Well, That Settles It. They've Got My Business

"The greatest pro-life video ever," Fred Barnes tweeted today, "and it's actually a TV commercial."

Rain Chuck

Easter morning we woke up to pouring rain. It had rained almost all night and was still raining hard at 6:00 AM. Instead of sunshine for Easter we had rain, but truly that was okay with us. It hadn't rained here for weeks. The ground was hard and dry and the ponds near our house were drying up. I had been watering Anne Marie's grave each day but was having a hard time keeping it wet in the Oklahoma heat and wind, and the grass wasn't coming in. So we were glad for the rain. No one complained that it poured on and off all day on Easter Sunday.

Today it rained some more and we were thankful for it, but there is one little thing that is a bit of a nuisance when it rains so hard:









We took a break from school this morning to get Charlie all cleaned up (again -- Mary Margaret had just bathed him last night) and until the mud dries up we'll have to take him out on his leash rather than let him run free in the backyard:





Photo credits: Jack Henry Dutcher

(Are you wondering why Charlie is wearing what looks like a giant collar? It's his puppy bumper. Even after we secured our back yard and fixed the iron fence so Charlie couldn't escape, he still managed to get out and also dig under the fence to our neighbor's yard. We discovered the puppy bumper and he hasn't gotten out since. It looks a bit bulky from the picture, but Charlie doesn't mind it at all. He knows to sit by the back door and wait to get his bumper on and then he can go outside.)

Easter 2011

Fiscal Restraint, Pension Reform Can't Wait

[This Marlin Oil advertorial appears in the April 28 edition of The City Sentinel.]

David Ignatius is one of the relatively conservative writers in the stable of columnists with The Washington Post. He had a good essay that was printed in last Sunday's editions of The Oklahoman.

Ignatius made a somewhat complicated case for federal budget discipline, but here is his bottom line:

The longer [President Barack] Obama waits to hammer out his budget deal, the greater the collateral damage is going to be. David Smick, a leading financial analyst, says that some foreign central bank regulators are warning about the risks of U.S. Treasury securities. Last Monday's warning by Standard & Poor's that it might cut America's AAA bond rating will increase such concerns.

The "dark humor" joke for years among U.S. budget-watchers has been this: "The bad news is China owns a lot of America's debt. The good news is China owns a lot of America's debt." Now, Ignatius points out, China may be on the verge of slashing its purchase of American debt.

The foregoing brings to mind Oklahoma's ticking pension time bomb. The Legislature is moving on reforms that will, if approved in the state House and Senate and then signed into law by Governor Mary Fallin, trim perhaps $5 billion from an astonishing $16 billion unfunded pension debt.

Click to enlarge (if you dare)

The extent of staggering malfeasance in past Oklahoma policies is only beginning to be understood. In a report on "Pensions for Pols" for CapitolBeatOK over Easter weekend, editor Patrick B. McGuigan documented a laundry list of almost unbelievable retirement income streams for prominent politicians.

There's Clifton Scott, former state auditor and inspector. In his time working for the state of Oklahoma, he paid in $106,989 in a 46-year career -- yet his annual pension in 2010 was $157,488. To give this some context, the governor of Oklahoma is paid $147,000 a year, total. Scott is making almost $11,000 more than that, and he's retired. Cal Hobson is doing fine, Oklahoma: His pension last year was $77,327. During a 33-year career, Hobson paid in $79,938.

Gene Stipe is getting $94,602 every year, after paying in a grand total of $72,370 in his career. Then, there's Herb Rozell, the former state senator now on the state Board of Education. Rozell's retirement checks last year came to $71,644. He paid in $77,228 over 32 years

Both Scott and Hobson actually have drawn pension income while still holding state jobs. Scott left the school lands commission in wake of a major scandal involving a subordinate. Hobson is still employed by state government, working for the University of Oklahoma.

Real pension reform is essential to Oklahoma's future economic health. Of course, the federal debt must be brought under control before it winds up controlling all of us.

Ignatius ended his column with this perfect line from William Shakespeare, in the tragedy of Macbeth: "If it were done … then 'twere well it were done quickly."

It's time for real pension reform in Oklahoma, and a clear-eyed approach to cutting federal spending. Now.

Now That's Entertainment

In case you missed it, OU is organizing a diversity conference in (where else?) San Francisco, the new Miss Hispanic UCO 2011 has been crowned, and Oklahoma's historically black college is offering scholarships for white people. 

Meanwhile, at Oklahoma Panhandle State University (betcha didn't know we had that!) there's a "rodeo coach" being paid $100,000.

'How Easter Killed My Faith in Atheism'

Lee Strobel, former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, is a Christian "not because of wishful thinking, the fear of death, or the need for a psychological crutch, but because of the facts."

If Only the Oklahoma Legislature Could Be This Entertaining

HT: Robert P. Murphy

Coloring Easter Eggs

The Future Belongs to Those Who Manage to Get Born

James Taranto asks: Did the Roe effect doom lefty Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg? After all, that race was close enough to be within the margin of abortion.

It's a theme I've touched on before, and one that bears repeating. As Glenn Reynolds puts it, "the future belongs to those who show up."

Remembering Clinton's Shameless Exploitation of Tragedy

"April 19 not only marks the 16th anniversary of the horrific Oklahoma City bombing," Oklahoma native Gregory C. McCarthy writes today in The Washington Times, "but it is also a milestone that has political significance."

It brought the beginning of the resuscitation of President Clinton's sagging political fortunes, largely achieved through his own demagoguery and shameless exploitation of a tragedy.

Just days before the bombing that killed 168 people, Mr. Clinton called a press conference announcing he was "relevant." The Republican Congress, led prominently by House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was on a roll. Mr. Gingrich even gave a quasi-presidential address at the 100-day mark. But Mr. Clinton seized on the tragedy to rebound. Some steps were relatively benign. While Mr. Gingrich quietly toured the bombing site, Mr. Clinton famously led a well-received memorial service.

But within weeks, his dark political opportunism emerged. Mr. Clinton outrageously suggested that talk radio had created the environment for terrorism. There was minimal resistance to these egregious allegations. Conservatives were stunned, thinking them too obscene to rebut. Mr. Clinton paid no price and drew a larger lesson. His image as a national leader, even "healer," was born, and he laid the groundwork for his similarly inflammatory suggestions about Republicans' intentions to "gut" Medicare later that year. The GOP Congress never again held the upper hand.

Mr. Clinton's opponents' inability to forcefully refute him allowed his recovery to be born in the awful ashes of Oklahoma City. President Obama, as seen in his bizarre budget speech in the past week, is similarly driven and unwilling to concede any ground to his opponents. Conservatives should be on guard to openings that a similarly weakened president might take.

Weekend Egg Hunt

Taxation through the Ages

Treat yourself to some fascinating insights from a distinguished historian of liberty.

Then and Now

And That Means You, Kerosene Salesmen!

Another reminder that the Oklahoma Constitution is too long:

18 Months Old

Dear Anne Marie,

Today you would be 18 months old. I know it’s not an official birthday but it’s still a milestone for babies. I try to picture you as an 18-month-old toddling around and I wonder what you would look like. Right now when I picture you I still see my sweet, dark-haired baby girl gazing up at me with her beautiful eyes. It’s hard for me to imagine what you would look like as a toddler.

This morning you would have gone to literature class with Mary Margaret, Jack Henry, and me. One of the moms would have held you and played with you while I taught, and then after class was over I would have taken you out to the church playground to swing on the swings. And tonight Lincoln and Lillie go to their spring formal. You would have been in the picture with them before they left—your handsome brother and beautiful sister holding you. And Saturday we would have taken you to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. You would have your little basket and Jack Henry would have helped you gather up all the eggs you could find. I still imagine what things would be like if you were here with us—you fitting into our busy routine, making us all laugh and smile.

There is a boy on Jack Henry’s baseball team who has a little sister who was born just a few weeks before you were born. I saw her last night, toddling around at baseball practice while her mommy chased her around. Her mommy tried to put her in her car seat, but she screamed and cried so her mommy got her out and followed her all over the ball field and up and down the sidewalk. I sat in my car, quietly grading papers. I would have rather been chasing you around, trying to keep you happy while your brother was at baseball practice. I would trade all my quiet moments to myself for busy, noisy ones with you.

We planted your summer grass at your grave site and are waiting for it to grow. It has been dry this spring (the driest since the Dust Bowl, says your daddy) but we water it each day and I’m hoping that it will be in by Easter so your spot will look pretty. I would rather be buying your Easter dress and looking for little white sandals for you to wear, but then I try to imagine what Easter would be like in Heaven and I try to be thankful. It is still hard, this accepting of God’s plan.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of you and miss you. You are almost always my last thought before I fall asleep at night and you are my first thought when I wake up in the morning. There are still moments that daily catch me off guard—it might be a certain smell, the weather, or some random reminder—and out of the blue I start to cry, missing you so much.

Happy 18-month birthday, Anne Marie. We love you and miss you every day!

Love,

Mommy

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Bartlesville Bruin

Because Nothing Says 'The Resurrected Christ' Like Easter Eggs at a Casino

I thought it was just lovely and delightful for an Oklahoma casino to open a daycare center for infants. But I have to say I'm even more impressed with another Oklahoma casino deciding to host an Easter egg hunt.

University Touts Scholarships for 'Non-African American' Students

The Oklahoma House of Representatives is set to consider a measure which would allow Oklahoma voters to put an end to discrimination and preferential treatment in state government. And not a moment too soon, considering the blatant discrimination against blacks taking place at one of Oklahoma's institutions of higher education. The university openly touts scholarships for "students of non-African American origin."

Students must enroll in at least 12 hours and maintain a minimum 2.50 grade point average each semester. Students are awarded scholarships for an academic year, but scholarships are subject to cancellation for the spring semester if criteria are not met. Deadline date for submitting application is June 30. This scholarship is subject to the availability of funds.

No, it's not The Onion. It's the Langston University 2010-2012 catalog (page 36). As someone who believes there's only one race (the human race), I look at this and I can't decide whether to laugh or cry.

Honestly now, hasn't the time come for our children to live in a state where they will not be judged by the color of their skin?

Leveling the Playing Field for Oklahoma's One-Earner Families

When it comes to early childhood education, Oklahoma is a national leader. No other state has done as much to empower the most important early childhood educator to stay home.

Still, much work remains to be done to level the playing field for these traditional, one-earner families. OCPA economists Scott Moody and Wendy Warcholik point the way.

'Strength and Dignity Are Her Clothing'

The Oklahoma chapter of American Mothers, Inc. recently announced its 2011 "Mother of the Year" and "Young Mother of the Year" (congratulations to those ladies!), but I want to say a special word to one of the finalists. She's a mother I happen to know very well but whose greatness is impossible to put into words. (Well, okay, not impossible.) During the most difficult time of your life you poured everything you had into one of our children, while somehow managing to do lesson plans and to continue teaching and mothering our other children. Words fail me. Only those who lived those 37 days with you could fully appreciate it.



Certainly in my book you're the mother of the year, but more importantly you're going to be a mother in the year. Here we go!

Government by Waiver

The Obama Administration has granted another 129 Obamacare waivers, bringing the total to 1,168. That's nearly three million Americans who are fortunate enough to escape the new health law. Abe Greenwald writes:

The left loves to perseverate on the threat to democracy posed by the top one percent of the country’s earners. Wonder if they’ll have any complaints about the two percent of Americans whom the president has officially exempted from upholding the law of the land.

We are deep in banana-republic territory here. The head of state forces an eccentric law onto his subjects and then lets his closest supporters get out of it so that they alone may continue to prosper. To call this more of the "same old" cynical Washington back-scratch machine is to underestimate the extent of the damage taking place before our eyes.

I'm with Democratic Congressman Dan Boren on this one: It's time to let every American have a waiver.

Think Tank Receives Death Threats

Several leaders of state-based think tanks were in Oklahoma Thursday and Friday for a retreat, and I enjoyed chatting with my friend Joe Lehman in my office. Little did I know his organization was receiving death threats and bomb threats.