Russell weighs in on Obama plan
As President Obama announced he would end combat in Iraq in 18 months, Sen. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City, found himself in the pundit chair on MSNBC’s Hardball Friday afternoon.
Russell, a freshman senator is also a senior policy adviser for Vets for Freedom, chairman of the Vets for Victory and a retired Army colonel with 21 years of service. During his live interview, Russell spoke about the dedication military in Iraq have to completing their mission.
Russell was in…
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Coburn Hugs Obama
Fellow freshman senators in 2005, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, and President Barack Obama still look like they have a close relationship here:
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Freshman initiation
If the Senate were a fraternity, Sen. Gary Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, was initiated on Tuesday.
Stanislawski presented Senate Bill 604 to the full Senate Tuesday morning. The bill creates an Internet-based instruction task force that will basically make sure students using the Internet for instruction, are indeed really doing what they say they are.
Stanislawski probably didn’t expect a lot of questions or debate on the bill since it passed out of committee with little trouble. But as one the first freshman…
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OU President Boren on Bipartisanship
University of Oklahoma President David Boren, a former U.S. senator and governor, penned a column on bipartisanship that ran in the Washington Post today.
It’s a big topic in Washington, particularly after the stimulus package was opposed by all but three Republicans in Congress.
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American-Made Flags
To Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, there’s something downright un-American about American flags made in other countries.
And if he has his way, there won’t be any.
Boren and a Republican congressman from South Carolina have introduced a bill that would prohibit the import of foreign-made American flags — perhaps the ultimate buy-American bill.
“The most important symbol of the United States should be made by U.S. companies that employ hard-working U.S. citizens,” said Boren. “It is imperative that we pass…
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Chimp Attack: The Coburn Connection?
Wayne Pacelle, the head of the Humane Society of the United States, says several factors contributed to the chimpanzee attack of a woman in Connecticut on Monday, including Sen. Tom Coburn’s blocking of a bill last year to ban the interstate transport of monkeys and chimpanzees for the pet trade. The bill passed the House overwhelmingly, but it was among the dozens of bills that Coburn placed a “hold” on.
“Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and a few other anti-animal lawmakers made fun…
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Cole Headed to Lone Grove
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, headed from the House vote on the $800 billion stimulus plan today back to his district, which includes Lone Grove, the Carter County town devastated by a tornado this week.
On Wednesday, the House held a moment of silence at Cole’s request to honor the victims of the tragedy.
Cole is scheduled to tour Lone Grove at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
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Boren Goes to White House
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, and about 50 other conservative House Democrats known as “Blue Dogs” met with President Barack Obama on Tuesday night at the White House.
The president talked about the economy and his trips to Indiana and Florida to highlight rising unemployment and foreclosures.
Boren said the Blue Dogs said they wanted to work with him on entitlements (Social Security and Medicare) and so-called PAYGO legislation, which requires new spending to be offset with tax hikes or cuts…
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Coburn on His Taxes
Politico.com surveyed U.S. senators about whether they had had tax problems in the past. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, had an interesting and humorous response (note: Coburn left the House in Jan. 2001).
SEN. TOM COBURN (R-Okla.)
- Do you prepare your own taxes? No.
- If not, who does? He has an accountant.
- Have you or the IRS ever discovered an error on a tax return you’ve filed? See below.
- Have you ever paid back taxes? No.
- If the answer to
…
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TARP Funds in OK
According to the latest U.S. Treasury Department information, only one Oklahoma bank has taken money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (otherwise known as TARP, or the financial industry bail-out plan passed by Congress last fall).
Southwest Bancorp, Inc., the publicly-traded parent of Stillwater National Bank, took $70 million in December, according to Treasury.
The company reported last month that its fourth-quarter earnings fell to $3 million, compared to $4.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The company’s CEO…
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