A senator’s parting thoughts
You better vote Tuesday!
The quality of our city government is in peril.
Is Sally Kern an aberration?
For the GOP to not condemn Kern is to condone her actions.
Don’t say Chick-fil-A wasn’t personal
Connecting the dots
What’s going on at the state Board of Education?
Perils of ‘Personhood’
Decisions of politics and compassion
Race matters in Ersland case
One of the least talked about, but most important undercurrents in this saga
Revisionist history by state board members won’t whitewash their deplorable actions
Wednesday 19 Jun
OKG Newsletter
Commentary
Counterpoint: Scrutinizing science
Real education should be about teaching kids how to think.
Commentary
Steve Kern
In Oklahoma, there have been at least three attempts to pass a “teach the controversy about evolution” bill in the last few years.
Mid-session legislative awards
Have legislators fulfilled promises?
Commentary
Kyle D. Loveless
The Legislature is getting close to the halfway point, and before you know it, lawmakers will be adjourning for the year. Have they fulfilled promises, or are they just playing the political version of the four-corners offense?
Workers under attack
GOP staging a full fiscal assault on the middle class
Commentary
Kurt Hochenauer
The start of the legislative session had some Democrats here hoping GOP overreach on cultural wedge issues might create voter backlash and fatigue this year that would hurt conservative political candidates in the future.
Geraldine Ferraro and the locked door
Ferraro unlocked the door to the men’s club of politics
Commentary
Pam Fleischaker
In the spring of 1984, I was a wife and mom, raising a second-grader and a 12-month-old, and working for Planned Parenthood in Oklahoma City.
Every foot matters
OKC must place more value on land use and street edges
Commentary
Blair Humphreys
For years, we have been trying to make downtown Oklahoma City a great place for people. This mission is reaffirmed and restated using a variety of catchphrases — “pedestrian-friendly,” “thriving urban center,” “24/7 community” — that all ultimately mean the same thing: a downtown crowded with people.
Point: Pro-business stance is ‘shortsighted’
The desired end doesn’t justify the means here.
Commentary
Chris Smith
In May 2009, Sen. Glenn Coffee and fellow legislators announced the passing of a comprehensive lawsuit reform package. Everyone lauded its passage. Why then are Republicans back again with more legislation on the same issue?
Counterpoint: ‘Fear stifles innovation’
Oklahoma needs a fair and quick legal system
Commentary
Fred Morgan
“We need lawsuit reform now!” I am confident that is a statement you have heard for years, from doctors, politicians and the business community. But what is often left unsaid is how lawsuit reform (or the lack thereof) would impact each and every Oklahoman.
Don’t count out the tea party
The average Oklahoman aligns more with the tea party philosophy of limited government and lower taxes.
Commentary
Kyle D. Loveless
In the recent Oklahoma City Council elections, all of the candidates aligned with the tea party movement lost. Critics, news pieces and bloggers across the metro and state were using these losses as a setback or high-water mark of how much influence the tea party folks have in Oklahoma.
Can it happen here?
Oklahoma could be poised for a fight over unions.
Commentary
Jason Reese
Over the past few weeks, we have seen unrest spread throughout the Midwest. From Ohio to Wisconsin, public employees are taking to the street to protest much-delayed belt-tightening in those cash-strapped states. As we watch these events unfold, one cannot help but wonder if the Sooner State could experience the same.
You better vote Tuesday!
The quality of our city government is in peril.
Commentary
Bill Bleakley
Oklahoma City’s incredible record of accomplishments during the past decade could be jeopardized by the outcome of the Oklahoma City Council election on Tuesday.
Citty seems confused
The chief should release all relevant data to the public, for he needs to do some explaining.
Commentary
Charles M.B. Smith
Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty, in discussing the Aug. 29 ambush of Officer Katie Lawson, asserted that “assault rifles” are “becoming a bigger threat to law enforcement each day,” and “officers are running into guns at a much higher rate than 20 years ago, even on traffic stops.”
Streetcar for the car-free
40,000 people in OKC have no access to a car.
Commentary
Blair Humphreys
More than 40,000 Oklahoma City residents did not have to worry about snowcovered roads impacting their drive to work after the recent snowstorms. That is because more than 40,000 Oklahoma City residents live in households without access to a single car.
Counterpoint: Separation anxiety
The Constitution is under fire by the right-wing assault
Commentary
Kurt Hochenauer
The bills would also appear to directly violate Article 2, Section 5 of the Oklahoma Constitution, which states: “No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or...
Point: Legislate morality
Expand school choice, outlaw killing innocent life
Commentary
Jason Reese
The church-state separation fetishists are at it again. Now the Oklahoma chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State are decrying efforts by the Oklahoma Legislature to teach creationism in public schools, create vouchers or other mechanisms for school choice and define the beginning of human life.
Revisionist history by state board members won’t whitewash their deplorable actions
Commentary
State Superintendent Janet Barresi
Tim Gilpin’s description of the recent State Board of Education meeting counts as a classic in “Photoshop” history.
