I generally consider myself a fairly positive guy. I have faith in the American people and our ability to get ourselves out of trouble. But a discussion I heard this past weekend has me very concerned. I am concerned for the future of our country in a way that I haven’t been before. I am convinced that our economic troubles are not our real problem. They are simply the symptoms of the problem. The → Read More 
Looking back over the past couple of weeks, I see that I’ve been doing a good bit of complaining. So, it’s refreshing for me to be able to say the Oklahoma legislature is considering two bills we all need to get behind. They won’t solve all the problems of Obamacare, but they are a couple of good first steps. The first is Senate Bill 57, the Health Care Choice Act. The legislation is sponsored → Read More 
I guess I’m just stupid. At least, according to what many of my friends tell me, I have to be stupid. You see, I don’t see many of the problems our nation is facing as particularly complex or difficult to solve. That is not to say that the solutions won’t be painful. But, that’s how it is when you start tending a wound you’ve allowed to fester. It hurts, and it’s unpleasant. But eventually → Read More 
Tushka storm damage. Today was a busy day. I had to work. I had a meeting tonight and I had to write this blog post. I had decided to write about the insurance exchange plan that had been pushed by our governor and the Republican leadership in the legislature. They have since backpedaled on that plan, and I’m glad for that although I am not too happy about the alternative they’ve come up → Read More 
A couple of years ago the city of Durant held an election to increase its sales tax to pay for a new high school. Some supported the increase. Some opposed the increase. And, some business owners said it would hurt business. A friend of mine who owns a restaurant had an interesting take. “Businesses don’t pay taxes,” he told me. “We just pass it on to you.” The authors of House Bill 1381 should → Read More 
If you have any doubt about the motives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma, just listen to the reasons its executive director is leading a campaign against a bill to require Oklahoma courts to use United States and Oklahoma law exclusively. “At a time when our economy and job creation should be our legislature’s top priority, Rep. (Sally) Kern (R-Oklahoma City) has made it her priority to promote an anti-Muslim amendment to → Read More “He had no faith in the power of men to act wisely in their own behalf. It was his view rather that every act soon eluded the grasp of its propagator to be swept away in a clamorous tide of unforeseen consequence.” From, “The Crossing,” by Cormac McCarthy Tort reform is a favorite cry among conservatives. I have to admit, as a man who considers himself very conservative; I have carried the tort reform → Read More 
My wife flew to Chicago this week. When I first heard about the trip several weeks ago I was a little concerned. I’ve never been to Chicago and you know all the horror stories we hear about big-city crime, rude people, etc. So, I was a more than a little relieved when I found out that the father of the student she was accompanying would be traveling also. You see, he’s a detective with → Read More 
Three proposals to expand Second Amendment rights in Oklahoma were voted out of committee this week and will be considered by the full House of Representatives. As a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment I am happy to see these. Still, I was struck by how people will allow emotional rhetoric to override common sense. The first is HB 1796, which would allow citizens with a concealed carry permit to openly carry guns. For → Read More 
Me and Kyle “Does it ever bother you that you work so hard on these stories and nobody is going to read them?” The question kind of stung when I heard it back in the early 1990s. I was a new reporter at a weekly newspaper in Alabama. The question came from a college intern who had just come to work for the summer. With innocence borne of inexperience he gave voice to a → Read More |
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