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Re-elect Governor Kevin Stitt
Oklahoma hasn't elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2006. Since 2004, every county in Oklahoma has given a plurality of its vote in every presidential election to the Republican nominee. Voter registration, a lagging indicator, continues to trend toward the GOP across the state, most strongly in southeastern Oklahoma,...
Ted Cruz returns to Tulsa
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz returned to Tulsa today for his third visit of the 2016 presidential campaign. Despite the short notice and the early starting time -- 12:30pm, barely after most churches end their Sunday services -- Cruz drew a crowd of about 3,000 to Tulsa's Central Park Hall....
Ronald Reagan, "A Time for Choosing," 50 years ago today
On October 27, 1964, Ronald Reagan gave this televised speech in support of Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. Not too long ago, two friends of mine were talking to a Cuban refugee, a businessman who had escaped from Castro, and in the midst of his story one of my...
Social ecology and sustainability
A few thoughts that have been stirring for a week or so: It's fascinating to me that some of the same liberals who worry (rightfully) about the impact of massive development on the delicate interactions of physical ecosystems can be blithe about the encroachments of the monolithic state on the...
State Rep. Jason Murphey praises House leadership transparency and reform proposals
One of my favorite Oklahoma state representatives is Jason Murphey, a Republican from Guthrie. If Rep. Murphey is happy about something at the State Capitol, Oklahoma citizens are likely to be pleased as well. So it was encouraging to see two posts earlier this week on his blog praising the...
Oklahoma Election 2012: Yes on State Question 766
How in the world can you fairly assess the value of intangible property? And if you can't fairly assess it, how in the world can you fairly tax it? That's why Oklahomans should welcome the opportunity to approve SQ 766 and abolish this arbitrary tax which has only been tolerable...
Tulsa County ObamaVision plan unveiled
A clique of corporate welfare queens and pork barrel princes today announced a plan to bring Barack Obama's proven* economic development strategies to Tulsa County. The $747.9 million borrow, spend, and tax ObamaVision plan embraces five central principles of Obamanomics: (1) Use government spending to stimulate economic development, because government...
Retired Lt. Colonel thanks John Sullivan for cutting red tape
Jerry Sullivan, a retired Lt. Colonel in the US Army Reserve and retired special agent for the U. S. Customs Service, sent along a letter in appreciation of the help his family received from Oklahoma 1st District Congressman John Sullivan in dealing with the federal bureaucracy. (Jerry Sullivan is not...
Tulsa conservative activists make the case for Rick Santorum; early voting begins
Some friends of mine, long-time local conservative activists, have endorsed Rick Santorum in next Tuesday's Oklahoma presidential preference primary. They've notified their friends of their endorsement, but for their own reasons can't make the endorsement public. They are however willing to share their rationale, and I think it's worth...
Sullivan opposes continuing resolution; Coburn proposes cuts of $20 billion
Congressman John Sullivan was the lone House member from Oklahoma to vote against H.J.Res. 48, the latest short-term continuing resolution, designed to continue funding the government in the absence of an actual budget. Sullivan issued this statement: Enough is enough, the American people didn't elect us to continue kicking the...
HB 1804 and Oklahoma's unemployment rate
Tom Blumer, writing for Pajamas Media, points to statistics connecting Oklahoma's relatively good unemployment situation to implementation of HB 1804, the strict immigration enforcement bill approved in May 2007 Given the economic damage inflicted on us by the current administration and many state governments, most readers of this column would...
Gene Kranz: Obama "wrote the epitaph for manned space flight"
I saw an article today that made me aware of a missed opportunity. Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the safe return to Earth of Apollo 13, and the Cosmosphere -- just a short four hours from Tulsa in Hutchinson, Kansas, and home to the mission's command module, Odyssey, hosted...
PLANiTULSA notebook: Denver, small-area planning in areas of stability
Before coming to Tulsa, Fregonese Associates consulted on a new comprehensive plan for Denver, called Blueprint Denver. It's interesting to see that some of what the homebuilders want excised from PLANiTULSA was adopted in Denver. On the main Blueprint Denver page, the following is listed as the first of three...
Documentary on global warming alarmism tonight at ORU
Not Evil Just Wrong, a documentary on the "true cost of global warming hysteria," will be screened tonight, January 21, 2010, at Oral Roberts University at 7 pm in Room 236 of the Learning Resource Center. The screening is free and open to the public, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity....
FOP responds to Martinson
On Saturday, I received the following press release from Philip Evans, president of the Tulsa Lodge #93 of Fraternal Order of Police, in response to Tulsa City Councilor Bill Martinson's presentation during the Council's debate on Thursday, June 18, 2009, about the budget. Here is Evans's statement, verbatim: The Fraternal...
High and dry in rainy Portland
The theory, as I understand it, is that cities with some combination of great public amenities, natural beauty, and a vibrant cultural scene will attract the Creative Class. Bright young people now pick a place to live, whether or not they have a job waiting for them. The presence of...
Livable Green Country
A couple of nice accolades: Forbes named Tulsa the 5th most livable city in America, just ahead of Oklahoma City in 6th. The top 10: Portland, Me. Bethesda, Md. Des Moines, Ia. Bridgeport/Stamford, Conn. Tulsa, Okla. Oklahoma City, Okla. Cambridge, Mass. Baltimore, Md. Worcester, Mass. Pittsburgh, Pa. The criteria: To...
Change? Not so much
Hot Air has a clip of President-elect Obama's press confference, in which he was asked about the number of retreads from the Clinton administration that he's appointing to his own cabinet: [Obama] has The Vision. It's just that The Vision happens to involve lots and lots of Clinton appointees, with...
Tulsa tax revenues up; jobs, unemployment, cost of living up, too
Blogger Steve Roemerman receives regular updates on the city's finances and the state of the local economy in his role as a member of the City of Tulsa Sales Tax Oversight Committee. Today he has posted Tulsa's sales tax stats and economic indicators for the most June 2008, showing sales...
First 787 Dreamliner debuts in Everett, Wash.
MSNBC.com has the story of the completion of Boeing's first 787. It worth looking back four years ago to when Tulsans were told that this event might happen here. Back in 2003, as part of Vision 2025, Tulsa County voters approved $250 million in loans and $100 million in grants...
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