Treat root cause, not symptoms, of homelessness

By Steve Fair In 2024, Senate Bill 1854, authored by Sens. Darrell Weaver (R-Moore), Shane Jett (R-Shawnee), Cody Rogers (R-Catoosa) and Rep. Chris Kannady (R-Moore) was signed into law. It made it a crime to have a homeless encampment on state-owned property.On Thursday, Gov.

Constitution 101: Journal and Adjournment Clauses

By James Finck, Ph.D.Article I, Section 5, Clauses 3 and 4 of our Constitution proves there are some areas of the government where everyone actually can agree — well almost.

Audit highlights state agencies’ incompetence, possible clawback of federal funds

By Steve Fair On Wednesday, Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd released a 200-page performance audit on federal money the state of Oklahoma received in COVID relief funds.Byrd said that state agencies failed to spend the money as it was designated.

Gerrymandering. It’s nothing new, but its effects are always decided by the majority.

“The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy” is one of my favorite quotes from a Founding Father and one that I use whenever I teach about the Constitution.

No test will fix America’s problem

By Steve Fair Oklahoma is a politically conservative state. Voters in the Sooner State have voted for the Republican candidate for president since 1968 — 15 straight elections! Republicans have supermajorities in both Oklahoma state legislative chambers. The entire federal delegation is Republican.

Seen and unseen tax changes in Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill

President Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill has proven to be one of the most conten tious bills in recent memory. At the heart of the debate is who the OBBB benefits.While the left claims the bill is simply a tax break for the rich, the right claims our middle class will benefit the most.

Breaking quorum is noisy and it sure does stink

Texas House Democrats fled the Lone Star State in an attempt to prevent GOP state lawmakers from redrawing con gressional districts in the state.The Republican-led redistrict ing proposal could add up to f ive GOP seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Constitution 101: Congressional Punishment and Expulsion Clause

By James Finck, Ph.D.On Dec. 21, 2023, the United States House of Representatives voted 311-114 to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress. Doing so was the first time a member had been expelled without a prior conviction of a crime since the Civil War.

Historic Travels: How a Hollywood sex scandal helped create a slice of paradise

By James Finck, Ph.D.As part of my son’s graduation celebration my in-laws flew the family down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We spent a week in a tropical paradise enjoying the beauty and the friendly people.

Oklahoma’s State Question 836 is not OK

By Steve Fair On June 24, the Oklahoma Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by the Oklahoma Republican Party challenging the constitutionality of State Question 836.Justices did not immediately issue a ruling.