WHAT IS GOING ON WITH JOHN DOAK AND JANET BARRESI?

++ MY QUANDRY AND APOLOGY
++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING
++ ANNOUNCEMENTS
++ LAST WEDNESDAY’S MEETING & CONSERVATIVE AGENDA
++ OCPAC MEMBERSHIP UP-DATE
++ WHAT IS GOING ON WITH JOHN DOAK AND JANET BARRESI?



++ MY QUANDRY AND APOLOGY

I face a quandary with the growth of OCPAC and over 4,200 people now
on our e-mail list. I now receive more e-mails and phone calls in a
day than I have time in which to respond. Part of the problem is that
I still operate a small business which requires some of my time to try
and keep the bills paid. I read most of the e-mails that are
personalized and sent to me. Many of the forwarded articles, I simply
have to discard without looking at them. I also find it difficult to
return all the incoming phone calls. I try to do much of my phone time
while on the road as I can practice multi-tasking and thus kill (sorry
for such a mean word) two birds with the same stone. I don’t want to
discourage personalized e-mails from being sent to me, just know that
I may not respond or at least not in a timely manner. Please accept my
apology in this matter. Charlie

++ AGENDA FOR THIS WEEK’S MEETING

We WILL meet this Wednesday regardless of weather. Over the past 20
years we have never missed a meeting because of weather. Therefore,
our 12 noon luncheon for Wednesday, February 2nd will be held at
Italiano’s restaurant, 4801 North Lincoln in OKC. Our first speaker
will be State Representative Charles Key (R-OKC & Bethany). Charles
has been very concerned with the process in which elected officials
try to represent their constituents. Therefore, he has come up with
some reform suggestions to allow all Oklahoman’s to receive
representation from their elected officials. Our main speaker will be
Miss Sarah Hampton. Sarah was home schooled and at age 15 made a trip
to China around the Christmas Holliday. Later that year, while still
at the age of 15, she and a much older woman (age 17) went back to
China by themselves and taught at an English speaking school in a
small (600,000) community somewhere in central China. While a student
at OU, Sarah spent a year in China on a student study program and
since graduation she has been working (and sharing the Gospel) until
her recent return to Oklahoma. With a burden in her heart for the
people of China, she hopes to return when possible. I look forward to
hearing her perspective on events and conditions in China.

++ ANNOUNCEMENTS

* I WOULD ADVISE CHECKING ALL MEETINGS TO SEE IF CANCELED

* TUESDAY MORNING - OKC AREA - The State Supreme Court is
scheduled to hear Attorney Jerry Fent’s oral arguments regarding the
unconstitutional configuration of the State Judicial Nominating
Commission. The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. in the Supreme
Court Chambers at the Capitol. Attending hearings such as this is one
way you can determine the performance of our highest court and apply
that to the retention ballot in election years.

As an aside, I was wrong in my speculation that Governor Henry would
appoint Jari Askins to the Supreme Court just before he left office.
In stead, he appointed Oklahoma County District Judge Norma Gurich.
Judge Gurich has far more experience than Askins and though these are
non-partisan appointments, Gurich is registered as a Republican. Two
insiders told me, they speculated that Henry appointed Gurich to avoid
criticism of being an excessive partisan. This is especially important
since the High Court agreed to hear Jerry Fent’s complaint about the
make-up of the Judicial Nominating Commission and the possible
ramifications regarding recent appointments to the high court.

* TUESDAY EVENING - STATE WIDE - I believe most Republican party
precinct meetings across much of Oklahoma will be canceled because of
the weather. All of the Logan County meetings are being rescheduled.
Please check with your county Chairman for final determinations as
they are the ones on a county by county basis.

* THURSDAY EVENING - PIEDMONT AREA - Restore Oklahoma Public
Education (ROPE) has scheduled a public forum for the district #1 and
#4 school board candidates. The location will be the First United
Methodist Church, 2525 North Piedmont Road. The time is scheduled from
7 until 8:30 p.m. with former Republican Governor candidate Robert
Hubbard as the moderator. To check on the status of the meeting,
contact Thomas Kiene at (405) 373-2974 or Stacy Willis at (405)
659-8717

* SUNDAY AFTERNOON - STATE CAPITOL - The 7th annual legislative
prayer gathering will occur this coming Sunday, February 6th from 2
until 4:00 p.m.. Both the House and Senate chambers will be open and
you are encouraged to sit in the seat of your elected officials to
pray for them on the day before the session begins. I believe this is
one of the most important times of prayer during the year and it has
always been on the Sunday of the Super Bowl. I believe the Super Bowl
begins after this event is over, don’t know for sure and certainly
don’t care, as I will be there for the more important priorities in
life. Please park and enter on the West side of the Capitol.

++ LAST WEDNESDAY’S MEETING & THE CONSERVATIVE AGENDA

We had 14 different speakers last Wednesday, 15 when you add in Jo
Joyce who was explaining the hand out to be given to the liberals
attending the Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee meeting this past Friday
night at Taft middle school. I especially want to thank the several
speakers who drove down from the Tulsa area and the many people who
packed out our meeting place. Numerous people attending expressed what
a great meeting it was. The different speakers explained the different
points on the document which could be called a conservative agenda
with a Christian World View. This document can be viewed by logging on
to: www.libertyforge.us. Please view this document and if you can
agree with it, pleas sign it on line.


++ OCPAC MEMBERSHIP UP-DATE

Dues paying membership during 2010 set an all time record at 287 which
exceeded the previous record breaking memberships of 217 set in 2009.
On January 31st of 2010 we had far outpaced previous years with 118
memberships. The good news is, that we have exceeded that number with
135 dues paying memberships as of January 31st 2011.

Of particular note, is the large number of first time members. Thanks
to all of you and of course those many people who have joined year
after year. We have 25 individuals or families who are members by
having their checking accounts drafted at $15 for our Elephant
Provider level of membership, or $30 for our Elephant Provider and
RINO Hunter level of membership. We even have one member at $40 per
month as their level of membership. Regardless of whether people join
at one of the higher levels of membership or at the basic level of $50
per year, every dues paying member is really appreciated.

Without that support and the readers of our e-mails along with those
who respond to activism when asked, OCPAC would be nothing more than
hot air. The support of the many fine citizens have made a huge
difference in Oklahoma and again I say thank you so much. Please
remember, all memberships, but those having their checking accounts
drafted, expired on December 31st Therefore it is time to renew your
memberships, the only other exception are those who were paying dues
in December for the year of 2011. If you have not joined as yet,
instructions for joining will follow my sign off of this news
letter.


++ WHAT IS GOING ON WITH JOHN DOAK AND JANET BARRESI?

This past week fireworks erupted at the first State School Board
meeting since Janet Barresi was sworn in. Janet was elected to the
position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction and as such
sits on the board with the other 6 members.

Janet ran on a clearly defined agenda of reform and she has run into a
group of board members who are clearly protectors of the past,
protectors of a mediocre to failed government school system. All of
the current board members were appointed by Brad Henry who was an
absolute supporter of the education industry (I use the term industry,
because our government schools are more about power and wealth for the
members of the industry than about educating the children to academic
excellence). That is not to say that there are not some very good and
conscientious teachers and others in our government schools.

Looking at the terms of those on the board, it will take until 2014
for Governor Fallin to appoint a majority of reform minded members
unless some of the current members resign their position early. Which
brings to point, why do we even have a state school board, especially
when we have a position held by an ELECTED official to run a
governmental agency or department? Elected officials are accountable
to the people, boards and commission members do not usually fall into
that category. Elected positions such as Attorney General, State
Auditor, Corporation Commission, Insurance Commission, Labor
Commission, and the State Treasurer’s office are all run by the
elected officials and don’t have a board to oversee their operations.

I suspect the reason for the existence for a state school board is to
have yet another influential body to organize local school boards and
others to pressure the legislature into doing the bidding of the
education industry. Many Republicans have campaigned on a platform of
eliminating waste, duplication, fraud and unnecessary boards,
commissions and agencies in state government. May I suggest that the
legislature would do well to eliminate this board. Can anyone tell me
why that wouldn’t be a good idea?

Let me suggest the dust up about Jennifer Carter not fulfilling the
artificial requirement of a masters degree in education to be able to
serve as Barresi’s deputy commissioner is not the real issue. Carter
served several years as legal council for what was then known as the
Association of Professional Oklahoma Educators (APOE). I believe they
now call themselves the Association of Oklahoma Educators. This is a
conservative association (not a union) of teachers who are a real
threat to the unions such as the OEA/NEA & AFT. These liberal board
members see the difficult times ahead for the failed education
establishment and are simply trying to protect their turf and
reputations. Conservatives need to stand behind Janet Barresi and her
efforts until it might be determined that her ideas or performance
were off base.

In the same way may I suggest why conservatives should stand by John
Doak, at least until time and performance might suggest otherwise. I
don’t intend to be blindly loyal to John Doak, but I am very close to
this situation and have a good grasp of what is going on. It is very
unusual that all the employees at the State Insurance Commission were
considered as “at will” and as such could be replaced.

Mr. Doak ran on a platform of opposition to Obama Care, improving the
efficiency of the Department, working to reform the workers comp
system and increasing the competition among insurance companies for
the citizens of Oklahoma.

To carry out his task, he needed to surround himself with people he
could trust and people who had management skills to get the job done.
He chose former State Representative Mike Thompson to be his
legislative liaison. Mike was not a lightening rod in the legislature,
was well liked by most lawmakers and as such is a good fit for the
position. Former Senators Brogdon and Laughlin impressed Doak as
conservative men with management skills and a like minded ideology.
Doak knows the insurance industry and whatever insurance experience
these men lack, Mr. Doak believes they can make up for with their
knowledge of government and management skills. Therefore, he appointed
these men and they have set out to accomplish Mr. Doak’s reform of the
agency.

Of course it created a firestorm when these former lawmakers such as
Brogdon and Thompson went to work for government without waiting for
the necessary 2 years after leaving office. They must have been hired
under that infamous “loop-hole” in the law that has allowed for the
“good ole boys” to get government jobs once they finished their time
in office.

I have been a critic of this loop-hole and even wrote recently under
the notion that the loop-hole caused by a flawed attorney general
opinion had nullified the state constitution. However, since that time
I have actually looked at the law, what a novel idea. I wish to
report, I was wrong as there is NO, let me repeat NO prohibition in
the law to prevent a lawmaker from taking a job in government right
after leaving office. As such, there is also no loop-hole. I believe
it was a flawed opinion by Drew Edmondson to allow a former Democrat
lawmaker to take a newly created job while in office, which is a
violation of the law.

Let me publish the law and then I will break it down into 3 categories
to make it very clear. Section V-23 of the Oklahoma Constitution is as
follows: “No member of the legislature shall, during the term for
which he was elected, be appointed or elected to any office or
commission in the State, which have been created, or the emoluments of
which shall have been increased, during his term of office, nor shall
any member, receive any appointment from the Governor, the Governor
and the Senate, or from the legislature, during the term for which he
shall have been elected, nor shall any member, during the term for
which he shall have been elected, or within two years thereafter, be
interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract with the State, or
any county or other subdivision thereof, authorized by law passed
during the term for which he shall have been elected.”

Following will be an attempt to break it down into simple to
understand points. 1) No member of the legislature can be appointed to
an office or commission that was created during his term of office
(the insurance commission was an existing entity and thus this point
doesn’t apply). 2) no member (of the legislature) can receive an
appointment from the Governor, the Senate or the legislature during
his term in office ( point 2 only applies to a gubernatorial, Senate
or legislative appointments, not Insurance Commission appointments and
since Glen Coffee was out of office when Governor Fallin appointed him
to Secretary of State, this does not apply). 3) The 2 year moratorium
restricts a legislator from ‘contracting’ with the state either during
his term in office or within 2 years after leaving the legislature
(since none of these men are in business or are doing business with
the state under a contract, then this provision does not apply).

As you can see, almost any lawmaker can go to work for the state after
leaving the legislature. I was asked if I thought it would be ok for
former Governor Henry to become the next President of UCO and the
answer is yes as far as the law is concerned.

Since taking office, Doak has reduced the size of the agency by over
20 employees and there is probably more to come. The insurance agency
operates on a 200 million dollar budget with the vast majority of that
money coming from fees from insurance companies and an even larger
part coming from fines. Only 1% (2 million) comes from the state’s
general fund, or in other words taxpayer dollars. Mr. Doak is
dedicated to take no appropriated funds to run this agency.

The former insurance commissioner labeled leadership positions
something other than deputy commissioners. Bottom line, Doak has one
less leadership position that the previous commissioner. I have heard
(I don’t listen to his silliness) that the “Eggman” has been very
critical of Doak and former Senator Brogdon. If he had any substance
to his program or intellectual honesty he should have asked Doak or
Brogdon to come on his program to answer his allegations.

I predict, that some months down the line, it will be the Eggman that
has egg on his face. I suggest that conservatives should wait some
time to evaluate the performance of the insurance commission. Time
will bear out whether or not Doak will be seen as great insurance
commissioner or someone who will need to be replaced. Early criticism
may cause conservatives to have egg on their faces if they are not
careful.

I look forward to seeing the hearty souls that attend our meeting this
Wednesday.

Charlie Meadows
Charliemeadows7@gmail.com