More proof of the incestuous relationship between W. A. D. and the media?

“Recently I sent out a news release with a statement declaring our innocence and attacking this politically-motivated prosecution. Next thing I know, the Citizens in Charge website gets shut down. An email from the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority complained to our hosting service that the news release was spam.”

Talk about censorship! It’s frightening that in America, if a media organization (one supported by tax dollars no less!) disagrees with your cause, besides ignoring you, they report your press releases to your hosting provider as spam. Welcome to the People’s Republic of Oklahoma!

Related: SHOW ME THE LOVE! ‘06 Media Contributions to Attorney General Skewing Current “PoultryGate” Coverage?

Edmondson Accepts Contributions from Tulsa World Chairman in ‘06; Also Receives Paper’s Endorsement

 National Initiative and Referendum Expert’s Statement Before Trial for Violating Petition Laws

(Oklahoma City, OK)…Paul Jacob, President of Citizens in Charge released the following statement before his preliminary hearing on felony charges of violating the state’s statute requiring petition circulators to be residents of Oklahoma:

“Today, Attorney General Drew Edmondson continues his attack on the right to petition one’s government. We are innocent. We sought to understand and to fully comply with the letter of the law. Indeed, those running the petition drive were advised by state officials and followed that advice.

Furthermore, the very statute being used to prosecute us is being challenged as unconstitutional. In recent months, statutes similar to Oklahoma’s have been struck down as unconstitutional by two federal circuit courts – the Sixth and Ninth Circuits – in unanimous decisions.

Make no mistake: We are here today facing 10 years in prison because we worked for an issue adamantly opposed by the rich and powerful in Oklahoma. The goal of this prosecution is to threaten us and scare Oklahomans away from the initiative process, which gives citizens their best opportunity for real reform.

But we will not be bullied out of our rights as Americans. We will fight this vicious, politically-motivated assault, and we will prevail.”

Citizens in Charge works with activists, legislators, media, opinion leaders and voters to protect the initiative & referendum process where it exists in 24 states and to expand the process to the 26 states where voters currently lack the initiative.

Related:

Free Paul Jacob

WSJ Editorial: Oklahoma’s Most Wanted

Townhall.com: We, the Oklahoma 3

Oklahoma leaders, as well as national experts, will come together on Saturday, November 15, 2008 to discuss the state of Oklahoma’s citizen initiative process, the problems citizens face and reforms that are needed.

This event is being sponsored by Oklahomans for Initiative Rights and will be held from 8:30 am – 12 noon at the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel, 10 North Broadway Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102

Scheduled to appear are former U.S. Senator and Democratic Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel; State Sen. Randy Brogdon; City Sentinel Managing Editor Patrick McGuigan; former Republican candidate for governor and proponent of the 65% Solution petition, Bob Sullivan; OCPA’s Brandon Dutcher; Oklahoma City University Law Professor Andrew Spiropolous; and others for this educational event.

For more information: Contact Norma Sapp at (405) 321-4619 or email her at ekco@swbell.net

Related:

FreePaulJacob.com: In third-party debate, Nader says Okla. is enforcing “Jim Crow laws”

From FreePaulJacob.com:

Oklahoma’s largest newspaper blasted the Oklahoma Education Association in a Sunday editorial that called out the union for the nasty, undemocratic tactics the union used against the 2005 TABOR initiative. That’s the petition drive the Oklahoma 3—Paul, Rick Carpenter, and Susan Johnson—worked on, which riled the state’s political establishment and now provides pretext for Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s vindictive prosecution.

Seems the OEA is launching their own initiative to dramatically increase state education funding, and the Oklahoman saw hordes of hypocrisy in the teachers’ union seeking to use the initiative process after having sought to deny use of the process to others. As the Oklahoman put it:

“We find it ironic that the union and its supporters are turning to the initiative petition process to get what they want.” Read more…

Related: Americans for Prosperity: “Improving Oklahoma Education Doesn’t Mean Throwing Good Money After Bad”

Okiepolitics: Oklahoma legislators have no cents, students poor scores

As she dodges and ducks the press in Oklahoma City, the wheels are coming off the thinly veiled attempt by Judge Vicki Robertson to punish Judge Bill Graves for opposing the Oklahoma Bar Association’s effort to implement the American Bar Association’s new code of judicial conduct. Graves has taken a public stance against the aspect of the ABA regarding gays.

Virtually all courthouse observers believe Robertson is punishing Graves, but she is avoiding the press and sticking to her fairy tale. The question is, why?

One observer says Robertson has something to hide. “Nobody believes her story: not the press, not the other judges and not the lawyers that practice before her. It’s the worst lie since ‘I did not have sex with that woman.”

“These policies are not based on laws enacted by Congress or the State Legislature, but on proposals of the liberal, pro-homosexual American Bar Association.”- Oklahoma City District Judge Bill Graves

Some well placed sources believe that Robertson may have been responding to pressure from an unnamed Oklahoma State Supreme Court Justice to move Graves. Another believes that it’s simple bigotry, and that Robertson has a personal ax to grind with Graves. Still another thinks the removal of Graves may be linked to the upcoming ‘Oklahoma 3′ trials. While everybody we’ve spoken to doubts the veracity of Robertson’s public line, nobody believes she has made her decision on the only other reasonable explanation: that she’s an incompetent manager.

So we’re left to ponder the reason Robertson has thrown the courthouse into chaos. While dodging the press in Oklahoma is easy to do, it makes for bad public policy. Unfortunately, people like Judge Robertson have seen folks like Mike Turpen, Brad Henry and Harry Coates successfully avoid public accountability by relying on the incompetent press corps to drop the ball, and that encourages others to do the same.

Regardless, Judge Robertson has some explaining to do.

Related:

The Bill Kumpe Blog: Judge Graves Concerned About Homosexual Agenda In Changes to Code of Judicial Conduct

Last week, Oklahoma Attorney General (W. A. D. Edmondson) asked the court for a continuance to postpone the preliminary hearing for Paul Jacob, Susan Johnson, and Rick Carpenter, originally scheduled for Wednesday, July 23 in Oklahoma City. A new date for the hearing has not yet been set.

“This will be a long fight. Now a little longer,” Paul said in reaction to the delay. “But we are prepared, with the help of family, friends, and supporters, to battle as long and hard as we must. The continuance requested by the attorney general’s office means only a slight delay, as this politically-motivated prosecution, unfortunately, will continue. We take comfort in knowing that we will ultimately get our day in court. And we will be vindicated.

Related:

FreePaulJacob.com: 9th Circuit Court strikes down residency requirements for petitioners

LegalNewsline.com: Oklahoma AG featured in anti-gay campaign flyer

From FreePaulJacob.com

FreePaulJacob.com has already tackled the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC) and its dumb attacks on Paul Jacob in several previous blog entries (for example, here and here and here). Off-point, silly sallies seem to be all the BISC boys can muster, but for the record, here’s a rundown of charges in BISC’s kit bag as purveyed on their fraudulently named stopballotfraud.com site.

WHAT BISC SAYS: “Paul Jacob is a long-time lieutenant for ultra libertarian causes like legislative and judicial term limits, strict tax caps that bankrupt state government, and the removal of land use policies that protect the environment while allowing for growth.”

ANSWER: Uh…term limits is an “ultra-libertarian cause”? We’ll accept that over, say, “ultra-authoritarian” or “ultra-commie,” but does BISC really mean to imply that the majority of the voting public—who, after all, are the ones who pass term limits when they have the chance and who keep supporting term limits and fending off politicians’ attempts to undo term limits—are all “ultra-libertarian”?

WHAT BISC SAYS: “Jacob is also the director of Citizens in Charge, a group he uses to advocate for the expansion of ballot initiatives so he can take his ballot ideas to all 50 states.”

ANSWER: Yes, Citizens in Charge supports the initiative process—unlike BISC. Shouldn’t citizens in all 50 states have the ability to use voter initiatives to check the excesses of politicians? Why does BISC seek to undermine the initiative process? What are they afraid of? Maybe they can change their name to the Ballot Initiative Stopping Center.

WHAT BISC SAYS: “In 2007 a multi-county grand jury in Oklahoma indicted Jacob and two others for their involvement in the 2005 petition drive to put the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) initiative on the ballot. They were charged with conspiracy to defraud voters by hiring out-of-state signature gatherers, against Oklahoma state laws.”

ANSWER: Darn these brazen involvements in petition drives anyway! What a blight on the body politic, much like democracy, constitutions, constitutionally protected democracy and petition rights….

Taking their cue from Oklahoma Attorney General Edmondson, BISC hides behind a grand-jury indictment that has been dismissed, only to be replaced by a direct indictment from the very political AG. The actual charge is conspiracy to defraud the state. Read more…

Related:

Exclusive: Paul Jacob Speaks Out Today in Oklahoma City (3/13/08)

Courtesy of one of our “Capitol reporters”

Drew Edmondson and his entourage filed into the House gallery on Thursday of last week to personally hear the debate and watch the vote on the state-wide elected official term limits bill (SB 1987). Edmondson was seen hastily walking out of the chamber in disgust of passage of the measure. Reportedly, Edmondson spent the rest of the morning arguing with fellow Democrat and lobbyist Pat Hall about this legislation passing the Senate and going to a vote of the people.

Edmondson is targeting Sen. Nancy Riley and Sen. Susan Paddack to change their orginal YES vote for term limits to a NO vote in the coming weeks. Seems Drew doesn’t want to leave his office anytime soon…

From freepauljacob.com:

Yes, it’s true. Drew Edmondson, the four-time incumbent attorney general of Oklahoma, notorious for abusing the power of his office to prosecute honest supporters of Oklahomans’ citizen initiative rights, has publicly stated his opposition to a bill that would limit his tenure as well as that of other state officials. Read more…

GetRightOK.com: The fight of the session: Term Limits v. Entrenched Incumbent

…from Norma Sapp of Oklahomans for Initiative Rights, updated at 2:35 PM:

In the beginning, HB 3350 by Terrill and SB 1982 by Brogdon were bills making changes to our initiative and petition system in Oklahoma. These changes would have helped regular citizens be able to do initiatives. They would have made all the checks and balances up front before you spent all you time effort and money gathering the signatures, only to find out that you didn’t place a comma in the right place and your petition is invalid.

The first thing to happen was SB 1982 was not heard in committee. In my search to find out why…I was told that Drew Edmondson called and told them to “kill the bill.”

Rep. Terrill was having problems with HB 3350 until he made an agreement to change it to a Task Force bill. It has made it out of committee and through the floor. Last Wednesday, 3-26-08, they finally assigned it to the Rules committee on the Senate side.

When I found this out I spoke to Charlie Laster about moving it to General Government. He told me to speak to Owen Laughlin and Laughlin signed the slip to move it to General Government. Then on Thursday morning I got my notice for the committee and it wasn’t on there!

So Monday, 3-31-08, I started my quest to find out what happened. After getting the run around for about two hours, I was finally told that it was lost in the Pro Tem’s office and he had been sick lately so no one knew what was going on. Finally, an insider…[said she] had overheard the discussion about it last week. Her quote was “Not No, but HELL NO!” to allowing it to be heard in Gen. Gov. on Monday the 31st. Now I’m not even sure it will be heard in the rules committee on Wed. 4-2-08!

In all my discussions with Democrats, in or out of the Legislature. The only reason I get for apposing it is the fact that it was introduced by the same people who were championing TABOR [Taxpayers Bill of Rights].

What is wrong with these people? It seems to me that Democrats hate Republicans simply because they are Republican. And it isn’t solely Democrats who hate. I also hear Republicans talk about Democrats the same way?

In the mean time my organization (Oklahoman’s for Initiative Rights) is caught up in the fight and we are the losers.

In a conversation with Mary Easley yesterday, she said there was nothing wrong with our system and she could not support the bill. If there is nothing wrong with the system then how do we have people who have been indicted over this subject? And why is Drew Edmondson sticking his nose into the process of the Legislature? And why did they listen to his order to KILL THE BILL?

This is just to let you know about the shenanigan’s going on. It may be normal politics but it isn’t right.

Last Fall, OKPNS reported on the harassment techniques being used in Oklahoma to intimidate citizens from signing petitions. The Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative, the signatures for which were being collected in this video, is still in limbo, with the right of Oklahomans to vote on the issue being debated.

OKPNS has covered extensively the attempts by Oklahoma’s attorney General Drew Edmondson to block the citizen initiative process, in the case of the “Oklahoma 3,” in which Paul Jacob and two others are facing possible prison sentences of up to ten years on technicalities of Oklahoma residency requirements.

This problem, of trying to intimidate citizens who want to petition their state government is not isolated to Oklahoma. In this video, a township in the Detroit, MI area are facing the problem of state employees trying to physically block township citizens from signing a petition to recall a politician.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOBivWps5Hk&hl=en]

More on this here.