Commentary

Clean-burning natural gas or abundant, less-expensive coal? The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has been asked to approve a new power plant to be built in Red Rock, a joint venture between OG&E Electric Services and American Electric Power-Public Service of Oklahoma.   As submitted, plans for the $1.8 billion, 950-megawatt generating facility propose it will burn […]

Through last week’s headlines, you can mourn the loss of a great newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, which will go the way of FOX News, with Bill O’Reilly doing guest editorials. Or, you can argue over whether Michael Moore’s “Sicko” is over the top (of course), instead of whether its message is on target (yes, […]

When you say “James Inhofe,” you get an opinion. The senior senator from Oklahoma invites controversy. He is the core conservative critic of the climate-change movement, an advocate for the recreational pilot and a staunch defender of national defense. He is also less than diplomatic in his opinions, vicious in his political campaigns and occasionally […]

I would like to respond to Richard Prawdzienski’s commentary in the July 11, 2007, issue of Oklahoma Gazette, in which he states that “social host laws destroy families and family values.”   Prawdzienski seems to believe that government is overstepping its authority by enforcing social host laws.   However, the reality is that there is […]

By all reliable accounts, former District 1 Oklahoma County Commissioner Jim Roth brought integrity and wisdom to county government.   Roth, who was appointed recently to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission by Gov. Brad Henry, defied stereotypes and political punditry. He was elected county commissioner in a state viewed as close-minded to diverse lifestyles. Oklahoma voters […]

A quarter-century ago, Penn Square Bank failed spectacularly in Oklahoma City, ushering in the untimely end of a previous oil boom, indelibly changing the landscape of banking throughout the state and hastening the emergence of national mega-banks.   And yet, after a generation of national consolidation in the banking industry, we enjoy one of the […]

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens would love to be an Oklahoman right now. With the massive rainfall we have experienced over the last few weeks, our roads and bridges have suffered more abuse than Cindy Sheehan at a Sean Hannity so-called Freedom Rally.   And we all know Stevens has a penchant for funding bridges and […]

GREEN MOUNTAIN FALLS, Colo. ” I write from a small cabin perched on the shoulder of Pikes Peak where my family goes in July to pull the plug on the “wired life.” We have no television set (and don’t miss it), no Internet access (and only occasionally miss it), and no urgent business other than […]

I spent some time with a group of college students in a business internship discussing leadership and success. During the question-and-answer session, I got the “can we find a decent career in Oklahoma, or should we move to a bigger city or state?” question. My answer was simple: There are plenty of opportunities here and […]

Edmond says it has an underage drinking problem, and so does Yukon and Enid. Soon we will be told we have a problem throughout the state and folks will be asking our legislators to write a statewide social host law ” a law that will punish anyone older than 21 who permits younger folks to […]