Governing Ourselves
The League of Women Voters of Oklahoma came out today against the voter identification bill that legisaltors approved and is before Gov. Brad Henry. ... "If there were any evidence of voter impersonation in Oklahoma elections, the League of Women Voters would be first in line supporting this kind of legislation — but proponents cannot identify one single case of voter impersonation in Oklahoma elections," she said. "Election boards have stringent protections in place to preserve the integrity of Oklahoma's election system." [So, let's wait for fraud and then we'll close the barn door?]
It would require identification such as a driver's license or military identification prior to voting. The legislation would also give voters the option to show their free, county-issued voter identification at the polls. Senator Ford says it's critical to keep the integrity of our elections. Senator Ford, R-Bartlesville, says, "Is there evidence of widespread voter fraud in Oklahoma? No, there's not." He goes on to say, "We want to be proactive and not wait until there is a tainted election to make a change that's going to prevent that."
The Oklahoma House Wednesday gave final approval to legislation that would require voters to provide identification at the polls and sent it to Gov. Brad Henry for his signature, but a spokesman for the governor said the bill may have unintended consequences. Without debate, the House approved the measure in a bipartisan 71-27 vote after tabling an amendment that would have gutted it by Rep. Richard Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City, who has argued against voter ID proposals in the past. The bill was previously approved by the Senate.
The U.S. Border Patrol is erecting 16 more video surveillance towers in Michigan and New York as part of its plans to use technology to help secure parts of the United States' 4,000-mile northern border with Canada. The government awarded the $20 million project to Boeing Co., the same company responsible for the so-called virtual fence along the U.S.-Mexico border that has come under criticism for faulty technology. [Oh, it doesn't work? We'll spend more. (Democrat-think)]
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signs a bill ensuring that women and girls seeking abortions can see ultrasound images before the procedure. The legislation, signed Friday and taking effect July 1, also ensures that abortion patients can listen to the fetal heartbeat.
With the world swirling about it, the House took a moment Thursday to honor pi, the Greek letter symbolizing that great constant in mathematics representing the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
Claim: Responding to pressure from religious groups, Alabama's state legislature redefined the value of pi from 3.14159 to 3 in order to bring it in line with Biblical precepts. Status: False.
The bill House Bill No. 246, Indiana State Legislature, 1897, reportedly set the value of pi to an incorrect rational approximation.
The Bush administration's hostility toward stem-cell science created opportunity in Canada. ... The sight of waving hemp fields just across the Canadian border frustrates many American farmers.... When the United States banned the sale and manufacture of alcoholic beverages in 1920, Canadians found another great export market. Rules governing alcohol varied from province to province, but Canada's generally lighter approach to booze opened new avenues for profit....
Forensic experts will soon be able to reconstruct facial features and skin just by reading DNA, U.S. scientists said.
OKLAHOMA CITY: A teenager who sneaked onto an oil well site to play on the equipment got tangled in a piece of machinery and a doctor had to amputate his left arm to free him.... The 17-year-old boy and his friend jumped an 8-foot (2 1/2-meter) fence Sunday to play with a pump jack, a common piece of oil field equipment that rocks up and down to lift oil out of a well. He turned on the machine to ride it but became entangled in one of its moving parts, and his friend couldn't shut it off...