Commentary

The first presidential delegate selection contest in Iowa is just a year away, to be almost immediately followed by the Oklahoma primary. The march of the candidates is under way, as they selectively campaign the early primary states.   Throughout the coming year we’ll be watching these candidates’ adventures in Soonerland. For the moment, however, […]

Send me a dollar. Don’t ask why. Don’t ask what for; just do it.   In a way, that is what our government says. Yes, the government budget does list categories where our money goes, and we do have a bunch of governmental services, but does anyone know how our dollars are spent?   Our […]

More than 3,000 American servicemen and women are dead. Forty-seven thousand reportedly are injured. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are dead, and the region is awash in sectarian violence that never ends. The reputation of the United States is in shambles, billions of tax dollars have been poured into the sand and the most radical […]

A few weeks ago I was treated to a rare experience. To understand the rarity, I must give you some background. Every year, Oklahoma attorneys are required to complete 12 hours of continuing legal education. This requirement normally is met by attending a succession of seminars and classes that cover various legal topics. The vast […]

2007 might be the ideal time to create a “MAPS for Oklahoma” program that painlessly generates the revenue we need to make our state a leader. Let’s resolve to replace the income tax with alternative taxes that attract manufacturing jobs and corporate headquarters, and make Oklahoma an economic growth state. If a fraction of a […]

Let’s take one last look over the shoulder to examine the smoldering wreckage of the 2006 campaigns. Lessons loom for all of us who watch politics or who try to make a coin or two off of the misery of others that is electoral democracy.   To wit: “The public is smarter that Karl Rove.” […]

Well, it could have been a lot worse. But for the petulance of Sen. Nancy Riley, Republicans would have the first majority in Oklahoma’s state Senate in history. In the House, the GOP lost one net seat and Rep. Lance Cargill is measuring the drapes in the speaker’s office. Mary Fallin has solidified District 5 […]

When Oklahoma Gazette readers pick up this issue, the results will all be in, and the voters who bother to vote will have spoken. My hunch is that however much the Democrats gain, the country will have taken a sharp turn toward the middle ” helped along by disgusted Republicans and a jilted Christian right. […]

Dear candidates: What if I promise to vote for you? Hey, what if I double-dog promise? (OK, some of you; my ballot will limit me to marking the box for just under half of all possible candidates. I didn’t make the rules, you know.)   Anyway, if I promise, will you please stop getting in […]

We have become a nation of stupid lawsuits. Any damn fool can sue for anything and often win. Cigarette companies are running commercials against smoking while putting warning labels on cigarette packs that tell you smoking causes cancer, yet people still sue when they ” guess what? ” get cancer from smoking.   The latest […]