Commentary
Bill Bleakley
The Media Audit, conducted by International Demographics which measures media impact, finds that as many Republicans as Democrats read our newspaper. I’m reaching out to our Republican readers who live in Oklahoma County and asking them to pay particular attention to Tuesday’s runoff election for Oklahoma County court clerk.

Commentary
Neal McCaleb
In 2005, when Oklahoma’s highways and bridges were literally crumbling, Oklahomans spoke loudly by soundly defeating State Question 723, a proposal which would have raised the fuel tax to 22 cents per gallon. The lesson learned was that in order to provide safe and cost-effective highways and bridges, the decades-long practice of systematically diverting transportation-generated revenues to other areas of government had to end, and infrastructure had to become a core priority.

Commentary
David Blatt
The past four years have put severe constraints on the state budget. Many state agencies have absorbed funding cuts of more than 20 percent, and most have been forced to cut staff while eliminating programs and services.

Commentary
Adam Soltani
As violence erupts in the Middle East over an anti-Islam film, Oklahoma communities should seek to rise above these hate-filled actions and messages through peaceful dialogue and mutual understanding with those of other faiths.

Commentary
Ann Trudgeon
The term “politically correct” has fallen from favor, occasionally mocked by those who cite the importance of the First Amendment. I, too, value our Constitutional rights to speak without fear of being persecuted. And yet the adage that “words will never hurt me” is ridiculously erroneous. Words do hurt — they have tremendous power to hurt. For a friend of mine, Misty Cargill, words ultimately killed.

Commentary
Michael J. "Mickey" Homsey
You can’t have a better bag man than the U.S. government.

Commentary
Craig Knutson
With 90 percent of brain development occurring in the first three years of life, investing in early childhood may be one of the most crucial steps toward establishing long-term economic success of our state. Mental, physical and psychological and social skills can be either stunted or nurtured by the quality of parenting and child care received by Oklahoma infants and toddlers.

Commentary
Robin Meyers
Is it any wonder that Oklahoma students rank near the bottom of the country in math and science scores? Consider U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, who teaches them by example that if someone pays you enough money, you too can ignore the evidence and act like a fool.

Commentary
Jeff Bezdek
Re-electing President Barack Obama to a second term is the clear decision for our state and our nation.

Commentary
Todd Lamb
Americans have a fundamental choice about our future. Do we continue along the path of increasing government intervention into our businesses and personal liberties, or do we reverse the course? Following are a few examples of places where Mitt Romney will take our nation in a different direction than the current administration. Through this broad range of issues, it is clear that Romney should be the choice for Oklahoma.