It is all too easy to yield to a certain dark fatalism, or on the contrary, to invest all one’s hopes in fundamental change on the federal level. While much room for improvement remains in national politics — from ending the farce known as “free trade,” to tackling the debt, and we must hold national […]
Jason Reese
Posted inNews
‘Education as a common good’
The danger in any kind of reform is that change is not an end in itself; it must actually lead somewhere. Therefore, before Oklahomans embark on serious reform of how we educate our children, we need to have an idea of what we want the end product to look like. In order to do that, […]
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Okie local
One benefit of being a youngish righty is to see many fields where things, in my lifetime at least, have gotten quite a bit better. Divorce and crime rates have been dropping for some time now, and there are other areas related to quality of life that have improved markedly from the recent past. I […]
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Point: For legislative authority
In this month that we celebrate our nation’s independence, it is time that we take stock. America’s promise always has been the ability of every citizen (and those who would become so) to pursue their God-given potential to the maximum extent possible. To that end, and as a foundational element of not only the Republican […]
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Can it happen here?
Truth be told, the ingredients are here. A new Republican majority, in charge of all the levers of lawmaking, has made a lot of noise about restoring fiscal sanity. In the meantime, Oklahoma’s Teachers Retirement Fund has a $10 billion unfunded liability. If and when the new majority addresses this issue, the teachers’ unions are […]
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Point: Legislate morality
The church-state separation fetishists are at it again. Now the Oklahoma chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State are decrying efforts by the Oklahoma Legislature to teach creationism in public schools, create vouchers or other mechanisms for school choice and define the beginning of human life. The creationism debate will not go […]
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A grape idea
I drive down Grand Boulevard to get to church and work and smile a bit to myself when I see the construction site for Whole Foods Market. I was raised by a single father, so cooking has never been foreign to me, but only in the past couple of years have I learned that food […]
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A pension disorder
As we approach the end of a year, it is perfectly natural to look back on the year behind us. Some people make lists of the best or worst things, such as movies and songs. This year, I would like to look back on the most ridiculous occurrence in Oklahoma government. Gene Stipe, the former […]
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Labor pains
With the national economy in the tank, the residents of Central Oklahoma are experiencing cautious optimism. Noted Oklahoma State University economist Mark Snead has projected a relatively rosy outlook for 2009 for the state as a whole, with the Oklahoma City area leading Tulsa. Oklahomans are too practical to fall for the promise of an […]
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To the limit
Oklahoma’s distinct populist identity served as a role model in the past when we led the way in the early Nineties by passing term limits for our state legislators. As is so often the case when a needed reform is implemented, a loophole was left open. Secondary statewide elected officials, from attorney general to state […]