Search

ROPE Report

Open Search
Category

Uncategorized

Make It Stop! Oklahoma’s Managed Care System Hurting Exactly The People It’s Supposed To Help

Families who need health care the most in Oklahoma – foster and adoptive families and those in low income brackets – are having an impossible time getting it since our previous system – SoonerCare – was uprooted to implement a managed care system – SoonerSelect – but how did we get here and what do we do?

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

In 2020, Oklahomans decided (by a very narrow vote on SQ802 and although they had rejected Medicaid expansion as far back as 2016) to provide Medicaid to 200,000 more people in the state than were being served at the time. In bi-partisan opposition – that included Governor Stitt – it was argued that making more Oklahomans eligible for Medicaid would cost Oklahoma tax payers millions of dollars at a time when Oklahoma’s budget was in the red and that patients would receive significantly worse care on a system which would become overburdened by costs and bureaucracy.

Millions and millions of dollars were devoted to convincing Oklahomans to vote ‘Yes’ on the measure by the ideological left and the Hospital Association – the members of which stood to receive federal and state dollars for treating Oklahoma Medicaid patients. Because millions in one-time federal funds were available to help start managed care via President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (dubbed ObamaCare), proponents of the question argued that Oklahoma would be turning away millions in federal funding because of partisan disdain for the HCA and disadvantaging from health care those already financially disadvantaged.

October of 2020, The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (HCA) put together an RFP (Request for Proposals) to institute a ‘managed care’ system in place of the current SoonerCare program.

January 2021, Governor Stitt announced that he would create a new managed care plan for Oklahoma’s Medicaid patients called SoonerSelect. During that month, the HCA awarded 2.2 billion dollars worth of contracts to four companies for administration of SoonerSelect – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Complete Health (aka Centene), Humana Health Horizons and UnitedHealthcare, though the Oklahoma legislature – the voice of the people – was never consulted on either the RFP, or the selection of the insurance managers.

During early 2021, Oklahoma Health Care officials were told the state would also qualify for approximately 520 million dollars in Federal funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (instituted to ‘help’ Americans with the burgeoning costs of everything during the ‘pandemic’) to help the expansion of the Medicaid program along for two years.

After finding that the Governor and HCA had created an RFP and awarded contracts, the legislature began to push back on the SoonerSelect plan.

March 25th, 2021, several associations representing various Oklahoma medical providers filed a lawsuit against the state arguing that SQ802 didn’t allow the OHCA to award contracts for SoonerSelect to private insurance companies.

June 1st, the Supreme Court upheld the argument of the plaintiffs.

Meanwhile – though the legislature hadn’t gone into the 2021 session believing Oklahoma would institute Medicaid expansion – SB131 was created to put “guard rails” on the creation of a policy should it be brought to the legislature. SB131 was meant to prevent managed care administration of the SoonerSelect program because the legislature preferred – overwhelmingly – for the OHCA to administrate the expansion directly (as it had done with the SoonerCare program) without allowing private insurance organizations to serve as middle men between the HCA and the provider. The bill became law without Governor Stitt’s signature.

Consequently, the 2021 legislative session ended without passage of any specific legislation regarding the SoonerSelect program.

This led the OHCA to try and pass ’emergency rules’ based on SB131 at their board meeting in September, in order for the SoonerSelect managed care process to continue, but the rules were tabled by a 7-1 vote.

Several days after the vote to table, the ONLY physicians appointed to the OHCA by Governor Stitt, Dr. Jean Hausheer and Dr. Laura Shamblin, were removed – also by Governor Stitt – without explanation.

When the legislature resumed in February of 2022, SB1337 – a 44-page version of the Governor’s managed care plan – was introduced via floor substitute, passed after a very lengthy process, and signed by Governor Stitt in May, all to provide the needed legislation for the change to the SoonerCare system that should have been provided from the beginning. This put many legislators who were against managed care from the start in an unenviable position, as they felt they had to vote for SB1337 in order to provide some of the ‘guard rails’ SB131 was to have provided for a managed care system.

SB1337 recognized the three private insurance companies identified in the schematic above, who would act as the middle men between OHCA and healthcare providers. One of these – Centene – has been under investigation and embroiled in lawsuits in multiple states for setting up shell corporations, increasing costs to the state and diverting millions from health care delivery to their own pockets.

WHAT IS GOING ON

Since the implementation of managed care last year, foster families, adoptive families and others qualifying for Medicaid, have been unable to get the services that they had gotten under SoonerCare.

Several Oklahomans have reached out to us about this, so we called Senator David Bullard – a stalwart against the managed care system – to talk about the issue. We also included Salome Vaughn, an adoptive mother to her special needs grandson, who has not been able to receive services for him since the program began.

In the clip below, Senator Bullard describes what managed care is and some of the problems he’s seeing with the program, especially in RURAL AREAS – patients not being seen, doctors leaving the SoonerSelect program because they aren’t being paid, clinics literally going out of business – including an obstetric clinic that helped to deliver babies in the rural area around Hugo, Oklahoma. Everything so many Oklahoma Republican lawmakers said would happen BEFORE Governor Stitt forced this program.

HOW TO MAKE IT STOP

In the clip below, Senator Bullard tells Oklahomans how they can help stop managed care and revert it back to the previous OHCA-administrated system. Oklahomans banded together to remove a large number of moderates from the Senate and House this primary season, we just need to stand together and demand that the legislature STOP the SoonerSelect program and revert to the SoonerCare system in 2025.

As Senator Bullard said, doctors and PA’s need to send emails to, or call, their Representatives and Senators (find them here at the bottom of the page if you don’t know who they are) and ask them to ROLL BACK MANAGED CARE.

And as Salome said, parents with children on SoonerSelect, should do the same thing.

If you would feel better about it, send emails directly to david.bullard@oksenate.gov, but MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD! WE CAN ROLL BACK MANAGED CARE, BUT ONLY IF YOU STAND UP AND SPEAK OUT NOW before the 2025 session starts.

LIKE, SHARE and COMMENT on our clips. Send them to your family and friends! Find the FULL live videos on YouTube and Rumble and don’t forget to subscribe to our channels while you’re there!

0

ROPE’s New Podcast “The ROPE Report” Debuted This Week (4.26.23) With Maria Seidler Discussing ROPE’s Lawsuit Against Stillwater Public Schools

Broadcast live to ROPE’s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts, from 9am to 10am Wednesdays and Fridays every week (and uploaded to our Rumble channel), the ROPE Report aims, not only to discuss current education issues being decided in the legislature and the State School Board, but issues in education that can help parents make better choices about the educations they wish to provide their children.

Tuning into the live broadcast can allow you to ask questions of the guests, or comment, but if you miss the live feed, you can find the recordings available on all the social media outlets mentioned above.

Please watch Maria talk about our lawsuit with Stillwater Public Schools. It’s quite eye-opening! Especially about the part where SPS sues us for attorney fees and generates more court costs after our ONLY request in the lawsuit was AN APOLOGY. SPS literally spent nearly 60 thousand taxpayer dollars NOT to apologize to our friend Brice Chaffin for using a police officer to escort him from the podium before his 3 minute comment time was through and after reading scripture. This particular issue is an absolutely shining example of how out of control many public schools are and how much they dislike simply doing the right thing for parents and the community that support them with their tax dollars.

0

HELP! For Which Judges Should I Vote?

Several judges are up for election on November 8th. Often, people simply vote to retain or don’t vote because they don’t know how to get information to cast an INFORMED vote for judges on the ballot in Oklahoma.

Fortunately several Oklahoma bloggers have compiled some really great information on Oklahoma judges, so I refuse to re-invent the wheel.

Michael Bates of Batesline has very interesting information on judges. I’ve taken a screenshot of the upshot of his blog in the event you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to read the whole blog. (PLEASE DO, HOWEVER. WE NEED TO SUPPORT OKLAHOMA RESEARCHERS AND BLOGGERS!)

Another Oklahoma blogger, Jamison Faught of Muskogee Politico has released not one, but TWO blogs on the topic. Again, I’ve screenshotted his picks, but again, PLEASE VISIT HIS BLOGS.

The one thing I appreciated Michael bringing into the mix is Judge Barbara Swinton’s term on the Seeworth Academy Board during the time that their superintendent was embezzling taxpayer funds. I cannot vote for this woman specifically for that reason.

Now, if you simply can’t take anyone’s word for anything, check out this great website – Courtfacts.org. They have a comprehensive listing of Oklahoma judges on the ballot and information about their backgrounds. This is another source from which you can become more educated, but you can also go to Ballotpedia.org and look at the (bare minimal) information they have on Oklahoma judges.

PLEASE, these positions are much too important to leave blank. READ UP ON THESE JUDGES AND VOTE, NOVEMBER 8th!

0

New Information: (11/1/22) An Atheist And George Soros Try to Manipulate Voters In Oklahoma County DA Race

Recently, voters have been inundated by a barrage of TV ads from a Dark Money group called “Oklahoma Progress Now”, an organization run by a man named Nick Singer. 

Singer is not only the Executive Director of Progress, but – according to his LinkdIn profile – has been the Regional Field Director for the ACLU, the Legislative and Political Director for the Oklahoma Education Association (the local arm of the National Education Association), an Organizer for Voices Organized in Civic Engagement and the Director of Operations for Ed Shadid for Mayor.

Additionally, Singer has coordinated the Oklahoma Atheists Coalition – the group responsible for the “Don’t Believe in God? Join The Club” billboards plastered across Oklahoma a decade ago – is the Treasurer for Levelfield Oklahoma PAC – the PAC for the organization Levelfield Oklahoma that formed to fight Oklahoma bills passed to allow citizens to flee from street protestors AND is now running against Larry Stein for Oklahoma County Assessor.

A look at the Twitter feed for Oklahoma Progress Now is helpful in determining the kind of sincere leftist nonsense this group spews behind their support for Calvey opponent Vicki Behenna (as well as Jena Nelson and, of course, once-arrested for campaign illegalities – Joy Hofmeister)

Behenna, the Democrat in the race for Oklahoma County District Attorney, leads a non-profit called, The Oklahoma Innocence Project, which was awarded 5 million dollars by the Open Society Foundation, created and funded by George Soros – frequently referred to as the “Most Dangerous Man Alive” because of his numerous donations to liberal causes such as the “DA Project”.

According to the New York Post:

Critics say the policies of Soros-funded DAs, which have included abolishing bail and, in the case of Chicago, placing hundreds of violent criminals on electronic tracking systems, have led to a spike in crime throughout the country. According to the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report released in September, the country saw a 30percent increase in homicides in 2020 – the largest single-year spike since they began recording crime statistics 60 years ago. The report saw a 24 percent decrease in arrests across the country.

In addition, Soros also serves on the Drug Policy Network, a group dedicated to the legalization of ALL DRUGS – including Meth, Fentanyl, Heroin, and PCP – which, in 2004, removed New York’s only conservative DA.

WE CANNOT ALLOW OKLAHOMA TO BE NEXT!  DO NOT BE FOOLED INTO VOTING FOR A SOROS-FUNDED CANDIDATE FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY! VOTE FOR KEVIN CALVEY – Oklahoma County DA

Kevin Calvey is a Decorated Bronze Star Commendation recipient who wants to prevent central Oklahomans from being targeted by loose, ineffective and dangerous prosecution policies that will translate into less safety for residents and their families. Kevin is willing to fight. Will you stand with him?

UPDATE: Today, a new blog has been released about the influence of the marijuana industry on the gubernatorial election through the PAC, Imagine This Oklahoma and its only contributor Oklahoma Forward represented by Brian Ted Jones who “…is a lawyer dedicated to serving clients by helping them navigate the complex and rapidly changing landscape of Oklahoma medical marijuana law.”

This was very interesting to me because researching this article, I found that Oklahoma Progress Now had a sister entity, “Oklahoma Progress Government Relations, LLC” (today considered inactive because they’re over 60 days delinquent in filing their annual report), run by Robert C. Scott, also known as Robert “Bud” Scott who is now the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry.

Interestingly, I also found that Progress Now is listed as “expired” with the Secretary of State office. So, to recap, an expired non-profit acting in Oklahoma elections without ANY listing of Independent Expenditures with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. Very ethical, and apparently very much like Imagine This Oklahoma.

PAY ATTENTION OKLAHOMA! Cannabis is producing a HUGE amount of money in Oklahoma that cannot be traced because money from this ‘industry’ isn’t even legal to deposit in a bank. Don’t you think you might want to wonder where all that money is GOING?

2

Five Things Joy Hofmeister Did Which Were Illegal And/Or Unethical According To The Affidavit Of Probable Cause In The Joy Hofmeister Dark Money Independent Expenditure Case Filed In 2016

For this piece, I’ll use numerous excerpts from the 2016 Affidavit of Probable Cause presented to Oklahoma County DA David Prater’s office following the arrest of Chad Alexander whose two cell phones were searched via warrant and incriminating text message evidence collected.

Without going into great detail, between April 2013 and November 2014, Hofmeister, Stephanie Milligan (now Alexander), Steven Crawford (former CCOSA President), Lela Odom (then with the OEA), and Fount Holland (political campaign strategist now of CAMP) apparently coordinated together on Independent Expenditures through a dark money group run by Alexander called “Oklahomans For Public School Excellence” to get Joy Hofmeister elected Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction.  

CCOSA and OEA donated 100,000 each and American Fidelity Bank (characterized in the Affidavit as a 100% supporter of OEA) also donated $100,000 to Oklahomans for Public School Excellence in $50k amounts through both CCOSA and OEA.  They – and others – worked with Hofmeister to coordinate the messaging paid for through this account to manipulate Oklahoma voters into voting for Joy Hofmeister as state Superintendent.

No fans of Janet Barresi’s term as Superintendent, ROPE was behind Hofmeister’s initial bid for the position after she had assured us that she would not support Common Core.  Of course, this all changed during the fight for new, non-Common Core, state standards where we were kicked to the curb by Hofmeister and her public ed allies so they could usher in shiny new “non-Common Core” Common Core standards, leaving us once again to fight our State Superintendent.

Now, let’s read some of Mrs. Hofmeister’s text messages from the Affidavit knowing this background…

Let’s start here: 

1. JOY CHANGES CONTRIBUTIONS ON ETHICS FILINGS TO AVOID SCRUTINY  

PAGE 8

2. JOY’S CAMPAIGN CONSPIRED TO THWART IRS RULES

PAGE 9

I have begun studying dark money this election season.  I KNOW there is an IRS rule that says 501c4 Social Welfare organizations must not make politics their main activity.  The organizations I have researched have done this as COMMON PRACTICE, however, which is why – in my opinion – the 501c4 should be removed as an IRS non-profit designation.  It’s quite an easy way for cheaters to cheat the system.

3. JOY ALLOWS HER TEAM TO MISLEAD THE PUBLIC REGARDING OEA’S SUPPORT OF HER CANDIDACY WHILE FOUNT HOLLAND ADMITS THE CAMPAIGN WILL USE DISENGENUOUS “RIGHT WING RHETORIC”

4. JOY COORDINATES WITH FOUNT HOLLAND REGARDING SUPPORT OF OEA IN THE INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE

PAGE 10

5. JOY TELLS INVESTIGATORS SHE HAS “NO SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE” OF AN INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE GROUP

PAGE 27

The character of the person described here is indelibly marred.  According to the quoted affidavit, Mrs. Hofmeister plays fast and loose with the truth and cares little about following the campaign laws of this state, so how in the world could we expect her to care about following any of its other laws?  It’s simple: we can’t.

VOTE NO for Joy Hofmeister.

4

We’re Not So Jolly About Common Core Clark – Vote NO For Clark Jolley For State Treasurer

Clark Jolley at the Jeb Bush, Foundation for Education Excellence National Summit on Education Reform in Boston, MA with former Oklahoma State Board of Education member Amy Ford.  Clark Jolley was the lead author of the bill that adopted Obama-pushed Common Core State Standards throughout Oklahoma.

Sadly, Clark Jolley and ROPE have never been famous friends.

It all started in 2010, when he authored SB2033 (described by the title, “Teacher Incentive Pay) with Coffee, Jolley, Ford, Rice and Leftwich of the Senate.  This bill was created as a vehicle by which to apply for federal Race To The Top funds.  The bill is 34 pages and codified into law the Teacher Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System (a nightmare that Senator Adam Pugh tried to put an end to last year in a bill that was ‘committee’d to death’), the Race To The Top Commission, The Common Core State Standards Initiative, and failing school intervention program – three of the four aspects of the Obama Administration’s Race To The Top grant paid for with ARRA funds.

So, there’s that.  

In fact, I STILL can’t consider any Republican in the legislature who signed on to OBAMA’s education plan a real Republican – including Clark Jolley.

There is more – so much more – but to post all of that here would more than likely cause some kind of catatonic state from which the reader might not recover.  Let me simply say this; Blogspot has an excellent ‘search’ function.  I highly suggest – before casting a vote for Clark Jolley for anything – you search his name on the ROPE blog.  There are dozens of entries from which to choose where we’ve dissected and discussed legislation created by Senator Jolley and his cronies that we simply could not – AS SMALL GOVERNMENT REPUBLICANS – support.

The blog from which this picture was taken, “Oklahoma Legislative Education Leaders Take Advantage of Free Boston Trip Sponsored By Jeb Bush Foundation“, most probably says it all, however.  

In closing – and yes I am closing, as I feel my point should have been made solidly with the opening line – I do want to copy and paste an encounter we had with Senator Jolley (originally posted here) while we were lobbying against Common Core.

During 2011, there was a bill of Senator Jolley’s (SB264) with which we had issue.  It was advertised as a deregulation bill for schools, but there were an additional number of components – including a reference to the SLDS (State Longitudinal Database System) we didn’t like – and we didn’t want it passed.  Unfortunately, we found it late in its legislative cycle – after it was going back to the House a second time.  

Three of us were walking the halls talking to Representatives, sharing our concerns about the bill, when Clark Jolley strides by us at a ferocious clip, points a finger at us and says, “I want to see you in my office” and marches off.  We felt as though we were to follow, so we shrugged our shoulders at one another not knowing what was going on, and followed dutifully. 

Senator Jolley strode into his office directly behind his desk, told us to sit down, sat down himself and immediately launched into a very thorough berating, replete with pointed finger.  Now, mind you, one of us was actually a constituent of the Senator and NONE of us on the ROPE board are paid in any way – we are all mothers, housewives (and business owners) who take it upon ourselves to study the legislative process and become involved.  This fact, however, did not stop Senator Jolley from taking the time to tell us exactly how the cow ate the cabbage.  

We were NOT to go around behind his back, he explained vociferously.  If we had a problem with one of HIS bills, we needed to come to him first and not let him hear about it from someone else.  He wanted to make sure HIS bills get passed and he would work with us but he was not going to have us going around him taking matters into our own hands.

I have NEVER been such a combination of flabbergasted, annoyed and angry all at the same time.  I thought Senators were supposed to be public SERVANTS.  At one point I finally decided I’d had enough and told him that we weren’t paid lobbyists and didn’t know the system inside and out – heck one of us was even a constituent – we were simply doing what we felt was right.  It didn’t require a lecture.

I have never forgotten that incident…

True public “SERVANTS” don’t behave like Clark Jolley.

PS:  Todd Russ was always kind to us, listened, and more importantly voted YES to repeal Common Core from Oklahoma law.  I’ll be voting for Russ.

0

The Corruption Belt – Part 1: Is Catalyst Oklahoma Inc., An Alliance Among OCPA, The Oklahoma State Chamber And Fount Holland (CAMP) To Elect CAMP Clients In The 2022 Election Cycle?

For months I’ve been researching Dark Money in Oklahoma, tying together a wide-reaching web of PACs and Non-Profits and Oklahoma Movers and Shakers and other SWAMP creatures.  This is Part 1 of what I hope will be a pretty thorough expose on who pulls the strings to get voters to pull levers in Oklahoma elections.

Since becoming disgusted with the 2022 primary elections – especially former Senator Jake Merrick’s re-election campaign – like some politically nerdy Alice in Wonderland, I accidentally fell down a rabbit hole trying to determine who really decides elections for Oklahomans – voters, or people who use money to influence elections.  

What I’ve found is mind-numbing and the absolute reason why grassroots Oklahomans engaged in the political process to elect Constitutionally-minded, small government conservatives are getting their butts handed to them nearly every election.  We simply can’t make up in advocacy, what PACS and 501C4’s can raise in money when no one has to know where that money is coming from and – to an extent – where it goes.  It all happens in the dark at our expense.

So let’s start with Catalyst Oklahoma PAC.  I wrote about them briefly in my analysis of Merrick’s re-election campaign, but since then, I’ve learned much more.

CATALYST’S OCPA/CHAMBER CONNECTION

Catalyst Oklahoma, Inc., was created in October of 2014.  A filing made with the Secretary of State’s Office (OKSOS) received October 23, 2014, lists Charles Sublett as Executive Director/Treasurer, Director and President at 100 North Broadway, Suite 1500, OKC, OK 73102.  Charles Sublett is a Board Member of OCPA from Tulsa.

With the filing was a copy of a 990-EZ tax return for 2013 (which cannot be found on the IRS website for the non-profit with the same EIN -it also lists a $150,000 donation by an individual whose name was redacted in the Secretary of State filing).  The tax return is signed by Charles Sublett and prepared by Edward DeBee of DeBee Gilchrist, A Professional Corporation, 100 North Broadway, Suite 1500, OKC, OK 73102.  (Apparently now DeBee Clark Attorneys and Counselors at 1200 NW 63rd Suite 5000).

Tangentially, DeBee Clark was also used to create People for Opportunity, a PAC created by Dave Bond, Jonathan Small and Trent England – all of OCPA.

A 2016 Registration Renewal lists the mailing address as 1200 NW 63rd Suite 5000 and Charles Sublett as President and Director along with Mark Nichols (Vice President of Government and Public Affairs at Koch Industries) and Allen Wright (President of the Hustings Group) – both of whom are on the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma State Chamber.

Also tangentially, Allen Wright was involved in OCPA Impact (aka OCPA Oklahoma Policy Solutions Inc.) – a 501C4 organization where Dave Bond served as President and CEO from 2015-2019 (the last available filing for OCPA Impact on IRS.gov). From 2015 to 2018, Allen Wright served in various capacities within the C4. DeBee Cilchrist, A Professional Corporation is listed as the filing agent for that organization as well.

A 2017 Registration Renewal adds Bob Sullivan (former Secretary of Energy under Governor Frank Keating) and the group remains the same for 2018.  

No renewals are logged with the OKSOS until 2021 when the address changes to 317 East 33rd in Edmond (the address for Neighborhood Veterinary Services).  Officers for 2021 Included Sublett and Wright, but not Nichols and Meg Salyer (former OKC City/Council Member) and former OKC Mayor, Ron Norick were added.

A 2018 article by Brianna Bailey of The Frontier about dark money spending, records a spokesman for OCPA, David Autry, saying that a ‘tax preparer previously listed Catalyst as an OCPA-related nonprofit because of the shared board member, but there was no legal reason to do so.’  

Ok, while there may be no “legal” reason, there’s enough overlap to see the connections nonetheless.

CATALYST OKLAHOMA 2015-16 FEC FILING BY STATE CHAMBER ATTORNEY FOR CONGRESSMAN TOM COLE

Catalyst Oklahoma is not a PAC – it’s a 501C4 private non-profit.  It can donate either directly to candidates or to PACs and it doesn’t have to publish where its money comes from.  

It doesn’t  have to file with FEC, but it did in 2015-16 when it supported Tom Cole ($62,099.00) for Congress – a federal position that required the creation of a federal PAC.

The “About” section of the FEC filing has absolutely nothing to identify itself but a PO Box number which links to attorney (and former Oklahoma Senator and Secretary of State) Glenn Coffee, who became the Oklahoma Chamber’s attorney of record in 2013.

Attached to the FEC filing is a letter from attorney Coffee – in response to a letter from the FEC regarding Catalyst’s late filing – that describes efforts by Catalyst Oklahoma including a survey on the Mick Cornett/Ed Shadid mayoral race in 2015.

CATALYST OKLAHOMA’S WEBSITE IS A LIBERAL ORGANIZATION “OK UNITED”

Each 990 tax filing made by Catalyst Oklahoma, Inc., lists their website as www.okunited.org.

Oklahoma United’s main focus is to REPEAL CLOSED PRIMARIES IN OKLAHOMA – an absolutely disastrous idea for conservative politics.  But then, conservative politics are not at ALL what this website touts.  In fact, this is a website that uses words like “MODERATE” and “MIDDLE” and “CENTRIST” throughout.

Here’s what they’re “doing” in their own words:

  • Creating and leveraging existing media content to support and give voice to centrist views and representation for Oklahomans (translation: like Facebook factcheckers, they want to make sure right-sided views are eliminated)
  • Joining initiatives to improve voter registration, access, and turnout (translation: pushing for motor/voter laws and pushing for absentee voting?)
  • Identifying and addressing obstacles that contribute to partisan fringe domination of Oklahoma politics (translation: working to take out true conservatives in elections)
  • Advocating for the Forgotten Middle in Oklahoma (translation: putting money into PACS and elections to sway voters to vote for more government and less freedom)

This is NOT what OCPA says it stands for on its website, but then, it did go full bore for the IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGED CARE (the step into a single-payer/socialist healthcare system) in Oklahoma this session (2022).

CATALYST OKLAHOMA SUPPORTS CONSERVATIVES IN 2018 GOES QUIET 4 YEARS AND COMES BACK IN 2022 SUPPORTING ANTI-GRASSROOTS CANDIDATES WITH $288,704.11 (4/1-8/10)

A late 2018 Ethics Commission filing for Catalyst Oklahoma shows the address as 1200 NW 63rd Street supporting Cathy Costello for Commissioner of Labor.

Early 2022 Ethics reports for Catalyst Oklahoma carry an address of 817 East 33rd Street Edmond (not 317 as listed on the 2021 OKSOS filing), which corresponds to a building in an office complex off 33rd that has no sign outside but isn’t empty.  

A search for that address connects it to the Boggy Depot Land and Cattle Co, incorporated 7/20/22 by Allen Wright.  A search for the post office box listed on the Ethics filing returns no associations at all.  

Ethics reports for Catalyst Oklahoma from 4/1/22-8/10/22 show that $288,704.11 was paid to support only four candidates – Kristen Thompson against Jake Merrick (Thompson won the Primary outright), Darcy Jech against Brady Butler, Hunter Zearley against Jack Stewart (Stewart won the Primary outright) and Ally Seifried against Jarrin Jackson.  CAMP runs candidates Seifried and Jech.

This seems odd, but there is a connection between OCPA and Fount Holland.

From February of 2019 to February of 2020, Fount Holland was a lobbyist for OCPA.

I cannot mention often enough, that Fount Holland was caught colluding with a dark money PAC during Joy Hofmeister’s election against former State Superintendent Janet Baressi.  

This lack of ethics isn’t the only issue I have with his tactics, however, which is why I will continue my series on the Corruption Belt with some of the more enlightening information I’ve stumbled upon as I’ve continued to research Dark Money influence and its effect on Oklahoma elections.

For now, know this – true Conservatives will have a horrible time winning elections in this state until we can change Ethics laws to prevent the endless merry-go-round of money through 501C4’s and PACs and the influence spread by sitting legislators who use their campaign ‘war chests’ to fund the campaigns of other legislators and candidates they believe will help their efforts.  So be prepared.  By the end of this series, you’ll either need to act, or sit on your hands and watch the Bible belt continue to rust into the Corruption Belt while Oklahoma turns blue.

6

Press Statements and Filed Overwatch Petition Against Stillwater Public Schools on Behalf of Stillwater Community Member Brice Chaffin

Picture: Stillwater News Press

Brice Chaffin, a husband and father and member of the Stillwater, Oklahoma community, attended a Stillwater Public Schools (SPS) Board meeting, April 12th, to comment on the policy of SPS to allow transgender boys in the girl’s bathrooms. During the course of his comments, in which he referred to Biblical scripture, he was told he had violated Board policy and was removed from the podium by an armed member of the Stillwater police force. ROPE Overwatch filed a lawsuit against Stillwater Public Schools and SPS Board members in their official capacities.

Brice Chaffin’s statement to the press about the incident, given May 4th, 2022:

President of ROPE, Jenni White’s comments to the press about the lawsuit being filed by ROPE Overwatch May 4th, 2022:

Timeline of events during Brice Chaffin’s comments to the Board April 12th:

Copy of the petition filed in Payne County Court, May 4th, 2022:

3

Whatever You Believe About War Or The Military, At Least Pause Today to Thank A Soldier Who Never Returned Home To Be With Their Family As You Celebrate With Yours

One Sunday many years ago while attending church, we had a number of opportunities to appreciate our fallen soldiers. During a particularly poignant video played for the congregation depicting service men and women and their efforts over recent history, I looked over to find my 12-year-old son sobbing.

When I asked him what was wrong, he told me it made him very sad to know so many serviceman had died defending our country and freedoms. It didn’t seem fair they weren’t able to go home and share the freedoms they had fought for with their families.

He has always been a sensitive young man, and it made me proud to know he understood the meaning of sacrifice – appreciating a concept so few Americans today understand.

But then again, all our children know that my father was in the Navy – stationed in Japan for a time – my husband was in the Army just prior to the Iraq war – and his father was stationed in Germany after WWII. Consequently, our family has a deep appreciation of our military and their service to our country.

I will never forget seeing Saving Private Ryan in a very crowded movie theater the day it came out.

My husband was on my left and on my right, a young kid in his 20’s.

In an early, tragically-ironic scene, a young man removes his helmet to stare at a place where a bullet had hit and saved his life, only to be killed by a bullet to his head while his helmet was in his hands mere seconds later.

The young man sitting next to me found the scene hysterical and threw back his head, laughing like a hyena.

I was incensed. I turned to that young man and proceeded to give him a lecture on service and sacrifice – during the film – that at least shut his mouth for the rest of the movie and at best gave him a better appreciation for those who serve our country than he had before. We live in a world today where movies and video games portray the idea of death as a game. Young people have little more than a flippant, Hollywood notion of what it means to be gravely injured – or die – in a country that isn’t yours, where your loved ones exist only in memory and a promise of days to come.

This isn’t surprising, as most public schools rarely teach children about the honor and sacrifice of our veterans – at best they simply don’t have time with all the mandates and high stakes testing – at worst, the teacher in the classroom, indoctrinated via their university studies, believes that America is a racist, bigoted country that deserves to be despised.

Too often, today’s liberal worldview deliberately forgets our fallen soldiers; their causes and accomplishments diminished to inconveniences in order to downplay the American Exceptionalism that virtually single-handedly restored Europe after WWII in order to persist the narrative of America as a bully nation.

THIS. IS. TRAGIC. AND. INHUMANE.

Please, whether or not you believe war is just, or right – whether you believe nation building is a crime – in fact, whatever your thoughts on war and/or human nature, at least pause today to thank a service man or woman who never returned home to be with their family as you celebrate Memorial Day with yours.
May God bless your family this day, and may God bless America and the sacrifices and lives of those who have fallen in service to others on her behalf.

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑