Credit: Brad Gregg But what really appears to have ignited the conspiratorial imagination of U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, is Benghazigate. Oklahoma’s senior senator has long accused the White House — as well as then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with her unwomanly “forceful attitude” — of hiding some horrible misdeeds regarding the Sept. 11, 2012, […]
politics
Posted inArts & Culture
Attempting a reversal
Chad Smith, John Smith, Wayne Wells, Lee Roy Smith & Danny Hodge Credit: Mark Hancock While the U.S. has been at political odds with a number of these countries, wrestling has brought together representatives from across the world for a common goal: reinstating the sport as an Olympic event for the 2020 Summer Games.Two-time Olympic […]
Posted inNews
Ogling open government
They also respected the concept of representative government, which suggests that those elected by the people are empowered to do the people’s business. What emerged from those private discussions seems to have worked out pretty well, for 226 years so far. That’s why we should take a realistic view of the ongoing dust-up over who […]
Posted inNews
Exhausted exams
Repeated server outages from online testing vendor CTB/McGraw-Hill resulted in disruptions of exams administered April 29-30. High school students had been taking high-stakes, taking end-of-instruction (EOI) exams required to earn a high school diploma. Tests taken by the middle schoolers are factored into the state Department of Education’s A-F grading of schools. In the wake […]
Posted inNews
Finish what we started
Despite what a 30-second sound bite or “tunnelvision” information says about the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, it needs to be finished. In Oklahoma, we are not quitters, and just because it’s taken a long time doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to come to fruition. Many obstacles have been thrown at it since it […]
Posted inNews
None dare call it ‘expansion’
Credit: Brad Gregg The Affordable Care Act, you might recall, allows states to get federal funds to expand Medicaid coverage for people earning less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Such a move would provide health insurance for almost 200,000 uninsured Oklahomans, but Gov. Mary Fallin rejected the federal dollars late last year. […]
Posted inNews
Lock and load
Credit: Brad Gregg Inhofe’s theory is this: You haven’t been able to buy ammunition for all your guns lately because Uncle Sam is beating you to it. “I don’t know how [Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano] or anyone else can deny this is going on, all you have to do is go to any of […]
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Not-so-easy rider
Faced with a set of recommendations from transportation planning experts, the Oklahoma City Council must soon decide if it wants to shrink its bus system coverage area, leaving some transit-dependent residents without a ride. On the other hand, such a move would allow Metro Transit officials to increase bus stop frequency and potentially attract more […]
Posted inNews
Fanning fears?
Credit: Mark Hancock His remarks came after Fallin signed House Bill 1060, which prohibits foreign laws from being enforced in Oklahoma courtrooms. Authored by Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, the legislation evolved after a federal appeals court ruled that a similar measure, State Question 755, was unconstitutional because it singled out Sharia law. Considered the […]
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Connecting the dots
Each year, hundreds of bills and tax-related initiatives are approved that, when viewed independently, may not seem to have a significant impact. Yet by not connecting the dots of various actions when it comes to public schools, the picture of Oklahoma education becomes disturbingly distorted. If citizens don’t start connecting the dots, a true picture […]