By Jenn Sierra

The arraignment of the “Oklahoma 3″ (Paul Jacob, Susan Johnson, and Rick Carpenter) was held yesterday, with the scheduling-hearing scheduled for March 13th. While Johnson and Carpenter, at the advice of their attorneys, are keeping relatively low profiles, Paul Jacob is determined to make the most of this next year or so, to fight for the ballot initiative process.

Jacob says his motivation is his children. He wants his children and their children to have the right (as citizens throughout Oklahoma history have had) to petition their government, and begin citizen initiatives.

Jacob said that he has “never heard of a prosecutor, other than maybe Nifong, to play it as political as Drew Edmondson,” is in his current case - which is a dispute over whether or not he, Johnson and Carpenter fulfilled Oklahoma’s residency requirements prior to collecting signatures for a ballot initiative which did not become law.

The “left,” he said, isn’t the only detriment to the initiatives process. He’s also had to oppose those on the “right,” who were addicted to “daddy welfare.” He warns that the precedent set by the type of retaliation that is happening right now in Oklahoma is not only “legal” precent, but also psyhological, in that when the government goes after citizens who create initiatives (as well as their petition signers, their volunteers, and sometimes even their donors), others are discouraged from starting citizen initiatives in the future.

Citizens wishing to assist the Oklahoma 3, he said, should spread awareness of the case (talk to their neighbors), and contact the the governor’s office and their legislators. He was more concerned, however, that Oklahomans become and continue to be involved in initiatives.

He specifically encouraged Oklahoma citizens to learn about and support Randy Brogdon’s Senate Bill 1982 (and joint resolution #23) and the House Bill counterpart being formed by Randy Terrell. He mentioned some of the changes currently under discussion in the Oklahoma initiative process are:

Eliminate the requirement to notarize petition signatures, and copy (by hand) all signatures from the front of the petition to the back of the petition

Reduce the number of signatures required to get a petition on the ballot

Increase the amount of time signature-gatherers have to get the required number of signatures from 90 days to one year

Related:

Ft. Hard Knox: Paul Jacob Kicks Off the “Save the Initiative Blog Tour”

The Journal Record: Three indicted TABOR petitioners make their 1st court appearance

After President Bush’s State of the Union Address, Mary Fallin (R5-OK) details how she supports each of the reforms the President calls for.

There is some very good news to report about the effort to level the
playing field between the paid special interests groups and the
people.

During the first six months of 2007, paid lobbyists reported giving
legislators $137,000 in personal gifts, such as expensive dinners or
sporting events tickets. This spending power basically bought access
to the legislators on behalf of the spenders. This is the type of
access that the average person (whom the legislators are supposed to
be representing) simply cannot compete with.

I feel that the special interests’ influence problem has in large part
been created by the massive size of government. Because state
government has become so engorged with billions of our tax dollars,
and because there are so many different government regulations and
laws, a cottage industry has sprung up that is populated by those who
seek to benefit their specific field of interest. Because there are
millions of dollars at stake, these special interests will see an
investment in personal gifts or political contributions to lawmakers
as being a small price to pay, compared to the possible benefits.

When I sought election to be State Representative, I felt so strongly
about the impropriety of legislators taking gifts from lobbyists, that
I made a pledge that I would not accepts these gifts. I believe that
it is just as inappropriate for a lawmaker to take a gift from a
lobbyist as it would be for a judge to take a gift from an attorney.
It should not be seen as any different for a lobbyist to give a gift
to a lawmaker who is casting a vote on an issue that might benefit the
lobbyist’s’ client, than for an attorney to give a gift to a judge
whose rendered judgment will benefit the attorney’s client.

Here is the good news: on Friday, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission took
action to limit the amount of lobbyists’ gifts to legislators to $100
and under. The rule came about after the courageous advocacy of Ethics
Commissioner John Raley. Raley correctly tagged the gift-giving
practices of lobbyists to lawmakers as “unadulterated entertainment”.

Raley’s proposal reduced from $300 to $100 the amount spent on
legislators and elected officials by a “lobbyist principal” during a
calendar year. Lobbyist principals are companies or associations that
hire the lobbyists and provide the money to buy gifts for lawmakers.
The proposal also requires lobbyists to disclose gifts after spending
more than $10 on any official during a six-month period.

In addition, it looks as though the Commission will take additional
action in the future. The Chairman of the Commission, Don Bingham,
said he thinks commission members will be ready to move next year to
make Oklahoma the strictest state in the nation when it comes to what
legislators can receive in gifts from lobbyists.

The Commission reforms still face a big hurdle. The Legislature could
take action to stop the proposal from taking effect, and has until May
to try to stop the rule. If the Legislature fails to do so, the law
will take effect in July.

If the Legislature does try to stop this reform, I will vote to defend
the Commission’s proposal. I think this is an exciting reform that
starts to restore balance to the legislative process in favor of the
people.

Newsok.com

A statement from House Speaker Lance Cargill

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 28, 2008) – “I have decided to step aside today as speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. I want nothing more than to have good ideas to move forward without the burden of being weighed down by personal stories about me. I have always said my leadership has been about good ideas, and this move will allow those ideas to flourish as they should.

“For several weeks, our policies heading into the session have been buried in the newspapers, while personal stories have remained on the front pages. I take full responsibility for that, and hope that a new speaker can shift the focus back to the future of this great state.

“This decision came after I spoke with most of my colleagues over the weekend. I am humbled and honored by the outpouring of support the caucus has shown me and their continued endorsement in my leadership. But, one of the responsibilities of a leader is putting the needs of the whole before the needs of my own.

“For the future I will, with more inspiration than ever, fervently pursue my ideas from a chair at the back of the chamber. I remain confident that we can still make 2008 a year of solutions.

“This has been a remarkable journey. Many of you know that I was raised in the small town of Harrah. My dad was a fork-lift driver and mom was a stay-at-home mother. My parents worked hard, lived right, and taught my brother and me about faith, family and community. I have to say it was my upbringing, and the inspiration of my family, that allowed me to be the first in my immediate family to graduate from college and to attend Vanderbilt law school.

“I came home to Oklahoma because I this is where I want to live, these are the people that I love, and because I aspired to be a servant of the people and an agent for change. I have spent the past five years tearing down the walls of the old-guard that left Oklahoma stuck in the past, unable to inspire and incapable of moving forward. So for me, this is both a time of reflection and to celebrate our accomplishments.

“Tomorrow for me is a brand new day as I will unveil the 100 Ideas book, which we spent the past year writing. It was truly a bi-partisan initiative and we have together written a book full of innovative ideas. I hope that it’s time to put those ideas on the front pages of our newspapers, so that we can have a genuine and open debate about the best way to move Oklahoma into the second century.

“I know there are a lot of questions about how this move will impact the upcoming session and our caucus is working out the details and we will have more answers in the coming days.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZTAGxhPIuk&rel=1]

From Ft. Hard Knox:

By Jenn Sierra

Paul Jacob’s arraignment is at 1:30 pm CST tomorrow (Today). He’s been reindicted for on charges that he and two others violated residency requirements for petition signature gatherers. Drew Edmondson, Oklahoma’s Attorney General, keeps, in effect, “moving the goal post,” on these signature requirements, retroactively, to try to assure that his legal action against the “Oklahoma 3″ is finally taken seriously.

His actions have been quite bizarre, not to mention inappropriate. Once you have an opportunity to research the facts of this case for yourself (there are several links following to get you started), please consider calling the attorney general’s office in Oklahoma to let him know how you feel about this re-indictment. Remember to be respectful and polite, and to objectively state your opinion (personal attacks are never appropriate). The phone # is 405-521-3921. Read more…

Related:

FreePaulJacob.com

Clay Bennett with Sonics legend Lenny Wilkins

This excerpt is from a Seattle Sports fan’s blog:

A Sonics fan says he was ejected from last night’s game after shouting a few choice words up at Clay Bennett, who was watching the action from his luxury box. Here’s the fan’s transcript, prefaced with the caveat that he may have been “a few beers deep.”

Sam: Clay, you’re a thief!

Clay: shrugs, smirks and blows me a kiss (I swear to God this is no lie)

Sam: I’ve been a season ticket holder since age 10. Don’t steal my team!!!

Clay: makes a face of mock pity

Sam: You are overweight and ugly! Sell the Sonics!!!

Clay: walks to the back of the suite, never to reappear.

Read more…

Related:

The Seattle Times Sonics Blog: Fan given the boot?

OKGOP activists inquire on the Chairman’s recent travel itinerary:

In an example of true grassroots leadership, OKGOP Chairman Gary Jones spent Friday in federal court watching his nemesis, Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan, plead not guilty to felony charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and state bribery. In fact, Jones did not attend last night’s Helen Cole Republican of the Year dinner in the GOP stronghold of Cleveland County, because he overnighted in Tulsa to be closer to Muskogee, the location of today’s court proceedings. Not sure the Republican faithful in Cleveland County would appreciate his reasoning, but such is the motivation and focus of Gary Jones.

This unusual step was just the latest installment of Jones’s “I told you so” campaign of gloating and chest-thumping. Not sure exactly how Jones’s presence in federal court today helps the Republican party as it approaches the November elections, but it seems more and more obvious Jones views his position as OKGOP chairman as nothing more than a stepping stone to another campaign for state auditor.