Media sources in aerospace are echoing the same hot news tip..

  No one knows where the hot gossip started... or at least they don't feel safe to admit it; but no one is refuting the narrative.
  Back in Oklahoma's 1st district, several Republicans of note are already actively campaigning for the soon-to-be-open house seat. They know that a primary election is 10 months away, but a NASA appointment will open the seat within days. That would prompt Gov. Fallin to call a special election which would be wrapped up in 4-5 months. Most likely the primary would be in November, with a General election in January. National office special elections do accommodate party runoff elections so the top 2 candidates in the crowded field will face off in a runoff, unless a majority is attained in the primary by one candidate. Then a general election would also occur.
  Then, in less than 3 months the Congressman-elect would face a whole new round of opponents in the April filings for the June Election.
  So far we know of active Republican campaigns for Andy Coleman, Nathan Dahm, Tim Harris, Kevin Hern,  & Danny Stockstill.

  Here's what a leading aerospace new agency said about the rumors.

  There have been some media reports about Leftist violence. What makes the following article from 'The Atlantic' a must read, is because The Atlantic is a 'PaleoLiberal' publication. There was a time when the term 'liberal' accurately described the mindset of  the political left. they held to the principle of;
"I disagree with you, but I will advocate for your right to freely express your convictions.".
  Today's NeoLiberal (or perhaps 'Alt Left'); is turning their collective back on Dr King, Gandhi and others. They are packing weapons on their way to crashing the peaceful gatherings of political opponents.

Here's an excerpt from "The Rise of the Violent Left", by The Atlantic.
(Read the full report at their website.)

  Republican Attorney, Gary Richardson, gave a major address to Tulsa Area Republicans about the disastrous legislative session and the unconstitutional actions taken by Republican Legislative Leaders.
  Just one week earlier, Richardson was standing in front of the justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, to make his constitutional argument for throwing out the revenue bills which violated Article Five of the Oklahoma Constitution.
  Richardson secured the legal team of Stan Ward and his partners. Stan was an author of the very constitutional amendment which the legislature and governor blatantly ignored. Ward's presence and testimony completely devastated the state attorney general's team. It's hard to parse words and twist language when the author of the constitutional text is standing there opposing you.
  The court quickly ruled 9-0 to completely throw out the entirety of SB845 (the tobacco tax) within 48 hours of the 50 minute oral arguments.

  Richardson was one of 3 separate plaintiffs who filed cases in this matter. He was given the 3rd spot on the docket. The fortunate position allowed his legal team to speak to the original intent of the constitution, and emphasis on legislative intent. the previous plaintiffs (tobacco distributors and auto dealers) had already argued the specifics of the bills and the parsing of words contained therein.

  The blood-letting and and hatred is continuing it's plague upon the US, this month. In West Goshen Pennsylvania, a well-liked member of the local County Republican Committee was gunned down in his front lawn by a neighborhood agitator whose own lawn has been filled with signs expressing hatred fro Donald trump and conservative values.
  Pennsylvania had been a Democrat stronghold in electoral politics, until the trump campaign prevailed with popular issues important to state industry and the impact of US trade policy.
  Antifa, a nationwide group of violent agitators who use fascist tactics to intimidate political opponents, is suspected of playing a role in the rhetoric. They recruit violent young gang members and rabid social justice warriors to use Nazi 'Brownshirt' tactics on the streets. 
  Antifa is one of the groups who unlawfully disrupted the Charlottesville rally of "Unite the Right", leading to the violence and tragedy, last weekend.
​  Here's a recounting if the Pennsylvania incident, as reported by world media sources.

​  With more than 77% vote of support, Former congressional aide and city councilor, Brian O'Hara, was the clear choice of the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly. Nicole Nixon was the next and only other candidate to receive support from the membership.

  The group is very familiar with Brian from his constituent services and representation of the office of Congressman Jim Bridenstine for the past 4 years.

  The special primary election is set for early September. There is no runoff process, so the top candidate in the primary moves to the general election in November.

  Tulsa Republican Assembly is a local affiliate of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. It operates separate of the OKGOP but members must be registered Republicans in order to join.

  The Oklahoman reports that a female Oklahoma teacher is facing a $1 million judgment for her predatory sexual conduct in the seduction of a male student.
  Teacher, Jennifer Caswell, is currently serving a 10 year sentence in state prison for statutory rape. 
  A federal court ruled that the woman must pay the damages for the emotional, psychological, and social damages done to the student.
   Caswell went on the Dr. Phil show to talk about her affair and she made a strong effort to blame her unfulfilling marriage for the condition which led to her sexual relationship with a student.
  Several past high profile cases have left civil rights advocates frustrated that female defendants are treated far differently than male defendants. Some say women are getting preferential treatment and far lighter sentences.
  Debra LaFave was perhaps the most glaring example of a female teacher getting off with a 'slap on the wrist' for repeatedly seducing a male student while teaching in Florida public schools.
Before that, Mary Kay LeTourneau had a very notorious affair with a very young male student. she is now married to him.

  As I write this, the House Republican Caucus is meeting behind closed doors. They are planning their message and their options for fixing a problem they created.

  Over the weekend the voters of Oklahoma were waiting for legislators to respond to the major ruling of the supreme court. The decision was swift, absolute, and unanimous. The legislature clearly and boldly violated the constitution.

  We have a problem of pride which has swept over the political process. It is nothing new. There has been a 'radio silence' since the call of "sine' die", last May. Even the statewide office holders have said little or nothing. 
  What the majority of the legislators did was a violation of their oath of office. They didn't just inadvertently do something unconstitutional. They attempted robbery from the people to the tune of about a quarter of a billion dollars every year. Divided by the 'yea' votes, that means each yes vote on the tobacco bill was a theft of $2.5 million per legislator, every year!
​  Why won't they apologize? Why won't they repent? 

   The Oklahoma Supreme Court issued a 'slam dunk' unanimous ruling in figurative 'sound barrier speed', on Thursday. they struck down a shameless money-grab which tried to cloak itself as a state-run smoking cessation program.  The newest and most controversial justice on the court, Patrick Wyrick, wrote a brilliant, plain-spoken, and thoroughly-reasoned opinion. Two justices partially dissented, but they did not elaborate. Wyrick wrote a masterpiece of both form and substance.
  The remaining cases will not be so simple to prevail upon.
   The matter of removing exemptions to a tax, is essentially the same as a bill to establish a new, yet narrower tax.  But the comments and questions of the 9 justices give us a hint that they do not have a common mindset on the matter.
  Justice Gurich claims that the founders of our state had a disdain for exemptions. She says that tax burdens should be broadly and equitably applied to all. At least that's what she gratuitously asserts as being the heart and soul of the framers of Oklahoma's constitution. She asserts that carve-outs and narrow exemptions are a form of pandering and abuse of the whole, to give a gift of money to a select demographic.

  With a backdrop of colonial architecture which Jefferson helped inspire, the college town of Charlottesville has become a synonym for the devolution of American values.
  Thomas Jefferson, himself, built this great university in the same Virginia town where he penned the original draft of our Declaration of Independence. 
  It is this abject defiance of the values of Jefferson which saddens so many of us. See, Charlottesville has has a very active community calendar of protests. Most of those protests have been leftist-led. And that's okay with me. Let them march peacefully and go home.
  But when those same leftist begin dismantling the historic narrative of our nation, I do have a problem with it. Let's explore an example of extremists seeking to destroy historic icons and any memory of them.
  When the Taliban rose to power in Afghanistan, very few folks knew that they would destroy icons of world history and supplant that narrative with their own propaganda.
​  Many see the destruction of the memorial to Gen. Robert E. Lee as a similar and seminal event.
​  The mantra of today's self-obsessed radicals is;

by Gene Kelly -  The situation is deplorable. The blame must be shared by both sides.
  Even white supremacists have the Constitutional right to peacefully assemble. Urging supremacy based merely upon race or birth is flawed and wrong. However, our Constitution ensures the right for them to present that proposition into the market place of ideas.
  The opponents of that philosophy have the right to present their idea also. Neither has the right, however, to prohibit or interfere with the other side's right to express their thought. Neither has the right to stifle the other's exercise of free speech. If you show up to counter demonstrate you must expect a negative reaction to your presence. If you try to forcibly quell the exercise of someone else's right of free speech you must expect an adverse reaction.
  For too long the Left has had free reign in their attempts to stifle the ideas and thoughts of others that they disagree with. From what is happening in Charlottesville that time may be drawing to a close. We Americans, of all political persuasions, love our rights. Even moderate, temperate Americans have a breaking point. There is never a problem until the other guy fights back.

  Oklahoma's statist politicians of both parties are at odds about where any more taxes should be confiscated. Liberty-minded politicians are trying to limit the oppressive powers of the state by only funding core constitutional mandates.
  But they could all find a consensus in the regulating of the current cannabis industry which operates as a black market and pays no taxes at all.
  Now, the true prohibitionists will oppose this idea in their self-affirming nanny state mentality; but they have given up on trying to do anything about the far more dangerous liquor industry.
  Our next statewide election will have a question about whether physicians may prescribe cannabis for certain medical conditions. While that's a first step, it is not nearly the solution which this tee-totaling writer believes is appropriate.
  Oklahoma state govt. could be the recipient of nearly $100 million in annual sales taxes and economic development by coming to terms with the reality of the commodity's current impact on our state. It would also bring some sensible oversight and provide standards for safety. 
  But more importantly, it would drive out a cartel which has operated as organized crime. The resulting drop in crime would be refreshing to community law enforcement.

  The governor and both legislative heads are refusing to accept responsibility in their plot to subvert the constitution and confiscate tax revenues from the state's citizens.
  Instead the continued to justify the ploy and blame the Democrat caucus for making them do it. Jamison Faught of the Muskogee Politico filed this report.
  The constitution's mandates regarding any increases in revenues collected are very plain and established. It was a matter of simple math to determine that the state could not take the path of higher taxes unless some Democrat members agreed to a deal. Rather than securing that consensus early on, the entire 4 month session was allowed to slip away without an agreement. 
  Then the decision was made to quit believing that they were violating the constitution at all when they played with the tax code to grab several hundred million dollars from the state's people.  That's when they spent the whole summer and massive legal expenses to come up with a horrible narrative at the supreme Court, this week.  That scheme unraveled faster than a ball of yarn in a puppy's mouth. Within 48 hours the written decision was unanimous and crucial time was wasted.

  With the demise of the Cigarette tax settling in, House Democrats have ramped up the rhetoric for hitting the Republican's favorite benefactor with a massive new tax increase. Several of the House Democrats are returning to their original demand of 7% tax on all oil production (off the top). This is in addition to a corporate income tax on all profits, after expenses.  Some legislators are highly skeptical of the tax increase bringing in any more than $100 million, because of market fluctuations, wells going off the 3-year discount, and new drilling on the decline.
  Last May the Democrat leaders were willing to compromise with a 5% GPT on all new wells. That would have netted the state about $125 Million in additional revenue. Instead, the Republicans went after smokers and car buyers. But without any Democrats, the Republican majority did not acquire the 75% needed to comply with the constitutional mandates. If the Democrats did get their acceptable concession on Gross Production Tax, there may be another tax imposed. Perhaps a fuel tax.
  The House (or Senate) does have one other option.. They could simply raise no taxes at all. It would precipitate the need for either ending much of our state's healthcare functions. But there is the option to pass an amended budget whereby the legislature directs that money be moved from other agencies so that the cuts are borne more broadly and less drastically.
  And yet we still do not know how the high court will rule on the other tax lawsuits. Those rulings will also be instructive to the legislative process.

  Rep Eric Proctor published this response to today's Supreme Court Ruling, whereby the Tobacco Tax increase was struct down for violating constitutional requirements.

  The Oklahoma Supreme Court quickly announced their decision in one of the cases heard less than 48 hours ago. Read the full ruling.

  The court has not yet published their ruling on the OSCN website. ​A portion of their decision was published...

Dale Denwalt of the Oklahoma, writes...