Bartholomew's Notes

From the Oklahoma House of Representatives (links added):

State Rep. John Bennett announced the formation of a bipartisan Counterterrorism Caucus in the Oklahoma Legislature during a press conference held today.

Bennett, who chairs the caucus, was flanked at the press conference by a number of state senators and representatives, including caucus co-chairman state Rep. Gus Blackwell, as he detailed the formation of the first-ever counterterrorism caucus in the Oklahoma Legislature. Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Rita Aragon, the secretary of veteran affairs in Oklahoma, also attended and will participate in the caucus.

…Other speakers at the press conference included state Rep. Sally Kern, who is the sponsor of the American Laws for American Courts bill, and state Sen. Ralph Shortey, who sponsored a similar bill in the Senate.

According to a video here, Bennett is particularly concerned about the threat of Shariah taking over Oklahoma, although he was careful to distinguish between ordinary Muslims and the Muslim Brotherhood. Bennett and the rather unaptly-named Shortey cited James Woolsley and William “Jerry” Boykin as authorities that the threat is real; we cannot know whether they share Boykin’s view that Barack Obama may be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

According to the AP,

Although Bennett described the group as bipartisan, no Democrats attended the press conference. The one Democratic representative Bennett cited as a member, Rep. Eric Proctor of Tulsa, said he was unsure of the purpose of the caucus.

Bennett cited inspiration for the initiative from “business and religious leaders”, and he named “Paul Blair, Paul Conrady of the High Noon Club, Glen Howard, and Dan Fisher”.

Blair, better-known as “Pastor Paul Blair”, is a well-known anti-gay obsessive, while the the High Noon Club (“A Consortium Group of Oklahoman’s which meets weekly @ 12Noon to discuss State & Federal Issues. We believe in Constitution Law & Truth in Public Service”, according to its Twitter feed) recently hosted Pastor Scott Lively, who is infamous for his inflammatory anti-gay rhetoric. Pastor Dan Fisher – who has also been elected to office – has links with the John Birch Society.

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