Commentary

Whether it be the mayhem surrounding Oklahoma’s legislative session, ridiculously high transportation fuel prices or the dogfights over presidential candidates, we often forget that without our military men and women willing to lay down their lives, all is for naught. Recently, the Wild Oklahoma television crew was invited to head to northeastern Oklahoma to film […]

Everyone has been asking me what I think of Jeremiah Wright now. And to be honest, I’m disappointed. He had a chance to use his moment in the media spotlight to explain both the black church, about which white America is woefully ignorant, and the risky but important business of prophetic preaching in a church […]

I heard a lot last month about the presidential candidates. I heard a lot about Rep. Sally Kern. I heard a lot about SuperSonics basketball. These news stories flooded the papers, TV news reports and radio airwaves “¦ not to mention YouTube. And I overheard once, tangentially, at a meeting on some work-related topic, that […]

To: The media and whining Democratic delegates From: A cranky independent Re: “Superdelegates” Having watched with dispassionate disinterest the battle for the Democratic Party nomination, I want to tell one thing to all of the people who are upset about the lengthy primary calendar, the fact that superdelegates will pick the nominee, and the failure […]

The recent MAPS tax proposal engendered endless editorial page discussions on just what would make Oklahoma City a great city. Mostly, these centered on the effect of a professional sports team. Cities are complex systems whose components interact sometimes in unpredictable ways. Nevertheless, useful generalizations can be made about the properties of cities widely acknowledged […]

With the recent rash of flight cancellations by airlines suddenly inspecting planes, an increasing number of frustrated travelers may have been finding themselves with too many hours to kill. First, of course, they probably must stand in a long, slow-moving line to find out whatever it is that they’re supposed to do to get booked […]

Is there a double standard when it comes to hate speech? What’s the difference between Sally Kern’s anti-gay tirade and Jeremiah Wright’s anti-America tirade? Kern compared gays to terrorists and cancer; Wright said, “God damn America,” blamed whites for a conspiracy to facilitate black drug use and fill up private prisons, and even suggested that […]

Too often, the exigencies of politics, and the opportunism of politicians, lead to short-term thinking. Nowhere is this more apparent than in environmental policy. Immediate benefits can be realized through ignoring environmental concerns, but in the long run we all suffer. Such is the entire idea of sustainability. The people of Oklahoma are a practical […]

So far Oklahoma has escaped the major economic downturn faced in many areas of the country because of the foreclosure and banking crisis, but state revenues are down because of recent tax cuts. Government leaders should prepare for the worst. The state should not hesitate to use its $571 million “rainy day fund” as leaders […]

You can always tell an election year. Whether it’s in the state capital or Washington, politicians find someone to blame for whatever the current crisis is. Nationally, Republicans and Democrats up for re-election are criticizing America’s oil and gas companies because they are profitable, or ” more correctly ” too profitable! Call me crazy, but […]