November 10, 2007
On The Cover
America’s Shame: Homeless Vets Need Help
By Frosty Troy
Does the Department of Veterans Affairs take care of homeless veterans? The problem is not the VA, it’s a Congress that values death in Iraq to saving veterans’ lives in America.
What’s Inside
Frosty’s Notebook: Women
By Frosty Troy
Women have made dramatic economic progress throughout the United States, especially since the 1960s, but Oklahoma women lag far behind, ranking 39th nationally and earning a grade of “D.”
Chamber’s Ed Report Deserves Failing Grade
By Arnold Hamilton
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s so-called education experts are sorely in need of a remedial statistics class.
Study: Students In The South Are Poor
For the first time in more than 40 years, the majority of children in public schools in the South are poor, according to a report just released.
Oklahoma Rural Schools Need Help
To hear a national think tank tell it, Oklahoma’s rural schools have gone to hell. It’s true many are poor, but it’s also true that many of Oklahoma’s premier public schools are rural.
Oklahoma Bragging Rights Are Secure
The late Gov. Dewey Bartlett started it with his drive to turn the word “Okie” into a plus. He took a lot of heat but he was right, publishing the first bragging guide to Oklahoma.
Next Republican Red Herring: Immigration
By Edwin E. Vineyard
There is little doubt that immigration is a hot button political issue this season, and it is likely to continue to be so during the 2008 elections.
American Justice For A Model Immigrant
By Michael Duggan
Every day, the offices of Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma are filled with low-income clients who need help with basic civil legal problems that are wreaking havoc in their lives.
Workers Comp Will Be Revisited In ‘08
Oklahoma has a conservative, mostly Republican State Workers’ Compensation System, but GOP Rep. Mark McCullough of Sapulpa wants it eliminated.
Bonds Would Ease Lege’s Pandering
Sen. Richard Lerblance threw down the gauntlet to the Republican-controlled Legislature: a $309 million 25-year bond issue to provide 3,818 new prison beds.
GI Hotline Opens For Free Support
The Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline officially is in operation, undertaking its mission of providing free, confidential, and accurate information on U.S. military regulations and practices to service members, veterans, potential recruits, and their families.
Books
Oh, To Have Witnessed The Land Run
By Alvena Bieri
Looking at the vast subject of American history can stimulate much creative imagination. In his new book “I Wish I’d Been There,” Byron Hollinshead asked 20 American historians this provocative question: “What is the scene or incident in American history that you would like to have witnessed and why?”
No Ordinary Story Of A Man And His Dog
By Mike Nobles
In first heard about “Merle’s Door: Lessons From a Freethinking Dog” from a friend in Colorado. She e-mailed me to say I just had to read it, right now. My first thought was, “Oh, great, another book about a man and his dog.”
Public Forum
Duncan’s Despicable Political Piety
By Barbara Santee
I was absolutely astonished to read that Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, had refused the gift of the Quran because, “Most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology.”
Troubling Truth About Theological Terror
By James Nimmo
In regard to the “Islaming” of Oklahoma and the dust-up over competing religious superstitions I have to say that Islam is no more a religion of peace than Christianity is.
Veteran Won’t Forget The ‘Forever Young’
By Phil Foster
My photo albums are old and tattered, yet I find myself looking through them from time to time to recall how my family and friends looked when they were young.
Observations
Christians?
Unlike some of the 25 legislators who refused to accept a copy of the Centennial Quran, we’re not going to call them all bigots. They are merely morally challenged Republicans.
He Knows
We laughed when it was suggested that one guy to consult in the wake of the Oral Roberts University scandal would be televangelist John Hagee.
Going To Pot
When Al Gore’s 24-year-old son was busted for pot he joined the ranks of more than 700,000 people arrested each year for pot-related offenses, at a cost to taxpayers of $7 billion.
Today’s Young
American politics have long been mired in bitter partisanship and polarization but there’s hope, and it’s coming from an unexpected place: the supposedly apathetic 20- and 30-somethings known as Generation Y.
What News?
Liposuction may work for starlets but it’s a terrible idea for newspapers.
Expectations
Each time another Britney Spears goes down, we tend to react with a big yawn, as if substance abuse were merely another aspect of the great “spectacle” that is rock ‘n’ roll.
What Is Work?
It’s become the defining cliché of the modern labor market – the average U.S. citizen is vastly overworked.
