Articles
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Education, Culture & the Family
School counselor group embraces far-left policies
The American School Counselor Association, whose Oklahoma affiliate is tied to the state’s growing counselor workforce, has embraced left-wing causes including support for allowing biological males in girls’ sports, gun control, and citizenship for certain illegal immigrants, and opposition to restrictions on youth gender transitions.Ray Carter | August 13, 2025
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Law & Principles
Seattle’s ‘top two’ primary shows why Oklahoma should steer clear
The top two finishers each ran on a platform of Trump-bashing, tax increases, and radicalism on issues such as transgenderism and illegal immigration.Ray Carter | August 12, 2025
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Law & Principles, Culture & the Family
Oklahoma wins court fight to protect minors from gender-transition procedures
Aligning with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld Oklahoma’s 2023 law banning gender-transition surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones for individuals under 18.Ray Carter | August 11, 2025
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Education
Falling scores, rising hope: Whiz Kids steps up to address Oklahoma reading challenges
Oklahoma’s reading scores are declining, despite record education spending. But one private-sector effort, Whiz Kids, is quietly making a difference.Ray Carter | July 31, 2025
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Education
OSSBA seeks another billion for schools … for administrators
The Oklahoma State School Boards Association—a taxpayer-funded lobby group—says schools need up to $2 billion more, and not necessarily for teachers.Ray Carter | July 30, 2025
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Law & Principles, Culture & the Family
Federal court ruling buoys Oklahoma anti-discrimination law
Oklahoma lawmakers passed Senate Bill 658 to ensure that devout Christians are not disqualified from serving as adoptive or foster parents simply because they hold traditional beliefs about gender and sexuality. A recent federal court ruling bolsters the new law.Ray Carter | July 28, 2025
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Budget & Tax
Casinos win big while Oklahomans pick up the tab?
Despite earning $7.4 billion in gaming revenue in FY 2023, Oklahoma’s tribal casinos paid the state only $208 million—an effective tax rate of just 2.8%. That’s far lower than the taxes paid by everyday Oklahomans on income and basic goods.Ray Carter | July 28, 2025
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Agriculture, Economy
Critics say proposed minimum-wage hike would export California’s problems to Oklahoma
A new Oklahoma ballot proposal, State Question 832, would dramatically raise the state’s minimum wage by tying it to the cost of living in expensive urban areas like San Francisco and New York City.Ray Carter | July 23, 2025
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Criminal Justice
Oklahoma Democrats say no masks for ICE—even as threats against officers rise
Twenty members of the Oklahoma House Democratic caucus are demanding that immigration enforcement officials display visible name tags and refrain from concealing their faces while making arrests, even as threats and harassment against those officers surge nationwide.Ray Carter | July 22, 2025
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Good Government
Former Oklahoma governor, attorneys general defend initiative-petition reform
Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and former Attorneys General Scott Pruitt and John O’Connor are urging the Oklahoma Supreme Court to uphold a new law that reforms the state’s initiative-petition process to ensure broader geographic representation.Ray Carter | July 22, 2025