Commentary

Oklahoma should be trying to make college affordable for as many of its residents as possible, yet the state continues to drastically raise tuition rates.  Virtually every leader in the state publicly agrees we cannot expand the economy and improve the quality of life without higher education. Why then does Oklahoma make it more difficult […]

Will common sense prevail in state government? It seems we have a good start. Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, held a public hearing July 9 to discuss the possibility of flexible or compressed work schedules ” essentially a four-day workweek ” for state employees. Shelton noted that employees of state agencies could cut their commuting […]

Sen. Barack Obama represents the best hope we have of ending the disastrous war in Iraq. One can argue that in addition to his charisma, it was his public opposition to the war before it started that helped him to win the nomination over Hillary Clinton. Like all the other final candidates, she was in […]

In no other area is the need for a John McCain presidency (and the risks of a Barack Obama presidency) more apparent than the war in Iraq. As the Donald Rumsfeld “small footprint” strategy became an obvious disaster, McCain called for a counterinsurgency strategy to deal with the realities on the ground. Meanwhile, fellow senator […]

The legislative session is behind us and sadly, the Oklahoma Legislature failed to pass meaningful ethics reform. Regardless of what you may have heard, the so-called ethics reform that passed and received the autograph of the governor was little more than window dressing. It failed to accomplish that which Oklahomans deserve and demand. The constitutionally […]

Old-line Oklahoma residents didn’t enjoy the first two rounds of oil shocks that hit the U.S. in the Seventies and Eighties. The most recent round visited Oklahoma, and the reality of automotive and oil dependency is being driven home. The time is now to revisit mass transit. Oklahoma once upon a time had clean mass […]

I’ve spent more than 30 years of my life in the public eye ” on television, as a candidate for governor, and as CEO and now dean of the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University. When it comes to business attire, I’m old-fashioned. I believe clothes can make the man (or woman). Like […]

Almost a decade ago, when my beloved Mayflower Congregational Church voted to become “open and affirming” (a United Church of Christ congregation that publicly and prayerfully welcomes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into the full sacramental hospitality of the church), it was by unanimous decision. Not a single member of this predominately straight congregation […]

Nothing is more beautiful than a miracle. I’ve been watching one take place. The night after Christmas, my gentle, beloved greyhound Annie got into a fight with or was attacked by another dog. Whatever sparked the rage is unknown. The aftermath is unforgettable: Annie was missing fur and flesh. She had wounds of varying severity […]

When the Oklahoma Legislature declined to give the state’s teachers raises this session, it didn’t seem to make much news. After all, the mantra went, everyone must make sacrifices. Revenues are down, the overall economy is flat and many parts of the country are in recession. So the politicos passed a disingenuously named “maintenance-of-effort” or […]