February 25, 2007

On The Cover

No Lawsuit Crisis: Impersonating Integrity

By Frosty Troy

Sen. Glenn Coffee, the Senate’s leading bloviator, figures if he keeps repeating the canard that Oklahoma has a frivolous lawsuit epidemic the people will begin to believe it.

What’s Inside

Frosty’s Notebook: Abortion

By Frosty Troy

Obtaining a legal abortion at one of Oklahoma’s three clinics [Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Norman] would be virtually impossible if a raft of Republican bills become law.

Cargill Hopes To Abolish Income Tax

By Arnold Hamilton

In an interview with The Observer, first-year House Speaker Lance Cargill makes clear his goal: He wants to eliminate Oklahoma’s income tax and replace it with a consumption tax.

Reality Check: OCPA Is Off Base – Again

By David Blatt

An op-ed by Mark Nichols and Brand Dutcher of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs [OCPA] appearing in the Oklahoman claimed that Gov. Brad Henry’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, FY ’07, proposes an 18.4% increase in state spending.
This claim is inaccurate, based on both a mistake in the OCPA’s analysis and on misleading use of the data.

Gotta Love Cars, Deadly As They Are

By Tom Elmore

In the days of the Oklahoma Railway’s trolleys and Interurbans, citizens had the option to walk down to the end of the block, pay a few cents and go where they needed to go. They didn’t have to worry about that trolley or interurban car when they left it; nobody was gonna “break into it” – and “what if they did?”

Oklahoma’s Most Embarrassing Moments

By Jim Wilcox

In a recent interview, the state of Oklahoma was asked, “What has been your most embarrassing moment?”
Oklahoma flushed for a few seconds then responded with more than the interviewer anticipated.
“I’m embarrassed that I am still debating issues like cock-fighting and tattoos.”

GOP Newspaper Attacks INDN’s List

By Kalyn Free

The Daily Oklahoman, named the worst newspaper in America by the Columbia Journalism Review, has again attacked INDN’s List.

Oklahoma Schools’ National Rankings
Five Schools Win Security Awards
Consider The Real Cost of Vouchers
Labor Future Linked To Leaders Of Color
Sooners Join Quest For Peace Department

Public Forum

Abortions Should Be Safe And Legal

By Llyn French

There are lots of concepts that are great in theory but they just don’t fly, and right-to-life is one of them. As the now-60-year-old veteran of one 40-year-old daughter, three miscarriages, and two abortions, I feel sufficiently qualified to speak on the subject.

Terror Policy Endangers America’s Soul

By Lynn Green

Kaled el-Masri is a German citizen. On December 31, 2003, he was on vacation in Macedonia. When the bus he was traveling on reached the Serbia-Macedonia border, he was detained by Macedonia authorities and turned over to the CIA.

Observations

They Did What?

It was one of the most irresponsible acts thus far this session. Republicans pushed through an income tax cut that would amount to more than $400 million over two years.

Incompetence

The public learned that the Bush Administration will go to exceeding lengths to avoid leveling with the American people about the difficulties in Iraq.

Inequality

On January 31, the President headed to Wall Street and acknowledged for the first time that income inequality exists in America. The fact is that income inequality is real. It has been rising for more than 25 years.

Hillary Haters

We were walking into the Capitol one recent morning when a lady was screeching at the top of her lungs, “I hate that woman! Oh, how I hate Hillary Clinton!”
Asked why, she replied, “I don’t know. I just do.”

Outrageous

The federal government is trying to recover nearly $3 billion from its own employees who failed to file income tax returns for 2005.

Vouchers

A huge upside of the Democratic takeover of Congress is the near unanimous opposition to voucher schemes – another way of de-funding public education.