Freedom Is Noisy!

A republic, if we can keep it. This Fourth of July, Americans celebrate a milestone unlike any before it, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Adventures with Allie

The Fourth of July has always smelled like something.When I was little, it smelled like desert dust and hot pavement.

Revolving Door Debates over Education Reform

Legislative decisions in regard to literacy rates and how to improve the educational system appears to be a revolving door of the same arguments.

Adventures with Allie

Oklahoma’s closed primary system is not just some insidebaseball election rule most people can afford to ignore.It is a real problem, and it needs to be fixed.The usual defense is that voters should not be able to help choose another party’s nominee. Democrats should not pick Republican candidates.

For the Children

Oklahoma continues to lag in child wellbeing, but improvement possible As the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) works to improve the quality of life for children, data drives our efforts.The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) is dedicated to improving conditions for children across our...

The price of losing local news

For years, those of us in the newspaper industry have been warning that when a community loses its local newspaper, it loses a part of itself.It loses the reporter sitting quietly in the gallery at the city commission meeting. It loses the seasoned writer chronicling a state championship season.

Do more

Someone once told me that people just want to be heard. Well, while that may be true in theory, turning it into a governmental practice doesn’t really do much for citizens.Most of us have experienced the frustration of feeling ignored, dismissed or overlooked. We want our concerns acknowledged.

The ballot belongs to you

Every election season, we hear the same phrases repeated over and over.“Voting is a right.”“Voting is a privilege.” Both are true. But I think they miss something important. Voting is also a responsibility. It is a duty.

Continuing education

You know the saying, “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks?” Well, I am getting very close to being an old dog. I hope I will always be open to learning something new though. It may be a new way to teach, a new way to learn or a new way to look at the world.

Gentner Drummond Is the Right Choice for Oklahoma Governor

The following editorial represents the opinion of this newspaper's editorial staff. Oklahoma stands at a crossroads.