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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Peterson Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot.....Again
 Fresh on the heels of speculation that a powerhouse patient advocacy organization is being planned, State Rep. Ron Peterson is jumping right back into dangerous water with advocates for autistic children.
Rep. Peterson's tone deaf handling of the situation regarding mandated insurance coverage for autism treatments was just the kind of red meat the liberal press corps thoroughly enjoys. On Tuesday, Peterson issued a press release that suggests studies by autism advocates cannot be trusted. That may be true, but as Charlie Brown says, "Good Grief."
Several pundits have weighed in on behalf of Rep. Peterson's reasons for slowing down this legislation, and we at OKPNS agree. But Sen. Gumm is thrashing Rep. Peterson with the public and the press, and ill-conceived press releases just make matters worse. The message may be legitimate, but the messenger's errors are obscuring that message.
Beginning with last year's ethics problems, Republicans have shown indifference to good communication skills and strategies. This indifference has cost them dearly.
The capitol press corps dislikes conservatives, and the weak get eaten. Like wildebeests crossing the river, the crocs have eaten their share this past year, but the R's just keep on inviting the crocs to take a bite. Peterson just waded in the deep end again.
When will they ever learn? Labels: Rep. Ron Peterson, Sen. Gumm
Posted at 5/14/2008 08:53:00 AM
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The "Witching Hour" Approaches the Legislature
It's the "witching hour," the time in the legislative session when bills emerge from conference committees filled with "wooley boogers" and pork.
While there is some limited public scrutiny of what goes on in the legislature prior to mid-May thanks to the lazy and liberal capitol press corps, all bets are off as we move into the last few days. That's when legislators cut their backroom deals, hide outrageous amendments and issue misleading press releases, all designed to fool the public (hard) and the press (not so hard).
Among bills ripe for exploitation are the bills such as the one the insurance industry and their lapdog insurance commissioner Kim Holland are using to try and rip off senior citizens and charities, SB 1980. Others include the endowed chairs backlog, not yet in a bill but could emerge at any time to hurt medical research efforts. Senate liberals will be searching for openings to get their phony official English bill out of the way so as to remove that issue before the Fall campaign.
The list goes on and on.
We invite OKPNS readers to share their knowledge: if you get wind of phony, deceptive legislation that is about to emerge, send in your information to the OKPNS tip line. We'll follow up and try to shine the light truth on the last minute shady deals we get every May.
Labels: Kim Holland, OK Legislature, Rep. Ron Peterson
Posted at 5/14/2008 08:10:00 AM
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"Bumper Sticker Politics" Create Bad Voter ID Bill
 By Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant
Hello again, everybody! Previously, I have written about “bumper sticker politics,” where extremely complex issues are made to fit on a bumper sticker.
A measure I helped defeat last week is a perfect example of bumper sticker politics at its worst. The issue was euphemistically called “Voter ID.” The perception of a “Voter ID” bill is positive; it simply requires anyone to show identification before voting. That sounds reasonable.
The devil, as they say, is in the details Read more...
Labels: OK Legislator's Blog, Sen. Gumm
Posted at 5/14/2008 07:57:00 AM
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Capitol Whispers: Patient Advocacy Organization in the Works?
There are rumblings from the State Capitol that a "real" patient advocacy organization is in the works.
Individual patient groups have been "taking it on the chin" at the legislature, and some leaders in the patient community are talking of joining forces, with the specific goal of protecting patient safety. Observers tell OKPNS that Oklahoma is considered by national experts to be very backwards and reckless in regards to patient safety issues, such as allowing surgical procedures by untrained professionals such as optometrists.
The medical lobby, considered by many observers as one of the weakest in the nation, formed a patient advocacy group a few years ago, but there is little if any patient involvement, and most patient groups are involved in fund raising instead of advocacy. In fact, a real patient advocacy organization would benefit the weak physicians lobby as much as patient issues.
If it happens, the formation of true patient advocacy organization could be a powerful new force, as it would out of necessity be more grassroots than Gucci, and effective grassroots advocacy is discouraged by lobbyists and lawmakers alike as it lessens their ability to cut backroom deals. With the autism and medically-related endowed chair battles still fresh in everybody's minds, it will be interesting to see what kind of organization finally emerges and who the players are behind this effort.
Developing.......... Labels: OK Legislature
Posted at 5/13/2008 09:53:00 AM
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Lost Ogle Q & A: Mayor Mick Cornett
From The Lost Ogle:
To celebrate our one year anniversary, the Mayor of Oklahoma City agreed to participate in a special Q & A with The Lost Ogle. Before you ask the questions, here are our answers: • Yes, the mayor of Oklahoma City agreed to do a brief Q and A with a website called The Lost Ogle. • Yes. This is real! • Yes, he says things like “Athiest Leaettner” and “every day is Amy McRee day.” • Yes, that sound you heard was Mike McCarville having a heart attack. • Yes, this probably cripples the mayor’s chances to be Senator Cornett. Read more...
Labels: Mick Cornett
Posted at 5/13/2008 09:45:00 AM
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Flashback: Turpen-Edmondson "Doing It For the Children" (and $268 million)
 W. A. D. Edmondson taking a break in between cases. Is his golf club taller than he is?
Hearing that Edmondson and Turpen were again using a once-respected public affairs show to dissemble on the Oklahoma public reminds us of the fat (no pun intended) payout Turpen received as the result of his alliance with the attorney general.
Oklahoma will eventually receive $2.6 billion dollars in the national tobacco settlement. Edmondson appointed several law firms to walk off with the lottery earnings while the firms pretended to litigate on behalf of the citizens of the state. The hard working lawyers, who according to most reports spent no time in the courtroom, got $268 million in fees for their “strategic contribution.”
Six national law firms, including movie-lawyer-turned-criminal defendant Richard Scruggs, shared the winnings with among others, Riggs Abney of Tulsa. The law firms attempted to charge the taxpayers a rate of $6000 per hour, but gave the citizens a break since they are such good guys.
Scruggs has been busy these days, but Edmondson was able to bring Scruggs’ buddy Ron Motley into the poultry suit, which we’re sure he’s doing for the children and not in hopes of another obscene profit safari.
Related:
FreePaulJacob.com: Edmondson helps block term limits on himselfLabels: AG, Drew Edmondson, Mike Turpen, Poultry Lawsuit
Posted at 5/13/2008 08:51:00 AM
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J.C. WATTS: Your side, my side and the truth
Monday, May 12, 2008
House Fails to Overide Henry Veto of Lawsuit Reform
Excerpt from Speaker Benge's press release:
OKLAHOMA CITY (May 12, 2008) –House Democrats voted in lock step with the trial lawyer lobby today when an attempt to override the governor’s veto of reasonable lawsuit reform failed on the House floor.
Gov. Brad Henry vetoed House Bill 2458 last week, claiming the bill is unconstitutional. The bill would require a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit for professional negligence to attach to the petition an affidavit attesting that a “reasonable interpretation of the facts supports a finding that the acts or omissions of the defendant….constituted professional negligence.”
Rep. Colby Schwartz, author of the bill, called the legislation a meaningful step in reducing frivolous lawsuits in Oklahoma and criticized House Democrats for locking up on a bill that passed the Senate unanimously in its current form.
“The governor of Oklahoma does not get to decide if legislation is constitutional; that job is left to our court system,” said Schwartz, R-Yukon. “This bill would have cleared the courts of frivolous lawsuits to make way for those with legitimate cases, but instead House Democrats voted today to keep our court system clogged with expensive lawsuits without merit.”
The House Democrats actions today reminded us of a website our readers should be familiar with that deals with legal extortionists: www.overlawyered.com.
A massive archive there helps you follow the major league offenders, such as Ron Motley, the Charleston-based legal pirate that Edmondson has brought in to work the poultry cases on behalf of the, ahem, taxpayers since his other buddy Dickie Scruggs has been unavoidably detained. Labels: AG, Drew Edmondson, Speaker Chris Benge
Posted at 5/12/2008 08:48:00 PM
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Weekend Gross-out!! Turpen's Shocking Confession! Admits Surfing Racist Sites and Admiration for Dirty Harry!
   Former Exxon Mobil CEO Lee Raymond & Mike Turpen separated at birth?
Mike Turpen’s obsession with State Rep. Randy Terrill, while more than just a little weird, took another bizarre twist yesterday on the Flashpoint program.
In a stunning revelation, Turpen noted that he had recently visited the web site of former Louisiana State Representative and Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. Turpen went on to say that Duke had endorsed Terrill for governor. Republican Kirk Humphries absent-mindedly countered that the endorsement probably was something he (Terrill) didn’t want, further cementing the lie as truth.
To add to the irony, the show recently hosted Terrill, a regular on rival News9's Your Vote Counts, which has much more viewers, in an effort to boost Flashpoint's sagging ratings.
So why was Turpen visiting a white supremacist web site? Turpen’s pals Bill and Hillary Clinton have employed race-baiting throughout the presidential campaign and Turpen, a chief fund raiser for Sen. Clinton, appears to be utilizing the same sick and disgusting tactics.
Meanwhile, Turpen revealed his admiration for another clown, Sen. Dirty Harry Coates, but spared viewers other stomach-turning details such as a list of the other types of web-sites fat, sweaty trial lawyers like to surf late at night. Labels: Mike Turpen, Rep. Randy Terrill, Sen. Harry "Turn" Coates, Your Vote Counts
Posted at 5/12/2008 12:51:00 PM
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Video: Murphey Update (Week of May 9)
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J.C. WATTS
