The people of the Iroquois Confederacy are one of the world’s oldest living democracies, predating the United States of America by as much as 500 years. One of the Confederacy’s principles is described by Chief Oren Lyons thusly: “Our leaders were instructed to be men of vision and to make every decision on behalf of […]
Commentary
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Remember when
Is something inherently wrong with the state of Oklahoma’s economic experts? Why is it everyone in the entire civilized world understands we’re going through a downturn in the economy and that unemployment is at 10 percent nationwide? In our state, those in charge of putting together the budget missed the boat. Why are they calling […]
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Back to the public space
MAPS 3 passed. Now, what does this vote tell us about Oklahoma City? The first lesson is that voting majorities in Oklahoma City continue to be willing to invest in the public space. If you look at the list of projects in the MAPS 3 proposal, they are largely what are called “public good” or […]
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Distinguishing between journalism, message board yammering
The yearly rumor mill stating that Bob Stoops is leaving the University of Oklahoma ” this time for the Notre Dame head coaching job ” is exactly why news media should not publish rumors. Stoops was forced, once again, to deny a report that had him packing his bags for South Bend, Ind. Obviously, the […]
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Commentary: Point: No new taxes
The policy of “government knows best” in Oklahoma has created a leviathan of sorts when it comes to the massive obligation that is our state government. As such, the financial demand that is placed on individuals in Oklahoma to continue to fund too many failing systems has done little to encourage growth and economic expansion […]
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Counterpoint: Reactive response
Beginning in 1929, the Great Depression defined Oklahoma as Okies escaped westward in massive numbers and the state’s population dwindled. The exodus didn’t stabilize until nearly the ’50s. In the ’80s, the collapse of Penn Square Bank and the oil bust caused high unemployment rates, memorialized in local T-shirts emblazoned with this question: “Will the […]
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Associated Press becoming less local, less meaningful
The Associated Press is cutting staff, like most everybody else on the planet, and regionalizing its operations ” and that’s not good for Oklahoma news consumers. The not-for-profit news cooperative, which has won 49 Pulitzer Prizes, has been the standard bearer of journalism for 163 years. It’s an institution widely respected for its news coverage […]
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Do not sacrifice public education
The state’s economy is going from bad to worse. Shortsighted spending has left us facing the most serious crisis in fiscal responsibility in history. The failures by Oklahoma’s Legislature ” the highest paid regionally ” to incorporate long-term incentives, government and educational reforms, and diversification of our industry base have left us hanging out to […]
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What is a woman in her 40s to do?
After living under the specter of breast cancer complete with the laminated self-examination card hanging in her shower for the past decade, she commences with a right-of-passage: the annual mammogram at 40. Here is something more powerful than the monthly please-don’t-let-there-be-anything-there sweep of fingertips that will give her some reassurance that technology will detect, or […]
Posted inNews
What is a woman in her 40s to do?
After living under the specter of breast cancer complete with the laminated self-examination card hanging in her shower for the past decade, she commences with a right-of-passage: the annual mammogram at 40. Here is something more powerful than the monthly please-don’t-let-there-be-anything-there sweep of fingertips that will give her some reassurance that technology will detect, or […]