UCO Anti-Hate project raises awareness to gaming community about violence
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
OKLAHOMA CITY – University of Central Oklahoma students have recently launched 1UpAgainstHate as part of their objective to target the gaming community. The concept., organizers say, is to bring awareness that extremists and hate groups target impressionable youth with propaganda through gaming platforms online.
The message of the effort, described as “an anti-hate project,” is to inform gamers that they can be a target for recruitment.
Students involved in the project will work to educate individuals who – through video and online games – may unknowingly be targeted by others who recruit individuals for violent activities using different methods, from hate talk to developing hate-based games.
UCO’s Stragegic Communications Campaigns class has partnered with the McCain Institute
and Edventure Partners as one of 13 universities nationwide participating in a competition to counter hate-based violence.
According to leaders of the UCO-based effort, Research shows that organized hate-based groups have extreme biases toward societal beliefs and different social classes of people. They seek interaction with gamers through online game platforms to promote their hate propaganda. Their objective is to recruit individuals who may carry their ideas forward and participate in violent acts against others.
[Link: https://ift.tt/3ldC3ms]
“I am especially enthusiastic about the McCain Institute projects because of their vital information and ethics orientation,” said UCO’s Strategic Communications Campaign Professor Sandra Martin.
“I think our students find them so relevant to their daily lives, their enthusiasm for the project is there even before we begin the task of developing a communications response to the challenge,” Martin continued.
Individuals who play online video games are encouraged to take a stand against hate-based groups. By signing a pledge at https://ift.tt/36gJxkf, the first 25 individuals will receive a gamers mouse pad.
“UCO has had a long rewarding relationship with Edventure Partners and the Peer to Peer global competition projects. We have participated in the national finals for various projects five times and placed five times,” said Martin. The university whose concept is selected will be awarded up to $5,000.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, there has seen a rise in young people spending more time online as the pandemic has made staying home from school or work a new norm.
The additional time caused by changes to employment and the way education is being delivered has caused a sharp increase in playing games online, according to the United Nations Security Council, Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (https://www.un.org/sc/ctc/about-us/).
The CTED has stated that this increase in game time presents more opportunity for hate-based groups to target vulnerable individuals who look for community and personal relationships online.
Individuals who may feel alone, disconnected, and marginalized by society can unknowingly fall victim to the extreme ideas and hate talk by these groups.
For more information, visit OneUpAgainstHate.org .
UCO Anti-Hate project raises awareness to gaming community about violence Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
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OKLAHOMA CITY - In a movement called New Year, New Justice, a collective of supporters for Julius Jones will walk 131 miles from the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City on Thursday, December 31, beginning at 5 a.m. The walk will end on Sunday, January 3 in McAlester, where Jones has been on death row for over 20 years.
The event was coordinated to raise awareness for Jones’ case and to draw more attention to the Justice for Julius campaign early in the New Year.
Five Oklahoma City community activists, Jabee Williams, Francie Ekwerekwu, Irv Roland, Cody Bass and Jess Eddy intend to spend the early part of 2021 drawing attention to Julius’ case in support of his innocence and in his effort for seeking clemency.
[Link for website – https://ift.tt/37x6gYh]
“It’ll be a New Year, and we want to start it off right,” said Williams (https://ift.tt/33qltdb), a well known and successful local rap artist. “We just want to let him, and the world, know that we aren’t giving up. And we definitely don’t want to go another year with Julius behind bars and away from his family.”
Ekwerekwu, an attorney, adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma, and a public defender with The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM) stated, “The time to do what’s right was back then and ever since, the time is definitely now, liberate Julius Jones."
(https://ift.tt/3o05IRK)
According to a story reported by Randy Ellis in The Oklahoman, Ekwerekwu’s father was incarcerated much of her childhood, which has led to her desire to work with inmates.
Roland, a Carl Albert High School alumnus, who has spent the last 15 years traveling and training NBA players (https://ift.tt/2zksT5v) said, “This is something that I had to be a part of. Knowing Julius since I was young, knowing who he is and the potential he had, this will never sit right with me.
“I do believe he made a mistake in the company he kept, but I honestly believe he’s an innocent man and I will always be present in the fight for his freedom,” Roland added.
Julius Jones is on death row at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, despite maintaining his innocence and compelling evidence that he was wrongly convicted in 2002.
Jones’ case first came to national attention in 2018 when ABC released the documentary,
“The Last Defense” (https://ift.tt/3lgO1vy), which examines Jones’ Oklahoma County death penalty case. Jones, a 19 year old black man, was charged with first-degree murder in 1999 of a white businessman and was sentenced to death in 2002.
Executive produced by Academy Award winning actress Viola Davis, the docu-series reveals how an inadequate defense, racial bias issues, and lack of evidence presented led to the wrongful conviction of Jones.
Since the documentary, many high profile celebrities and athletes have come forward to support Julius’ innocence, including human rights attorney and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan Stevenson (https://ift.tt/2SPTrCN), whose life was recently portrayed in the film “Just Mercy” (https://ift.tt/2SPTrCN), Dallas Cowboy quarterback Dak Prescott (https://time.com/5875257/dak-prescott-dallas-cowboys-julius-jones/), Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (https://ift.tt/2Dr2uVY), NBA stars Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook (https://ift.tt/2CysMVD), and Kim Kardashian West (https://ift.tt/3qaDNAM), who recently visited Jones on death row in McAlester.
Over six million people have signed a Change.org petition (https://ift.tt/2zxXexL) asking the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board and Governor Kevin Stitt to commute Jones’ sentence.
For more information about the Freedom Walk for Julius Jones, contact Jabee at newyearnewjustice@gmail.com. To learn more about Julius Jones’ case, visit justiceforjulius.com .
Activists to begin 131 mile walk on December 31 in support of clemency for Julius Jones Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Oklahoma City -- Congresswoman-elect Stephanie Bice was elected by her peers to serve as Republican Freshman Class President during last week’s House orientation in Washington, D.C. It is believed that Bice is the first female Republican class president in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Bice said she’s looking forward to encouraging open communication between members of the freshman class.
“I came to Congress to help find solutions to some of our nation’s largest problems,” Bice said. “Working with the new representatives of the freshman class and fostering relationships among members will enable all of us to work better together to serve our constituents.”
Bice is one of 16 Republican women elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, a new record. The House will have at least 28 Republican women serving in the 117th Congress, up from 15. Currently, there are 42 Republicans in the House freshman class.
In related news, Governor Kevin Stitt has set December 7, 8 and 9 as filing dates for a special election to fill the state Senate seat Bice is vacating to take her seat in Congress. Her resignation from the Legislature’s upper chamber will be effective on December 31.
The special election to fill the seat will be February 9, according to Stitt’s order.
The race for the Fifth Congressional District seat was close, although Bice’s victory over Democratic incumbent Kendra Horn was more decisive than the 2018 results. In this year’s high-turnout election, Bice had 158,044 votes (52.06 percent of the total) to Horn’s 145,541 (47.94 percent of the votes cast).
The historic 2018 race had lower turnout and as well as a closer final margin. The final official results found then-incumbent Steve Russell, the Republican, with 117,811 (49.3 percent) supporters to Horn’s 121,149 (50.7 percent) votes.
Note: Patrick B. McGuigan contributed to this report.
Congresswoman-elect Stephanie Bice Named GOP Freshman Class President for 117th Congress Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden recently welcomed two fishing cats from Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s (AZA) Fishing Cat Species Survival Plan (SSP).
The breeding pair, Chet, 11, and Anna, 10, are the biological parents of six-year-old, Boon, and grandparents of two-year-old, Puddles.
Tyler Boyd, the Zoo’s Program Leader of AZA’s Fishing Cat SSP, was a major contributor in bringing the three generations together. [Fishing Cat Species Survival Plan link: (https://www.aza.org/species-survival-plan-programs?locale=en)]
“Chet and Anna’s arrival brings the Zoo’s fishing cat family to a total of five animals. This is especially exciting as there are only 27 fishing cats in the AZA animal population,” said Boyd, the Oklahoma City Zoo’s Curator of Carnivores.
“By welcoming this new breeding pair, we have the opportunity to strengthen our commitment to the conservation of this unique and vulnerable species,” he added.
Since arriving at the Zoo’s Cat Forest habitat, Chet and Anna have been off public view as they adjust to the sights and sounds of their new surroundings and get acquainted with their caretakers. Although the pair has bred together previously, fishing cats are solitary by nature and only come together for breeding purposes.
Dependent on their comfort levels and outside temperatures, Chet and
Anna will begin rotating time individually in their habitat with fishing cats Miri, 13, and Boon, by late November.
Two-year-old, Puddles, can be visible to Zoo guests in his habitat, located inside the Small Cat building in Cat Forest.
Native to South and Southeast Asia, fishing cats are listed as vulnerable (https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/fighting_for_the_fishing_cat/)
by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (https://www.iucn.org/about).
The greatest threat to declining fishing cat populations is wetland destruction, caused by pollution, encroachment, draining for agriculture, and excessive hunting and fishing.
Now home to five fishing cat ambassadors, the Zoo remains a proud participant in the Fishing Cat SSP, contributing a total of three kittens to the AZA population through its successful breeding program.
The public is invited to visit the Zoo to see the two newest members of the Zoo’s feline family.
Beginning Tuesday, December 1, the Zoo’s winter hours will be Thursdays through Mondays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with no public access on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Advance tickets are required for all guests and ZOOfriends members and can be purchased at this link: https://ift.tt/3lmS4Xu.
Zoo tickets are limited each day to ensure safe social distancing among guests. Regular admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children ages 3-11 and seniors ages 65 and over. Children two and under are admitted free.
Zoo fans can support the OKC Zoo by becoming a ZOOfriends member. Starting at $45, memberships can be purchased at ZOOfriends.org and provide access to the OKC Zoo for an entire year plus, additional benefits and discounts.
To learn more about Zoo happenings, call 405-424-3344 or visit okczoo.org .
OKC Zoo unites three generations of rare Fishing Cats Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Communications staff members for the City of Oklahoma City are touting a new effort to gather stories from older residents. According to a press release sent to The City Sentinel and other news organizations, “A project to capture the everyday stories about growing up in Oklahoma City provides the perfect opportunity during the holiday season to provide much-needed interaction with older adults you know.”
The release, circulated in the days before Thanksgiving 2020, continued: “Neighborhood Theads, an OKC Innovation Lab project, is looking to thread individual memories from older Oklahoma City residents into a broader story of what it was like growing up across our community.
(Links: https://ift.tt/2J5NWOc
and https://ift.tt/3m0d7jw)
“Everyone has been impacted by this pandemic, but older adults in our community who are at higher risk are feeling the effects of isolation the most,” said Zach Nash, project manager for the Innovation Lab. “This project not only will provide them with much-needed social interactions, but it will also help preserve their stories, which is the story of Oklahoma City.”
The city government release continued, “We’re looking for stories from residents from every walk of life, to paint a vivid picture of everyday experiences, triumphs and struggles through their eyes. It’s a useful exercise for educating everyone now, and preserving our shared history for future generations.
“The holidays are a good window of opportunity to reach out, and an important time for human connection for everyone. By asking someone you care about to share stories, you’re supporting each other during a uniquely challenging and isolating time in all of our lives.”
How to share a story
The communications staff described both on-line and traditional ways for Oklahoma City’s senior citizens to share their experiences. Readers can visit okc.gov/threads for the latest Neighborhood Threads information.
Getting started: “Start by thinking of close family members, friends and neighbors who grew up in Oklahoma City. Ask them to share their story. You can record a phone or video call, or record a Zoom meeting. You can also take notes from any interaction with an older adult in your life, or ask them to write their story down if that’s what they prefer. For stories written down, submit them using this link (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSctdNjPS4hPOWWIe2nRF2LDNOx3osTOFqur-eouzCd3xxkJ8g/viewform).
Alternatively, send via email to public.information@okc.gov . To transit information and stories by U.S. mail:
City of OKC Neighborhood Threads
200 N Walker Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
To submit video or audio recordings, first upload the video or audio file to YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/)
or a similar platform. Then email the link to public.information@okc.gov.
If you have another way to share a story, send ideas to the public information or staff or to the people working with the Innovation Lab.
About the OKC Innovation Lab
The OKC Innovation Lab (https://ift.tt/3m0d7jw) is a group of 12 employees of the city of Oklahoma City, along with two leadership sponsors ( https://ift.tt/33xzuG3), learning new methods to guide and implement people-centered innovation in local government.
Staff works with the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative (https://www.cityleadership.harvard.edu/),
the Centre for Public Impact (https://ift.tt/2jJTTCy) and a design coach to learn effective ways to tackle problems by putting residents at the center of designing and testing new ideas.
Visit okc.gov/innovation for more.
Neighborhood Threads: Seeking stories from older residents who grew up in Oklahoma City Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
OKLAHOMA CITY – Recently in a special meeting, the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Oklahoma County Board of Directors voted unanimously to promote Kim Vanbebber to the position of Executive Director.
Vanbebber has been serving as Interim Executive Director for the past four months.
During her 9 years at CASA of Oklahoma County, Vanbebber has served in multiple positions throughout the organization. These positions include her roles as an Advocacy Supervisor and Team Leader, supervising volunteers and staff, as well as Program Director, overseeing the social work wing of the program.
“Kim’s experience supervising recruitment, training, and case management, in addition to her relationship with the judiciary and other court partners will serve her well in the role,” said Jack Morgan, President of CASA’s Board of Directors.
“Kim has excelled throughout every step of her career, exuding passion for the mission and a dedication for achieving the best possible outcomes for every person served by the CASA program,” he said.
A commitment to the safety and welfare of abused and neglected children is core to Vanbebber’s personal mission, according to Morgan.
Vanbebber earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma, and prior to joining CASA of Oklahoma County, she served as a Permanency Planner with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Vanbebber said she is excited about the opportunity ahead for CASA of Oklahoma County:
“We have such a brilliant, energetic, and dedicated staff – and the best volunteers we could ask for. I am thrilled to be able to work with such an incredible team, nearly 300 people strong, to continue making positive change for Oklahoma County’s most vulnerable population,” Vanbebber said.
“Foster youth deserve a voice.
“CASA is here to help ensure their voices are heard,” Vanbebber added. “Taking on this role is a true honor and I'm excited to watch our team continue working together toward positive outcomes for these truly special children.”
Morgan says Vanbebber will transition into the role immediately.
Those interested in volunteering with CASA can reach out by calling 405-594-3384 to speak to Director of Recruitment Kathy North.
Those interested in other ways to support CASA can phone Development Manager Charlie Ludden at 405-900-5663.
The mission of the Oklahoma CASA Association is to present a statewide voice for abused and neglected children by enhancing the growth of CASA programs throughout Oklahoma.
A proud United Way Partner Agency, CASA of Oklahoma County is located at 1608 NW Expressway, #101, Oklahoma City, OK 73118. To learn more about CASA of Oklahoma County go to OKCountyCASA.org.
For information on other CASA programs around the state, visit the Oklahoma CASA Association website at oklahomacasa.org.
CASA of Oklahoma County taps Kim Vanbebber as new Executive Director Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
What is known about the first Thanksgiving comes from a letter written by Edward Winslow in 1621, Winslow was one of the one hundred people who sailed from England on the Mayflower the year before.
The first Thanksgiving wasn’t in November, but was in September and most of those who attended were men. Many of the women had died after reaching the New World.
The 50 colonists and 100 natives were celebrating a successful harvest.
Magazine editor Sarah Hale was the driving force in getting the fourth Thursday of November declared Thanksgiving Day. She achieved that goal in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation establishing that day as a National Holiday. The holiday was used to heal a divided nation.
2020 has been a difficult year. The COVID-19 pandemic, contentious politics, economic chaos, and hurricanes have made some believe we have little to be thankful for.
Four reasons for Americans to be thankful this Thanksgiving season:
First, Americans enjoy the most freedom on earth. Clearly individual liberty is eroding in the United States. Government interference, regulation, and mandates are on the rise. The founding document is ignored and misrepresented, but in spite of all that, America is still the country people are trying to get to, not leave. That freedom and liberty comes from the hand of a sovereign God and we should recognize that. We should be thankful for living in America.
Second, Americans should be thankful for their system of government. Many are unhappy with the recent election results. Some are elated. All should applaud the wisdom of our founders in establishing a system of government that allows citizens to change direction every two years.
If elected representatives don’t vote like their constituents want, they can be voted out. America’s unique system of checks and balances in government work when citizens stay informed, engaged and involved in their government. The system works only when citizens are diligent and faithful to holding their elected representatives accountable.
Third, Americans should be thankful for the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It guarantees freedom of speech, worship and the press. It also protects the right to peaceful protest and to petition the government. Many countries, including democracies, have a founding document granting rights such as these to their citizens.
Few like protesters who disagree with their position, but all should fight for their right to exercise their first amendment rights. When the liberties of one are infringed upon, it affects all. The first amendment is under attack and it is critical it is protected.
Fourth, Americans should be thankful for their economic system. The ‘American Dream’ can become reality in the U.S. That is why people are trying to come to America. There is no place on earth where a person can ‘pull themselves up by their bootstraps,’ like America In spite of growing government regulations, America is still the best place on the planet to get ahead economically.
President Theodore Roosevelt said about Thanksgiving: “Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.”
In the coming year, may the walk match the talk.
NOTE: Steve Fair is a conservative leader and commentator whose essays often appear on CapitolBeatOK.com, an independent, non-partisan website based in Oklahoma City. Fair is chairman of the Republican Party in Oklahoma’s Fourth U.S. Congressional District Republican Party. He can be reached by email at okgop@aol.com. His blog is stevefair.blogspot.com.
Americans have much to be thankful for – this year and every year Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Editor’s note: Ellyn Hefner is a Special Needs Consultant in Oklahoma City. She works with the State Treasurer as an Ambassador to provide outreach to families and providers about OKSTABLE accounts. Ellyn has guided The City Sentinel’s coverage on this vital public program. This month (November 2020 print edition), Wanda Felty -- a parent and an advocate for adults and children with disabilities – describes how to give a monetary gift to an Oklahoman with a disability through the ABLE accounts.
Wanda Felty, for The City Sentinel:
What time is it? Its gift giving time, that’s what time it is.
For the past several months you have read a lot about the Oklahoma STABLE or ABLE accounts.
Oklahoma STABLE accounts are made possible by the Federal Achieving a Better Life Experience ‘ABLE’ Act passed by Congress in 2014. Oklahoma STABLE launched May 31, 2018.
ABLE accounts are the savings accounts that allows a person with a disability to save money without it affecting their access medical or other benefits.
Some of the topics you have read about in this series: How the OK STABLE savings accounts works well with Special Needs Trust, how a young couple with disabilities was able to save to put a down payment on a new home and even how the savings accounts allows for a person to save for high-cost medical equipment or specialized or adaptive vehicles.
In this article I want to explain how people with or without disabilities can be a part of Oklahoma’s STABLE accounts. It is because of the ingenuity and vision of the creators of the OK STABLE accounts and the partnership with the Ohio STABLE account managers, everyone can participate in helping a person with a disability save for A Better Life Experience (ABLE).
It is now the time of the year when many of us start thinking about gift giving. Some people really enjoy the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping and others will just walk into the local Five ‘n Dime and buy the first thing they can lay their hands on. Additionally, some love the excitement of opening presents, no matter how ugly that sweater is, or how useless that knickknack might be. But we all know where that sweater and that knickknack ends up. This is true for people with disabilities too.
But there is another option for both the shopper, and the gift opener. The Oklahoma STABLE accounts have an incredible feature, electronic gift giving. It is simple and easy. The account holder just logs into their account, finds the eGift button, clicks on Create an Event and the process is started.
My daughter is 32 years old. She still loves the excitement of her birthday and holidays. She still loves the experience of opening gifts, but the truth is, the gifts that most people know to get her, a gown, and fidget for her to play with and occupy her hands or her favorite flavored popcorn, are really much lower cost than they usually plan. And seriously, her nightgown drawer can only hold so many new gowns.
For the past year or so we have invited all of our friends and families to use the STABLE eGift option if they choose. Many will still gift her a small gift of popcorn or a fidget for her excitement, along with cake and ice cream of course, But what is great is they all have gifted her an eGift to her STABLE account. Because of our family and friends, this past weekend, she was able to buy herself this huge, oversized beanbag chair. Because of all her eGifts, everyone got to be a part of this great, neon green, comfy beanbag chair that she loves so much.
If you know someone with a disability and they have not mentioned the eGift option, mention it to them. Let them know, you would love to be part of that option of gifting. If they say they do not have a STABLE account, encourage them to visit www.okstable.org and sign up. It really is that easy. Happy pre-holidays.
OKSTABLE eGift for the Holidays Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Editor’s note: Ellyn Hefner is a Special Needs Consultant in Oklahoma City. She works with the State Treasurer as an Ambassador to provide outreach to families and providers about OKSTABLE accounts. Ellyn has guided The City Sentinel’s coverage on this vital public program. This month (November 2020 print edition), Wanda Felty -- a parent and an advocate for adults and children with disabilities – describes how to give a monetary gift to an Oklahoman with a disability through the ABLE accounts.
Wanda Felty, for The City Sentinel:
What time is it? Its gift giving time, that’s what time it is.
For the past several months you have read a lot about the Oklahoma STABLE or ABLE accounts.
Oklahoma STABLE accounts are made possible by the Federal Achieving a Better Life Experience ‘ABLE’ Act passed by Congress in 2014. Oklahoma STABLE launched May 31, 2018.
ABLE accounts are the savings accounts that allows a person with a disability to save money without it affecting their access medical or other benefits.
Some of the topics you have read about in this series: How the OK STABLE savings accounts works well with Special Needs Trust, how a young couple with disabilities was able to save to put a down payment on a new home and even how the savings accounts allows for a person to save for high-cost medical equipment or specialized or adaptive vehicles.
In this article I want to explain how people with or without disabilities can be a part of Oklahoma’s STABLE accounts. It is because of the ingenuity and vision of the creators of the OK STABLE accounts and the partnership with the Ohio STABLE account managers, everyone can participate in helping a person with a disability save for A Better Life Experience (ABLE).
It is now the time of the year when many of us start thinking about gift giving. Some people really enjoy the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping and others will just walk into the local Five ‘n Dime and buy the first thing they can lay their hands on. Additionally, some love the excitement of opening presents, no matter how ugly that sweater is, or how useless that knickknack might be. But we all know where that sweater and that knickknack ends up. This is true for people with disabilities too.
But there is another option for both the shopper, and the gift opener. The Oklahoma STABLE accounts have an incredible feature, electronic gift giving. It is simple and easy. The account holder just logs into their account, finds the eGift button, clicks on Create an Event and the process is started.
My daughter is 32 years old. She still loves the excitement of her birthday and holidays. She still loves the experience of opening gifts, but the truth is, the gifts that most people know to get her, a gown, and fidget for her to play with and occupy her hands or her favorite flavored popcorn, are really much lower cost than they usually plan. And seriously, her nightgown drawer can only hold so many new gowns.
For the past year or so we have invited all of our friends and families to use the STABLE eGift option if they choose. Many will still gift her a small gift of popcorn or a fidget for her excitement, along with cake and ice cream of course, But what is great is they all have gifted her an eGift to her STABLE account. Because of our family and friends, this past weekend, she was able to buy herself this huge, oversized beanbag chair. Because of all her eGifts, everyone got to be a part of this great, neon green, comfy beanbag chair that she loves so much.
If you know someone with a disability and they have not mentioned the eGift option, mention it to them. Let them know, you would love to be part of that option of gifting. If they say they do not have a STABLE account, encourage them to visit www.okstable.org and sign up. It really is that easy. Happy pre-holidays.
OKSTABLE eGift for the Holidays Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
NOTE: This is revised, adapted and updated from a commentary first posted in 2009.
Oklahoma City – Some musings on the state of the Republic, consciously walking around the last decade, to which I shall return in future reflections.
When I first heard Barack Obama speak on television in 2007, I was impressed.
When he came to Oklahoma City several months later for a rally at the old Farmer’s Market west of downtown – a packed-house event organized by then-state Sen. Andrew Rice -- I covered it.
I reported at the time, and repeated often thereafter, that in that speech I’d seen the kind of passion Obama evoked in the crowd two other times: at Ronald Reagan rallies in 1976, and at Jesse Jackson events during his first unsuccessful run for the presidency.
Robin Dorner, who now runs 'The Gayly' newspaper in Oklahoma City but who worked with me then (a decade ago), met then-Senator Obama that same day in May 2007. While I covered the rally, Robin went to an Obama fundraiser in Northwest Oklahoma City.
I asked her later why she admires him. She replied succinctly: “I have followed his work since mid-2006, months before he announced his candidacy for President. When I met him, I told him that I had contacted him in a letter before he announced his candidacy, and he said those kinds of letters influenced his decision to run.”
Robin reflected, “I believe that a leader is someone who is among his followers. He is one of them, but when it comes to decision-making, everyone can see that he is the leader. I see this with Barack Obama. It concerns me when people are so focused on criticism of our President. He is our leader; respect that.”
As the years of his presidency and thereafter passed, I grew frustrated and then angry with Obama’s policies, which became much more aggressively liberal than positions he took during the 2008 campaign.
No doubt about this: He is a formidable politician. I do not share the view of those who confer on him a kind of secular sainthood. However, Obama respects Ronald Reagan, and that speaks well of him.
Reagan will always be my model for principled and fearless advocacy of an inclusive brand of conservatism. It was his hopeful brand of politics that attracted me as a boy, embraced me as a young man, comforting me in middle age as an armor against the disappointment, betrayal and heartbreak of “the real political world.” And now, I am nearly as old as he was when he assumed the presidency in 1980.
I watched Reagan closely in several meetings during his tenure in the nation's capital city.
I have said it before: In moments of grace, he remembered (without note cards) little things about certain visitors that endeared him. I’ve encountered a few women politicians with similar disarming charm, but no other man quite like Reagan.
I remember an interview he endured with me and three other conservative journalists. Sensing our concern about the country’s future, he told us, “It helps to have a sense of history when thinking about these things. A generation ago, conservatives had no real voice in the universities, the media, or in either political party.”
That day, I handed him a compilation of essays on criminal justice which I had edited, “Crime and Punishment in Modern America.” (The last chapter in that particular book was written by Jack Kemp, a U.S. representative from New York who ran for president himself, unsuccessfully.)
Like other visitors to the Oval Office, I saw my chance and took it during that small group meeting with Reagan.
As the encounter wound down, I had some moments to sketch the book’s advocacy of alternatives to incarceration for certain crimes, and a broad emphasis on “restorative justice,” the Scriptural view advanced most prominently in recent decades by Charles Colson. Reagan indicated he’d take a look at the book.
Some weeks later, a friend working at the White House called. He’d just sat in on a meeting where there had been lengthy discussion over proposed changes in the federal sentencing guidelines. The president, as was his habit, mostly listened. Near the end of the session, Reagan said, “I’ve been doing some reading, and thinking, about this.”
Of course, everyone in that meeting listened as he gave a brief synopsis of key arguments from the book I’d given him. He asked his aides to take a fresh look at some provisions in the guidelines. Hearing about that was, intellectually, about as satisfying a moment as I’ve ever experienced. My friend concluded his report this way: “McGuigan, you S-O-B, the president of the United States read your ... book.”
The book Kemp “anchored” for me was the one most favorably reviewed by liberal critics, including Alvin J. Bronstein of the American Civil Liberties Union
Two decades later, my friend Robin encountered Jack when he came to Oklahoma for the 2008 Speaker’s Ball. He was a co-host at the event, and she noted what a likable guy he was.
On one occasion, I regaled Robin with stories of dinners with Kemp at the Monocle Restaurant on Capitol Hill, “back in the day.”
My intersections with Reagan didn't end with the crime book or the events of his presidency.
I wrote a memoir (with Dawn M. Weyrich) about what the great Robert Bork called “the bloody crossroads” of American politics -- that place where partisanship and the rule of law intersect, and clash. In the aftermath of Judge Bork’s Supreme Court confirmation defeat in 1987 and especially in the afterword of my 1990 book, “Ninth Justice: The Fight for Bork,” I was critical of the Gipper’s leadership in the most important judicial confirmation fight of the 20th Century. When it was published, some of his friends scolded me.
But hear me now: Reagan never had a bad word to say about it. In fact, quite the contrary.
When I left Washington, D.C. in 1990, two years after the Gipper’s presidency, my most prized possession became a generous letter he sent. Reagan charitably ignored all of my criticisms, although I have every reason reason to believe he read them. Instead, he encouraged others to read my book about Bork, to learn lessons for the future.
When, in 1994, his remarkable letter to the American people announced he was afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease, my good wife wrote a passionate love letter to the Reagans. A kind letter of acknowledgment is among our treasured keepsakes.
Perhaps Reagan’s most remarkable accomplishment was the love he gave to America, and the example he set for wearing power so lightly.
When Barack Obama first ran for president, he caught flack from some allies for unrehearsed praise he offered to Reagan’s memory and even his substance.
"I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it,” Obama said.
When President Obama met with Reagan’s widow in the summer of 2009, making up for an unfortunate quip – about which, the less said, the better -- he got it just about right: "President Reagan helped as much as any president to restore a sense of optimism in our country, a spirit that transcended politics -- that transcended even the most heated arguments of the day.”
Then, when Kemp died in 2009, Obama reflected: "Jack Kemp's commitment to public service and his passion for politics influenced not only the direction of his party, but his country. From his tenure as a Buffalo congressman to his ascent in national politics, Jack Kemp was a man who could fiercely advocate his own beliefs and principles while also remembering the lessons he learned years earlier on the football field: that bitter divisiveness between race and class and station only stood in the way of the 'common aim of a team to win.'”
When President Obama presented Kemp a posthumous Medal of Freedom on August 12, 2009, he commented, “Told he was too small to play college football, Jack Kemp became a pro quarterback. Cut by four teams, he led the Buffalo Bills to two championships. Football, he once said, gave him a good sense of perspective about politics: He'd ‘already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, [and traded ].’ Makes me feel better. A conservative thinker, a Republican leader, and a defender of civil rights, he was that rare patriot who put country over party, never forgetting what he learned on the gridiron — that it takes each of us doing our part, and all of us working together, to achieve a common goal. It's a life from which we can all draw lessons, Democrat and Republican alike.”
Which brings me back to Reagan.
People who knew him well, like Peggy Noonan, and not well enough, like me, still lift up Reagan’s memory because he said and did so many things we cherish, including his stories about the place where he lived so nobly for eight years.
I share stories about the past because I want to believe America in the future can transcend the terrible divide we face today. I believe that free people can indeed preserve the Constitutional Republic that Ben Franklin, James Madison and all the Founders gave us.
I will not surrender my views of what is best for the country I love. What I believe is best bears little resemblance to the agenda of the man who recently won the presidency, and only occasional resemblance to the views of the incumbent President he defeated.
My rights to hold such beliefs from from the One Who created me.
This is one of those believes: The Constitution forged in great minds, the heroic history that elevated George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams led to the trials and triumphs of Jack Kennedy and Ron Reagan, and to the events of recent years.
JFK and Reagan, Kemp and Bork, Bronstein and the Framers have all moved on to another sphere of existence. My time will come.
Death comes to us all, but somehow the constitutional democratic Republic we call America lives on.
Let’s keep it, or go down fighting.
November 2020: Musings on the constitutional democratic Republic we call America Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK |
Pat McGuiganThe dean of all Oklahoma Journalism, Mr Patrick McGuigan; has a rich history of service in many aspects of both covering the news and producing the information that the public needs to know. Archives
September 2021
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