(mostly stupid) New bills introduced in Oklahoma: 2016 edition

[heironymouspasparagus]

There is always hope! But it is dampened by the attitude that Kansas and Oklahoma are pursuing right now which is to double down on the moral/political crusades while the masses are confused and pliable. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

A few good leaders standing up right now and the prospect of losing their phoney baloney jobs this fall can start the turn around.

No.  There is no hope.  You and I have both been watching this clown show for a long, long, time.  There were small glimmers in the 70's, which were quickly quenched by the mid 80's.  Since then it has continued to slide for a variety of reasons.  It is very easy to gauge by one simple metric - the minimum wage.  It reflects attitudes, directions, and results very well.  On a statewide as well as national basis.

The "peak" of our progress as a society trying to advance the general welfare is shown by the decline of real wages and standard of living in this country.  The work to broaden the beneficial effects of economic activity to a wider audience ended years ago - in fact, the opposite has been the goal of the right since the early 80's.

It's not just an old saying contrasting Democrats to Republicans - and the names aren't the important part, but the larger preponderance of attitudes behind those names - to "Democrats", low wages are the problem.  To "Republicans", low wages are the solution.

This plays out in every aspect of our lives from things like the union busting started in a big way by Reagan to trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA brought to us by both sold-out sides.

Eisenhower tried to warn us, but we would not listen....

[heironymouspasparagus]

What's really disheartening to me is the all the Trump, Cruz and crazy anti-Obama stickers that are almost always on garbage cars. The very people that are hurt most by these idiots at the capitol in Oklahoma City are the people so excited to vote them into office.

Sometimes I wonder why I care. I'm not personally impacted by the state melt down really and Fallin's dumb income tax cuts really did save me a little money. I don't need Obamacare. My kids are nearly grown and if needed I can put my son in private school. My daughter goes to college out of state. Tulsa appears to be relatively safe from our energy industry caused earthquakes. What the idiots at the state capitol do really impacts me very little.

Maybe it's time for things to get really bad. For our low information voters to really get hit so they understand that elections DO have consequences. That when politicians use Jebus, Freedums, and Guns!-Guns!-Guns! to get elected, they aren't the voters friend.

That's why I said earlier I will probably vote for Trump.  Lets just get it going - rub some of these ignorant noses in what they say they really want, and maybe still have enough crumbs leftover to finally climb out of this long national nightmare!


At least on some fundamental level you care for the same reason I do --> "Let me explain why I like to pay taxes for schools even though I personally don't have a kid in school.  It's because I don't like living in a country with a bunch of stupid people." 

[Townsend]

Sometimes I wonder why I care. I'm not personally impacted by the state melt down really and Fallin's dumb income tax cuts really did save me a little money. I don't need Obamacare. My kids are nearly grown and if needed I can put my son in private school. My daughter goes to college out of state. Tulsa appears to be relatively safe from our energy industry caused earthquakes. What the idiots at the state capitol do really impacts me very little.

Well...that's a thing though.  Everyone's getting gum on their shoes, directly or indirectly, when these poor decision are made.  You are not immune.

Think about the people who are affected directly by what you mentioned...are you affected by those folks?  (parents, in-laws, friends, friend's kids, kid's friends, neighbors, co-workers, companies you do business with, etc.)   If you are...BOOM, you should definitely care.

The things I concern myself with are the things that make a difference when I wake up the next day.  Do they make a difference for me today?  Anything from my drive to work to the value of my house...you know the stupidity is screwing you on your home value.

[cannon_fodder]

There are 20+ bills introduced to try and retch control of the judiciary from the judiciary. Mostly couched as populist or democratic notions or restoring "power to the people." Unfortunately, having judicial power to the people is exactly one step away from mob rule. And that step can either be ignorance or corruption (that is, people not educated in the law enabled to interpret the law or overt corruption).

Guess which one Oklahoma  is famous for?

Oklahoma is famous for having a wildly corrupt appellate judicial system up to the 1960s. A "use this as an example of what not to do" and "lets sell books about this" level of corruption. Appellate judges were subject to election, and they ran populace agendas (that is, no matter what the law says I can't rule this way or I won't get elected) and in manners that assured financial contributions (or they will go to my rival). The result was pay-to-play courts, not justice.

Almost universally, those crying for a new system are ignorant of the history and ignorant as to how the current system works.  To make sure we discourage corruption and to try and limit political influence in the appellate judiciary (recall Oklahoma was a Democratic state, with Page Belcher being the lone Republic for the decade), they came up with the following system:

1. A 15 member judicial nominating commission presents three applicants to the governor, who chooses one to be appointed to a given slot.

2. The judicial nominating commission is comprised of:
a) six members appointed by the governor, with no more than 3 from any political party and none may be an attorney
b) six elected by the Oklahoma Bar Association, one from each congressional delegation in 1967
c) one selected by the governor appointees and the Bar Association appointees, who must be a non-attorney (if they cannot agree, to be appointed by the governor)
d) One appointed by the Speak of the House (not an attorney)
e) One appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (not an attorney)

Members serve 6 year terms, and cannot serve consecutive terms. No commissioner is paid. All members may not hold any elected or appointed political office, may not serve in any official capacity in any political party, and may not be nominated to any judicial post.  These restrictions continue for five years after they leave the commission.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_Judicial_Nominating_Commission

For 60 years we have operated scandal free. In spite of my many efforts to have someone point out clearly erroneous judicial fiats in Oklahoma, none have been forthcoming.  You can disagree with an outcome, but a judge isn't appointed to make a popular decision - they are to make the decision dictated by the law.  No one is really saying Oklahoma judges aren't doing that.

The more politics in the judiciary the worse off we are. The more immediate pressure there is on a judge to make a popular or profitable decision, the worse off we are. So why would you want to go back to a system that is proven corrupt instead of a system that has been working?

[Conan71]

Let me get this straight:  We can't find more money for education, but we can pass controversial laws to promote an issue in public schools which seems to fall as much on religious lines as it does scientific interpretation.

This is an example of something which clearly should be taught at home or church, not public schools.  Parents need to be teaching their children a moral code this is not and never should be the role of public schools.

Oklahoma House approves school anti-abortion curriculum

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma House has adopted legislation authorizing public schools to teach Oklahoma high school students that life begins at conception.

Without debate, House members on Tuesday voted 64-12 for the measure and sent it to the Senate for a vote. The National Right to Life Committee, the nation's largest anti-abortion organization, says Oklahoma is the first state to introduce such a bill.

The Humanity of the Unborn Child Act requires Oklahoma public high schools to teach students in grades nine through 12 "about the humanity of a child in utero," including details about how a fetus develops at certain stages of pregnancy.

Its author, Republican Rep. Ann Coody of Lawton, says the parents of high school students could opt their children out of the program.

http://www.hastingstribune.com/oklahoma-house-approves-school-anti-abortion-curriculum/article_042b70c2-e6e4-589b-9b82-29c9ec6f192c.html

[Townsend]

Let me get this straight:  We can't find more money for education, but we can pass controversial laws to promote an issue in public schools which seems to fall as much on religious lines as it does scientific interpretation.

This is an example of something which clearly should be taught at home or church, not public schools.  Parents need to be teaching their children a moral code this is not and never should be the role of public schools.

Will the program also teach/provide the means to not become pregnant? 

Will it provide a way for the kids to understand the financial steps and needs during and after pregnancy?

Surely they've provided that as well.

[Weatherdemon]

Will the program also teach/provide the means to not become pregnant? 

Will it provide a way for the kids to understand the financial steps and needs during and after pregnancy?

Surely they've provided that as well.

Effective brainwashing of students to get them to fall in line when they become eligible voters and to convince their parents to fall in line until then.

This thread is probably the scariest thing I have read... maybe ever.
It's one thing to see these dumbazz things pop up occasionally in the news but it's another to see them together... and this year is only a couple of months old.

[Conan71]

Oklahoma House passes bill cutting 111,000 from Medicaid

OKLAHOMA CITY — Just how grim the state's budget situation has become was apparent Wednesday morning as the state House of Representatives discussed and ultimately agreed to a bill that would cut 111,000 Oklahomans, most of them women, from Medicaid.

House Bill 2665, by Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, instructs the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which administers the state's Medicaid program, to request a federal waiver that would allow it to exclude all able-bodied adults younger than 65.

Currently, Cox said, about 111,000 single, non-disabled parents earning less than $9,500 are covered by SoonerCare, Oklahoma's version of Medicaid. Cox said 77,000 of those are women.

Such a move would save the state an estimated $130 million a year, according to the bill's fiscal impact statement, but cost $203 million in federal matching funds. Cutting those recipients without the waiver would endanger Oklahoma's entire Medicaid program and $3 billion a year in federal funds.

Through more than two hours of discussion and debate, Cox said he was not happy about the proposal but that he believed it was the only alternative.

The worse alternatives, he said, could include eliminating prescription drug coverage — a route that would not require a waiver — and lowering reimbursements to the point that health care providers no longer accept Medicaid patients, and the closing of many of the state's nursing homes.

Democrats countered that the loss of $200 million in federal funding and the higher rates of uncompensated care are likely to close some hospitals, and questioned why Cox's bill was the first addressing the state's budget situation to reach the House floor.

They also wanted to know why the Republican-controlled state government had declined a Medicaid expansion offered by the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," a provision that was intended to address such situations.

"I am actually working with some folks to design something," Cox said.

Cox is among a handful of Republicans who have publicly advocated that Oklahoma adopt a program similar to Arkansas', in which expanded Medicaid funding is used to privately insure low-income individuals.

Democrats Eric Proctor of Tulsa and Mike Brown of Tahlequah questioned the morality of cutting Medicaid without addressing business incentives.

"The choice is not really about whether we help (one person) or someone else," Proctor said. "It's about whether we help CapitolOne or some other corporation or the poorest people in the state."

The bill passed 65-34, with four Republicans joining all 30 Democrats in opposition. Two members did not vote.

Also Wednesday, the House approved Senate Bill 1570, transferring the Will Rogers Memorial to the Oklahoma Historical Society. The measure passed 85-9, and returned to the Senate.

randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/capitol_report/oklahoma-house-passes-bill-cutting-from-medicaid/article_e2bb35ee-f174-5c27-a0c9-5e9021164c8e.html

In the comments section, one of Cox's medical colleagues speculates Cox has something else up his sleeve:

For 20 years I have observed Dr. Cox taking care of the poor, the elderly and the children of our county. I have watched him incessantly take on his own party about women's rights, education, and the welfare of our state. I am sure there is a method to his proposal, whether it is to force the feds to reject the waiver making our state legislators face reality, force our governor to take another look at Obamacare, or to truly find a work around which would be better for our state. There is no way Dr. Cox will let 77,000 women making less than $10,000/yr go without healthcare. T. E. Riggs, MD

[cannon_fodder]

Here is the bill discussed above:

HB2792 is the Humanity of the Unborn Child Act, requires:

1) Creates the "Public Education on the Humanity of the Unborn Child Fund," which shall be exempt from fiscal year limitations (restricted funds);

2) Funds shall be used to:
A) Educated the public on the Humanity of Child in Utero;
B) Utilizing information from the Health Department and Board of Medicine which complies with the purposes of the act )that is, don't teach the science that doesn't agree);
C) Educate on the gestation of fetuses at 2 week intervals;
D) Provide materials educated the public on Oklahoma's preference for birth and adoption and assistance that is available;

3) Teach the curriculum to 9th Graders

4) Funds from this program may not be used to finance programs or materials on human sexuality.

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2015-16%20FLR/HFLR/HB2797%20HFLR.PDF

It is almost solid 50% of a decent anti-abortion effort in that it teaches there are alternatives and goes on to lie that Oklahoma helps single mothers (damn free loaders all wanting healthcare and childcare and education, get a job you bum! You knew what you were doing. Abstain whore, abstain!). But it also teaches the religious view that life begins at conception - purely a religious teaching.

Worse, it specifically forbids sex education. Why spend money and class time teaching all about pregnancy and how bad abortion is... and not bother mentioning STDs or pregnancy prevention? The ONE thing absoultely proven to cut down on the abortion rate.

[Conan71]

Still not gaining on that $1.3 billion budget hole, but now the Senate thinks it's within their means to strip abortion providers of their medical licenses:

Oklahoma Senate OKs plan to suspend licenses of abortion doctors

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would allow for the revocation of medical licenses for doctors who perform abortions.

The measure has an exception to save the life of the mother or to preserve her health.

Senate Bill 1552, by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, passed by a vote of 40-7 and heads to the House for consideration.

Spectators in the gallery broke out in applause following Dahm's debate in which he said one of government's core functions is to protect life. They were told they were violating Senate decorum and ceased the display.

Senate Minority Leader John Sparks, D-Norman, was successful in attaching an amendment requiring legal costs to be calculated for defending the measure should there be a court challenge.

A growing number of Oklahoma abortion laws have been challenged and overturned by the courts.

Sparks said the law is unconstitutional in numerous ways, including being an ex post facto law.

"This bill will be reversed," he said.

Sparks said the measure would not reduce abortions in the state. The only way to reduce abortions is to increase access to health care and education for women, he said.

For 10 years, there has been "grandstanding" with abortion bills, but the abortion rates are constant, Sparks said.

Sen. Ervin Yen, R-Oklahoma City, the only medical doctor in the upper chamber, argued against the bill, but accidentally voted for it.

"The Legislature should not be in the business of stepping between a patient and her doctor," Yen said.

Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, cast the only Republican vote against the measure. He said he is anti-abortion, but the bill was drastically amended without sufficient time to evaluate its full meaning.

The Oklahoma State Medical Association in a statement said it opposed the bill because it was an attempt to intimidate physicians and put politics in the middle of the physician-patient relationship.

In unrelated action, the Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 65, which would let voters decide whether to let the governor appoint the Labor Commissioner with the advice and consent of the Senate. The office is elected by voters statewide.

Barbara Hoberock 405-528-2465

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/oklahoma-senate-oks-plan-to-suspend-licenses-of-abortion-doctors/article_dd07dda9-e621-58f7-b7bc-419f85c304f9.html

[cannon_fodder]

It should be pointed out that for International Women's Day we introduced bills to make Abortion First Degree Murder (punishable by death) and strip Doctors of their medical licenses if they have ever worked for a clinic anywhere that ever provided abortions. There is exactly zero chance any of those would ever hold up to a due process challenge, but it sure make us feel warm and fuzzy and sends a strong message to any women's rights groups on Women's Day.

[Townsend]

It should be pointed out that for International Women's Day we introduced bills to make Abortion First Degree Murder (punishable by death) and strip Doctors of their medical licenses if they have ever worked for a clinic anywhere that ever provided abortions. There is exactly zero chance any of those would ever hold up to a due process challenge, but it sure make us feel warm and fuzzy and sends a strong message to any women's rights groups on Women's Day.

Who gets his hair cut like this?

[heironymouspasparagus]

It should be pointed out that for International Women's Day we introduced bills to make Abortion First Degree Murder (punishable by death) and strip Doctors of their medical licenses if they have ever worked for a clinic anywhere that ever provided abortions. There is exactly zero chance any of those would ever hold up to a due process challenge, but it sure make us feel warm and fuzzy and sends a strong message to any women's rights groups on Women's Day.

Small side step here since Intl Women's Day was mentioned...  And it also has a nice Art Deco feel to it, so The Artist might like....   Google is honoring Clara Rockmore!!  Greatest Theremin player in the world!!


https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl

[heironymouspasparagus]

Ni shagu nazad!!   


Full speed ahead, Kansas!!

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Who gets his hair cut like this?