By Ron McWhirter

We believe the most important product of this publication is our annual Oklahoma Conservative Index which rates members of the Oklahoma Legislature. We published our first scorecard in the summer of 1979, and with this summer issue we present the 46th edition of the ratings. ...

By Steve Byas

Setting aside the issue that the First Amendment restricted the federal government and not the states – which the U.S. Supreme Court later applied to the states through the “Incorporation Doctrine” interpretation of the 14th Amendment – the latest ruling on the Catholic Charter school, St. Isidore of Seville, by our Oklahoma Supreme Court is yet another example of a misunderstanding of the purpose of the First Amendment, written by James Madison. ...

By Linda Murphy

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on June 25th, based on the Constitution and Law, to reject public tax funding for a state-wide Catholic Charter School. Oklahoma has always prohibited state tax dollars from being used to support religion. A Catholic church spokesman stated openly that their plans for a public funded school, St. Isidore of Seville, include teaching Catholicism. ...

By Jason Murphey

Nearly 20 years ago, the Oklahoma State Treasurer commissioned a special report. It uncovered significant inefficiencies in a crucial aspect of Oklahoma policy: how the state manages its spending. There’s no better barometer for measuring the quality of our elected officials than efficiency or lack thereof of money management policies. The report uncovered numerous deficiencies within the state’s purchasing system, including the large number of purchases exempt from the purchasing act an...

By David Deming

Every time there’s a tragic incidence of gun violence, I read the claim on social media, “it’s the guns!” implying a causal relationship between the availability of firearms and violent crime. The concomitant corollary is that restrictions on gun ownership would reduce violence and lead to the peaceful society we all want. I don’t believe this is the case, and will explain why. ...

By Tim Bakamjian

Any list of the greatest Oklahomans in our state’s history would be incomplete without the name of Harold Hamm at or near the top of the list. Hamm, 78, forever changed the energy world and the livelihoods of millions worldwide by pioneering horizontal drilling, which in turn propelled the U.S. shale revolution. More than anyone, he took America in short order from energy scarcity to energy abundance. ...

By Shane Smith

We live in strange and historic times, to say the least. The failed Trump assassination has raised the stakes for our nation far higher than they have ever been before. A frail, 20-year-old loser, who appears to have had no real weapons training, took aim at our once and future President and came within a hair’s breadth of taking his life, sending this nation into a socio-political caldera that none of us want a part of. And now, as of this writing, our decrepit President Biden has announced...

By John Michener

Remember when your mom would yell at you: “Stop that or else!” Or when your dad would bark, “You’re going to get it!” Did you ever wonder, “Or else what? What am I going to get?” No, you had no doubt at all. You knew what they meant. If you did not obey the family rule, you would receive the designated and appropriate punishment. For without the threat of punishment, humans are inclined to go on disobeying. This is a fundamental teaching of scripture and natural law. The topic is...

By Allan Wall

Consulates are installations representing a government on the soil of another country. The diplomats of the consulate represent the interests of their country in a foreign land. Consulates have some legitimate functions. When I resided in Mexico, I occasionally traveled to a U.S. consulate in another city and the staff there were very helpful. ...

By Ron McWhirter

In March, two conservative members of the Oklahoma Senate slowed down legislative proceedings on the day of a legislative deadline. Longtime Senator Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) was joined by newly elected Sen. Dusty Deevers (R-Elgin) and participated in what was labeled as a “filibuster.” Several times during the day, Sen. Dahm used debate time to read bills in their entirety – word for word. One bill was over 80 pages long. Dahm and Deevers both asked extensive questions during debate on...

By Steve Byas

The lessons to be learned from this event and its reporting by the Associated Press include that we should be cautious in accepting the reporting of the AP on historical events. This year marks the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, which was located in what is now Alabama – then Mississippi Territory – during the War of 1812. While Americans rightly remember hearing about the Battle of New Orleans (perhaps because of Johnny Horton’s famous song), which made Andrew ...

By Linda Murphy

What could once only be found in the imagination or in a science fiction movie – a scene where human beings are being programmed to override their own free will and freedom of conscience – is now a reality. These social engineering processes are being imposed on large segments of the public, with the aid of technology. The systems are implemented using various methods specifically created to train and control individuals. Wide Scale Social Engineering Environmental Social Governance S...

By Tim Bakamjian

Perhaps the most important issue in Oklahoma this political season was whether the state would change the way its justices are appointed to its highest appellate courts. A measure that would have done just that made its way through the Oklahoma State Senate by a 32-14 vote with few Republican detractors. ...

By Shane Smith

It’s a dismal fact of political reality that the most damaging economic policies always attract the most popular support. Laws that strangle and distort the free market, suffocate innovation, and destroy wealth, are greeted with wild applause by politicians and their supporters – both of whom consider themselves the most compassionate. But that misplaced compassion, more often than not, inflicts great harm on the people they most wish to help. I blame the widespread belief, approaching dogma...

By John Michener

The Oklahoma Legislature is considering more than two dozen abortion-related proposals this session. There are only two bills that are pure and principled. Some are symbolic, nothing more than political grandstanding. Still others are well-meaning, but misguided and ultimately harmful. Then, there are those that are truly wicked and dangerous. I will highlight only the most important bills in this article. ...

By Commissioner Bob Anthony

On March 27, 2024, Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) Chair Todd Hiett quietly sent another one-page “audit” to the governor and legislative leaders – this time, of some $700 million of PSO’s February 2021 Winter Storm ratepayer-backed bond financing. This one-pager was remarkably similar to the so-called “audit” of ONG’s $1.3 billion Winter Storm bonds Hiett sent to the same officials in September 2023. This makes a grand total of two pages of so-called “audit” documents...

By Ray Carter

News that a 16-year-old Owasso student died on Feb. 8 quickly resulted in a narrative spread by activists throughout various media outlets: The teenager died as a result of a bathroom assault that was prompted by her self-identification as “nonbinary” amid a culture of violence created by Oklahoma’s “anti-LGBT” laws. But details from the resulting police investigation and medical examiner’s autopsy have demonstrated nearly every detail of that story was false. Just two parts of t...

By B.L. Cozad, Jr.

Does your elected official support communism? If they do not actively oppose and/or they choose to support animal rights laws then they absolutely do. Let me explain. ...

By Ron McWhirter

Every year we see bills in the Oklahoma Legislature to “Lock the Clock” so we don’t have to change our clocks twice annually. I certainly dread those time changes. Just adjusting the clocks can be a major task. While cell phones and atomic clocks take care of themselves, other clocks along with appliances such as kitchen stoves and microwaves must be done manually. Clocks in vehicles can be a real challenge, especially if you can’t find the car manual. Why should we continue to go...

By Steve Byas

In 1976, as a college student, I was truly inspired by a congressional candidate, Mickey Edwards. Edwards was espousing what I believed in – limited government and individual liberty – and I joined his campaign as the campus coordinator. His campaign slogan was, “He’ll do what he says he will do,” and for the first few years of his tenure in Congress, he pretty much did. ...