The upcoming movie “Just Mercy” “has the potential to wake up out of a slumber the part of society that either doesn’t believe the death penalty is still in practice or chooses to ignore it,” according to two leaders of the Catholic Mobilizing Network, founded 10 years ago to eliminate death penalty laws and executions.…Read More
Refugees looking to resettle in Oklahoma will continue to be welcome here, Gov. Kevin Stitt told federal authorities this week. In a letter Wednesday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Stitt gave his formal consent to allow refugees to resettle in Oklahoma. “Faith leaders across the state reached out requesting the state continue its history…Read More
Refugees looking to resettle in Oklahoma will continue to be welcome here, Gov. Kevin Stitt told federal authorities this week. In a letter Wednesday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Stitt gave his formal consent to allow refugees to resettle in Oklahoma. “Faith leaders across the state reached out requesting the state continue its history…Read More
Use of the death penalty in the United States continues to decrease, according to a report released Dec. 17 by the Death Penalty Information Center. The report said this year’s 22 executions and 33 new death sentences were down from the previous year’s 25 executions. This year also marks the fifth consecutive year when there…Read More
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, passed by the House Dec. 11 with a 260-165 bipartisan vote, aims “to make a better system for both the farmer and the farmworkers and to create a more effective and humane agriculture industry,” said the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.…Read More
The Supreme Court agreed today to weigh in on whether the government can control who a church school chooses to teach its religion classes. In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and in St. James Catholic School v. Biel, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is defending two California Catholic elementary schools’ right to…Read More
Well, that certainly didn’t take long. Little more than a year after Oklahoma voters approved “medical” marijuana, an effort is underway to legalize recreational pot. This should come as no surprise. Having gained a foothold with medical marijuana, proponents of this wonder drug were naturally going to look to expand its availability. A petition filed…Read More
Well, that certainly didn’t take long. Little more than a year after Oklahoma voters approved “medical” marijuana, an effort is underway to legalize recreational pot. This should come as no surprise. Having gained a foothold with medical marijuana, proponents of this wonder drug were naturally going to look to expand its availability. A petition filed…Read More
In the nine square miles that cover the 73111 ZIP Code in northeast Oklahoma City, there isn’t a single grocery store. The last one closed over the summer. There are, however, four dollar stores in the area, where 32% of the 11,000 residents live below the poverty level—roughly three times the national average. “That ZIP…Read More
The Oklahoma Supreme Court should stop ruling on lawsuits about abortion restrictions because the state constitution doesn’t recognize a right to abortion, the Oklahoma attorney general argued last week to the state’s justices. “Oklahoma’s founders never intended nor created a right to abortion, nor have Oklahoma’s people ever voted to create such a right,” the…Read More
In the nine square miles that cover the 73111 ZIP Code in northeast Oklahoma City, there isn’t a single grocery store. The last one closed over the summer. There are, however, four dollar stores in the area, where 32% of the 11,000 residents live below the poverty level—roughly three times the national average. “That ZIP…Read More
The Oklahoma Supreme Court should stop ruling on lawsuits about abortion restrictions because the state constitution doesn’t recognize a right to abortion, the Oklahoma attorney general argued last week to the state’s justices. “Oklahoma’s founders never intended nor created a right to abortion, nor have Oklahoma’s people ever voted to create such a right,” the…Read More
A major debate over the public harm of pornography erupted over the weekend after US lawmakers published a letter to Attorney General William Barr, asking him to use existing obscenity laws to restrict pornography. The letter noted that the explosion of Internet pornography has “coincided with an increase in violence towards women and an increase…Read More
The Pardon and Parole Board had an increase of 118% in docketed cases this year. The board had 6,940 docketed cases this year, up from 3,183 in 2018, according to information Executive Director Steven Bickley presented Monday. “Volumes are exploding,” Bickley said during a board meeting in Oklahoma City. Pardon cases were up 76%. Parole…Read More
As a kid, I was surrounded by people who were making awful choices—choices that led to many of my friends and family members being in prison or six feet under before I reached adulthood. And I was well on my way to following in their footsteps. Our environment, including the zoned public schools we were…Read More
The Pardon and Parole Board had an increase of 118% in docketed cases this year. The board had 6,940 docketed cases this year, up from 3,183 in 2018, according to information Executive Director Steven Bickley presented Monday. “Volumes are exploding,” Bickley said during a board meeting in Oklahoma City. Pardon cases were up 76%. Parole…Read More
Tens of millions of Americans are turning to high-cost loans that routinely carry interest rates of more than 400% for everyday expenses, such as paying their bills and covering emergency expenses. For many, those rates end up being just too high and lead to a seemingly endless debt cycle. But that may soon change. This…Read More
We have embarked on the season of Advent, waiting in eager anticipation for the birth of the Lord into our sinful world. With a heavy heart in a season of holy preparation, we are reminded of the U.S. government’s ongoing efforts to resume federal executions for the first time in 16 years. The first of…Read More
A RealClear Opinion Research survey of 2,014 registered voters shows that support for educational choice is strong, and that the vast majority of parents would prefer to send their child to a school other than their zoned public school. Statement from John Schilling, President of the American Federation of Children: “Once again, a new round…Read More
With all of the attention focused in Washington on impeachment, it might be easy to overlook that Donald Trump’s administration is undertaking something momentous. Beginning on December 9 and continuing in rapid succession over the following days and weeks, the government is hoping to carry out the first federal executions in 16 years. Though a…Read More
The city council plans a public hearing Dec. 17 on a “healthy neighborhoods” zoning ordinance to fight junk-food proliferation in northeast Oklahoma City. The measure would set standards for “small-box” retailers in the 73111 ZIP Code, an area marked by above-average mortality rates and below-average life expectancy. “There is not a single grocery store in…Read More
The city council plans a public hearing Dec. 17 on a “healthy neighborhoods” zoning ordinance to fight junk-food proliferation in northeast Oklahoma City. The measure would set standards for “small-box” retailers in the 73111 ZIP Code, an area marked by above-average mortality rates and below-average life expectancy. “There is not a single grocery store in…Read More
The Pennsylvania Senate is debating a bill that would require the burial or cremation of human remains after miscarriage or abortion. HB 1890, the Final Disposition of Fetal Remains Act, was passed by the state House Nov. 18 by a vote of 123 to 76. It would require health care facilities to bury or cremate…Read More
For the first time in more than three decades, a majority of Americans favor life imprisonment without parole over the death penalty as a punishment for murder. A Gallup poll released this week found that 60% of survey respondents said life without parole is the preferable sentence for a person convicted of murder, while 36%…Read More
Positive Tomorrows, Oklahoma’s only elementary school specifically serving homeless children, recently broke ground on a new facility and announced it has met its Building Success Campaign goal of $10.2 million raised from the community. An additional $5 million received in New Market Tax Credits will bring the final project total to $15 million. The new facility will more than double the school’s capacity and expand grade levels served.…Read More
Positive Tomorrows, Oklahoma’s only elementary school specifically serving homeless children, recently broke ground on a new facility and announced it has met its Building Success Campaign goal of $10.2 million raised from the community. An additional $5 million received in New Market Tax Credits will bring the final project total to $15 million. The new facility will more than double the school’s capacity and expand grade levels served.…Read More