There Goes My Dream of Writing for The Onion

I can't say I wasn't warned. After I recently pointed out that Oklahoma's state government needs your help, my uncle Bill sent word: "You have to be careful with satire. People may start making donations to state government based on your recommendation." Surely not, I thought to myself. But Bill says he once had a satirical piece, "An Oilman Looks Kindly on Mondale," published in The Wall Street Journal -- resulting in a company sending Mondale a contribution!

Well, I thought I was out of the woods when The Oklahoman assured its readers that my tongue was "firmly in cheek." But, lo and behold, yesterday I received a call from a reader who was truly bothered by my article. "This goes against everything we're fighting for," he told me. "We're trying to get rid of this bloat." What's worse, he had talked to a friend who was equally disturbed by the article.

Oh, brother. If the Office of State Finance actually gets some checks in the mail I will never live it down.

You have to be careful with satire.

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