Tulsa County GOP State Committee Members

March 2014

Vote No on April 1st

by TC Ryan

Actions Should Follow Beliefs: Pro-Life

by Joanma Francisco

Your Tulsa County officials have placed a 15 year tax hike on a ballot to be voted upon on April 1st, April Fools Day. The tax increase is split between two proposals; the first being to build a new juvenile detention center and the second to expand the county jail. These are both very different issues and as such should be treated differently, although I feel that as is, both proposals should be voted down. The juvenile detention center is in desperate need of repair and expansion. The building they currently occupy has certainly reached its limits. Two concerns that were brought up at a number of the public input meetings held by your county officials were that the current proposal would build the new facility too close to the current adult day center and the county jail. These are legitimate concerns as the juvenile center is a hub for all cases dealing with juveniles meaning that those who would be subjugated to those surroundings range from juveniles in actual need of a detention center to those who have simply been caught up in an allencompassing system at no fault of their own. What could be a convenient location for some, could be potentially hazardous for others. The second issue, which would actually fix the first issue, is the amount of money being spent to build a brand new facility. Instead of implementing a 15 year tax increase, why not look for current available resources like city or county owned buildings? One of the most frustrating aspects of the juvenile center is that its needs have been well known by our elected Tulsa County officials for some time now. Previous tax packages were meant to address many of the issues, yet that was never realized. The lack of leadership and direction from your county officials has led to this end of days push we are now facing from them, but their lack of leadership should not be accompanied by a lack of sound judgment by us the taxpaying citizens. The second proposal is from the Tulsa County Sheriff who is looking to expand the Tulsa County Jail on account that it is overpopulated. Well, there is a very simple fix to this issue which would not include taking more of your hard earned money; stop
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Oh that the Republican Party was pro-life in real life. In its platform, the Republican Party asserts the sanctity of human life and affirms that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. Well thats fine and dandy. But what about children who are not unborn? What about the ones who are already born? Do they have a right to life too? What about those with Dravets syndrome or some other form of severe intractable epilepsy? When Republican legislators use their legislative powers to prevent Oklahoma parents from accessing the only medicine that has been proven to significantly reduce seizures and that can, therefore, potentially save their childrens lives, I dont believe they can continue to call themselves pro-life with any credibility. A case in point was the recent blocking of the medicinal cannabis bill by conservative Republican Dan Newberry. Once he effectively killed the bill, he claimed that his rationale for that was that he did not have enough information on the benefits of medicinal cannabis. Not enough information? Really? Because I and numerous others personally visited with him; we sent him information on studies; two hearings were held at the Capitol where he could have, had he chosen to attend, heard expert testimony from neurologists, parents of patients, desperate parents trapped in Oklahoma by insidious government created rules; and law enforcement all in support of allowing people in Oklahoma access to CBD oil (a strain of cannabis that does not have psychoactive properties). But instead, Newberry killed the bill and immediately sent a fundraising email touting his anti-cannabis
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arresting so many non-violent offenders. What a concept. The Tulsa World released numbers a few months back indicating that 29% of the Tulsa County Jails population was from unpayables. That means that 29% of those imprisoned in Tulsa County are those who could not pay fines or fees. I am sure you have seen or heard the recent newscasts that proclaim that the city and county are going after millions of dollars they are owed in speeding tickets, or parking tickets, or whatever other non -violent crime they have decided to extort funds from citizens through. The problem with the county jail isnt that we dont have enough space to lock up more people, it is that we are locking up too many people already. The worst part in the fact that 29% of the jail population are non-violent offenders is that there is no room for the violent ones. Another issue that should be addressed when looking at overcrowding in the county jail is that fact that the county jail is used as a mental health facility. My friend, David Van Risseghem, wrote a piece about that which you can read here. In summation there are indeed issues with both the detention center and the county jail. Though both need the issues to be addressed, neither are issues which can be easily fixed by throwing money around. The citizens of Tulsa County deserve a more thoughtful approach to the issues both proposals seek to face. Vote NO on April 1 st and send a message to your Tulsa County officials that what we need is leadership and thoughtful solutions, not more debt and an increased tax burden. TC Ryan State Committee Republican Party of Tulsa County TC_Ryan@yahoo.com

(H/T Citizens for a Better Vision)

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position. The mailer featured a photo of a healthy child standing in front of an American flag with her hands held in the praying position. I hope his constituents see past this jingoist symbolism and understand that this man was the one person who stood firm between desperate Oklahoma families and the medicine they need to save their children. I you dont like the laws in these here parts, you can just leave. In order to save their childs life, one of the families who came to testify at the Capitol will have to physically split up in order for some in the family to move to Colorado to seek treatment for one of their children. Because the father is currently serving our country in the armed forces, he is not allowed to leave Oklahoma where he is stationed. Its a complicated situation. But hey, this is America and you are free. As conservative Republican A. J. Griffith stated on Oklahoma City Channel 9s Your Vote Counts in response to the issue of cannabis, The good thing about federalism and this republic that we live in, if you dont like the laws of the state that youre in, you dont have to ask the permission of the government. You can MOVE at your own free will. Colorado is the place to go if youre wanting to live under those laws. Really? I appreciate Griffiths conveniently timed understanding of federalism, but you can move? Thats not the way it is working out in reality for many families. If these senators would have taken the time to listen to the actual families, they would have heard first hand that families are literally being split up in order to try to save their childrens lives. I dont know how that kind of thinking passes for pro-family conservatism. Is Oklahomas current legislation so holy that we exalt it higher than we do our support for life and families? And why shoul d anyone have to move to exercise a God-given right? Why cant the state of Oklahoma be a reasonable, compassionate place rather than a place where these pro-life, pro-family legislators use legislation as a source of violence against people with a sick family member should they attempt to acquire the oil extracted from a certain plant? When the Republican Party is brave enough to take the moral position on the issue of medicinal CBD oil, full-spectrum medicinal cannabis, industrial hemp, and, gasp, the thought of allowing (allowing?) adult individuals to be free from micromanaging nanny-state bureaucrats and embrace personal responsibility and freedom, I think the Party will be unstoppable. So for the party that claims to be about life, liberty, family, and economic freedom, weve got a long way to go. And if the Republican establishment insists on foisting this conservative family man on us in 2016, we better get used to uttering the words President Clinton again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu9TAsE9VsA Ah, look what I found when I read further into the Party Platform: We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from people with disabilities, including newborns, as well as the elderly and infirm, just as we oppose active and passive euthanasia and assisted suicide. Yes! I agree with that. It is immoral to withhold treatment from sick people. So now, are you going to start holding these wayward elected officials to the party platform? Pro-life is so much more than using legal means to prevent frightened teenage girls from making a decision that will haunt them for the rest of their lives; it is about supporting life at all stages. Ignorance can be deadly. Conservatives, Republicansits just better to err on the side of life, really. Joanna Francisco Tulsa County GOP State Committee Member j2and4@sbcglobal.net

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