Hilbert, chose to make sweeping changes in the way committees in the House are constructed. Murphey explains the problem with the new system – basically that the people will be locked out (which is what Representative Tom Gann warned when he ran against him for Speaker). Please read and share.

Gann Proposes Sweeping Reforms To Restore Transparency To House Of Representatives

Oklahoma House Media – Tom Gann essentially explains what he would have done if he were speaker and what SHOULD be done now that speaker-elect Hilbert will take the reins of the House (unless there is a mutiny and the House members turn on Hilbert and vote for Gann – I suggest we all get on our knees and pray for that outcome). Again, please read and share. Knowledge can translate to power if it is used correctly.

Oklahoma To Obtain Drone Monitoring Systems After Mysterious Sightings In Other States

Oklahoma Voice – From the article: “Drones and unmanned aerial systems are an exciting new industry here in Oklahoma,” Stitt said. “We want to make sure that industry has room to thrive.”

Because the technology is new, the state doesn’t have all the measures in place to ensure protection from those who wish to cause harm, Stitt said.

“The activity happening in New Jersey and across the country is unsettling,” Tipton said in a statement. “While we’ve only had a few reports of drone activity in Oklahoma, we want to be ready in case the need arises.”

If you don’t see how absolutely RIDICULOUS the nonsense in yellow is, I’m not sure what to do to help you. Drones are absolutely the WORST for breaching personal liberty/privacy and here is our Governor using unknown tax dollars for unknown surveillance purposes. FILE UNDER REALLY BAD FOR OKLAHOMAN’S PERSONAL LIBERTY AND PRIVACY.

‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton Warns of Existential Threat to Humanity Within A Decade

Breitbart – If you’ve not seen the movie Terminator (and if you haven’t, where have you been?) you’ll not really understand the horror AI can become. Once Skynet became aware, it declared war on humanity, creating robots with titanium skeletons covered in human skin, to seek out and destroy any humans who had survived the nuclear war it started to remove them from the earth.

I get it. It was a movie. But I would like to draw attention to one thing – a person actually – George Orwell. If Orwell could so accurately predict the hell of authoritarian government that today we’re able to describe many government programs as ‘Orwellian’, let’s not be so quick to overlook Cameron and Gayle Hurd’s tale of computer programming gone awry.

Not only that, but AI is a HUGE energy hog and will require “even more energy than we thought“. Where will that come from? Wind turbines? Solar installations? Toxic lithium batteries? Oklahoma legislators must get a handle on this NOW and we must make sure they do.

Osage Tribe Wins Again, Federal Judge Orders “Ejectment” Of 84 Wind Turbines By Next December

Robert Bryce; Substack – While this is certainly a win for the Osage tribe, who have been fighting this fight for years apparently, this is also a spectacular win against WIND ENERGY if for no other reason than this; Enel (the Italian wind energy company responsible for the turbines) has said it will take 300 million dollars to remove 84 turbines. That’s 3.6 million dollars per turbine.

Now think…you are a landowner who signs a contract for a wind turbine on your property. Are you going to be required to come up with 3.6 million dollars to remove that turbine once it’s broken beyond repair? Food for thought, huh?r

Blue Whale Materials Bartlesville expansion moving forward

FOX 23 News – So THIS is why Governor Stitt was in South Korea recently – to sign yet ANOTHER OUT OF STATE company to come here. So glad Oklahoma is “open for business”, Governor Stitt. Thanks to the dispersal of MORE tax dollars to new, private businesses – this time by the DOE in the amount of 100 million dollars – Blue Whale Materials can come into Bartlesville and recycle lithium batteries. Lithium is toxic to humans and the environment and has been the cause of numerous fires from solar installations to airplanes. Why do we keep chasing the GREEN AGENDA and putting Oklahomans at risk? I’m gonna guess dollars, because Blue Whale is – at best – only going to employ 100 people. But then, isn’t that what Canoo said, only to leave Oklahoma high and dry on every one of its promises?

What Homeschoolers Need To Know About the “Make Homeschool Safe Act”

HSLDA – Representative Amanda Swope and former Representative Joe Dorman of the Oklahoma Institute For Child Advocacy (I won’t help them out by providing a link to their organization), spent an entire interim study warning legislators about the hidden dangers of homeschooling, more than likely in preparation for legislation to curtail the practice in order to ‘make Oklahoma children safe’. Of course this is nonsense. Oklahoma is the only state in the union that promises unfettered homeschooling by way of its constitution and if you don’t believe me, visit our friends at the Constitutional Home Educators Alliance. Homeschoolers aren’t the ones in the news on a continual basis facing allegations of sexual – and other – misconduct with students. We need to watch out for this kind of legislation that would stifle the liberty Oklahoma homeschool students are famous for. Amanda Swope has since left the legislature, but OICA will not rest until the practice of schooling our own children has been hamstrung in the name of…wait for it…’safety’. Please continue to follow us for updates.

Recent Studies Freeze Climate Alarmist Claims

PJ Media – Just another reason why Governor Stitt should abandon his whole, “more of everything” approach to energy in Oklahoma. CO2 is good. Climate changes on a regular basis. End of discussion.

Seifried files bill empowering schools to adopt ‘bell to bell’ cell phone policies

Oklahoma Senate Media – Legislators to anyone asking them for public school legislation that would stop Common Core, or SEL, “We believe in LOCAL CONTROL. That’s for the school board to decide.” Oh, okay, WELL WHAT ABOUT THIS THEN? Massive overreach. Individual school boards should decide cell phone policy. What a giant bunch of baloney! Let’s make sure to tell Ms. Seifried that school boards decide school policy and that she should quit meddling in school board business.

December 31, 2024 0

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