The Grapevine reccommends Steve Fairs latest "Tort Reform Needed in Oklahoma" at: < http://www.stevefair.blogspot.com/>
Please check the Ethics reports for legislative candidates in your district. The Trial Lawyer lobby is not going gentle into that good night. They are contributing large amounts to candidates who if elected will work to stop tort reform! To check the candidates in your area, click on link:
< http://www.state.ok.us/~ethics/>
This election cycle will also be a good opportunity for the replacing (voting-out) of Henry appointments to various postitions in state government. ie: Treasurer, Corporation Commissioner...etc. The people need to make these 'appointments' at the ballot box!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Sen. Coburn having medical tests...
From The Hill and OKC news line.......Sen. Tom Coburn of Muskogee has been tested for an irregular heartbeat.
Spokesman John Hart says Coburn was tested Friday at a Washington area hospital but has not been admitted.
The Oklahoman reported from its Washington bureau that Hart said the Republican senator is being tested for common arrhythmia and expects to return to the Senate Saturday.
The 60-year-old Coburn had a benign tumor removed from his pituitary gland last summer. He had colon cancer in 2003 and a malignant melanoma in 1975.
[ed] We certainly all wish the Senator well.
Spokesman John Hart says Coburn was tested Friday at a Washington area hospital but has not been admitted.
The Oklahoman reported from its Washington bureau that Hart said the Republican senator is being tested for common arrhythmia and expects to return to the Senate Saturday.
The 60-year-old Coburn had a benign tumor removed from his pituitary gland last summer. He had colon cancer in 2003 and a malignant melanoma in 1975.
[ed] We certainly all wish the Senator well.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
OK's Coburn driving 'Dirty' Harry Reid Nuts!
"Majority Leader Harry Reid has had it up to here with [Oklahoma Senator] Tom Coburn, the Senate's scourge of excessive spending and pork-barrel earmarks. Mr. Reid is telling reporters he will no longer tolerate the Oklahoma Republican blocking about 100 bills using the power Senate rules give individual member to stop legislation from coming to a floor vote.
Mr. Coburn objects to many of the bills because he says they would enrich special interests and private developers at the expense of taxpayers.
"So Mr. Reid is taking the unusual step of assembling a package of bills that Mr. Coburn has stopped, forming an omnibus bill and ramming them through the Senate before it leaves for its August break. 'For those of you who may not know this, you cannot negotiate with Coburn,' Mr. Reid told reporters. 'It's something that you learn over the years, that it's a waste of time.'
"Mr. Reid's decision now puts added pressure on Mr. Coburn's fellow Republican senators. An omnibus bill can proceed to a floor vote if 60 Senators agree to cut off debate. With many GOP Senators having inserted provisions into the bills Mr. Coburn is blocking, they will be torn between supporting their colleague in his fight against excessive spending or risking losing projects for their state. Mr. Reid's move is a clever way to force Republicans to choose between their self-proclaimed principles and pork. It will be interesting to see just how many side with Democrats in their effort to roll over Mr. Coburn."
- John Fund, Political Diary, 7/15/08
Mr. Coburn objects to many of the bills because he says they would enrich special interests and private developers at the expense of taxpayers.
"So Mr. Reid is taking the unusual step of assembling a package of bills that Mr. Coburn has stopped, forming an omnibus bill and ramming them through the Senate before it leaves for its August break. 'For those of you who may not know this, you cannot negotiate with Coburn,' Mr. Reid told reporters. 'It's something that you learn over the years, that it's a waste of time.'
"Mr. Reid's decision now puts added pressure on Mr. Coburn's fellow Republican senators. An omnibus bill can proceed to a floor vote if 60 Senators agree to cut off debate. With many GOP Senators having inserted provisions into the bills Mr. Coburn is blocking, they will be torn between supporting their colleague in his fight against excessive spending or risking losing projects for their state. Mr. Reid's move is a clever way to force Republicans to choose between their self-proclaimed principles and pork. It will be interesting to see just how many side with Democrats in their effort to roll over Mr. Coburn."
- John Fund, Political Diary, 7/15/08
.."do it for America".....
"Americans want to go back to the 'can do, get it done, cut through the red tape' style of our parents and grandparents in World War II to bring down high energy prices. Americans want American energy resources developed to bring down prices. Americans want American technology and know how used to increase conservation and create alternative fuels. Americans want to do it all, do it now, and do it for America."
- Newt Gingrich
- Newt Gingrich
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
OPUBCO Launches ElectOK!
http://www.electok.com/aboutabout
ElectOK is Oklahoma's most comprehensive source for information related to the Oklahoma State Elections. ElectOK connects undecided voters with the local candidates, providing the information they need to make informed decisions on Election Day.
Visit a candidate's profile page to discover that candidate's background, experience and most importantly where they stand on the issues that matter to you. Let your voice be heard by contributing to a candidate's blog. You can even stay up-to-date with latest news articles, events, videos, podcasts, press clipping and more. ElectOK allows you to carefully compare candidates to make an informed decision. As an informed voter, you can have a powerful influence on the future of our state. ElectOK is gives you the tools you need to make the voting decisions that are right for you.
Find the following on ElectOK:
*Candidate profiles, platforms, positions and experience
*State questions listing and analysis
*Latest public opinion polls
*News related to Oklahoma candidates
*Related media including articles, videos, podcasts, photos, blogs, press clipping and more.
Have a question or a comment? Tell us at electok@opubco.com
ElectOK is a product of OPUBCO Communications Group, a division of The Oklahoma Publishing Company, a 104-year-old privately held corporation based in Oklahoma City.
ElectOK is Oklahoma's most comprehensive source for information related to the Oklahoma State Elections. ElectOK connects undecided voters with the local candidates, providing the information they need to make informed decisions on Election Day.
Visit a candidate's profile page to discover that candidate's background, experience and most importantly where they stand on the issues that matter to you. Let your voice be heard by contributing to a candidate's blog. You can even stay up-to-date with latest news articles, events, videos, podcasts, press clipping and more. ElectOK allows you to carefully compare candidates to make an informed decision. As an informed voter, you can have a powerful influence on the future of our state. ElectOK is gives you the tools you need to make the voting decisions that are right for you.
Find the following on ElectOK:
*Candidate profiles, platforms, positions and experience
*State questions listing and analysis
*Latest public opinion polls
*News related to Oklahoma candidates
*Related media including articles, videos, podcasts, photos, blogs, press clipping and more.
Have a question or a comment? Tell us at electok@opubco.com
ElectOK is a product of OPUBCO Communications Group, a division of The Oklahoma Publishing Company, a 104-year-old privately held corporation based in Oklahoma City.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Abstract Requirement Rip-Off of Oklahomans!
Special Report via Tulsa World
The Grapevine has repeatedly called for the elimination of abstracts to convey real property in Oklahoma.(ie: real estate: your home, business, vacant lot) Goes without saying that abstractors and abstract offices would follow!
Some in the Legislature tried this last session, unfortunately without success.
Article mentions [indicted Auditor] McMahans help in killing the bill.
Oklahoma is one of only 2 states that still use this archaic system which amounts to nothing more than a glorified copying service. BUT, it does keep a lot of lawyers in business and provides a 'bird-nest' on the ground for the select few who have the clout to be able to open an abstractors office. Or as the article below states a "very lucrative" business.
Think anyone with a desk and a copy machine can open one? Give it a try!
Former Sen. Gene Stipe has kept the abstract business pretty well sewn up in eastern Oklahoma and some other areas of the state for many, many, years. State law requires an abstract and abstract offices, again as the article below states, can charge what ever they want.
Removing abstractors/abstract offices from under the Auditor and Inspector to a new agency - the newly formed Oklahoma Abstractors Board - has done NOTHING to clean up the corruption (read below - new chair already under investigation), nor does it address the fact that in todays business climate, abstracts are no longer needed.
There is a better, almost - if not entirely - cost-free way to transfer real property! It is past time for Oklahoma to eliminate this antiquated system that amounts to a rip-off of property owners and as the following article will show, abstracting is also a system open to corruption and manipulation.
by: SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer6/8/2008
Testimony indicates corruption and complaints were rife in the abstract industry.
MUSKOGEE',~The underbelly of the state's abstract system was exposed in testimony last week in the trial of State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan, whose office once regulated the industry.
McMahan and his wife Lori McMahan of Tecumseh are accused of accepting bribes and illegal contributions from Kiowa millionaire businessman Steve Phipps, who owned a number of abstract offices throughout southeastern Oklahoma in partnership with former state Sen. Gene Stipe, D-McAlester.
Witnesses described a culture of illegally bankrolling the campaigns of Democratic candidates through the use of lower-paid abstract employees who were reimbursed by Phipps in exchange for political favors that protected the abstract industry.
By his own account, Phipps admitted to organizing illegal fundraising events and straw donations for numerous Democrats for nearly a decade. Some of them, like McMahan and former state auditor Clifton Scott, knew about it and others didn't, Phipps said. Scott denies being aware of straw donations.
Ex-auditor employee Tim Arbaugh claimed in testimony that Tulsa abstract owner Randy Dittmann also came through for McMahan in his 2006 campaign by providing straw donors. Dittmann, president of Buffalo Land Abstract Co., is under investigation but has not been charged. He could not be reached for comment but said in January that the allegations are not accurate.
The Legislature removed regulation of the abstracting industry from the auditor's office when allegations against McMahan surfaced last year. Gov. Brad Henry appointed Dittmann as chairman of the new Oklahoma Abstractors Board earlier this year to provide oversight of the abstract industry. Dittmann then stepped down after it was reported that he was named by an unidentified witness in an FBI affidavit as being a straw donor in McMahan's 2002 and 2006 campaigns.
Through the course of the trial, it's been said that Oklahoma is just one of two states that requires home buyers to pay for an abstract, which is a record of all the public documents on file related to the title of a property.
The new Oklahoma Abstractors Board puts it this way: "Oklahoma is one of two states that require the highest standards for the title evidence and the title examination." The more title history a property has, the more pages are in the abstract and the higher the cost. Sometimes the cost can be astronomical, $15,000", according to Rep. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant.
Ellis testified about his efforts to write a bill that would have eliminated the abstract industry after receiving numerous complaints about Southern Abstract in Idabel, which was then owned by Phipps and Stipe. He said his constituents were upset about the price and the time it took to process an abstract, which was causing some to lose their loans.
"It was just holding up business is what it was doing," Ellis said. There were also complaints that the employees were mean. "They weren't terribly concerned about what the customers thought because they couldn't get (abstracts) anywhere else," Arbaugh testified. Arbaugh and Phipps have testified that McMahan helped Phipps by successfully thwarting the bill.
In the end, an agreement was set up in which the Idabel company would charge no more than $850 for an abstract and they would take no longer than 30 days to process a "normal" abstract, Ellis said. Ellis said McMahan assured him that the Idabel company would follow the agreement, which applied only to the Idabel office and no other abstract company in the state. Southern Abstract is the only abstract company in McCurtain County.
When John Callaham, a Broken Bow banker, put in an application to start an abstract business, Arbaugh said he was instructed by McMahan to do everything he could to slow down the process so Phipps wouldn't have a competitor.
Abstract companies are allowed to set up their own fees. The new abstractor's board is supposed to review the fees to ensure they are not excessive. Members of the new board include six people from the abstract and title business, an attorney, banker and real estate broker. [Fox and Hen House]
Phipps has testified that the abstract business is very lucrative. As co-owner of about seven abstract offices, Phipps said he earned $200,000 to $400,000 a month. Contacted Friday, Ellis said that about half the counties in the state operate with just one abstract company.
The Grapevine urges you to contact your Representative, your Senator. Abstracts need to be eliminated as a requirement (rip-off) of Oklahomans transferring real estate.
The Grapevine has repeatedly called for the elimination of abstracts to convey real property in Oklahoma.(ie: real estate: your home, business, vacant lot) Goes without saying that abstractors and abstract offices would follow!
Some in the Legislature tried this last session, unfortunately without success.
Article mentions [indicted Auditor] McMahans help in killing the bill.
Oklahoma is one of only 2 states that still use this archaic system which amounts to nothing more than a glorified copying service. BUT, it does keep a lot of lawyers in business and provides a 'bird-nest' on the ground for the select few who have the clout to be able to open an abstractors office. Or as the article below states a "very lucrative" business.
Think anyone with a desk and a copy machine can open one? Give it a try!
Former Sen. Gene Stipe has kept the abstract business pretty well sewn up in eastern Oklahoma and some other areas of the state for many, many, years. State law requires an abstract and abstract offices, again as the article below states, can charge what ever they want.
Removing abstractors/abstract offices from under the Auditor and Inspector to a new agency - the newly formed Oklahoma Abstractors Board - has done NOTHING to clean up the corruption (read below - new chair already under investigation), nor does it address the fact that in todays business climate, abstracts are no longer needed.
There is a better, almost - if not entirely - cost-free way to transfer real property! It is past time for Oklahoma to eliminate this antiquated system that amounts to a rip-off of property owners and as the following article will show, abstracting is also a system open to corruption and manipulation.
by: SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer6/8/2008
Testimony indicates corruption and complaints were rife in the abstract industry.
MUSKOGEE',~The underbelly of the state's abstract system was exposed in testimony last week in the trial of State Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan, whose office once regulated the industry.
McMahan and his wife Lori McMahan of Tecumseh are accused of accepting bribes and illegal contributions from Kiowa millionaire businessman Steve Phipps, who owned a number of abstract offices throughout southeastern Oklahoma in partnership with former state Sen. Gene Stipe, D-McAlester.
Witnesses described a culture of illegally bankrolling the campaigns of Democratic candidates through the use of lower-paid abstract employees who were reimbursed by Phipps in exchange for political favors that protected the abstract industry.
By his own account, Phipps admitted to organizing illegal fundraising events and straw donations for numerous Democrats for nearly a decade. Some of them, like McMahan and former state auditor Clifton Scott, knew about it and others didn't, Phipps said. Scott denies being aware of straw donations.
Ex-auditor employee Tim Arbaugh claimed in testimony that Tulsa abstract owner Randy Dittmann also came through for McMahan in his 2006 campaign by providing straw donors. Dittmann, president of Buffalo Land Abstract Co., is under investigation but has not been charged. He could not be reached for comment but said in January that the allegations are not accurate.
The Legislature removed regulation of the abstracting industry from the auditor's office when allegations against McMahan surfaced last year. Gov. Brad Henry appointed Dittmann as chairman of the new Oklahoma Abstractors Board earlier this year to provide oversight of the abstract industry. Dittmann then stepped down after it was reported that he was named by an unidentified witness in an FBI affidavit as being a straw donor in McMahan's 2002 and 2006 campaigns.
Through the course of the trial, it's been said that Oklahoma is just one of two states that requires home buyers to pay for an abstract, which is a record of all the public documents on file related to the title of a property.
The new Oklahoma Abstractors Board puts it this way: "Oklahoma is one of two states that require the highest standards for the title evidence and the title examination." The more title history a property has, the more pages are in the abstract and the higher the cost. Sometimes the cost can be astronomical, $15,000", according to Rep. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant.
Ellis testified about his efforts to write a bill that would have eliminated the abstract industry after receiving numerous complaints about Southern Abstract in Idabel, which was then owned by Phipps and Stipe. He said his constituents were upset about the price and the time it took to process an abstract, which was causing some to lose their loans.
"It was just holding up business is what it was doing," Ellis said. There were also complaints that the employees were mean. "They weren't terribly concerned about what the customers thought because they couldn't get (abstracts) anywhere else," Arbaugh testified. Arbaugh and Phipps have testified that McMahan helped Phipps by successfully thwarting the bill.
In the end, an agreement was set up in which the Idabel company would charge no more than $850 for an abstract and they would take no longer than 30 days to process a "normal" abstract, Ellis said. Ellis said McMahan assured him that the Idabel company would follow the agreement, which applied only to the Idabel office and no other abstract company in the state. Southern Abstract is the only abstract company in McCurtain County.
When John Callaham, a Broken Bow banker, put in an application to start an abstract business, Arbaugh said he was instructed by McMahan to do everything he could to slow down the process so Phipps wouldn't have a competitor.
Abstract companies are allowed to set up their own fees. The new abstractor's board is supposed to review the fees to ensure they are not excessive. Members of the new board include six people from the abstract and title business, an attorney, banker and real estate broker. [Fox and Hen House]
Phipps has testified that the abstract business is very lucrative. As co-owner of about seven abstract offices, Phipps said he earned $200,000 to $400,000 a month. Contacted Friday, Ellis said that about half the counties in the state operate with just one abstract company.
The Grapevine urges you to contact your Representative, your Senator. Abstracts need to be eliminated as a requirement (rip-off) of Oklahomans transferring real estate.
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