President Bush is famous for telling other people that they just don’t get it. He lives in the bubble of entitlement and dismisses critics as unpatriotic, uninformed or just plain weird. Now the American people have turned the tables. As the State of the Union speech made painfully clear, it’s the president who just doesn’t […]
opinion
Frog got your vote?
Will there be changes in Edmond? Ask the whimsical frog. Edmond residents will have an opportunity to vote for a new mayor this year, but many of the problems facing Edmond will not simply disappear with regime change. Development, the double-edged sword for Edmond residents for decades, will again be brought to the forefront […]
Adventures in Soonerland
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, […]
It’s me I’m lookin’ for
Come on, admit it. You’ve given some thought to cosmetic surgery. At least once? Maybe more than once? I know I have. Clicking through pictures of my family playing in the sand and surf, I am puzzled. Who is that woman there with my children? It looks like my mother ” she of the […]
Hangman, be not proud
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 […]
Passing the buck?
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 […]
The war on drugs
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 […]
Oklahoma resolutions
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 […]
Lessons from the silly season
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.” […]
Catastrophe and the crutch
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 […]
