Letters to the Editor

In 1974, I moved from Orlando, Fla., to Birmingham, Ala. Talk about culture shock. Alabama still enforced blue laws, which meant virtually no businesses were open on Sunday. The state owned and operated all liquor stores, which meant few hours of operation and very high prices.Life and time were stuck in the ’50s, but I […]

The “Ex-slaves” article (Rob Collins, Feb. 24, 2010, Oklahoma Gazette) is such a striking piece! Before even reading the story, I broke down upon seeing ex-slave Charlotte Johnson’s photo, in which her face tells the reader so much about the atrocities her people endured. Like you so eloquently state in your closing, these firsthand accounts […]

As the health care debate continues, we all seem to get more and more distracted from facts. You can believe the nonsense if you like; such as the following statement that has recently been made by both Sen. Tom Coburn and Rush Limbaugh who said we have the best health care system in the world. […]

Sen. Andrew Rice’s Senate Bill 2205 was defeated several weeks ago for good, sound economic reasons. His argument was that passage would bring Oklahoma liquor laws out of the Dark Ages and deliver into our hands Whole Foods and other upscale grocers. Texas and Colorado were cited as the models of modernity since they have […]

Reading the article “Ex-slaves” (Rob Collins, Feb. 24, 2010, Oklahoma Gazette) brings to mind the tragedy and dereliction of the educational system in the United States. When I was a boy, I never heard about slaves in school. It was only when my parents would drive our family to Florida for a brief winter vacation […]

The “OKC’s drunken elephant” column by Professor Kurt Hochenauer in your Feb. 24 issue starts by commenting favorably on the “big league” issues of the arrival of the Thunder and the MAPS 3 programs. He states, however, there is a major problem to Oklahoma City’s continued growth and well being. “Oklahoma’s antiquated, dysfunctional liquor laws” […]

I was not surprised when I read that the Legislature had defeated in committee the proposal to allow sales of wine and strong beer in grocery stores in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties (Commentary, Kurt Hochenauer, “OKC’s drunken elephant,” Feb. 24, 2010, Gazette), but the reason this proposal was defeated was somewhat of a surprise, and […]

Ah, that warm cozy feeling of paper tiger legislation. Those times when our elected officials join together in unity to proclaim that with a wave of their wand all will be right with the world. In this case, the ill is convicted sex offenders trolling Internet social networking sites looking to snatch up good little […]

Kudos to Scott Cooper and the powers that be at Oklahoma Gazette for the concise and informative page dedicated to the election for mayor of Oklahoma City (News, “Election,” Feb. 24, 2010). It was a great idea and a format that should continue in the future. Much could be learned from this: First thing would […]

It’s not the intention of this Gazette letter to beat a dead horse; however, there has been much debate about the Genesis/intelligent design/ Darwinism/Big Bang/etc. systems, and their place in education. What is interesting is that the contentions usually end up in mudslinging and efforts to debunk the opposition, without providing good support for one’s […]