Commentary

An Affair of the Heart, the annual arts and crafts show that has been an Oklahoma City tradition since 1985, became a legal battleground in late October, when representatives of the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University allegedly arrived to confiscate merchandise that bore OU and OSU emblems.   At least 15 vendors filed […]

It appears that narrow partisanship has trumped the national interest yet again. Reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program has been held up by a Democratic Congress too eager to emulate Canadian health care and a president who wields a veto pen without having any credibility on spending restraint. Oklahoma’s congressional delegation voted along […]

Just when you think Oklahoma is truly on its way to becoming a more enlightened place, 17 lawmakers refuse to accept a copy of Quran. The best line belongs to Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, who said that he did not want to accept the holy book of Islam because it encourages Muslims to kill […]

Progressives and conservatives have more in common than we care to admit (in public, at least). We desire efficacious and transparent government, we expect our elected officials have an understanding of the Constitution (or at least be able to spell “constitution” ” with a few notable exceptions), we desire less governmental intrusion in our personal […]

It’s too early to call it a progressive juggernaut and events with political ramifications could change everything, but recent polls and an election show some Oklahoman voters may be shifting away from the conservative politics that have defined them for at least the last two decades.   Three recent SurveyUSA polls of Oklahomans may show […]

Author George Washington Cable wrote after the Civil War about how the Italian butchers in the French Market in New Orleans often would delight their customers by joyously singing as they cut meat for them.   While the Muslim meat cutters at the International Foodmart on N. Portland Avenue in Oklahoma City do not sing […]

The events and proceedings surrounding the applications of Public Service Co. of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. to build the Red Rock generating facility seem as tangled and confusing as “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”   Under state law, electric utilities such as PSO and OG&E don’t need the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s permission to […]

By any definition, Sen. Tom Coburn is very conservative. Some of his social positions have made him the subject of ridicule. On the other hand, he has distinguished himself as one of the most honest members of Congress when it comes to government spending. The ranking member of the federal financial management subcommittee, Coburn has […]

I thought this might get your attention. We elected them to end the war, and they have failed us. We sent them to Washington to slow down the train wreck that is the worst administration in U.S. history, and they have enabled it. We gave them control of both houses of Congress, and it’s business […]

On Feb. 4, 2008, the Oklahoma Legislature will convene its second session. The first thing the Legislature should do immediately is assemble a concurrent special session and take up ethics reform.   The problems confronting our state in the area of campaign finance increasingly are capturing the attention of the news media and do not […]