Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to [email protected] or sent online at okgazette.com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification.

Told ya

George Orwell predicted these things in 1948 via his classic novel 1984, but we did not heed his warning.

Now, a constant state of war has wealth being transferred from the working class to corporations and the wealthy.

While we run around, chasing our tails, being afraid of communism, socialism and terrorism, the military-industrial complex (Dwight Eisenhower warned us about it, too) actually controls our nation, leading us into an oligarchy where ordinary folks have no control.

We pay taxes to fund our wars while 40 percent of U.S. corporations and the wealthy pay little or nothing. Trickle-down economics? Our money is actually “trickling up.”

We had best forget petty party politics. False issues built on “fear and hate” are being used to set us one against the other. We need not worry about socialism; the most contented people in the world live in northwestern Europe, where the safety net is immense and everybody pays fair taxes to support it.

Fascism and oligarchy are the real threats to America, and fascist oligarchs are doubtlessly manipulating us.

There is still time, but time is growing short.

— Frank Silovsky

Oklahoma City

Costly decisions

I’m really concerned about OG&E’s $1.1 billion compliance plan, and I think other Oklahomans should be too.

The plan could mean a 15 to 20 percent increase on our utility bills. That’s the largest rate hike in Oklahoma history. A jump like that would be hard on so many Oklahomans and could be devastating for small business, poor families and the elderly on fixed incomes. Worse still, the plan locks in continued reliance on dirty coal shipped in from Wyoming. Why does a utility that touts being a leader in wind energy believe that continued pollution and harm to our health are things Oklahomans can bear?

Customer money would be better invested in local Oklahoma energy resources, like our wind power, than coal plants, which will only become more costly.

Prices for renewable energy are decreasing, and these resources are becoming competitive with fossil fuels and saving customers money in Oklahoma and Texas. But, as far as I can tell, OG&E isn’t planning to acquire any Oklahoma-based wind energy as a part of this plan. OG&E needs to clean up its act. Oklahomans deserve better.

— Donna Clifford-Jones

Norman

Strike!

A few people from my nursing home went to an Oklahoma Dodgers game on a Sunday. The best part of the game for me was finding a baseball lost in the stands. I want to thank the female employee for helping me get it. (I’m the ugly guy in the wheelchair.)

Imagine my surprise when I looked at the Rawlings National Pacific League ball and it said “Made in China.”

— Scott Preston

Oklahoma City

  • or