Coburn’s proposed bill describes the NTIS as “tasked with collecting and distributing government-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and business-related information and reports.” Besides being a money pit — the service has cost more than it has made in 10 of the past 11 years — Coburn insists the NTIS doesn’t really do much and most of […]
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Life
State Sen. David Holt will be the inaugural guest of a new children’s reading program, Bringing Books to Life, made possible by a grant from Junior League of Oklahoma City. The weekly readings are nature-themed and intented for children ages 2 to 5. “Showing children that reading is a joy is very important to me […]
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The gents of politics
The December magazine lists “Conservatives We Love,” and two of the five are U.S. Sen Tom Cole, Oklahoma deputy majority whip, and T.W. Shannon, Oklahoma Speaker of the House. Of Cole, the mag gushes, “Because he respects people regardless of their political ideologies.” Of Shannon, the magazine says, “Because he believes in investing in infrastructure.” […]
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Apocalypse soon?
But an Oklahoma Poll cited by the Tulsa World last week indicates that constituent group perhaps isn’t as large as we had thought. Two-thirds of respondents indicated they believe human activity might be partly responsible for climate change. A third of those surveyed have had their opinions changed by the record heat over the last […]
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No fooling Mother Nature
“Clean, reliable and affordable” are words of certainty, until Mother Nature kicks your ass. Katrina, the BP oil spill in the Gulf and the Exxon Valdez are just a few examples of what “won’t” go wrong in the pursuit of such energy. Now we have a list of earthquakes around the world, from Haiti to […]
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‘We don’t eat puppies’
Brecheen justifies his objections to the anti-puppy mill bill by writing in the Jan. 11 edition of the Durant Daily Democrat: “Imagine if your cattle, swine, horses or poultry were being subjected to similar invasive inspections under guidelines established by bureaucrats who think meat comes from a plastic wrapped Styrofoam tray. We wouldn’t be too […]
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A bone to pick with Sen. Josh Brecheen
Neither need one be a Rhodes Scholar to determine why “Oklahoma is home to the second-largest number of commercial pet breeders in the country, according to the Central Oklahoma Humane Society” (“Pawing at profits,” Feb. 23, Gazette). Until May 20, 2010, it was the Cayman Islands of the pet-breeding industry! Lack of regulations breeds excess […]
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Carnivore offended by lawmaker’s one-size-fits-all mentality
I feel Clifton Adcock’s article in and of itself was well-written, bringing into focus a serious condition facing our state. Although I do not label myself a bleeding-heart liberal, I do feel that any legislation that serves to help those who cannot help themselves (in this case, the dogs in “puppy mills”) is a good […]
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Herbal remedy
A state Senate committee bogarted a bill designed to legalize medical marijuana in Oklahoma by refusing to hold hearings on any of its assigned legislation this session, effectively keeping the measure hostage until next session. Senate Bill 573, known as the Compassionate Use Act, would allow a physician to prescribe marijuana to patients, and would […]
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Sneak peek
For what it’s worth, here’s a vague idea of what’s cookin’ at the Capitol! SB 14: Sen. Josh Brecheen, R-Coalgate: Repealing Art in Public Places Act and the Art in Public Places Revolving Fund and the Art in Public Places Administrative and Maintenance Revolving Fund. SB 37: Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah: Sex education; requiring sex […]