March 25, 2008

On The Cover

Wall’s Tumbling Down: Church-State Separation In Peril

By Arnold Hamilton

Rep. Rex Duncan delivered an unmistakable message in the 2008 legislative session’s opening minutes. Called upon to lead the House in the pledge of allegiance, the Sand Springs Republican first squeezed in an editorial comment, instructing fellow lawmakers “there is no comma between One Nation and Under God.”

What’s Inside

Frosty’s Notebook: Big Oil Welfare

By Frosty Troy

“House OKs $18B in new taxes on big oil companies.” That was typical of headlines in Oklahoma newspapers and across America. A careful reader would learn that the Democratic-controlled US. House passed a bill seeking to roll back two lucrative tax breaks for the five largest U.S. oil companies.

Ed Montgomery A Living Legend: Still Going At 90

By Andy Rieger

When I began my career on the Oklahoman and Times, Ed Montgomery was nearly winding down from the newspaper’s Capitol bureau.

Oklahoma Has An Open Transfer Law

By Sandy Garrett

A little known fact: More than 40,000 students transfer early to schools outside of their resident district.

TABOR Petition: Follow The Law Or Change It

By Drew Edmondson

The taxpayer bill of rights [TABOR] initiative petition was thrown out by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in December 2006 because the process was riddled with fraud, including the illegal use of out-of-state petitions [non-taxpayers] as circulators.

Legislature Loves Pork And Politics: $2 Billion And Growing

Hundreds of tax exemptions, credits and deductions have been approved by the Oklahoma Legislature, many to curry favor with special interest groups.

400 Lives Saved If Providers Step Up

Why aren’t all health care providers participating in Oklahoma’s electronic medical data sharing network?

Mental Health And Drugs Targeted

A statewide initiative to provide better mental health and substance abuse services to Oklahoma needs citizen input.

Books

Don’t Think We Can’t Lose This Country

A LETTER TO AMERICA
By David Boren
University of Oklahoma Press
112 pages, $14.95

By Alvena Bieri

University of Oklahoma President David Boren, a former Oklahoma governor and senator, has written a short but important book on America’s future in which he lays out why we citizens need to care enough about America to change some of our ways.

The Cherokees You Probably Never Knew

A CHEROKEE ENCYCLOPEDIA
By Robert J. Conley
University of New Mexico Press
312 pages, $24.95

By Mike Nobles

I have long been a fan of university presses. I believe they publish some of the best literature available and do so in a quality based, reasonably priced manner.

A Breathtaking Ode To Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA
A Portrait Of America
By Rilla Askew, Carl Brune, Scott Raffe and Libby Bender
University of Oklahoma Press
368 pages, $49.95

By Norm Rourke

“ … Oklahoma is more than just another state. It is a lens in which the long rays of time are focused into the brightest light … Here all the American traits have been intensified. The one who can interpret Oklahoma can grasp the meaning of America in the modern world.” – Angie Debo
Bender, Brune, Askew and Raffe have captured all this and more, offering this collaborative ode to Oklahoma, its stereotypes and its surprises.

Public Forum

Real Terror: Sally’s Kern-servative Gospel

Why Kern’s ‘Free Speech’ Is Hurtful

By Lynn Green

Sally Kern’s recent recorded condemnations of the so-called “gay threat” has attracted nationwide attention due to the fact that, unbeknownst to her, someone recorded it and made it a popular Internet download.

Simple Sally Parrots her Religious Indoctrination

By Nathaniel Batchelder

State Rep. Sally Kern’s YouTube rant on homosexuality is being heard by millions around the world, bringing shame and embarrassment to Oklahoma.

Superdelegates Could Swing Election To GOP

By John Brown

The best way to further weaken our Democratic Party and to ensure four more years of national Republican insanity is to allow political insiders to superimpose their self-interest votes for the Democratic presidential nomination over the proportional vote of the people.

What Morality? Poor Pay So Rich Can Play

By Wanda Jo Stapleton

Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative report for The New York Times, documents “how the wealthiest Americans enrich themselves at government expense [and stick you with the bill].” That’s why Oklahoma City residents recently experienced a massive transfer of wealth from the poor and middle classes to the super-rich owners of the Seattle SuperSonics.

Observations

Fiasco

While GOP Sen. Glenn Coffee, co-leader of the Senate, was voting to reduce the property tax cap from 5% to 3%, minutes away at the Capitol a bevy of educators were holding a press conference.

Big Brother

If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Is that why some state legislators want everybody carrying a gun – even students on college campuses, even 18-year-olds?

Cash Cows?

According to a breakdown from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 50,238 inmates are Roman Catholic, 53,013 say they are Protestant and 150 proclaim atheism.

Hurting Kids

According to the American Lung Association, 6.8 million children in the United States under 18 have asthma. The chronic lung condition is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under 15 and, in 2005, resulted in approximately 679,000 ER visits for that age group.

KOSU Soaring

Good news for fans of National Public Radio. KOSU is featuring a fabulous new line-up 5 a.m. to 4 a.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday.

Bush Again

The Bush Administration says it cannot be sued for abducting, imprisoning, and torturing innocent men suspected of terrorist ties because such lawsuits might reveal “state secrets.”