• An Independent Journal of Commentary • FEBRUARY 2018 • VOLUME 50 NUMBER 2 • $5.00 REVENUE SESSION

2018 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE Now, more than ever, it’s all about the money. Special Report: Pages 10-17. RAIL REVOLUTION All signs point to Oklahoma passenger train revival. Special Report: Pages 18-23. Observations

www.okobserver.org Why June? VOLUME 50, NO. 2 Gov. Mary Fallin’s first consequential act of 2018 wasn’t expanding the PUBLISHER Beverly Hamilton special session agenda or identifying possible successors to Kirk Hum- phreys on the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents. EDITOR Arnold Hamilton Instead, it was setting a June 26 election for SQ 788, the initiative that will let voters decide whether to legalize medical marijuana. DIGITAL EDITOR MaryAnn Martin This is a watershed moment for Oklahoma – the logical next step, pub- ADVISORY BOARD lic policy-wise, after voters embraced other so-called sin referenda such Marvin Chiles, Andrew Hamilton, as liquor by the drink and pari-mutuel gambling on horse races. Matthew Hamilton, Scott J. Hamilton, We’ve long urged Oklahoma to abandon its punitive, costly approach Trevor James, Ryan Kiesel, George Krumme, Gayla Machell, to regulating marijuana, which has created unsustainable prison crowd- Bruce Prescott, Robyn Lemon Sellers, ing. Once considered a non-starter, legalization now is positively main- Kyle Williams stream. Petition-circulators were able to gather more than enough signatures OUR MOTTO To Comfort the Afflicted and Afflict the to get SQ 788 on the ballot. Polls indicate a landslide majority of Okla- Comfortable. homans intend to vote for it. There will be rabid, noisy opposition, of course – mostly from law en- OUR CREDO forcement and prosecutors whose operations depend financially on ri- So then to all their chance, to all their shining golden opportunity. To all the diculously hefty fines and penalties that can be imposed for even the right to love, to live, to work, to be simplest, non-distribution violations. themselves, and to become whatever But Fallin’s decision to schedule the SQ 788 vote on primary day in thing their vision and humanity can June – rather than November’s general election – is a sure sign that the combine to make them. This seeker, is the promise of America. times, they are a-changin’, as Bob Dylan might sing. - Adapted from Thomas Wolfe The governor undoubtedly knows that statewide referenda on status quo-shattering issues can disrupt otherwise routine, predictable elec- FOUNDING PUBLISHER toral matrices. She also knows that politicians dislike uncertainty – es- Helen B. Troy [1932-2007] pecially when they’re facing voters after a series of contentious ses- FOUNDING EDITOR sions failed to solve the state’s most pressing problems. Frosty Troy [1933-2017] Most incumbents are old enough to remember 2002 when Democratic state Sen. Brad Henry upset a strong Republican favorite, NFL Hall of [ISSN 0030-1795] Famer and U.S. Rep. Steve Largent, to become governor. The Oklahoma Observer [USPS 865-720] is published on the first Wednesday of each month by AHB Enterprises LLC, 13912 Plym- CONTINUED ON PAGE 43 outh Crossing, P.O. Box 14275, Oklahoma City, OK 73113-0275. Periodicals postage paid at Edmond, OK and additional entry of- fice. Phone: 405.478.8700.

POSTMASTER Send address changes to The Oklahoma Observer, P.O. Box 14275, Oklahoma City, OK 73113-0275.

SUBSCRIPTIONS 1-Year [12 issues] $50. Send check to The Yes! Please send me a one-year subscription for only $50. Oklahoma Observer, P.O. Box 14275, This special offer includes my certificate for a free book courtesy Oklahoma City, OK 73113-0275. Online: Visit of Full Circle Bookstore [a $20 value]. See page 41 for details. www.okobserver.net to use a credit card.

UPDATE ADDRESSES Please notify us at least two weeks before your move to ensure uninterrupted service. E-mail address changes to subscriptions@ okobserver.net or mail to P.O. Box 14275, Oklahoma City, OK 73113-0275.

LETTERS TO EDITOR E-mail to [email protected] or mail to P.O. Box 14275, Oklahoma City, OK 73113- 0275. 2 • FEBRUARY 2018 Observerscope

Dart: To Corporation Commis- sioners Dana Murphy and Todd Hiett, rejecting AG Mike Hunter’s request OG&E be ordered to im- mediately pass along Trump-tax savings to ratepayers. Murphy and Hiett are wholly owned subsidiar- ies of the state’s utilities.

We mourn the passing of our friend Harley Venters, one of the founders of Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma. West Point grad, for- mer legislator and judge, yellow dog FDR Democrat – a giant who will be sorely missed.

Laurel: To U.S. Sen. Susan Col- lins, R-ME, and Democratic sena- tors, working around-the-clock to reverse the Trump FCC’s destruc- tion of net neutrality. A fair and Join us March 22 for An Evening Dart: To Sen. Nathan Dahm, R- open internet is a vital firewall with Dan Rather, a fundraiser cel- Broken Arrow, proposing legisla- against the oligarchs. ebrating The Observer’s 50th year. tion that would declare Oklahoma See back cover for details. wildlife to be property of “Almighty Don’t miss our Feb. 8 Newsmak- God.” Really? We need a law for ers, featuring Sen. Kay Floyd and Dart: To the Oklahoman, serving that? Dahm’s proof not all squir- Rep. Emily Virgin discussing the as an unabashed public relations rels live in trees. 2018 session and its impact on arm of Step Up Oklahoma. It’s per- Oklahoma women. Six-7 p.m. at fectly OK to editorialize in favor, Keep an eye on Feb. 13’s SD 27 OKC’s Full Circle Books. See page but not to uncritically cheerlead in special election in historically 13 for details. the news columns. GOP northwest Oklahoma. Demo- crat Amber Jensen has a real shot Trumpism, writ large: Only 30% We’re rarely at a loss for words, to flip the seat also sought by Rep. of people surveyed in 134 coun- but – good grief! – 11 OKC Pub- Casey Murdock, R-Felt. tries last year approved of U.S. lic School superintendents since leadership, down 20 percentage 2000? E-l-e-v-e-n! Capital lead- Laurel: To our friend and labor points since Barack Obama left of- ers [?] should hang their heads in leader Tim O’Connor, honored fice. – Gallup shame. with the United Way of Central Oklahoma’s Ray Ackerman Lead- Note to our Observer family: Laurel: To Sen. Ron Sharp, R- ership Award. Bravo! Please give us a month’s heads- Shawnee, proposing legislation to up when moving. It costs us every prevent state Department of Edu- Statehouse Republicans breath- time postal service returns an un- cation from overruling local school ing easier after recent reports of deliverable copy. Fastest, easiest boards in order to create charter state revenue growth just got a way to update your address is to schools. Didn’t Republicans used face-full of cold water: Chesapeake email [email protected]. to be for local control? Energy is laying off 400. Wasn’t Trump’s tinkle-down tax plan guar- Tulsa U.S. Rep. Jim Briden- No one needs a tracking device anteed to create jobs? stine’s nomination to lead NASA is to determine Rep. Mark McBride’s in trouble, despite narrowly receiv- whereabouts at the Capitol: As The happiest guy in America? ing Senate committee support. He chief water carrier for billionaire Must be George W. Bush. His di- would do for space and scientific fracker Harold Hamm, he’s always sastrous presidency now looks discovery what Scott Pruitt has in middle of statehouse’s big oil, Mount Rushmore-esque compared done for EPA. anti-renewable cabal. to Donald “Shithole” Trump. CONTINUED ON PAGE 44 THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 3 Letters

that the average benefit cost for state employees was 15.57% lower than the market’s average. That makes total compensation 21.12% lower than what other workers were paid in the state fiscal year which ended June 30, 2016. Many people are struggling in Oklahoma’s current economy, but state employees deliver criti- cal services to our most vulner- able citizens – children, seniors, people with disabilities – and citi- zens who have business with state government. They are forced to ac- cept new responsibilities when co- workers seek better employment opportunities and vacant posi- tions are not filled. The fact is that many are eligible for the services they provide the public, such as food stamps. Editor, The Observer: “redirection” would bring desper- This is a crying shame in a state The Ten Commandments are ately needed decency to our ailing that should make special interests taken from the Old Testament writ- world. pay their fair share of taxes, which ten well before the life of Christ. Imagine the drastic change in the they now avoid through tax incen- Is it not Christ who is revered by very complexion of our lawmakers’ tives that nobody is tracking. The the vast majority of our churches? debates regarding [for examples] state Legislature can’t even tell us Don’t lawmakers proudly empha- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Secu- how much these giveaways cost size their Christian faith, most es- rity, food stamps, nuclear arms, taxpayers, but many are quick to pecially when campaigning? Why prisons, torture and DACA! As let partisan politics stand in the then the agitation over placing the ordinary citizens we might insist way of paying reasonable wages to Commandments on public monu- that lawmakers be loyal to a faith struggling state employees. ments? It seems to this writer most of them profess. A just and Phyllis Bryant that principles condemning lying, peaceful civilization could evolve. Bethany stealing or killing are [or should On its own, that would be some be] self-evident. “monument!” Editor, The Observer: Would it be more appropriate to Frank Silovsky Re: Dana Dorr’s letter in Janu- place the Beatitudes [doubtless Oklahoma City ary Observer: the very words of Jesus Christ] on Thank you so much for correct- lawfully located monuments? More Editor, The Observer: ing the math on my December let- important, imagine how much our I support salary increases for ter. When I heard that it was “2,600 civilization would blossom from teachers; however, I am equally years” I should have checked the the widespread practice of these concerned that state employees’ math. My daughter did correct me, principles by all of us, most espe- last cost of living salary increase but the letter was already printed. cially by our leaders. was in 2007 – 11 years ago. I just want you to know I’m sure In the stead of “lobbyists” [as According to the 2016 Annu- not trying to print something un- well as “other strange gods”], law- al Compensation Report by the true. Facts do matter. To work makers could focus upon the poor state’s Office of Management and 22,000 years to make $1 billion is in spirit; those who mourn; the Enterprise Services, these pub- shocking. meek; those who hunger and thirst lic servants’ average salary was My point is we are all worth a for righteousness; the merciful; 24.13% below what employees are decent living wage. We work and the pure in heart; the peacemakers paid in the private sector for simi- make billions for corporations and the persecuted; all extolled by lar work. We’ve heard how great who use their money to make laws Christ in “The Beatitudes.” Such state benefits are, but the fact is CONTINUED ON PAGE 45 4 • FEBRUARY 2018 Arnold Hamilton

The ‘Other’ 10-Ton Elephant

s the 2018 legislative session kicks off, much longer, lest the state find itself, yet again, star- most attention is focused on revenue – how ing down the barrel of a federal court order. to plug gaping holes in the Good Ship Okla- In recent public comments, Allbaugh not-so-subtly homa to protect vital state services and fund reminded legislators their refusal to enact voter-ap- aA long overdue teacher pay raise. proved criminal justice reform is positioning Okla- This is hardly the only 10-ton elephant in the legis- homa to become the nation’s incarceration capital. lative hall, however. Two years ago, voters expressed a clear will to stop As we were reminded recently, Oklahoma’s correc- this madness, approving two initiatives aimed at re- tions system is in dire straits – woefully underfunded ducing the state’s prison population – currently at as it scrambles to cope with the nation’s second high- 112 percent of capacity – and increasing community est incarceration rate. treatment options. This is a crisis of the Legislature’s making – which Unfortunately, the Legislature all but ignored the means it’s a problem all Oklahomans enabled. election results, thanks primarily to opposition from Our punitive streak has dominated public policy for state Rep. Scott Biggs, a hard-nosed former prosecu- nearly four decades, beginning in 1980. It sometimes tor. Since last year’s fruitless session, Biggs has re- seemed as if no transgression was too small to merit signed to take a federal post, fueling optimism that felony status. lawmakers will enact the voter-approved reforms Worse, the state devoted precious little attention to found in SQ 780 and 781 [see Jan New’s essay on the mental health and substance abuse issues that page 17 for more details]. often fuel the law breaking. There’s a reason the criminal justice reforms are It is difficult to understate the impact of an explod- known as “smart on crime” – they could save the state ing inmate population on the corrections depart- boatloads of money – and help increase the number ment’s budgetary needs. of taxpaying citizens. Win-win. Director Joe Allbaugh last month asked state law- Consider Texas, which would never be considered makers for $1.5 billion to operate the system next soft-on-crime. It began initiating these reforms de- fiscal year – more than three times what it received cades ago under conservative Republican governors. in FY 2017-18. Since 2007, Texas’ incarceration rate has dropped It isn’t uncommon historically for state agencies nearly 20% and the crime rate is down 27%. Moreover, to shoot for the moon when it comes to budget re- for the first time in history, Texas is closing prisons. quests, knowing they won’t get most of what they Texas did have to invest about $250 million initially seek beyond the bare minimums. If you don’t ask, in community treatment efforts, but it’s estimated you don’t get, right? the state has saved more than $3 billion in correc- In these lean budget times, that sort of thing hap- tions costs by being smart. pens less often. Agency heads approach lawmakers Oklahoma could reap similar results if lawmakers with trepidation – the needs are great, the revenues will make it a priority this session. Fewer inmates. less-than-robust and cuts are always on the table. More taxpayers. Less strain on the state budget. That makes Allbaugh’s request all the more re- What’s not to like? markable. He’s a veteran political hand who knows how the game’s played. He knows corrections won’t get that much or the two new prisons it sorely needs. But asking for $1.5 billion serves as a clarion call – not only for lawmakers, but also for all Oklahomans – that corrections’ serious problems cannot be ignored THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 5 WOMEN’S MARCH 2018

‘I Am Proud My Children Will Learn To Protest In Oklahoma’ BY MARYANN MARTIN

ne year ago on Jan. 21, the largest march – hats and marches were just about “us.” possibly in U.S. history – took place the day In 2018, we marched again. after the inauguration of President Donald This is not the first time in U.S. history that women J. Trump. have borne the brunt of social change or served on OMillions of people around the world came together the front lines of unrest and protest. in 2017 to express our anger at his presidency and all While women were the face of the marches a year that his election symbolized: the degradation of civil ago, inherent in the current administration is an af- discourse, the impending destruction of our civil lib- front to the progress women and minorities have erties, the shredding of the U.S. Constitution and the made in the last 50 years in terms of our rights at free press, and multi-faceted, malicious, and down- home, in the workplace, and in the public sphere. right reprehensible attacks on marginalized commu- To return to so-called “better days” is the tacit ap- nities. proval of a time when our LGBTQ community mem- Make no mistake: this march was never just about bers lived in fear and in the shadows, racial segrega- women, in case anyone thought the pink cat-eared tion was legal and apartheid in the U.S. was the norm,

6 • FEBRUARY 2018 WOMEN’S MARCH 2018 and when communities looked the other way when men treated women like, frankly, our president does. Whether we realize it or not, the policies a Trump Congress and a Trump cabinet enact- ed in the past year overwhelmingly impact women, but more precisely, poor women and women of color. When politicians try to shrink Medicaid, Medicare, disability rights, access to health insurance and education, or roll back envi- ronmental regulations, these actions all in- ordinately impact poor women of color and their families the most. And then there’s the not-so-subtle attacks on women and LGBTQ communities: the U.S. Department of Education’s changes to cam- pus sexual assault enforcement, for instance, and the dication, however, the resistance to this administra- addition of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. tion is just as energized as it was a year ago. Rather If elections have consequences, women live those than travel to Washington, DC, this year, I joined my consequences. The continual controversy and churn friends in Oklahoma City. Most importantly, I brought of this administration is an almost daily reminder two of my three daughters and we met up with a num- why it mattered when he was elected and how we, as ber of our friends with their children. After the march women, have to navigate this new reality. down Lincoln Boulevard, our daughters played on the But to have eight years of measured progress in the Capitol lawn. rights for LGBTQ individuals and people of color … While it was a profound experience to attend the To get that much closer to parity between men and Women’s March in DC in 2017, it was more mean- women in workplace rights and access to reproduc- ingful to me to experience the Women’s March anni- tive healthcare … versary here in Oklahoma, a flyover state perpetually To have the world of possibility opened to young written off as hopelessly conservative. children who can see themselves in former President Barack Obama and the former First Lady and for the first time see and understand that they can also be president one day … I don’t think Republicans understand that once the door to opportunity and change is opened, you sim- ply cannot slam it shut. The gains of the Obama pres- idency, for those of us historically closed off to full and equal participation in the public sphere, simply cannot be undone. Because that’s what Republicans tried to do in 2017. We’ve seen this administration’s cabinet roll back workplace, educational, and environment pro- tections. We’ve seen the erosion of our diplomatic corps and its institutional knowledge. And we’ve seen relentless attacks on the First Amendment and the press and, through the vote to end Net Neutrality, access to information. For the millions of us marching a year ago, this is no surprise. When Hillary Clinton was warning us all that this is what a Trump presidency would look like, we frantically nodded our heads in agreement. We knew this is what Trump would do. We knew because he told us he would do it. In 2018, outrage fatigue is a real threat. There is never a slow news day anymore. If the anniversary march on Jan. 21, 2018, is any in- THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 7 WOMEN’S MARCH 2018

My oldest daughter was a toddler when we knocked test in Oklahoma. doors for Barack Obama in eastern Iowa. My two old- Again, I don’t think Republicans know what they est daughters have spent many nights falling asleep signed up for. It’s not just me they have to worry to the sound of presidential debates. And now, our about. It’s the children who grew up during the Trump daughters’ awareness of the world involves regular years, who learned from their parents to never take protests of the government and the exercise of their their rights for granted. constitutional rights. Norman resident MaryAnn Martin, PhD, is digital And I am proud that my children will learn to pro- editor of The Oklahoma Observer. Why I Marched In 2017 – And Again In 2018

all people didn’t, then – as we say at my church – none of us do. She taught me to respect all people regardless of their station in life or the color of their skin or their religious beliefs. She taught me to give back for that which I had received. She taught me real family values and that love trumps hate every time. She also believed in standing up for what was right, and she taught me to speak my mind whenever I saw a wrong be- ing committed. That is something that has sometimes gotten me criticized and even vilified, especially at times when it seemed like I was the only one standing up and speaking out. But she set the bar very high, because she never cared that other people didn’t agree with BY BOB BEARDEN her. When she knew she was right she would stand up to anyone and anybody. She taught me about right eflecting on what a wonderful day Jan. 20 and wrong and loving and caring and doing the right was and how we can keep the great karma thing. I walked for her. that came from that event going: I walked for my late wife Joy, who taught me how to I am struck by how lucky I was to be a part truly be a man, not macho but loving, caring and who Rof the second annual Women’s March and to be able always knew what the right thing to do was even if it to march not only for the reason we were all march- didn’t always seem that way to me. She took me with ing, but also in memory of so many women who have all my many faults and showed me what loving and made a difference in my life, beginning with my Cher- caring and humility was all about. I walked for her. okee grandmother Edith who helped nurture me early I walked for my son Steve, who loved people even in life and set an example of what a good, kind, caring when they didn’t love him back. Steve was always a human being should be. sucker for anyone looking for a soft touch. He was his My mother, Ruth, of course, whose uncondition- mother’s child and as many times as he got slapped al love made me into the man I became. Not by any in the face by life he never wavered from his kind- means perfect, but because of what she taught me by hearted ways. I walked for him. both personal hands on instruction and by the ex- I walked for the love of his life, Robin, who left this ample she set for me to follow. I marched for her be- world much too soon and who was a perfect match cause she taught me that all people matter and that if for the man Steve was. She was the most kind, caring, 8 • FEBRUARY 2018 WOMEN’S MARCH 2018

and compassionate human being I have ever known. The outpouring of love was amazing. We must keep it She was purely and simply a sweetheart who despite going! many adversities thrown in her pathway never lost It matters that what we witnessed both this year and the sweetness of her soul. I walked for her. last year in these marches – which took place across I walked for my niece who is the most kind and the globe – is that we let the people of America and gentle soul that one would swear she was somehow the world know that we will not go backwards into cloned from my late wife Joy. They were so much yesteryear. That hate, fear, racism and bigotry are not alike that they were more like mother and daughter acceptable norms. That we will not allow those four than aunt and niece. I walked for her. words to divide us. And I walked also for all the people in my life who That we will from this day forth let our souls be have made my life memorable and worth the living. guided by love, kindness, compassion and goodwill. For the many friends who have nurtured me and loved Those are the truths that the Jewish Rabbi from Naz- me despite my failings and imperfections. I walked areth taught us and that Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. for all the members of my church family who have Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us should continue had such a tremendous effect upon who I am. to be the guideposts of our lives upon this earth. And I walked especially for all my many, many They have passed the baton to us. Let us not drop it friends and fellow union members. There are so many as we go forward into whatever fate beholds us. in my life. Bob Bearden is a trustee of the Central Oklahoma Yes, Jan. 20 was a momentous day and a great con- Labor Federation and a member of Mayflower Con- tinuation of what women of the world started in 2017. gregational Church UCC in Oklahoma City.

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 9 2018 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE Session’s Success Or Failure Hinges On R-e-v-e-n-u-e BY ARNOLD HAMILTON klahoma lawmakers proposed 1,953 bills “take the money and run” – in other words, get what and joint resolutions in advance of the 2018 you can now [gross production tax increase from 2% session that opens Feb. 5. to 4%, for example] and live to fight another day. But make no mistake: They have only one Is this the proverbial sausage-making dilemma: Omust-do – fix the state’s long-term revenue crisis. don’t let perfect be the enemy of good? Maybe. Teach- It’s an all-or-nothing pressure cooker of the Legis- ers need a $10,000 raise to get their spending power lature’s own making, the predictable result of repeat- back to 1992 levels. A $5,000 raise would be a good edly kicking the fiscal can down the road. first step – and hopefully would stem the exodus of And it’s made worse because 2018 is an election great educators to neighboring states offering much year in which unhappy Oklahomans are threatening higher salaries. to break the eight-year Republican stranglehold on Here’s a major concern if Step Up is approved: could statewide office and its legislative supermajority. it mislead many rank-and-file Oklahomans into think- How displeased are likely voters? Fifty-eight per- ing the state’s long fiscal nightmare is over, when, in cent in the latest SoonerPoll gave thumbs down to fact, this should only be regarded as a first step? Gov. Mary Fallin’s job performance. Fifty-seven per- Further, it’s worth noting that Step Up isn’t the only cent viewed the Legislature negatively. plan that attempts to address the years of double- No wonder the state’s corporate powers shifted digit state agency budget cuts that failed to stem the into overdrive to assemble and promote their Step hemorrhage [$40 million still must be found to plug Up Oklahoma package, aimed at generating $800 mil- last year’s budget hole; next year’s shortfall is pro- lion annually to help underwrite a $5,000 teacher pay jected to be at least $425 million]. raise and end the state’s debilitating budget crises. Restore Oklahoma Now is still pursuing an initia- Their stranglehold on state government – which tive petition, SQ 795, that would give voters the op- yielded $1 billion-plus in income tax cuts and corpo- portunity to restore the gross production tax on oil rate welfare that bolstered their bottom lines at the and gas to 7%. The increased revenue would fund a expense of vital state services and the working class $4,000 teacher pay raise. – is in jeopardy. “Our work continues to bring this issue of teacher In concert with the publishers of the state’s largest pay directly to the voters of Oklahoma,” says Mick- daily newspapers, elites have worked to create an il- ey Thompson, Restore Oklahoma’s founder. “Big Oil lusion of inevitability that Step Up Oklahoma is the wants total control, that’s no surprise. They don’t best – and only – way forward. want Oklahomans to vote on ending their sweetheart The devil, as always, is in the details. When the 1% 2% gross production tax rate, by far the lowest pro- unites behind a “good government” plan, it’s almost duction tax in the nation. always wise for the 99% to hide its wallets. “There seems to be some misunderstanding being On session’s eve, the details remain opaque. What spread about our Restore Oklahoma Now coalition. would income tax reform look like? Would teacher I assume it stems from recent press reports that a pay raises be dependent on expanding private school couple of organizations who are supportive of SQ 795 vouchers or charter schools? Would Corporation have signed on in support of a legislative revenue and Commission reform further tilt the regulatory scales reform package being advanced by Step Up Oklaho- toward carbon barons and big utilities? ma. As Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-OKC, put it in a Tweet, “There’s no inconsistency here. I think it is per- “FYI to the folks paying for robots to call my constitu- fectly rational behavior for groups to support the pro- ents & telling them to demand I vote for the Step Up posed legislation and to support our petition. There plan: it’s not in a bill yet. My constituents are asking is, of course, some chance this latest legislative pro- me why I’d promise to vote for something we haven’t posal will fail.” seen yet.” Step Up’s fate won’t be decided on merits alone, of Politics is the art of compromise, of course. Former course. GOP lawmakers already skittish about rais- Gov. David Walters, who endorsed Step Up’s outline, ing taxes – despite the state’s dire fiscal position – says he isn’t sold on all of it, but thinks it’s wise to CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 10 • FEBRUARY 2018 2018 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE State’s Version Of ‘The Fatted Calf’ BY DAVID PERRYMAN n 1978, a Texas doctor named Ron Thomas at the highest rate in the country and in third place opened a restaurant that he named The Fatted with men, needing $1.6 billion to pay its bills. Calf. The restaurant was somewhat unique in These are but two examples of a lack of government that the menus had no prices. Thomas’ idea was revenue. Mental health care and a myriad of other Ithat each customer would pay according their own core government services must also be funded. conscience and ability, as little or as much as they When I was first elected to the House of Repre- deemed fair and appropriate. sentatives, Zero-Based Budgeting was all the rage. Under ideal circumstances, people of more limited Legislators and the lobbyists whose money elected means would pay what they could, even if their pay- them went on and on about how each agency’s budget ment was less than the cost of the meal. Likewise, should be stripped down to zero and built back each customers who were able would ideally pay a bit ex- year so that we would really know the cost of govern- tra so that in the long run, everything would even ment services. out and the owner would gross enough in receipts to After one or two agencies were reviewed, it became cover food costs, employee pay, overhead and maybe very apparent that building a budget based on need make a little profit. was not the cost saver that it claimed to be. Dr. Thomas’ Sanger, TX, “experiment” reflected the As it became undeniable that Oklahoma had a reve- result that many other establishments using this nue problem, the oil and gas industry “stepped up” to “business model” find. Most report that on average “offer” a generous 4% gross production tax to “solve” they receive about 85% of what is needed to stay open the problem. In truth, they realized that Oklahomans and do not succeed without substantial financial had become aware of 10 years of tax cuts, tax breaks subsidies. and incentives that had cost the state over $1 billion Without delving into a dissertation on the psychol- per year. ogy of customers or their economic habits, the owner Fearing public outcry for a restoration to the histor- of The Fatted Calf confirmed that it is imperative to ical 7% GPT rate, the industry is attempting to “name recognize the actual cost of delivering a quality meal its own tax rate.” before establishing retail prices. Otherwise, it is pos- As citizens, we dutifully pay our taxes and want sible that revenue will not cover expenses. those taxes to be used for services to the citizens of With full realization that a free enterprise business Oklahoma. model does not directly translate into the delivery of None of us necessarily like taxes, but there is a government services, there are basic elements that fundamental unfairness that a single industry and its alike and some that are very different. shareholders deem themselves worthy to “set their Both have costs that are related to the number of own rate” simply because they exercise greater politi- “customers” that they must serve. However, a restau- cal clout than working Oklahomans. rant has the ability to limit the number of meals that The Fatted Calf it will serve. If business is good, a baker may pur- failed because it chase additional flour and more ovens in anticipation gave away its rev- of receiving more revenue and hence a larger profit. enue. Oklahoma, Unfortunately, public schools do not have the abil- too, will fail if it ity to turn away “customers” and despite the fact that continues to al- there were 645,000 students in 2008 and 695,000 a low billion-dollar decade later, the 8% increase has not equated to an industries to drain 8% increase in funding. the state’s coffers Instead, per student funding of Oklahoma’s K-12 to the detriment education formula is down by 22.8% since 2008. The of working Okla- percentage cut in Oklahoma is the largest of any homans and our state. According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, it children. works out to a decrease of $810 per student, adjusted David Perryman, for inflation. a Chickasha Dem- Also woefully underfunded is the Oklahoma De- ocrat, represents partment of Corrections which is currently at 109% District 56 in the of capacity and clipping along incarcerating women Oklahoma House.

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 11 2018 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE ‘History Repeats Itself Because No One Was Listening The First Time’ BY CAL HOBSON adly, but perhaps not shockingly, such ap- in every county; a public safety system that ban- pears the case today as a number of Repub- ishes the baddies and guards the goodies; roads, lican candidates for governor traverse our highways, public buildings and facilities, all safe, state promising voters solutions for all that modern and user friendly; clean air, water, soil, riv- Sails them. They further swear – or affirm, because ers, parks galore. Republicans don’t swear – transforming Oklahoma Happy days are coming again for those who live can be done on the cheap, without a tax increase. here now and the multitudes soon to migrate! Therefore, long-suffering voters can count on A wonderland awaits the huddled, hurried and first-rate quality education, Pre-K through graduate worried citizens of the 46th state who rightfully school; technical and CareerTech training competi- and reasonably expect something better for them- tive with any other; affordable health care available selves and their children. And why shouldn’t they? Our state is blessed with amazing and abundant natural resources, is perfectly located for trade and commerce in the center of our nation, is populated by good and caring citizens, almost all of whom are ready to assist those in need with comfort and care. So as elections approach we few re- maining denizens of doubt and depres- sion might rightfully ask: If all this bounty is so easily and cheaply obtained, why are things so screwed up here in Soonerland? The answer is as simple and painful as a pimple on one’s nose. Our current po- litical leaders have not been willing to tell the truth to their constituents because it would require them to utter something like this: “Our state government is dys- functional, corrupt, stupid, laughable, arrogant and is only going to get worse because we have a revenue problem, not a spending problem, and most importantly … it is all our fault!” There. At least I just said it and most folks that can add and subtract agree. However, incumbent Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, outgoing Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cor- nett and super rich, always litigious law- yer Gary Richardson, the presumed three frontrunners for the pachyderm nomina- tion to replace Gov. Mary Fallin, promise to provide us a flourishing future using only the lonely and worn out slogan of ferreting out waste, fraud and abuse. In plain English that really means addi-

12 • FEBRUARY 2018 Newsmakers Series

Join Observer Editor Arnold Hamilton for a lively one-hour discussion with Sen. Kay Floyd and Rep. Emily Virgin on the 2018 legislative session and its impact on Oklahoma women.

Thursday, February 8, 2018 Full Circle Books 1900 Northwest Expressway Oklahoma City 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Admission is free Light hors d’oeuvres will be served Wine and beer available for purchase

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 13 2018 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE tional four-day school weeks, more counties without unsettling] is Mick “The Mayor” Cornett, who a hospital, roads that remind drivers of the 1930s, also has expressed his aversion to tax increases … prisons ripe for riots and a return to federal supervi- unless they were dropped into his lap by someone sion, etc., etc. else. For confirmation of their clueless concepts please For example, the revenues to cash-flow a new and read just a few of the following pearls of wisdom – or improved downtown OKC, as well as major expen- dollops of doo doo – being deposited on the cam- ditures on infrastructure in city schools, were paign trail by these three dandies. proposed by his predecessors Ron Norick and Kirk First up is Todd “I’m not Mary’s Little” Lamb. Humphreys … and paid for by visionary citizens via In response to a question lodged in Stillwater on temporary sales tax levies. Jan. 22 about the state budget, the former Secret Raising money is hard. Spending it is easy. If this Service agent bravely proclaimed, “I’m against tax wannabe CEO for all of Oklahoma doesn’t change increases. Did you hear that? I’m against tax in- his tune about taxes he’ll be renamed “Mick the creases.” Knife” when and if he moves into the governor’s Yes you are, Todd – as is most of the rest of hu- second-floor corner office at the state Capitol. manity. On that one you stand out in a crowd about Yes, I know. Most folks say they want to elect as much as one of the millions of Muslims on the frugal cost-cutters when it comes to guarding their march to Mecca. They all profess their love for Mu- tax dollars, but that song quickly changes when the hammad even if they get crushed to death to prove resultant bleeding is from their own bodies. it. Back here in the buckle of the Bible Belt, you, the In wrapping up this column, it normally would be very vanilla light gov, are among the many who wor- hard to top the hypocrisy and hyperbole being sold ship at the altar of low or no taxes. However, we’ve to an ever more gullible public than that being shov- tried that Laffer Curve scheme for eight years under eled around by Cornett, Lamb and Richardson – but the lady you abandoned and all that has resulted these are not normal times. A group called Step Up is the crushing of our state’s future success … and Oklahoma, primarily populated by white, wealthy, hopefully your electability as well. male business domos, who usually would rather For example, a just-released Sooner Poll shows have a root canal than advocate a tax increase, has you have dropped 15 points in the last six months cobbled together an array of new revenues totaling as voters have become increasingly familiar with about $800 million. Since November they have been your poisonous pablum of over generous portions aggressively advocating that legislators join them in from the free lunch menu. developing backbones about spending and therefore Second comes former Democrat, independent have beseeched them to cast “yes” votes. and now Republican trial lawyer Gary “I’m rich So far, so good. But when leaders of the Step Up but bored” Richardson, who admittedly does have group were asked by inquisitive Oklahoman reporter some reputable credentials – lawyers, former U.S. at- Chris Casteel about their already very generous torney, successful litigant, prosperous horse owner. campaign contributions to the “not now, not ever” But he is, unlike his steeds, devoid of any horse anti-tax crowd of Lamb, Cornett and Richardson, sense. they quickly reverted to form. For example, the Tulsa-based Titan of Tomfoolery Not only do these pillars of progress provide their offered this vacuous advice to fellow elephants who chosen nominees for high office a pass on their anti- might be tempted to admit education, health care, tax stances, many doubled-down on the do-nothings public safety and infrastructure investments actu- by dishing out more campaign cash to them. That ally cost some money: “I’m shocked to see people makes about as much sense as giving matches and calling themselves Republican while advocating for gasoline to a convicted pyromaniac so he’ll have the largest tax increase in the history of Oklahoma. something to do while incarcerated. True conservatives need to rally together, reject the And speaking of doing something, or maybe noth- tax hikes and elect a Republican governor who is ing, the 2018 regular session looms. It will be ac- truly dedicated to the principles of the party.” companied by a troublesome little legislative brother Thank you, sir. That nugget of nonsense puts the in that the second version of a not-so-special ses- lie to the phrase “older but wiser.” I became familiar sion will continue to run parallel with the usual one. with your campaign rhetoric way back in 2002 when Powerful and well-connected special interest will you wanted to be our chief executive officer, running push for their priorities – in both. as an independent. Therefore, let me be kind and Lilliputian lawmakers will be asked to do what just say: You indeed are older. Wiser? On that charge they hate the most – raise taxes – and regardless of a jury of your peers will indeed find you not guilty. whether they vote “yes” or “no” the business power- Representing the third leg of our anti-tax trium- brokers will do what they always do: give most all virate [I would say “stool” but that image is a bit their campaign donations to Republican incumbents

14 • FEBRUARY 2018 2018 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE and candidates. Most everybody wants their pictures taken at rib- Of course, I’m not saying they will forget entirely bon cuttings. the Democrats who may step up to support the tax Most everybody takes credit for the events, wheth- increases proposed by the Step Up group. No. Just er they voted “yes” or “no.” the opposite. They’ll remember them by funding Truthfully, most voters could care less. their Republican opponents in the fall. Finally, this isn’t fake news, because it isn’t even Yes, indeed. I’ve seen this movie many times and it news. always has the very same ending, which is: Cal Hobson, a Lexington Democrat, served in the Most Democrats vote “yes” to raise taxes. Oklahoma Legislature from 1978-2006, including Most Republicans vote “no’ on raising taxes. one term as Senate President Pro Tempore. Oklahoma’s Budget Outlook Improves, But Big Challenges Remain BY DAVID BLATT or the first time in four years, lawmakers may spending obligations that will more than offset any begin the 2018 session with more money to possible surplus. State finance officials have identi- appropriate than the year before. This is unde- fied increased obligations totaling $148 million for niably good news, coming after multiple ses- next year, including ad valorem reimbursements Fsions when lawmakers started the year with short- owed to school districts, higher bond payments for falls ranging from $180 million to over $1 billion. the State Capitol and Department of Transportation, At the same time, the anticipated revenue growth is and increased benefit costs for teachers and state modest, and by the time this year’s budget is finalized, employees. next year’s projected surplus may turn into a deficit. In addition, the state could be facing the loss of fed- In addition, the state faces significant increased costs eral Medicaid matching funds that have been used to to meet its funding obligations next year, as well as help pay for the cost of graduate medical education, mounting pressures to address urgent funding needs which could cost Oklahoma $141 million in FY 2018 across state government. The bottom line is that ap- and 2019 to preserve the programs at the OU and OSU proval of permanent new revenues remain essential medical schools. to put the budget on a stable and sustainable course. Lawmakers also face strong pressure to fund other Next year’s collections to the General Revenue [GR] needs that have been neglected over many years of fund, the largest source of state appropriations, are shortfalls and cuts. projected to rise by some $425 million, or 7.8%, com- The average salary of our state employees is 24% pared to this year. Increased sales tax and individual below the competitive labor market, and our teach- income tax collections account for more than three- er pay is among the very lowest in the nation. Our quarters of the growth. Mixed beverage receipt taxes prisons are critically understaffed and overcrowded, are expected to rise by 51% because of the changes to we have among the highest rates of untreated mental Oklahoma’s alcohol laws approved by voters last No- illness in the nation, and nearly 7,500 Oklahomans vember. Gross production tax revenues are projected with developmental disabilities must wait for up to 11 to be almost unchanged. years to receive home-based services. Healthy revenue growth is needed to dig out of the Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s state and local govern- hole created by lawmakers over the past year. To ments collect 20% less tax revenue as a share of per- balance this year’s budget, lawmakers appropriated sonal income than the national average, and they col- $406 million in one-time revenues during the regular lect 25% less than they did in the late 1990s. legislative session and $103 million during this fall’s Fortunately, elected officials and the public are wak- first special session. ing up to the reality that new permanent revenues are This brings total one-time revenues in the current needed. Voters and lawmakers have a growing willing- budget to $509 million – not including $30 million in ness to support a fair mix of higher taxes. Even if the emergency funding that was appropriated to the state immediate budget crisis is subsiding, this resolve to Department of Health in special session. fix the budget should not. On top of making up for the end of those one-time David Blatt is executive director of the Oklahoma funds, lawmakers will be faced with a wide array of Policy Institute; www.okpolicy.org. THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 15 2018 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE

cause our lack of educational funding makes them less and less prepared to succeed in college and in Oklahoma, Step their careers. Oklahoma’s fossil fueled failures have state, na- tional, and global implications. Perhaps no other states in the United States bear more responsibility Beyond Fossil Fuel for our inaction on climate change than Oklahoma and Texas, and this is why Scott Pruitt, Rex Tiller- BY MARK Y.A. DAVIES son, and Rick Perry are in the halls of power. They have willingly done the bidding of the major fossil completely understand why the fossil fuel com- fuel companies and their executives [many of whom panies in Oklahoma whose massive tax breaks are based in Oklahoma and Texas] to accelerate the have broken our state would want to control the Trump Train towards climate chaos – all while these state’s response to its brokenness, but I can’t same companies spend billions of dollars to confuse Iunderstand why the rest of us would let them. people about the science of climate change in order Letting oil and gas companies control how Oklaho- to make trillions of dollars in profits from their fos- ma responds to its revenue failure and budget crisis sil fuel assets. Not only do they put profit over state is a little bit like allowing the person who crashed and country; they put profit over the planet. into your car control where you go to the doctor for This is the industry to which Oklahoma should your injuries and what body shop you can use to trust its future? Not if we ever hope to make Oklaho- repair your car and then being told not to complain ma a flourishing state for all people and not a failed about your chronic back pain or about the paint state that continues to contribute to the plunder of not matching on your car or about the bumper that our planet. keeps falling off. The future for Oklahoma is not fossil fuel; it is The fossil fuel companies in Oklahoma own this wind, solar, clean energy technology, sustainable state. They own the governor and almost every agriculture, creative arts, eco-tourism, and innova- statewide elected office. They own the vast majority tion for a regenerative economy that contributes to a of the Oklahoma Legislature. They own the mayors more just, participatory, and sustainable society. of our major cities and most of their city councils. If we really want to step up for Oklahoma, we must They own our universities and their presidents. step beyond fossil fuel and embrace a diverse and They own most of the media. The fossil fuel com- sustainable economic future. panies own Oklahoma, and thus they utterly and Mark Y.A. Davies is the Wimberly Professor of So- completely own our state’s abysmal failure. And now cial and Ecological Ethics and director of the World they want us to trust them to come up with solu- House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsi- tions for our state? Give me a break! bility at Oklahoma City University. In addition to being a failing state in the present, Oklahoma has done very little to prepare for the post-fossil fuel economy. If we think things are bad now, wait 10 to15 years when fossil fuel use is in It’s Bad Idea To significant decline around the world. Twenty years ago, I had hoped that our Oklahoma oil and gas companies would begin to see them- selves more broadly as energy companies and help Restrict Medicaid lead the way in the transition to clean energy, but I BY CARLY PUTNAM underestimated their greed and their willingness to sacrifice the well-being of future generations both in ecently the Trump Administration an- Oklahoma and beyond for the sake of that greed. nounced it would allow and encourage states Not only has Oklahoma done very little to prepare to impose work requirements on adults for the post-fossil fuel economy, we have also cut seeking to enroll in Medicaid. Ten states state spending on education far more than any other Rhave already submitted requests to do so, although state since 2008, making it less and less likely that just one state, Kentucky, has been approved so far. our state will possess the intellectual and creative Oklahoma lawmakers might be tempted to follow capital needed to create a new economy. Our best suit. They shouldn’t be. Most Medicaid-eligible adults students rightly see that their capabilities will be who can work already do, and most of the rest have more greatly appreciated elsewhere unless their barriers to employment that a work requirement field of interest is fossil fuel friendly. Many of the won’t fix. Restricting Medicaid with a work require- students with great potential still get left behind be- ment would create expensive new bureaucracy and

16 • FEBRUARY 2018 2018 OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE prevent Oklahomans from getting important care Work requirements won’t help those who aren’t in without paying off in any significant savings for the the workforce to get there, as they face barriers to state. employment a work requirement won’t address. Medicaid is how we guarantee basic health access However, work requirements will make it more dif- for low-income Americans. Oklahoma’s Medicaid ficult for very low-income parents to access basic program, known as SoonerCare, is mostly limited to health care. They will result in people needlessly los- children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. ing coverage. They will be expensive for the state to SoonerCare coverage for nondisabled adults is re- implement and maintain. stricted to very low-income parents or caretakers of Is that what we want? dependent children, and these adults make up less Carly Putnam is policy director of Oklahoma Policy than 10% of enrollees. Among this group, fully 85% Institute; www.okpolicy.org. are or were recently employed. That means any work requirement in Oklahoma would in effect be target- ing only about 12,000 of the 800,000 Oklahomans on SoonerCare per month. Criminal Justice For the vast majority of Medicaid members who don’t work, work requirements won’t help them get jobs. Nationwide, research shows that nonworking Reform Gaining adult Medicaid members fall into a few categories. The largest category [36%] isn’t working due to a chronic health issue or disability. States implementing work requirements should be Momentum? able to screen for these individuals, but this would BY JAN NEW require expensive new bureaucracy and would virtu- ally guarantee that some people with disabilities, par- n November 2016, while the 21-member Okla- ticularly people with developmental or cognitive dis- homa Criminal Justice Reform Task Force com- abilities, may slip through the cracks and lose their pleted and published its recommendations, Okla- health care as a result. homa voters passed SQs 780 and 781 [58% and I56%, respectively]. The next largest group of nonworking adult Med- icaid members [30%] report that responsibilities to The ballot measures required a significant change home and family prevent them from working. These in response to non-violent, low-level drug possession individuals don’t need a work requirement to moti- offenses. Some of these changes are already having vate them to find work. Instead, they need affordable an effect but also placing pressure on too few mental childcare and elder care – the same services Okla- health and substance abuse treatment facilities and homa has repeatedly cut due to budget shortfalls. providers. Another 15% percent of nonworking adult Medicaid In 2017, three criminal justice reform bills that members are in school. While they should be exempt grew out of the work of the Criminal Justice Reform from work requirements, this depends on their abil- Task Force and the passage of SQ’s 780 and 781 were ity to obtain documentation from their university or eventually signed by Gov. Mary Fallin: education program, which may be contingent on pay- • SB 603 requires risk and needs assessment for ing all fees or other bureaucratic processes. every inmate; Nine percent are retired. This may include older • SB 604 requires personal safety planning for pre- adults for whom earlier injury or health condition led trial criminal cases in the CLEET required curricu- them to drop out of the workforce. lum; Six percent report being unable to find work. This • HB 2284 requires continuing legal education for may be because they don’t have the skills necessary public defenders, judiciary, and district attorneys to to be hired or simply live somewhere that few jobs include domestic violence topics. are available. More than a dozen criminal justice reform bills That leaves only 3% percent of non-working adult remain in the House Criminal Justice and Correc- Medicaid enrollees who do not fit into one of these tions Committee – formerly chaired by Rep. Scott categories – a tiny number that is clearly not driving Biggs, who resigned from the House last November Medicaid costs for states. to become state director for the federal Farm Service As Oklahoma lawmakers consider the lure of a Agency. work requirement, it’s important to ask what we want Recently, two Judiciary committees – Criminal to accomplish. Work requirements won’t move many Justice and Corrections and Civil and Environmen- SoonerCare members into the workforce – after all, tal were combined into a single “super” committee, most are either children or are already employed. CONTINUED ON PAGE 31 THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 17 OKC’s streetcar system opens later this year. Amtrak’s North Texas-OKC Heartland Flyer could soon expand into Kansas. Deadlines loom for action on Tulsa-OKC passenger rail. Climate change is spurring mass transit ridership. Millennials aren’t as enamored as past generations about owning their own cars. It’s the perfect recipe for a ... Rail Revolution

BY BOB D. ROUNSAVELL

ext time you visit Kansas City, park your car las metro and its residents a whole bunch in trans- in the hotel garage and ride the streetcar. portation costs and highway and road funding. The new streetcar spans the heart of down- Can one blame today’s millennials for not wanting town: you can visit the 100-year old Union to own two cars – or even one? NStation, housing the family-friendly Science City and Living in a comfortable condo downtown in today’s the National World War I Museum and Memorial; on bustling cities, they enjoy the scenery on their bicy- Saturdays survey the fabulous Farmers Market and cles or on short healthful walks to eat and to enjoy barhop till the bars close. This streetcar will take you the entertainment that abounds. And a bonus is hav- to all these downtown attractions, and best of all, it’s ing no worry about mowing the lawn weekly during free. summer. Is this a trend in today’s urban areas? You bet: it’s Tulsa needs to get on the public transit bandwagon happening in cities across America. if it wants to drive downtown growth, no pun intend- Cincinnati launched a downtown streetcar in the ed. Without modern public transportation options fall of 2016; Detroit unveiled its QLine along Wood- available, development will slow down, if not cease. ward Avenue, and St. Louis started up its Delmar Public transit provides a do-able solution to the Loop Trolley this summer. problem of mass congestion on state highways and All over metro Phoenix we saw the light rail system byways. It will significantly reduce congestion cur- operating last May. Both Denver and Salt Lake City rently plaguing cities and suburbs. It saves an in- have expanding light rail systems. And passenger rail dividual motorist with only one car about $10,000 runs daily between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. In the yearly in gasoline purchases. It also helps shrink the dark recession, DART and Trinity Railway saved Dal- accident rate that kills and maims far too many driv- 18 • FEBRUARY 2018 ers. massive casino and hotel daily. For our state it will reduce the high cost of never- To regionalize passenger rail service would not ending road maintenance and free up scarce funding be difficult. The key is to connect OKC and Tulsa, for our more serious problems in education, espe- the state’s two largest cities, by utilizing the exist- cially low teacher pay, and corrections. ing Eastern Flyer route between them. Communi- In his book Straphanger, Taras Grescoe traveling ties along the way – i.e. Sapulpa, Bristow, Stroud and around the world sees how people utilize various Chandler – will be provided passenger rail service. modes of public transit to save cities and themselves Hence, the approximate two-thirds of our popula- from the automobile. tion between the two metro areas can obtain all the Among the growing number of straphangers in economic, environmental and quality-of-life advan- the world today, Grescoe intends to remain one. He tages enjoyed now only by our southern residents. points out the more than 600 million cars worldwide Existing rail infrastructure need not be cast aside and more than 7.5 billion people, both increasing day for high speed. True, recent upgrades to the Sooner by day. For most of us public mass transit is the most Sub railroad portion of the Eastern Flyer route cur- efficient travel mode. Its many forms include buses, rently allows for only a maximum passenger rail commuter trains, streetcars, and subways, to name speed of 60 mph. That is OK, since we are connecting a few. towns between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Did you know that half the populations of New Incremental route upgrades can easily increase York, Toronto, and London do not own cars? When speeds to a maximum of 110 mph on existing infra- they lived in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, structure, fast enough to be competitive with the Columbus and Geneva, my wife Maria’s sisters trav- Turner Turnpike. eled only a few hundred miles in their autos every Initial benefits include trading a windshield and year, even though they visited most tourist spots in steering wheel for a smart phone or laptop. Your time North and South America, in Europe, Africa and Asia. is yours on a passenger train to be more productive One sister used her Honda for ferrying relatives or to relax before an important business meeting. during visits; another drove her Camry only for week- Getting the service started to reap transit-oriented ly grocery shopping. For the third, our cousin grate- revenues is the key. The tracks are in place today. The fully acknowledged adding more mileage to the Volvo only holdup is political. Required to connect Green in her European tour with her husband – more than Country to Oklahoma City with daily passenger rail quadrupling it – months before giving it away to a service is negotiation between the city of Tulsa, the Thai friend. Oklahoma Department of Transportation [ODOT], Grescoe reminds us that public transportation is Stillwater Central, and BNSF. That discussion can in- how people of the world’s most populous continents clude connecting Sapulpa and downtown Tulsa. travel. “Every day, subway systems carry 155 mil- Once this Tulsa connection is done, Oklahoma City lion passengers, 34 times the number carried by the is expected to follow through with repair of 4.5 miles world’s airplanes.” In other words: “A century and a of track to reach the new Santa Fe Depot Intermodal half after the invention of the internal combustion Hub downtown. engine, private car ownership is still an anomaly.” At present, both cities have no direct connection Contrary to public opinion, the future of the 21st to the rail line; this problem must be remedied to Century will not be the expansion of interstate high- make the Eastern Flyer available daily to thousands ways or the advent of driverless autos, but rather the of Oklahomans. creation of the more reliable public transit options The other key connection to the rest of the Mid- that will include bus rapid transit [BRT] systems and west, as well as to national train service is the exten- the return of the streetcar. sion of the Heartland Flyer service north to Wichita The train will also be an integral part. Public tran- with stops in communities like Guthrie and Ponca sit will include light rail connecting communities in City. Wichita is only 20 miles south of Newton, KS, metropolitan areas and commuter rail for the towns where the Southwest Chief train goes either west to and cities in our state and our region. Los Angeles and cities between or north to Kansas Oklahoma has a golden opportunity to develop a City, Chicago, then the Big Apple. regional passenger rail system based on the expan- Oklahomans are not that far away from having ex- sion of the existing Heartland Flyer. Every day this cellent passenger train service once again. However if train leaves Oklahoma City, makes stops in Norman, we do not start making it happen soon, we could lose Purcell, Pauls Valley, and Ardmore in Oklahoma and the opportunity for passenger rail serving both our Gainesville in Texas, and ends in Fort Worth; then it state and our region with connections to the national retraces the same route on its return trip to Okla- system. homa City. Hopefully, Oklahomans will see the light, band to- The small town of Thackerville near the Texas bor- gether and urge our leaders to create this miracle. der is working hard in concert with the Chickasaw Oologah resident Bob D. Rounsavell is president of Nation to get a train stop for the Heartland Flyer and the Carrie Dickerson Foundation. His wife, Paz Ma- bring many from both Oklahoma and Texas to its ria Rounsavell, serves as his editor.

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 19 SPECIAL REPORT: RAIL REVOLUTION

autonomous car without steering wheels or pedals. Techno-optimists are ecstatic. Transportation Yet Tulsa, some 106 highway miles from Oklaho- ma City, could not be further distant from a regional transportation vision. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is set for a Disruption “railvolution.” OKC area dignitaries were on hand Dec. 7 for a BY EVAN STAIR ribbon-cutting celebration at the Santa Fe Depot. Outside, newly laid rails await the first test runs of a ast November, KRMG radio’s Dan Potter modern streetcar system. The streetcar will make its nailed down a city of Tulsa policy statement first revenue run in 2018 and expansion routes are when he interviewed Mayor G.T. Bynum. already being discussed. “[T]remendous disruption [is] occurring Even more impressive, a new Regional Transit Au- Lright now in the world of transit … ” Bynum said. thority is expected to link Norman, Moore, Oklahoma “[W]hat we don’t want to do is be the last two cities City, Edmond, Del City, and Midwest City with com- in America that make the massive infrastructure in- muter rail service in the near future. vestment in something that is an outmoded source Wichita also seems ready to join the “railvolu- of transportation when the new wave is coming right tion.” On June 9, at the request of the city of Wichita, in.” Amtrak originated an inspection train at Oklahoma City’s Santa Fe depot. Its course by- passed Tulsa, making stops in Guth- rie, Perry, Ponca City, Arkansas City, Wichita, Newton, Topeka, and Law- rence before arriving in Kansas City. Hundreds lined the right of way for a glimpse of hope to see passenger rail restored, and with it, impressive economic benefits estimated at $3 for every $1 invested. Back to Tulsa. The window is clos- ing. A contractual requirement be- tween the state and the Stillwater Central Railroad means a pilot, six- month, twice-daily, commuter rail operation between the metropolitan areas must begin on or before Aug. 4, 2019. The mayor’s crystal ball seems to be impeding progress. The city of Tulsa has refused to become involved in even discussing the proj- ect with state and railroad officials. As a result of City of Tulsa apathy, Artist rendering of OKC’s new streetcar system, scheduled to begin the railroad is expected to fail in its service later this year. requirements. Without a quick and The mayor refers to autonomous vehicles or, more dramatic reversal in Tulsa policy, the Stillwater Cen- colloquially, self-driving cars surpassing passenger tral Railroad will forfeit $2.8 million in escrow to the rail technology. state in liquidated damages. The railroad’s passenger Autonomous vehicle technology, once considered rail easement will possibly revert back to the state, science fiction, is now imminent. OTTO, a self-driving and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation semi-truck, moved a truckload of beer 120 miles from [ODOT] will again be forced to wait for state funds to Fort Collins through Denver to Colorado Springs on establish a Tulsa-Oklahoma City route. By the way, Oct. 20, 2016. You can test drive a Volvo S90 that pro- there is no due date for ODOT to establish service. vides some autonomous functions today. Audi plans Still, even with the anticipated failure of this private to begin selling autonomous vehicles in 2020. Gen- Tulsa-Oklahoma City commuter rail plan, ODOT must eral Motors is seeking approval to test 2,500 modi- still act. While it remains an unfunded mandate, state fied Chevy Bolts on public roads in seven states as an statute requires ODOT to establish a passenger rail

20 • FEBRUARY 2018 SPECIAL REPORT: RAIL REVOLUTION link between Tulsa and Oklahoma counties with the – unless the real situation is simply nothing like they national passenger rail system. This is part of a 1996 insist that it is. law passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. According to the American Association of State Frank Keating. Highway and Transportation Officials [AASHTO], a Part one is complete with the daily Oklahoma City- standard five-axle semi-trailer truck operating at Fort Worth Heartland Flyer service. Part two may de- maximum legal gross weight inflicts pavement dam- mand a change in leadership at the city of Tulsa and age equivalent to 9,600 automobiles. certainly in the Legislature. Heavy trucks plainly are the chief, overwhelm- Norman resident Evan Stair is president of Passen- ing source of road damage – and thanks to policies ger Rail Oklahoma and Passenger Rail Kansas. skewed towards highway transportation – truck vol- ume and related roadway damage increases yearly. In Oklahoma, however, that rig’s operator pays three- cents-per-gallon less state “fuel tax” than the auto Why Do So Many operator. Strange, isn’t it? A cursory look at Federal Highway Trust Fund num- bers will reveal that annual revenues received from Pols Hate Rail? the commercial trucking industry comprise less than one-third of the Federal Transit Trust Fund. BY TOM ELMORE And the rest of trucking’s un-repaid costs? From the pockets of the happy taxpayers, of course, amounting ime was when many of Oklahoma’s pub- to perpetual subsidy – corporate welfare – of trucking lic officials regularly insisted that intercity to the detriment of other, unsubsidized modes. [The passenger and regional transit trains were nation’s commercial railroads, conversely, had com- somehow unaffordable and that “those who pletely repaid all federal support of their original con- Tuse transportation ought to pay for it” – like high- struction by 1943 according the Congress. When will ways allegedly do. trucking and airlines do that? Who’s even asking?] The reality is just a tad different. In an April 1991 By 2001, by published word of ODOT leadership, position paper opposing heavier multi-trailer trucks Oklahoma alone faced over $40 billion in “unfund- on Oklahoma’s highways, the late Bobby Green, PE, ed highway maintenance requirement” on its public that era’s Oklahoma Department of Transportation road network – up from $11 billion in 1996. Little has [ODOT] director, wrote: changed since then, except that ODOT leadership no “The Department and the Federal Highway Admin- longer mentions skyrocketing maintenance deficits istration believe the trucking industry should pay the on public roads as it once did. Trending as they had, costs of the damages its heavy trucks cause to the these shortfalls must now, easily, exceed $100 bil- state’s highways, roads and streets. The industry has lion. And still – no reform! never paid its fair share of such costs, leaving the Meanwhile, compare the massive costs of 35,000- lion’s share to the average taxpaying motorists who plus annual highway deaths on American roads to are imperiled by sharing the roadways they support the safety record of passenger railroads. Amtrak train with the heavy trucks they must also support ... accidents have produced around 100 deaths since “As a result of the continual increases in truck siz- 1971 – not as good as European and Japanese rail es and weights, as well as the phenomenal growth systems, many of which have never produced a single in the numbers of heavy trucks using these major passenger fatality, but still comparatively impressive. routes [a 38% increase between 1980 and 1990], Fifty years of politically driven, selective subsidy Oklahoma’s highway facilities are deteriorating at a of highways and airlines to the detriment of other rate which exceeds our financial capacity to replace modes has left the nation with a transportation sys- or even repair them.” tem that’s not only unusable by many Americans, but In 1997, Clinton Administration Transportation has proven to be fundamentally insecure and subject Secretary Rodney E. Slater’s cover letter to U.S. Con- to being used against us by our enemies. gressmen accompanying the 1997 Federal Highway Not only was Amtrak the only intercity passenger Cost Allocation Study stated: “The heaviest trucks system universally operating following the terrorist continue to substantially underpay as they did in attacks of 9/11, Amtrak provides the only reasonable- 1982.” cost, small-town-accessible alternative to highways We’ve not had a federal audit of highway-user cost and airlines available in most of America. Passenger recovery since then. The state of Oklahoma has nev- rail is cheap, safe, energy-efficient – and secure. So er in its history performed such an audit. Still, claims why do so many of America’s politicians hate it? that “highways are the way to go” persist. You’d think Moore resident Tom Elmore is executive director of they’d all proudly publish updated numbers regularly the North American Transportation Institute.

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 21 SPECIAL REPORT: RAIL REVOLUTION For Trains Of The Future ...... Look To The Past

BY JOHN M. WYLIE II

hose seeking true national rail service for are discovering the advantages of combining modern the 21st Century need to follow downtowns technology with historic downtown sites. nationwide and look to the past. Towns from Pawhuska to Oologah have restored Oklahoma City and Tulsa aren’t the only their downtowns as a mix of restored historic build- Tplaces where young millennials and aging boomers ings with classic themes plus the modern services

22 • FEBRUARY 2018 SPECIAL REPORT: RAIL REVOLUTION to live and work in today’s world. six. Trains can do the same thing. Consider the trip my Think about it – three days travel, no airport has- mother and I took on the City of St. Louis from Kan- sles, real sleep in private quarters, no packing and sas City to Los Angeles in the 1950s, when she was unpacking multiple times – all on one ticket general- a new widow of about 30 and I was a child of four or ly far cheaper than driving and getting a hotel room five. each night. [Amtrak charges all sleeping passengers As airplanes got faster and more luxurious, she the basic rate – usually the lowest – plus charging wanted me to experience a true luxury train ride – the primary passenger in the group a surcharge for far cheaper than flying or driving – before they no the room.] longer existed. And train travel is far more handicapped friendly It was an experience, the first vivid childhood than air or car travel already. Rail executives aren’t memory I have and a delight every time I remember. stupid – with the aging of America, that will only get The trip lasted 43 hours each way, and we never better because it makes sense in building ridership, needed to leave the train along the way. which expands lines, which builds ridership further, Trains offered a variety of sleeping quarters, from which makes trains more economical – an easy sale roomettes to double bedrooms. For us – a four-foot, for cash-strapped governments which subsidize all 10-inch lady and a four-year-old boy – the former forms of transportation. was plenty. If you’ve never slept in a bed on a train, But how do you spend time on a train for multiple you’ve really missed something. days? Adults and children of all generations love The gentle motion of the train, the humming of the new sights and a train combines superb views of the wheels [sleeping cars are well behind the engine], passing landscape [without distracting the driver]. and avoiding the hassle of packing and unpacking Think dome lounges. suitcases each day of a car trip combined for some “Quiet cars” give those who want to read without of the most restful sleep I can remember in a life constant distractions escape the outside world for plagued by insomnia. hours on end with a good book or Kindle. There were no blaring loudspeakers. Porters with For those who want to work, all but 9% of Amtrak small instruments resembling xylophones awoke trains already provided complimentary Wi-Fi service travelers, based on door cards, in time for really at the start of 2016, with the number continuing to good breakfasts. Lunch, dinner and snacks also grow since. were available as part of our fare. I could have a soft And where better than a train roomette or suite drink and my mother a glass of wine in dome car can you host a truly confidential business meeting lounges. while traveling? Other than a Gulfstream – where If you’ve never been in a dome car, imagine a there’s still a pilot – nowhere. moon roof that surrounds each seat from the arm- That trip as a child 60 years ago sold me on rail rest across the ceiling to the armrest of the left seat travel. Just as both old and new generations now are across the aisle. [Unlike cars and planes, trains have learning [or re-learning] the benefits of downtown no middle seats.] living, properly equipped, routed, and marketed One of my favorite memories was watching the trains can indeed teach an old dog new tricks – with- moonrise over the Utah desert, shining brightly and out losing the features that draw those who remem- surrounded by the most brilliant stars I’ve ever seen. ber the best of old-fashioned train travel. Try finding that on any other kind of cross-country As the Moody Blues’ John Lodge so aptly put it in transportation. 1969’s In the Eyes of a Child: Roomettes became sitting rooms during the day, Earth falls far away, or we could enjoy the ever-changing view from the New life awaits. dome cars. Bathroom needs weren’t governed by Time, it has no wait, Here is your dream, seat belts and lighted signs. And now how does it feel? And travel times are a bit misleading since then, Awfully good – a modest investment will go a long as now, train stations are in the heart of town – not way to make travel once again a pleasure, not a an hour away – and there are no security lines. [Am- nightmare. trak does do random baggage checks, but says the John M. Wylie II has spent 47 years as a journal- average one takes one minute. Trains use security ist, including the last 33 as owner-editor of the measures suitable for a ground-based, well dis- Oologah Lake Leader, widely considered the state’s persed group of passengers. most honored community newspaper, from which Sounds cozy and comfy and like a passé pipe he retired in June. His specialty is the relationship dream, right? Wrong. between energy creation, extraction and use and Key trains still offer real sleeping quarters, from environmental concerns. He has a lifelong love of roomettes designed for two to suites designed for trains. THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 23 Code: Ob

Fox-Williams Organizations Church Unitarian Church Church UCC Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women Oklahoma Reproductive Justice of the Southwestern Unitarian Universalist Conference Coalition for Reproductive Choice Reproductive Options PHEWA, PC (USA) First Unitarian Church of OKC Center Spiritual Living Unitarian Church

Dale Watts Vicki and Mike Weaver Ann W. Wedaman Marcia Weinstein Cathy Welker-Graham Bruce and Suzanne Wenger Cecilia Wessinger Deborah Whittaker Danielle Williams E. G. Williams June Williams Penny Williams Shirley Williams Steven Williams and Karyn Diane J. Willis, PhD Philip and Janice Wilner Brandi and Trey Wilson Cheryl Wilson Lauren S. Wilson Martin Wing Nancy Hunt Wirth Gary and Kay Witt Barbara Wolf Larry and Phyllis Wolverton Zane and Amber Wood Leila Wright Beth Yandell Lynn Yeager Carol Saunders Young Faith Groups and Adoption Affiliates All Souls Unitarian Church College Hill Presbyterian Day Alliance All Souls Disciples for Choice Fellowship Congregational Heart of the Party, Hope Unitarian Church League of Women Voters of Nova Health Systems Oklahoma Coalition for Oklahoma Congregations Oklahoma Religious Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Services Sally’s List Social Justice Committee, South Wind Women’s Rev. Jeff Staton Centers for Temple Israel Sisterhood Trust Women Foundation Women of Hope, Hope - h O i C e

C

- Sherman Rowland Cindy McKinney VonAschen-Cook

Clair E. Powers Montague Lupo Prater Rev. Barbara A. Prose B. Martha Pulliam Knowlan A. Randza Elizabeth Rasmussen Kathy Reid Ruth E. Richards Julia Richardson Larrin Rudy Shella Rush Wilfred Sanditen Barbara Santee, PhD Martha L. Scales Steven Schnitzer Barbara Schoenhals Maggie Scott Mirella A. Sehl Connie and John Seibold Robyn Lemon Sellers Beverly Semkoff Jacqueline C. Shepperd Rabbi and Mrs. Charles P. Deborah Shinn G. Edward Shissler Barbara and Stan Shrago Rabbi James Simon Sigrid Simmons Bonnie Singer Martha Skeeters, PhD Sandra and Richard Skinner Julie Skye Gailene Smith Lonnie Snyder Melanie Spector, Ed.D. Bebe Spessard Judy Steffensen Pat Stevens Cherae Stone Judie Suess Marilyn Summers Minou Sutton and Don Sheila and Scott Swearingen Linda Tatman Emily Taylor Jeanne Taylor Rich and Marilyn Thompson Mary Elaine Tinsley Judy Wyatt Trickey Andrew R. Turner and Dan Umbarger Amy Veatch Quendy and Ralph Veatch Miriam and Melissa Allan Walker James Walker Patrick and Karen Walters Su Waner WADE WADE

V. V. ep RO du CT ive

ON THE ON THE R - JANUARY 22, 1973 JANUARY JANUARY 22, 1973 JANUARY OF THE LANDMARK

OF THE LANDMARK 44TH ANNIVERSARY 45TH ANNIVERSARY a woman, her doctor and Faith.” f OR Make A Donation .

ROE ROE SUPREME COURT DECISION SUPREME COURT DECISION

Lavanhar Family Family Murphy Cathey Edwards Veatch Myrna Jones Roy and Evelyn Jones Davis D. Joyce Carol Kallmeyer Carol B. Kamp Martha B. Kamp Paige Kennedy Jay Kilburn Barry and Carmen Kinsey Hayden Kiser Sandy Klein Kate Kline Judith and Roy Knapp David and Marjorie Kroll George and Aldean Krumme Donna L. LaDuke Carolyn LaFevers Camille Landry Shirley Lastinger Rev. Dr. Marlin and Anitra Trish and Dick Lieser The Livingston-Gainey Jacqulyn C. Longacre Maxine Mackey Jan and Jim Massey Doris B. Mayfield Rev. Mary E. McAnally and Beatrice McCartney Joe and Nancy McDonald Sherry McGeady Leslie B. McGuire Lorrie M. McLaughlin Alexia Medlock Linda Meek John Mercer Joe Monroe, MPAS, PA Linda J. Moore J. Patrick and Glenda Anne M. Murray Dennis Neill Malisa Nell Ruth K. Nelson Pat and Jane Newman Caitlin Norton Jasmine Ong John E. Orr Ginny Gregory Pahdocony Joe and Jo Ann Parsons Jo Ann Payne Joe Perrault and Rev. Barbara Ann Perry Betsy Perry Erika and Ross Peterson- Salley Philpott Penny Pierce Arthetta M. Pouncil Donate . O ali T i n Discover # C PAID ADVERTISEMENT PAID VISA VISA Garrison McGee Gilbert Conrad Medlicott Ralph Tucker Bunn Jim and Sally Frasier Kalyn Free and Steve Bruner Rev. Todd Freeman Margaret French Emily and Mark Friedman Deborah Fritts Angie Frizzell Susan Frusher Bill and Karen Gaddis Kathleen and Clarence Brenda Gates and Mark Richard and Vicky George Carla Gilbert M. Charles and Mary Carol Eliot Glaser Barbara Glass Kathleen Glaze Jo Glenn Lynn Frazier Goldberg Carrie and Dennis Grote Julie Gustafson Kurt Gwartney Brenna Haddan Brandie and Dawn Haddan- Susan J. Hakel, MD Karen Hamm Gwen and Fred Hampton Nancy and Hank Harbaugh Martha Hardwick Steve Hardwick and Bonnie Karen S. Harris Nylajo Harvey Roderick Harwood Harold and Martha Hatt Kylie Hawley Maggie Hawley Jim and Pat Heath Dustan and Lauren Heistand Wyatt Helms Bobbie and Don Henderson John and Irma Hickman Stephen A. Hobbs Rhonda Holt Gretchen Hrachovec, R.N. Leslie Hudson, PhD Johanna Hummingbird Marilyn Inhofe-Tucker and Ron Jacob James and Judy Jarvis Kelly Jennings and Richard Ben and Rain Johnson Stephen and Mindy Johnson Craig and Patty Jones Ken and Rebecca Jones Mary Ellen Jones eligi O us Pro-Faith • Pro-Family • Pro-Choice • Pro-Justice http://www.okrcrc.org and click on OKRCRC . Clip this reply form and send it along with your tax-deductible donation to: R ve... MasterCard OKRCRC, P. O. Box 35194, Tulsa, OK 74153-0194, or use our website: www.okrcrc.org li e klah O ma Furlong Miller-Davis Williams Smith Charles Kranz Bill Fogarty O e Martha and Charlie Cantrell Karen M. Carlson Sara W. Carlson Thomas Carson, DDS Stephen Carvell Iris Ontman Chandler Randee Charney Peter A. Childs Leslie Christopher Rev. Linda Morgan Clark Lisa Coats Nancy Coryell Jan Couve Michele Cowen Tamya Cox Claudia Cravens Greta Creekmore Rev. Kelli Driscoll Crews Bob and Sheri Curry Pat and Janet Curth Karen Dale and Cathy Rev. Gerald L. Davis and Joy Fred and Barbara De Lozier Cindy Decker Priya Desai Gloria Dialectic, PhD Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson Judith Dieckman Doug and Elaine Dodd Corrie Dorman Dolores G. Duke Janet Dundee and Jeff Darby Norma H. Eagleton The Rev. David A. Egbert Marilyn Eldridge Rev. Cathy Elliott Ann Frances Ellis, PhD Elaine Eubank and Alfred Suzy Ewing, LCSW LMFT Jennifer Fain T Brooke Farrow Ruth Ann Fate Jean Ann and Tom Fausser Dallas Ferguson and Sharon Jennifer Ferre Thurma Fiegel Kathie Fite Lu Ann Fite-Morris and Greer Fites and Vic Powell Amanda Fleeger JoAnn Flournoy Jim and Pat Fluegel Claire Ames Fogarty Elizabeth Ames Fogarty and Misty Foley-McKenna LMSW Nancy Frye Foote he “Abortion is a personal issue, best left in the hands of Exp______CVV______Credit card billing zip code______Please send me additional information. I’m enclosing a tax-deductible gift of $______Please charge my T B Please make check payable to Or, you may donate online. Go to Choose which type of donation you’d like to make and click Name______Address______City______State______Zip______Phone (______)______Email______e memory of Ellen Hartman Michala Anderson Allison Blackmon Hipsher Braselton Bereolos DO BRINGS THE POWER OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE AND JUSTICE THROUGH EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY. AND EDUCATION THROUGH JUSTICE AND CHOICE REPRODUCTIVE ENSURE TO COMMUNITIES RELIGIOUS OF POWER BRINGS THE www.okrcrc.org W Reproductive Justice is a vital part of Religious Liberty. Ken Ackley and Karen Pope Tom Ackley and Susan Lyons Dixie Agostino Sedena Aguila Jan and Jack Alexander Janet S. Allen Rachel Ames Sue and Roger Ames in Bill, Ellen, Emily and Brandie Anderson Ed and Judy Anderson Claudia Arthrell Lugene Asher Estelle and Allan Avery Earl and Gunilla Bachenberg Mary Bain Ted Bakamjian Barbara Bannon and Gary George W. Bauer Linda Thomas Baxter W. David Beasley Kathy Becker Marilyn H Bedford Edgar and Judy Benarrous Janifer Bennett Nancy Bennett Rev. John Biedler Becky and Robert Billings Wayne and Marilyn Roger and Mary Blais Jessica Blake David Blatt and Patty Dan Boggs Rosalie and Jim Bole Lynn Bootes Zella M. Borg Carrie and Shannon Bowen Susan, Emma and Jake Phyllis Cole Braunlich Kathryn Brittingham Suzanne Broadbent The Brock Family John and Linda Brydges Mel and Joyce Buckner Julie A. Burkhart Carol and Hugh Burleigh Dr. Larry and Debby Burns Ellen Bussard Kim Byrd Shelley Cadamy Lori Cain and Demetrius Tim and “K” Caldwell Jennifer Campbell Elizabeth Dawn Campbell, YES! I want to support this newspaper ad as well as the religious Pro-Choice message of the Oklahoma Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. #

24 • FEBRUARY 2018 Code: Ob

Fox-Williams Organizations Church Unitarian Church Church UCC Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women Oklahoma Reproductive Justice of the Southwestern Unitarian Universalist Conference Coalition for Reproductive Choice Reproductive Options PHEWA, PC (USA) First Unitarian Church of OKC Center Spiritual Living Unitarian Church

Dale Watts Vicki and Mike Weaver Ann W. Wedaman Marcia Weinstein Cathy Welker-Graham Bruce and Suzanne Wenger Cecilia Wessinger Deborah Whittaker Danielle Williams E. G. Williams June Williams Penny Williams Shirley Williams Steven Williams and Karyn Diane J. Willis, PhD Philip and Janice Wilner Brandi and Trey Wilson Cheryl Wilson Lauren S. Wilson Martin Wing Nancy Hunt Wirth Gary and Kay Witt Barbara Wolf Larry and Phyllis Wolverton Zane and Amber Wood Leila Wright Beth Yandell Lynn Yeager Carol Saunders Young Faith Groups and Adoption Affiliates All Souls Unitarian Church College Hill Presbyterian Day Alliance All Souls Disciples for Choice Fellowship Congregational Heart of the Party, Hope Unitarian Church League of Women Voters of Nova Health Systems Oklahoma Coalition for Oklahoma Congregations Oklahoma Religious Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Services Sally’s List Social Justice Committee, South Wind Women’s Rev. Jeff Staton Centers for Temple Israel Sisterhood Trust Women Foundation Women of Hope, Hope - h O i C e

C

- Sherman Rowland Cindy McKinney VonAschen-Cook

Clair E. Powers Montague Lupo Prater Rev. Barbara A. Prose B. Martha Pulliam Knowlan A. Randza Elizabeth Rasmussen Kathy Reid Ruth E. Richards Julia Richardson Larrin Rudy Shella Rush Wilfred Sanditen Barbara Santee, PhD Martha L. Scales Steven Schnitzer Barbara Schoenhals Maggie Scott Mirella A. Sehl Connie and John Seibold Robyn Lemon Sellers Beverly Semkoff Jacqueline C. Shepperd Rabbi and Mrs. Charles P. Deborah Shinn G. Edward Shissler Barbara and Stan Shrago Rabbi James Simon Sigrid Simmons Bonnie Singer Martha Skeeters, PhD Sandra and Richard Skinner Julie Skye Gailene Smith Lonnie Snyder Melanie Spector, Ed.D. Bebe Spessard Judy Steffensen Pat Stevens Cherae Stone Judie Suess Marilyn Summers Minou Sutton and Don Sheila and Scott Swearingen Linda Tatman Emily Taylor Jeanne Taylor Rich and Marilyn Thompson Mary Elaine Tinsley Judy Wyatt Trickey Andrew R. Turner and Dan Umbarger Amy Veatch Quendy and Ralph Veatch Miriam and Melissa Allan Walker James Walker Patrick and Karen Walters Su Waner WADE WADE

V. V. ep RO du CT ive

ON THE ON THE R - JANUARY 22, 1973 JANUARY JANUARY 22, 1973 JANUARY OF THE LANDMARK

OF THE LANDMARK 44TH ANNIVERSARY 45TH ANNIVERSARY a woman, her doctor and Faith.” f OR Make A Donation .

ROE ROE SUPREME COURT DECISION SUPREME COURT DECISION

Lavanhar Family Family Murphy Cathey Edwards Veatch Myrna Jones Roy and Evelyn Jones Davis D. Joyce Carol Kallmeyer Carol B. Kamp Martha B. Kamp Paige Kennedy Jay Kilburn Barry and Carmen Kinsey Hayden Kiser Sandy Klein Kate Kline Judith and Roy Knapp David and Marjorie Kroll George and Aldean Krumme Donna L. LaDuke Carolyn LaFevers Camille Landry Shirley Lastinger Rev. Dr. Marlin and Anitra Trish and Dick Lieser The Livingston-Gainey Jacqulyn C. Longacre Maxine Mackey Jan and Jim Massey Doris B. Mayfield Rev. Mary E. McAnally and Beatrice McCartney Joe and Nancy McDonald Sherry McGeady Leslie B. McGuire Lorrie M. McLaughlin Alexia Medlock Linda Meek John Mercer Joe Monroe, MPAS, PA Linda J. Moore J. Patrick and Glenda Anne M. Murray Dennis Neill Malisa Nell Ruth K. Nelson Pat and Jane Newman Caitlin Norton Jasmine Ong John E. Orr Ginny Gregory Pahdocony Joe and Jo Ann Parsons Jo Ann Payne Joe Perrault and Rev. Barbara Ann Perry Betsy Perry Erika and Ross Peterson- Salley Philpott Penny Pierce Arthetta M. Pouncil Donate . O ali T i n Discover # C PAID ADVERTISEMENT PAID VISA VISA Garrison McGee Gilbert Conrad Medlicott Ralph Tucker Bunn Jim and Sally Frasier Kalyn Free and Steve Bruner Rev. Todd Freeman Margaret French Emily and Mark Friedman Deborah Fritts Angie Frizzell Susan Frusher Bill and Karen Gaddis Kathleen and Clarence Brenda Gates and Mark Richard and Vicky George Carla Gilbert M. Charles and Mary Carol Eliot Glaser Barbara Glass Kathleen Glaze Jo Glenn Lynn Frazier Goldberg Carrie and Dennis Grote Julie Gustafson Kurt Gwartney Brenna Haddan Brandie and Dawn Haddan- Susan J. Hakel, MD Karen Hamm Gwen and Fred Hampton Nancy and Hank Harbaugh Martha Hardwick Steve Hardwick and Bonnie Karen S. Harris Nylajo Harvey Roderick Harwood Harold and Martha Hatt Kylie Hawley Maggie Hawley Jim and Pat Heath Dustan and Lauren Heistand Wyatt Helms Bobbie and Don Henderson John and Irma Hickman Stephen A. Hobbs Rhonda Holt Gretchen Hrachovec, R.N. Leslie Hudson, PhD Johanna Hummingbird Marilyn Inhofe-Tucker and Ron Jacob James and Judy Jarvis Kelly Jennings and Richard Ben and Rain Johnson Stephen and Mindy Johnson Craig and Patty Jones Ken and Rebecca Jones Mary Ellen Jones eligi O us Pro-Faith • Pro-Family • Pro-Choice • Pro-Justice http://www.okrcrc.org and click on OKRCRC . Clip this reply form and send it along with your tax-deductible donation to: R ve... MasterCard OKRCRC, P. O. Box 35194, Tulsa, OK 74153-0194, or use our website: www.okrcrc.org li e klah O ma Furlong Miller-Davis Williams Smith Charles Kranz Bill Fogarty O e Martha and Charlie Cantrell Karen M. Carlson Sara W. Carlson Thomas Carson, DDS Stephen Carvell Iris Ontman Chandler Randee Charney Peter A. Childs Leslie Christopher Rev. Linda Morgan Clark Lisa Coats Nancy Coryell Jan Couve Michele Cowen Tamya Cox Claudia Cravens Greta Creekmore Rev. Kelli Driscoll Crews Bob and Sheri Curry Pat and Janet Curth Karen Dale and Cathy Rev. Gerald L. Davis and Joy Fred and Barbara De Lozier Cindy Decker Priya Desai Gloria Dialectic, PhD Rev. T. Sheri Dickerson Judith Dieckman Doug and Elaine Dodd Corrie Dorman Dolores G. Duke Janet Dundee and Jeff Darby Norma H. Eagleton The Rev. David A. Egbert Marilyn Eldridge Rev. Cathy Elliott Ann Frances Ellis, PhD Elaine Eubank and Alfred Suzy Ewing, LCSW LMFT Jennifer Fain T Brooke Farrow Ruth Ann Fate Jean Ann and Tom Fausser Dallas Ferguson and Sharon Jennifer Ferre Thurma Fiegel Kathie Fite Lu Ann Fite-Morris and Greer Fites and Vic Powell Amanda Fleeger JoAnn Flournoy Jim and Pat Fluegel Claire Ames Fogarty Elizabeth Ames Fogarty and Misty Foley-McKenna LMSW Nancy Frye Foote he “Abortion is a personal issue, best left in the hands of Exp______CVV______Credit card billing zip code______Please send me additional information. I’m enclosing a tax-deductible gift of $______Please charge my T B Please make check payable to Or, you may donate online. Go to Choose which type of donation you’d like to make and click Name______Address______City______State______Zip______Phone (______)______Email______e memory of Ellen Hartman Michala Anderson Allison Blackmon Hipsher Braselton Bereolos DO BRINGS THE POWER OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE AND JUSTICE THROUGH EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY. AND EDUCATION THROUGH JUSTICE AND CHOICE REPRODUCTIVE ENSURE TO COMMUNITIES RELIGIOUS OF POWER BRINGS THE www.okrcrc.org W Reproductive Justice is a vital part of Religious Liberty. Ken Ackley and Karen Pope Tom Ackley and Susan Lyons Dixie Agostino Sedena Aguila Jan and Jack Alexander Janet S. Allen Rachel Ames Sue and Roger Ames in Bill, Ellen, Emily and Brandie Anderson Ed and Judy Anderson Claudia Arthrell Lugene Asher Estelle and Allan Avery Earl and Gunilla Bachenberg Mary Bain Ted Bakamjian Barbara Bannon and Gary George W. Bauer Linda Thomas Baxter W. David Beasley Kathy Becker Marilyn H Bedford Edgar and Judy Benarrous Janifer Bennett Nancy Bennett Rev. John Biedler Becky and Robert Billings Wayne and Marilyn Roger and Mary Blais Jessica Blake David Blatt and Patty Dan Boggs Rosalie and Jim Bole Lynn Bootes Zella M. Borg Carrie and Shannon Bowen Susan, Emma and Jake Phyllis Cole Braunlich Kathryn Brittingham Suzanne Broadbent The Brock Family John and Linda Brydges Mel and Joyce Buckner Julie A. Burkhart Carol and Hugh Burleigh Dr. Larry and Debby Burns Ellen Bussard Kim Byrd Shelley Cadamy Lori Cain and Demetrius Tim and “K” Caldwell Jennifer Campbell Elizabeth Dawn Campbell, YES! I want to support this newspaper ad as well as the religious Pro-Choice message of the Oklahoma Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. #

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 25 ‘And I Thought You Were A Minister’

BY JEFF HAMILTON

y executive assistant rang my office phone. was shocked to learn that I had a softer position on She said in a matter of fact tone, “A lady her topic. from Midwest City wants to ask you a few This manifested itself even in campaign stops. For questions.” Since it was my legislative example, one of my campaign workers was literally Mpractice to answer all calls, and especially those from thrown off a person’s porch because I was pro-choice. my district I put on my most constituent friendly That example reflects the violence that this contro- voice. versial topic can produce. All went well in the conversation, until she brought As a result of the fear of potential violence and re- the subject of abortion! She caught me with a zinger. jection, a clergyperson may decide to avoid the topic She said, “So you are pro-choice. And I thought you altogether. were a minister.” So what is a minister to do? The clergyperson must From that point on, the conversation deteriorated. seek to be clear in her or his own mind what his or In spite of efforts to explain the difference between her a position on abortion really means. For example, pro-choice and being for abortion, there was no meet- I was interviewed on a Christian radio station and a ing of the minds. I suppose it could be said this was caller said I must be ignorant or blood-thirsty to be nothing more than a “dangling conversation.” for abortion. I quickly assured him I was neither. I But what that conversation taught me was that a pointed out that I was for freedom of choice which clergyperson can be stereotyped and assigned a posi- is essential to our secular and religious traditions in tion that he or she does not hold. The assumption my America. constituent made was that because I was an ordained I also pointed out that abortion is a medical pro- minister, I was automatically against abortion. She CONTINUED ON PAGE 42 26 • FEBRUARY 2018 The Real Cost Of Oklahoma Coal

BY JOHNSON BRIDGWATER

re you aware that not just oil and gas, but Point for the burning of Oklahoma-mined coal for also Oklahoma coal is costing the state of electricity generation. Oklahoma millions of dollars in tax subsi- So consider this second credit – it is literally pay- dies annually? ing a company to burn Oklahoma coal within our AOklahoma coal, considered some of the nation’s borders, even though burning coal is considered the poorest quality due to its high sulfur content, brings single most harmful environmental act. It not only with it two entirely separate tax subsidies – one for worsens climate change, but also contaminates lakes the companies involved in its excavation, a second with mercury – levels are so high in 54 Oklahoma for the companies actually burning the coal right lakes that it is not considered safe to eat fish caught here within our borders. in them. The worst part is these tax incentives are transfer- Why would Oklahoma lawmakers not only establish rable, and each year companies like AES Shady Point such a tax credit, but now refuse to abandon it in the are actually profiting on Oklahoma tax breaks by sell- face of mountains of scientific data proving its harm? ing their tax incentives to other companies. Most amazing, the firm hired by the state to evalu- In 1989, Oklahoma mining companies persuaded ate tax subsidies recommended the state eliminate the state Legislature to pass a $5-per-ton, freely- coal tax subsidies – see the State of Oklahoma In- transferable tax credit. Then in the mid-2000s, it centive Evaluation Commission’s Sept. 27 report. Yet, passed a second coal tax credit – a $5 per ton, free- the state has made no such moves to do so. ly-transferable tax credit specifically for AES Shady What is most frustrating is that Oklahoma coal

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 27 production peaked at 5.73 million tons in 1981, and Sadly for Oklahomans, the Windfall Coalition – decreased every year since, down to 796,859 tons in which is nothing more than a front-group for pro-oil 2015. [and massive oil mineral owner] Frank Robson and Indeed, the coal subsidies discussed here were es- billionaire shale fracker Harold Hamm – have been tablished because Oklahoma coal industry was fail- spreading false information about wind energy, and ing. Without these subsidies there is no question the paying for billboards to do the same, for the past four industry would shutter itself in short order. years. However, rather than do the right thing and kill All of this discussion leads to one final serious con- these tax giveaways, a large and vocal group of leg- cern: the continuation of these tax subsidies, coupled islators is instead turning to Oklahoma wind as a with a pro-fossil fuel federal government, are leading means to fill Oklahoma’s coffers. But herein lays a to a new effort to expand Oklahoma’s coal industry. massive problem: creating a “gross production tax” The Bureau of Land Management is currently pro- on wind makes no sense, because wind is limitless cessing a rush request to grant the opening of a new and it does absolutely no harm to the Oklahoma envi- mine in Oklahoma. The Pollyanna No. 8 has received ronment. Gross production taxes are levied on items a record-fast permitting process that will not even in- that are finite and cause environmental harm to the clude public input nor public meetings. state. Beyond Coal of Oklahoma did submit comments at It is now more than clear that the state is in a fi- the scoping phase of the BLM’s Environmental Review nancial crisis. From failings at the state Department Process as required by the National Environmental of Health to the repeated unmet needs at the state Policy Act [NEPA], basically pleading with BLM to se- Department of Education to the fact that all of the riously consider clean air, climate, species, seismic major agencies at the state level involved in the over- effects, and impact on justice communities during its sight and management of Oklahoma’s environmental decision process. We discouraged them from approv- landscape have had their budgets slashed annually ing this mine lease extension. for several years now, Oklahoma needs a massive However, the BLM notified Beyond Coal that it had budgetary fix – and it needs it immediately. concluded its analysis, and has proposed moving for- Unfortunately, the direction our state elected offi- ward with the mine lease extension. cials are leaning points towards ignoring the obvious, This most recent act taken in Oklahoma suggests and instead pursuing ideas that have not gained any coal tax subsidies will continue to prop up an indus- footing elsewhere. try that is no longer needed, beneficial or economi- Coal giant Wyoming is the only state that taxes cally viable. wind generation – and it has been shown their wind Coal mining expansion will simply lead to more pol- tax is a favor to their giant coal operations to keep the lution, more coal ash waste and fewer dollars to solve lid on wind energy, which is now the most economi- Oklahoma’s true budget needs. cally competitive form of electricity generation most Johnson Bridgwater is director of the Oklahoma days of the year. Chapter of the Sierra Club. Arkansas River Levees: Tulsa’s Ticking Flood Bomb

BY BOB JACKMAN

ere are some suppressed facts on a catas- came 15-20 inches of rain from the stalled remnant trophe-in-the-making – Tulsa’s long-ne- of Hurricane Henry. Suddenly the shallow, wide river glected levees. of sandbars became a rampaging flood, leaving $123 City and federal officials have all but ig- million in damages with thousands displaced. The Hnored the sorely needed rebuilding, treating smart river’s levee system – a safety net built in the 1940s science and hydro-engineering like skunks at a pic- to protect the west Tulsa refinery and industrial war- nic. effort plants – was broken along its entire 20 miles. Warning: Tulsa’s flood-bomb ticking grows louder Luckily, the levees mostly held in 1986, thanks to and faster due to climate change’s increasingly vola- 125 volunteers’ non-stop sandbagging plus trucks tile and extreme events. and bulldozers. They prevented a major flood disas- Thirty-two years ago, from Sept. 28-Oct. 3, 1986, ter at Sand Springs, closing a 30-foot wide and 18- the slow flowing Arkansas River, running 46 miles foot deep levee breach. in and out of Tulsa County, abruptly changed. Down But nothing has been done to make levees whole

28 • FEBRUARY 2018 since 1986 and they have seriously weakened even damages from a 500-year flood would exceed $2.5 bil- more! lion in Tulsa and Tulsa County – not to mention put- Oklahoma heavy rain laden storm cells are often ting 10,000 people at risk. Civil engineers have been stalled remnants of Pacific or Gulf tropical hurri- quoted as saying that failed levees contributed to the canes. They grow then dump record rates of flooding 2017 devastation in Houston and to New Orleans’ waters, responsible for many of eastern Oklahoma’s catastrophic and deadly flooding in 2005 caused by most damaging rain storms. Hurricane Katrina. Today, the Tulsa County Levee District reports that Levees fail because of animal burrows, tree growth, Tulsa levees will not be able to contain or hold back culvert and piping penetrations, poor original design high rising waters if there’s another Arkansas River and construction and settlement of sandy materials flood – not even one that’s 60% smaller than in 1986. – all create zones of weakness for future breaching. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2014 reported What is needed immediately is federal and local Tulsa’s levee system is one of the highest-risk haz- funding to fix the Arkansas River levees, a compre- ards in the country. Moreover, experts estimate it hensive approach that also includes new hydrologi- would take eight to 10 years before new replacement cal-flow modeling with separate 200- and 500-plus- levees can be built in Tulsa County. year models showing riverside property owners’ risk. This means from 1986 to the 2028 best-estimated Also needed is an assessment of the Arkansas Riv- completion date, 42 years would have transpired er’s water quality in Tulsa; why developers in Tulsa, before anything was done to fix the levees after the Jenks and Bixby were granted residential and com- record 1986 flood! U.S. Sen. Bob Kerr, please come mercial permits in high-risk floodplains; and why back! the city of Tulsa has failed to submit or implement In 2016 Tulsa’s then-mayor, Dewey Bartlett, with a Federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program – which others celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1986 has federal dollars available to buy out flood-prone or record flood by placing a sign the showing high water derelict areas. mark at the far south riverside area of Tulsa. The sign Further, why has Tulsa filed to produce a Post-Di- was removed shortly after by local developer selling saster Arkansas River Flood Plans? And though Tul- city permitted lots and building new large homes on sa’s new mayor, G.T. Bynum, assured voters in 2016 this swampy Arkansas River floodplain, where the that “Arkansas River waters are safe for swimming,” sign had stood! the city has failed to fulfill requests for such certifi- As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and he is cation. us.” In Tulsa’s stretch of the Arkansas River floodplain, According to the dictionary, a floodplain is de- the 100-year flood standard would mean high waters fined as an area of low-lying ground adjacent to a swirling against 1940-built levees. A 100-year flood river, formed mainly of river sediments and subject would represent only 65% of the record 1986 flood. to flooding. A 500-year flood would be 1.6 times the 1986 flood, Hydrologists and geologists know the reality that with six to eight feet of water over the tops of the non- “once a floodplain, always a floodplain” – buying into functioning levees. FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program’s [NFIP] Historically, two to three 100-year floods occurring will not change that. within 100 years was considered by climate experts Someone should ask Tulsa, Sand Springs, Jenks to be statistical juju. Now, because of climate change, and Bixby officials if their new riverside homes or Oklahoma’s chief climatologist recently told Tulsans businesses are flood-protected financially. Why? Be- to expect more frequent mega-rain storms. cause NFIP was bankrupt – $25 billion in the red – be- Worth noting: The Dutch, considered the world’s fore Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. And with Texans geniuses when it comes to levee systems, factor in asking the 2018 Congress for additional $125 billion 10,000-year floods in their construction and mainte- for Houston’s damages and Florida asking $27 billion nance processes. more for Irma’s damages, it begs the question: If big What is happening along other major U.S. rivers? floods hit Tulsa area, just how good is the floodplain Along the Mississippi River’s 2,200 miles of levees, property insurance policy? many are being assessed and repaired, factoring in The Arkansas River flows through Tulsa, Sand climate change. By contrast, Tulsa’s mayor Bynum Springs, Jenks and Bixby, all in Tulsa County. Since moves forward on spending $127 million on Arkan- 1986, numerous Tulsa County Commissioners, city sas River recreational amenities, which many doubt mayors, City Council members, area U.S. congress- could withstand a major flood. men and the state’s U.S. senators have said, in ef- Bynum’s plan is to prioritize public recreation proj- fect, “We are really concerned about another Arkan- ects ahead of the river’s public safety projects. The sas River flood and the levees issues.” But not one city has contracts in place with alphabetical named of them – including the currently elected – has really engineering firms – who are these guys and why championed or demanded action to fix the levee sys- aren’t they factoring in climate change? tem now. Human casualty risks are low on Bynum’s new sce- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects the nic bridge, kayak canal and low water dams, but high

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 29 on private properties and homes in the floodplain. in the need for new levees to protect post-1986 Ar- Recently, the Tulsa World reported that Bynum list- kansas River floodplain development in Jenks, south ed his 16 goals for the city – but fixing levees was Tulsa and Bixby and the estimated cost jumps to left out, despite almost daily warnings about climate $150 million, not including land and property acqui- change-inducing major floods! sition costs. Look out Tulsa’s Brookside neighborhood. Tulsans are angered over public officials’ irrespon- Sadly, it seems, Oklahoma is the national epicenter sible failure to address the long-neglected levee sys- of climate change deniers, at least when it comes to tem – which can best be described paraphrasing the city, state and federally elected officials. Spanish saying, “Oficiales Cago En La Rio Admin- The cost of re-engineering and rebuilding, higher istracion!” Translation: Officials shit on the river’s and wider, Tulsa County’s 20 miles of levees is esti- management. mated at between $60 million and $90 million. Add Bob Jackman is a Tulsa-based petroleum geologist. Session CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 now face a tightening political vice-grip. gains tax break, restoring the full earned income tax With 30 or so of their colleagues adamantly opposed credit, and raising the standard deduction.” to increasing taxes, reality-based Republicans are left It also remains to be seen if the powerful special to wonder if their vote for higher revenue would in- interests behind Step Up Oklahoma can remain unit- crease their risk of drawing an anti-tax primary chal- ed, especially on hiking the GPT, which has sharply lenger. divided oil and gas operators in recent years – some This isn’t idle political musing. It’s recognition of working around-the-clock to preserve the lower rate who turns out in disproportionately higher numbers on new wells, others pursing a statewide vote on re- in the GOP primary – the “hell, no” on taxes crowd. storing gross production taxes to 7%. How else to explain that GOP gubernatorial con- It’s not difficult to imagine that grudging support tenders – who surely don’t wish to inherit this fiscal for the GPT hike – pledged by the likes of Continen- morass – uniformly push back against Step Up Okla- tal’s Harold Hamm and Devon’s Larry Nichols – or homa? ending certain income tax deductions could give way The problem for legislative Republicans is that to self-interest, torpedoing the entire package. many of the very Powers That Be that helped create As David Rainbolt, BancFirst’s executive chairman the GOP supermajority are the Powers That Be be- who helped craft the Step Up Oklahoma plan, noted, hind Step Up Oklahoma. “It’s very easy to get to no … We need a courageous As an incumbent legislator, whom would you rather path to yes – and that means compromise.” risk enraging: primary voters or donors? Hardly an The truth is, Republican legislators have proven re- appetizing choice. markably adept in recent years at ignoring pleas to Early assessments of the palace intrigue suggest as end the fiscal insanity and put the state on a more many as 55 House Republicans may now be poised sustainable, long-term financial path. to support the Step Up Oklahoma package – meaning The governor’s repeated exhortations have fallen on most Democrats also would have to sign on to secure deaf ears. So have the demands of public education the necessary tax-raising supermajority. That seems and healthcare advocates who’ve repeatedly jammed far from certain, unless tax proposals are modified in the Capitol’s halls. Even traditionally powerful busi- favor of the state’s working class and poor. ness groups were mostly disregarded – just ask the For example, OKPolicy’s Executive Director David Tulsa Regional Chamber. Blatt voiced “serious concerns with the plan’s in- There are other important issues on the Legisla- come tax proposals, which include ending or limit- ture’s 2018 agenda, too. Many – like long overdue ing a number of deductions while adding two new tax criminal justice reforms – cannot be decoupled from brackets and creating a new credit for low-income the state’s fiscal crisis. households. This approach is unnecessarily convo- Smart on Crime initiatives – backed by voters in two luted and confusing and would leave over half of all 2016 referendums – eventually could save the state taxpayers earning more than $32,000 per year pay- hundreds of millions in prison costs, which could be ing higher income tax. We also have serious doubts redirected to drug, alcohol and mental health treat- that the proposal would generate anywhere near the ments and job training to help create more tax-paying amount suggested by the Tax Commission. citizens. “Oklahoma has alternative approaches to income In the end, though, success or failure this session tax reform that would be simpler, more progressive, will be determined by whether lawmakers resolve the and provide more certain revenue gains. These would fiscal crisis. If past is prologue, it would be an upset include some mix of restoring the top 5.25% rate, as- of Biblical proportions for the Legislature to do so – sessing a high-income surcharge, ending the capital especially in an election year.

30 • FEBRUARY 2018 mer chair of the Texas House Corrections Committee; Marion Kincaid, former Oklahoma inmate paroled in Justice Reform 2017; Adam Luck, Oklahoma Board of Corrections; CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 and Marc Levin, vice president of Criminal Justice at chaired by Rep. Chris Kannady with Rep. Tim Down- Texas Public Policy Foundation. ing as vice chair. Based upon their experience and recommenda- Their leadership will be key to whether the follow- tions, Oklahoma needs significant criminal justice ing bills from 2017 will be reconsidered in the 2018 reform going forward to avoid continuance of the in- Regular Session and whether any significant prog- effective and wasteful policies that negatively impact ress in criminal justice reform occurs in an election the health of Oklahoma families, Oklahoma’s correc- year: tional system, and Oklahoma’s national reputation. • SB 363 would allow district and special judges As this election year begins, please encourage to release pre-trial detainees after an assessment is your legislators to make criminal justice reform an done for public safety and flight risk; important part of the Legislature’s priorities as they • HB 609 would provide a voluntary certification address sustainable revenues to remedy our budget program for victim assistance professionals; problems and move Oklahoma forward. • SB 649 would reduce mandatory minimum sen- Oklahoma has already achieved some success tences for non-violent crimes and exclude simple in community sentencing and the use of specialty possession of drugs for being used as a prior felony courts as the result of extraordinary efforts by leg- conviction to increase subsequent offenses; islators and committed professionals over the last • SB 650 would lower the threshold for expunge- 25 years – particularly the drug court system. As Mi- ment of records from 15 to seven years for a single chael Tupper wrote for the Oklahoma Bar Journal: offense if offender is crime-free that whole time; Oklahoma’s drug courts are working. From the in- • SB 689 would broaden eligibility requirements for ception of the first drug court in Payne County in deferred and suspended sentences and allow judges 1995, to the now nearly 40 operational drug courts to depart from mandatory minimum sentences for statewide, this therapeutic court system has trans- certain non-violent offenses; formed from a grass roots movement of ‘specialized • SB 786 and HB 2288 would revise burglary cat- courts’ to an institutionalized way of doing busi- egories and sentencing, reducing penalty for second- ness in the Oklahoma criminal justice system. Drug degree burglary and creating third-degree burglary as courts represent the coordinated efforts of the judi- a new category and updating property offense thresh- ciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law en- olds in keeping with the ballot measure; forcement, treatment, mental health and social ser- • SB 793 would create a Corrections and Criminal vices to forcefully intervene and break the cycle of Justice Oversight Task Force to track implementa- substance abuse, addiction and crime. tion and assess program outcomes; By focusing on intensive drug treatment, daily su- • HB 1338 would provide for medical parole; pervision and a demand for offender accountability, • HB 2281 would graduate penalties for felony theft drug courts offload non-violent felony offenders from crimes based upon property value; the traditional court system and places them into • HB 2286 would amend and provide over 20 provi- a highly structured, therapeutic system designed sions to Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes – Prisons to achieve total abstinence, reduce recidivism and and Reformatories including, but not limited to, spe- save taxpayer money.”A 2018 State Budget Summit cial parole options for long-term geriatric inmates; recently presented by the Oklahoma Policy Institute training for Parole Board members; an administra- included a panel of gifted and dedicated leaders who tive parole process for non-violent offenders who addressed the topic “Imagining a Justice System That have completed one-fourth rather than the current Works for People with Mental Illness.” The statistics requirement of one-third of their sentence; presented by the panel made clear the overwhelming • HB 2287 would require individualized risk needs need for continued criminal justice reform, not only assessment for developing individualized case plans because it saves tax dollars for Oklahoma voters, but before release, helping to reduce recidivism; more importantly because it helps transform Oklaho- • HB 2290 would allow more options for eligible man’s lives for the better. people, who require more court-mentoring, to go It’s the right thing to do for the right reasons. It through problem-solving courts to get the offense off doesn’t make it easy, but it is important work, and it their record; needs to move forward. • HB 2291 would delete aggravated trafficking from As you consider the 2018 elections, remember that the 85% rule. voting matters – so does who you vote for and what Additionally, needed reforms were outlined in the they accomplish with your vote. lengthy discussion that took place during the Oct. Jan New is a retired public administrator for munic- 24, 2017 House Special Committee – Interim Study ipal, state, and federal programs, private industry, on Criminal Justice, hosted by Rep. Terry O’Donnell. and national trade association program develop- Among featured speakers were Jerry Madden, for- ment.

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 31 Jim Hightower

Fed Up With Corporate-Rigged Politics?

ast June, after Democratic candidates had rigged, business-as-usual politics and policies of lost four straight special Congressional elec- both major parties – are actively rebuilding democ- tions [Rob Quist in Montana, James Thomp- racy and beginning to produce real change. It’s a son in Kansas, Archie Parnell in South nationwide rebellion made up of spontaneous local LCarolina, and Jon Ossoff in Georgia], America’s rebellions, each sparked by various specific griev- purveyors of conventional political wisdom simulta- ances with America’s ruling royalists. neously jumped to the conclusion that the policies Linking these uprisings together is a shared deter- and message of Democrats were just too progressive mination to restore our nation’s unifying ethic of the for our nation of moderate-right voters. Common Good, a principle that my old daddy used The Washington cognoscenti expressed dismay to express this way: Everybody does better when that, despite Trump’s dismal public approval ratings everybody does better. and the nationwide surge of “Resist!” campaigns, This burgeoning movement is not merely about the hapless Democratic Party was still unable to protesting or lobbying the government – it intends to score any electoral victories. become the government. It’s a new politics embrac- “Why Do Democrats Keep Losing in 2017?” que- ing a three-front strategy I call R-I-P: ried a June headline in The Atlantic. “Democrats • Resist the Trumpeteers and corporatists of all just went 0-4. When will they win?” asked a cynical parties who’re imposing plutocratic rule over us CNN reporter. “It is a bit surprising that Democrats commoners. haven’t managed a single victory yet,” declared a • Insist on enacting a positive, aggressively pro- University of Wisconsin election expert. “Panic is gressive people’s agenda. setting in on the left,” exclaimed a Vox headline. • Persist in organizing from the ground up to sus- Really? tain both “little-d” democratic politics and “every- No, not really. The professional political observers body” policies. are like cats watching the wrong mouse hole. They The most common characteristic of last year’s are so fixated on the minutia of Washington-centric progressive, populist candidates is that they were politics that they’re missing the much bigger story genuinely of the people, not career pols who were of transformative political changes that have erupted next in line. And they were not simply running for in every region of the country. office, but running for specific economic, social and Far from panicking, America’s political left is political changes to make America better for fami- organizing, strategizing, mobilizing ... and win- lies and neighborhoods like theirs. ning. Coalitions of local progressive activists [newly They didn’t need campaign consultants to tell energized by an infusion of dynamic, creative young them what to say and not to say, for they were politi- people and people of color] came together after the cized by personally experiencing assorted assaults 2016 election. They recruited and trained candidates on their values and sense of justice. Politics is not from their own ranks; methodically knocked on a game to them – they know who they are, what doors, having thousands of front-porch conversa- they’re fighting against and, more importantly, what tions with voters on basic issues; mobilized sup- they’re fighting for. porters for intensive election-day turn-out drives; Knowledgeable and trusted local groups have been and elected scores of audaciously populist mayors, key to the recent election victories by bona fide pro- council members, legislators, and other officials. gressives. These groups build relationships through This is the mouse hole to watch, for it’s where work in their communities, know whom to speak ordinary people – those fed up with the corporate- with and can tackle the intensive work of going door

32 • FEBRUARY 2018 to door. ture, giving it the reach to achieve near monopoly Several national organizations understand the power in industry after industry. In its 2016 report power of a local focus and have invested in identify- Amazon’s Stranglehold, the Institute for Local Self- ing amazing grassroots partners – their 2017 results Reliance found that more than half of Amazon’s speak to the potential of this emerging network. facilities had been built with government subsidies. Groups like Our Revolution, Working Families The “Amazon Tracker,” a continuously updated Party, Black Lives Matter, Democratic Socialists of web page produced by Good Jobs First, reports that America, People’s Action, Progressive Democrats of since 2005, the retailer has been showered with $1.1 America, Democracy for America and the Movement billion in local and state subsidies to build their Voter Project are just some of the organizations do- private business. ing important work. Each of those taxpayer handouts [given to the As the Movement Voter Project put in its recent re- world’s third-largest retailer] was made in the name port, “Failure is not an option. Not for our children. of local workers. And, yes, the Amazon warehouses Not for our grandchildren.” do employ thousands, but their subsidized network © Creators.com enables the giant to undercut local competitors, causing devastating job losses that greatly out- number jobs gained. The ILSR report notes that at the end of 2015 Bezos did indeed employ 146,000 people in his U.S. operations, but – ooops – they cal- Who Really Pays culated that his taxpayer-supported behemoth had meanwhile eliminated some 295,000 U.S. retail jobs. Plus, there’s an ugly blotch on Amazon’s bally- For Corporate hooed job-creation numbers: Working conditions in those sprawling, windowless warehouses are grim, and 40% of the employees are low-wage, temporary hires with no benefits and no job security. While Subsidies? warehouse wages everywhere are low, an ILSR sur- vey documented that Amazon’s average 15% lower he hustlers claim that job incentives are a than what other corporations pay. sound investment of our tax dollars, be- Almost every city/state giveaway program ignores cause those new jobs create new taxpayers, smaller and locally owned businesses [which really meaning investments soon pay for them- do create jobs], and instead tries to land brand name Tselves. Hmmm ... not quite. In fact, not even close. corporations with blockbuster deals. This empha- Last year, Good Jobs First tracked the 386 incen- sis – subsidizing big outfits to come from afar to tive deals since 1976 that gave at least $50 million compete unfairly against local, unsubsidized firms to a corporation, and then it tallied the number of – is spreading an epidemic of vacant storefronts jobs created. The average cost per job was $658,427. across America. It’s also altering the very essence of Each! That’s likely far more than cities and states our communities. Rather than each having its own can recover through sales, property, income and diverse, unique commercial character, our towns are all other taxes those jobholders would pay in their being transformed into corporatized, homogenized lifetimes. Worse, the rise of megadeals in the past versions of Everywhere, USA. 10 years has made the job-incentive argument mega- Beyond local business, our larger society also ridiculous: pays a substantial cost for these subsidies. Most of • New York gave a $258-million subsidy to Yahoo the deals woo the giants by granting 10-year, 20- and got 125 jobs – costing taxpayers $2 million per year, or even longer exemptions from paying prop- job. erty taxes – the chief source of funding for local • Oregon awarded $2 billion to Nike and got 500 schools, roads, fire departments, water systems, jobs – $4 million per job. parks and other essential public services. To cover • North Carolina shelled out $321 million to Apple the loss of revenue, school districts, cities and and got 50 jobs – $6.4 million per job. counties respond both by cutting services and by • Louisiana handed $234 million to Valero Energy hiking the property taxes of homeowners, renters, and got 15 jobs – $15.6 million per job. and hometown businesses. As a result, the commu- The rosy jobs-creation claims by incentive boost- nity gets more inequality, gentrification, homeless- ers also tend to be bogus, for they don’t subtract the ness, and divisiveness. The corporate favor-seekers, number of jobs lost as a result of these deals. Jeff however, fail to see [or care about] the connection Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, for example, has between this result and their grab for the public’s leaned on officials in every major metro area to sub- money. sidize its creation of a nationwide network of ware- Institute for Local Self Reliance is an excellent houses, data centers, and other facilities. This web resource on how to support all things local. – Jim forms Amazon’s all-encompassing business struc- Hightower

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 33 A Shutdown Not To Remember BY FROMA HARROP

y Groundhog Day, the government shut- the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program for down will have been largely forgotten. That’s six years, there was less urgent need to take the radi- a guarantee. cal step of a shutdown. Yes, it’s hard to find a more As memory of that long weekend fades, the sympathetic group – young people who are, for all in- Bmatter of whether Democrats won, lost or tied in the tents and purposes, American. Yes, they’ve been cru- deal to reopen the federal government will be of little elly tossed about by Donald Trump’s mood swings. consequence – at least to those of us who have lives. But Democrats ended up with a tough rationale for But the shutdown did highlight three realities for closing the government – that is, protecting people Democrats going forward. at no immediate risk of being sent away. That’s why REALITY NO. 1: It’s not quite true that Republi- Democrats were wise to pack it in. cans control both houses of Congress. REALITY NO. 3: The activist left isn’t totally on Republicans do have considerable power in the board for winning elections. Its more vocal spokes- House, where they can pass legislation without any people exploded at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Democratic votes. But they don’t have a filibuster- Schumer for ending the shutdown without a defini- proof 60-seat majority in the Senate, needed to pass tive dreamer fix. They get to keep their jobs whether legislation without Democratic support in that cham- Democrats get elected or not. And if militant fist-wav- ber. ing unsettles large parts of the electorate, not their The truth is Democrats did have the power to shut problem. down the government. Also acknowledge that a hand- Some on the hard left argue that if the party leaders ful of Republicans who bucked their party’s leader- were more like them, Democrats would be winning ship helped them. big. The reality is radical-left candidates rarely win REALITY NO. 2: Obtaining legal status for the so- elections. They usually don’t even win Democratic called dreamers – immigrants brought to this country primaries. illegally as children – is a good cause. Closing the gov- By the way, the spokespeople don’t own the women ernment over them is bad politics. That the dreamers who recently marched in great numbers. The women were not threatened with imminent deportation made were united in expressing opposition to Trump and this hardball seem less warranted. congressional Republicans. In terms of issues, that The reality is that once Republicans agreed to fund covers a lot of territory. These women are indeed a 34 • FEBRUARY 2018 massive political force, and the bigger their tent the other states with electorates highly wary of illegal im- stronger they’ll be. migration. [There’s no little irony that presidential prospects “Our major issues,” said former Sen. Byron Dorgan, courting the Bernie Sanders base have made the a North Dakota Democrat, “are jobs, Medicare, Medic- shutdown a key issue. Sanders himself is quite di- aid, CHIP, Social Security, infrastructure, supporting rect on the need to protect American workers from domestic programs, clean air, safe drinking water.” poorly controlled immigration. Sanders’ ditching of The shutdown did produce one significant success. the identity agenda for the labor agenda helps explain It helped solidify a group of moderate Democrats and why many working-class Trump voters had previous- Republicans who now vow to buck their all-politics- ly supported him in the Democratic primaries.] all-the-time leadership and work to solve problems. Splice all three realities into one feature-length pic- That’s good news for everyone, dreamers included. ture and you can see the Democrats’ challenge. To As for who blinked in the game of shutdown chick- gain real power, they have to retain or capture Demo- en, forget about it – if you already haven’t. cratic seats in Missouri, North Dakota, Indiana and © Creators.com Useful Idiots Vs. The FBI

BY JOE CONASON

othing is more fashionable these days on Why would patriotic elected officials thwart a probe the Republican right than to trash America’s of what we now know was a sustained attack on law enforcement and intelligence services. our democratic system by a foreign adversary? Why Legislators like Rep. Steve King, R-IA, and would they seek to disable and even destroy our pri- NFrancis Rooney, R-FL, broadcast accusations about mary counter-intelligence defense against all foreign “major corruption” within the Federal Bureau of In- adversaries, which is one of the principal functions vestigation and demand a “purge.” Tom Fitton, who of the FBI? runs the right-wing legal outfit known as Judicial Their answer is that the FBI exhibited bias in its Watch, has even called for the FBI to be “shut down.” handling of two matters that arose from the 2016 And of course Donald Trump himself has led an un- election: Hillary Clinton’s private email server and relenting assault on the bureau, with his trademark the “dossier” on Trump’s Russia connections com- screeching tweets and verbal outbursts, repeatedly piled by former British intelligence agent Christo- suggesting that the nation’s premier law enforcement pher Steele. According to Fox News and likeminded agency is “tainted,” its reputation “in tatters.” conspiracists, those cases prove that the bureau is Behind these angry accusations, coming from poli- part of a “deep state” plot to boost Clinton and oust ticians who claim to be law-and-order conservatives, Trump. are unfounded claims that the FBI became “politi- Looking back at the 2016 election, however, it is cized” under President Obama and former FBI direc- clear that the FBI didn’t favor Clinton at all. The Jus- tor James Comey. tice Department found no basis for charges against Yet there is no evidence to support such charges, her, but FBI director Comey inflicted the maximum beyond a few text messages between an FBI agent and possible damage to her campaign with his two pub- an FBI lawyer who privately criticized Trump [as well lic pronouncements about the case, both of which as former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, Chel- violated department guidelines. [Meanwhile, the New sea Clinton and others]. Before anyone outside the York FBI office was reported at the time to strongly bureau ever saw the offending texts, special counsel favor Trump.] Robert Mueller removed those officials from his ongo- If anything, Comey appears to have protected not ing investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 Clinton but Trump, by withholding the fact that his presidential election, possibly colluding with Trump. campaign had become the subject of a counter-in- Mueller’s prudent pruning did nothing to silence his telligence investigation as early as July 2016. That critics. Having served as a straight-arrow FBI director probe was opened following advisories received from for a dozen years, he provokes deep fear on the right. allied governments, well before any FBI officials saw Who knows what he will uncover about the president, the Steele dossier. his aides, his family, his donors and his allies? Even Republican officials have also expressed outrage the National Rifle Association, which appears to have that the FBI obtained surveillance warrants on in- used money from Kremlin-linked sources to bolster dividuals associated with Trump under the Foreign Trump in 2016, could be in deep trouble. Intelligence Surveillance Act. House Intelligence Although Republicans’ partisan concern is un- Committee chair Devin Nunes, R-CA, prepared a con- derstandable, their attempts to disrupt the Russia fidential memo, including highly classified material, investigation and discredit the FBI are disturbing. CONTINUED ON PAGE 46 THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 35 We Are A Community Of Immigrants Who Came Here For ... BY ANN DAPICE nce again, a debate about immigration is the direct result of diseases to which they had no im- central to our political chaos. The U.S. munity, the deaths weren’t as innocent as has been president publicly questions why we cannot portrayed. There can be no doubt that by that time in bring in more people from Norway and few- history people knew that removing food and shelter Oer from non-European countries. From those on the predisposed humans to disease and death. more progressive side we hear repeatedly that we are British Gen. Jeffery Amherst condoned the use of a “country of immigrants who came here for a better Smallpox-infected blankets and any other method life.” A little history is in order. that would “extirpate this execrable race.” There In her book, A Chief and Her People, Oklahoma is endless documentation of the burning of Indian Cherokee Wilma Mankiller [1993] wrote that in 1492 crops and villages. Tribes were placed on forced re- there were more than 75 million native people in the movals that resulted in many deaths. Cash bounties Western Hemisphere with at least six million resid- were posted for “redskins” and other body parts were ing in what is now called the U.S. She wrote that they taken as souvenirs. spoke some 2,000 languages and had long been thriv- So, the peoples in what came to be called the Amer- ing civilizations. icas – North, Central and South – were already here Other authorities have estimated that the North and were the ancestors of peoples who live in all the American Indian population was between 12 mil- Americas today. If they were “immigrants” to the lion and 18 million before European arrival and was Western Hemisphere, their immigration happened reduced to between 300,000 and 400,000 by 1900. at least 14,000 years ago – not a period of time that Whole tribes became extinct. most people readily comprehend. While a majority of American Indian deaths were Along with other countries in the world we are a

To order visit https://okobserver.org/store/products/ Or mail payment to PO Box 14275, Oklahoma City, OK 73113

36 • FEBRUARY 2018 nation of conquest. In his 1963 book, Why We Can’t Wait, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote that our nation was born in “genocide” when it determined that the “original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. After the original physi- cal genocide, came the policy of cultural genocide that lasted between 1880 and 1934. Indian children in the U.S. – as with other indigenous children in plac- es around the globe –were taken from their homes, made to attend boarding schools, prevented from speaking their native languages, and often forced with cruel punishment to learn the ways of the dominant culture. With the extermination of so many in- digenous peoples in the so-called “New World,” and the fast-growing European demand for priate groupings worldwide. sugar, tobacco and cotton, 12 million enslaved Afri- Post-colonial maps often separated people into geo- cans were shipped to the Western Hemisphere be- graphical borders that ignored customs, languages, tween 1451 and 1870. The conditions were so horren- and religions. Appropriate to this writing, the contro- dous that 36 million died en route. Physical torture versial wall to separate Mexico from the U.S. is a para- was used to prevent slaves from dying. If they refused digm example of historical ignorance. to eat the maize and water, lashings and hot irons Before 1885, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mex- were used on them. When slaves jumped overboard ico, Texas, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Kansas, and to escape the misery, suicide nets were fixed on the Oklahoma belonged to Mexico. Indian tribes were di- ships to stop them. vided by the U.S.-Mexican border. In 1619 a ship christened the White Lion set anchor Typical reasons given for immigration include pov- off the coast of Virginia and unloaded 20 shackled erty, armed conflict, social strife, and political tur- males and females. They were the first slaves ever moil. Trade and now globalization play a large role. In brought to the English colonies from Africa. The May- this, as in all matters, history can inform the present. flower did not land until a year later. Days after the Tulsa resident Ann Dapice [Lenape/Cherokee] re- White Lion landed a second ship landed in James- ceived a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania town with newly captured Africans. On this ship was and is executive director of the Institute of Values In- a woman who had been kidnapped from what is today quiry, a 501(c)(3) research organization, and director Angola. Her people spoke Bantu, were largely literate, of Education and Research for T.K. Wolf Inc., a 501(c) had traded with Europe for over 100 years and had (3) American Indian organization. She consults with been Christian for generations. the University of Pennsylvania on development of They did not come here for a better life. They did Native American programs. not choose to come to the Americas. The matter of choice is important. Indentured ser- vants did immigrate to the U.S. from Europe and Asia. They differed from chattel slavery because inden- tured servants are people who were willing to work to get transportation, land, clothes, food, or shelter in- stead of money. They agreed to work typically for four to seven years and were then free. In chattel slavery, people are considered property instead of workers or servants. The migration of 400,000 to 460,000 or more, most- ly British indentured servants, to North America and the Caribbean, between the 1640s and 1775, estab- lished the precedent for the indentured labor trades that flourished during the 19th and early 20th centu- ries. Indentured labor migration across the Atlantic was closely associated with the establishment of Eu- ropean settler colonies in the Americas. Colonization often constructed artificial borders and countries. We continue to pay for these inappro- THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 37 PUBLIC FORUM

Capitalism Is Always Capitalism

BY PAUL CARTLEDGE nd now, stage two of the Oligarchs’ assault tal emergency rooms for medical treatment. on Democracy. Walmart is being praised to the heavens for react- The airwaves are inundated with Donald ing to its massive windfall by providing employee Trump and the Republicans telling the tale bonuses and setting an entry level wage of $ 11 an thatA the tax package is the greatest thing that could hour. Some cities and states where Walmart has happen for working American families. Everyone will stores have legislated minimum wages of from $12 have more money. to $15 an hour. “More” in this, case, is a relative term. Wages in Most economists agree that anything below $15 an this country have been flat for 40 years, while corpo- hour is not a living wage. And did you hear Walmart rate profits have soared to previously unimaginable say anything about giving every employee a full 40- heights. hour work week, or a decent benefits package? Walmart, one of the wealthiest corporations to Apple has announced it’s going to bring to Ameri- benefit immensely from the tax cuts, is also one can banks some of the billions is has stashed in off- of the largest and most abusive employers in the shore banks, pay some taxes on it, and create some country. Much of Walmart’s wealth was built on gov- new jobs in America. Other large corporations have ernment subsidies to its employees – food stamps, announced similar moves. Medicaid and other social benefits available to low- These are token gestures for the huge gains these income families. companies are realizing from the tax breaks. They Prior to the enactment of ObamaCare, persons are, no doubt, quid-pro-quos to Republican lawmak- with health insurance coverage paid higher premi- ers who are busily slapping lipstick on this tax bill ums to compensate hospitals for the health care of pig in hopes of holding on to their seats. They hope Walmart employees who were forced to go to hospi- to blow enough smoke so that Americans won’t real-

38 • FEBRUARY 2018 PUBLIC FORUM ize that Trump and the Republicans just rewarded the tens of millions in search of cheap labor, setting these job-killing, tax-dodging billionaires with a $1 up their administrative offices in foreign countries trillion tax break. so that the wealth they gained from American con- Parenthetically, none of the major media outlets sumers could be tax-protected by stashing trillions are giving any pushback to the long line of Repub- in offshore banks, are now going to come riding to licans eager to assert that the “tax reform” is of the rescue of American workers by bringing the jobs great benefit to working Americans. Democrats, like back and moving wages higher? Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who are Of this you can be sure: Whatever token gestures shouting to the rafters that 85% of the $1 trillion- these kings of capitalism trot out over the next sev- plus tax cuts went to the wealthiest Americans are eral months, all tolled will not make a discernable given little, if any, coverage in the network news dent in the massive damage they have visited on outlets. American communities and American workers. Get this picture. The official American corporate Capitalism is always capitalism, and the holy grail tax rate was 35% – admittedly one of the highest. But of capitalism is maximum profit. economist after economist has said that American The next phase of this sinister plot will come after corporations have paid an effective rate of around the 2018 elections, when these Republican socio- 12.5%. So, why would corporations paying 12.5% be paths start harping about the need to cut entitle- so hot for a 20% rate? Could it be that the loopholes ments – Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. have largely been left intact that enabled them to These cuts are necessary, they will argue, to spare pay a rate that was more than 20% below the official our children and grandchildren from the burden- rate? some deficits; deficits Trump and the Republicans I don’t know. I’m certainly not a tax expert, but I’m just boosted by $1.5 trillion [$2 trillion when you guessing that the effective rate on a 20% corporate add the interest on the debt] with their tax cuts for tax will be somewhere around – oh, let’s just say the uber wealthy. zero. Durant resident Paul Cartledge is chair of the These corporations who have offshored jobs by Bryan County Democratic Party. GOP Tax Plan: Jobs For Robots BY GARY EDMONDSON n December, AT&T announced a bonus for all tions. I won’t take bets on whether the money saved employees, citing the Republican corporate tax by the firings offsets the wages for those lucky slashes as its impetus. The announcement came enough to stay employed. a few days after my AT&T bill arrived with a 9.7% The subsequent announcement of the closing of Iincrease. 63 Sam’s Clubs and the sudden unemployment of Put 2018 rates into effect one month early to cover thousands of workers will also boost the profit mar- the bonuses without impacting the sacred bottom gin. line. Make a hullabaloo publicity stunt to thank your And thanks to Greed’s Own Party’s tax law, Congressional lackeys. Start the new year with the Walmart and other companies are being encouraged new rate and less taxes to pay. to fire as many workers as possible as fast as they And if you’re a large enough company, “bonuses can. In fact, the way the law is written, cutting work are a deductible business expense, in the category forces will appear as a mandate to the bean-counters of ‘payment to employees,’” according to Jean Mur- who control our corporations. ray, writing for The Balance. According Lauren Hirsch, reporting for CNBC Last month, Walmart announced a new minimum wage and storewide bonuses up to $1,000, again cit- CONTINUED ON PAGE 46 ing that wonderful tax giveaway. Yeah, buddy. If you’ve been to the Duncan Walmart lately – and who can avoid it – you’ve seen gaping empty spaces where cash registers once stood, plus a large empty space near the original do-it-yourself-because-we- don’t-want-to section. Ooh, major expansion of the customer-unfriendly self-checkout program. So, along with the ballyhooed wage hike, we will soon see fewer of our neighbors working their sta- THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 39 Books America’s ‘Fantasy Industrial Complex’

FANTASYLAND How America Went Haywire By Kurt Anderson Random House Publishing Group 480 pages, $30

BY JOHN WOOD

urt Anderson writes a book that has come our shores valuable ideas, such as hard work and fru- to full fruition with our most recent presi- gality. dential election. Anderson has worked on By the time of the Civil War America had two fairly his ideas since 2013, covering more than dominant groups – the “committed magical think- K500 years of what we know of the United States of ers” and “moderns,” the former found the Bible to America. be “100% nonfiction.” This helps explain for Ander- His timing was prescient. son why conservative Christianity today is a far more It’s an important read, one that will make you think powerful political player than in any other First World differently about the world around you. It is one we nation. need to understand and alternatively apply rational- However, it was the 1960s that found a great transi- ism to even possibly deal with it rather than take the tion in thinking about fantasy. This is where we now easier path and just fall asleep at the wheel and day- find ourselves. dream. Anderson sums up the zeitgeist of this time as: “Do “Little by little for centuries, then more and more your own thing, find your own reality, it’s all relative.” and faster and faster during the last half-century,” This was not obviously exclusive to either the Right Andersen states, “Americans have given ourselves or the Left, as everyone was given “license, he says, over to all kinds of magical thinking, anything-goes “to let their freak flags fly.” relativism, and belief in fanciful explanation, small Both sides have certainly imbibed the times. and large fantasies that console or thrill or terrify He describes further that it was a time where post- us.” modernism, magical objects, incantations, and even Anderson follows five American Centuries covering oracles had the same credence as reason and science eras from the Enlightenment to 19th Century huck- on the Left. At the same time, the Right had their sterism, to today’s corporate and political spin. He own conspiracy theories with “gun rights hysteria, also hones in on the Disneyfication of daily life, and black helicopter conspiracism, [and] climate change from the Fox Effect to Reality TV. He likewise focuses denial.” on, not surprisingly, conspiracy theories built cre- There has been a meteoric rightward shift in Re- atively on nuggets of truth and others of pure fiction, publicans, however. but with much fanfare through the viral-prone media George W. Bush’s political adviser Karl Rove once – all of which serves as the basis for what he calls the said that one must understand that “reality-based” is “Fantasy Industrial Complex.” “not the way the world works anymore.” Anderson goes back to the early settlement, found- Anderson cites the emergency actions we had to ed by what he describes as “a nutty religious cult re- take as a nation to deal with the market meltdown sistant to reality checks and convinced they had spe- 2008, noting the Tea Party was a reaction to the gov- cial access to the truth.” He, however, balances this ernment response. You remember the Tea Party, en- out with the fact that these Puritans also brought to gaging in 18th Century military drag? I do. Dozens

40 • FEBRUARY 2018 even were elected to Congress. They hate government, so govern- ment dysfunction is both a means and end as they find glee in shut- ting it down. Anderson describes the changes on the Right with the example of Rep. Devin Nunes, who now infa- mously chairs the House Intelli- gence committee. He was one of the most conservative members in Washington when he was elected in 2003, and yet today the Heritage Foundation surprisingly ranks him in the most liberal third of House Republicans. Nunes said that he spent about 90% of this time on constituent business on real issues. By con- trast only 10% had something to do with “chem trials from air planes or poisoning me,” but in the last few years that has amaz- ingly “flipped on its head” and now 90% of his work is on conspiracy- based concerns. Maybe its not too surprising that this once-sensible Congress-mem- ber is now a staunch supporter of a president who’s “specialty is passing untrue conspiracy theo- ries,” such as being wiretapped in Trump Tower by the previous president. Anderson argues that Trump’s election is the “ultimate expression” of the “fantasy indus- trial complex.” Media skepticism of the press and academic experts has gone mainstream with Trump, but this is nothing new on the Right. They have been conditioned to “disbe- WHY WAIT? lieve facts at odds with their opin- ions.” Now you can subscribe to The Oklahoma Observer For example, far-Right radio host at the Full Circle Books checkout counter Charlie Sykes wrote in 2017, “I and receive your free book certificate on the spot! played a role in that conditioning by hammering the mainstream IMPORTANT RESTRICTIONS To take advantage of this offer, visit Full Circle Books, where you can subscribe to The Oklahoma Observer at the checkout media for its bias and double stan- counter and receive your free book certificate immediately. You also may subscribe to The Observer using the coupon on page 3 of this issue or by visiting our web site www.okobserver.net. You then will receive via U.S. Mail a certificate from Full Circle Books for a dards but the price was far higher free book [$20 limit]. The certificate is not transferable and must be presented in person at Full Circle Books in order to receive your than I imagined” because even the free book. No facsimiles, printouts or photocopies will be accepted as a substitute for the original Full Circle certificate. This book Right lost its immunity to skepti- offer is for new subscribers only. Not valid with any other offer. cism. inside job. What’s more, one quar- ture in no small measure because As a result, it seems that Ameri- ter of America believes Obama is of Facebook and Twitter, both of cans are more and more willing to the antichrist. Wow, the times we which Buzzfeed found were re- believe anything. Recent surveys live in! plete with false stories. find, for example, more than half Anderson gives readers an un- Of the top 20 most viral articles: the country does not believe man- derstanding of how both sides are “Pope Francis endorses Donald made climate change is real and as so engulfed in their own fantasies. Trump” and “Wikileaks confirms many as 20% believe 9/11 was an They are embedded in our cul- that Hillary sold arms to ISIS”

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 41 were more widely shared than the accurate ones. Cer- tainly, this is a horrible example of Gresham’s law, where the bad overruns the good. Fantasyland seems like a condition of humanity and it’s not pretty. Anderson’s book often reads like a train wreck. It just piles on. The outcomes get worse. Nonetheless, Anderson is surprisingly optimistic. Like Stephen Pinker’s new book The Better Angels of our Nature, Anderson finds that, despite everything and what you often see highlighted in the news, vio- lence has actually dropped since 1992. Similarly, pov- erty has plummeted from 40% to 10% since 1980. Unfortunately, Anderson has no actionable agenda. However, as the world divides into bifurcated cul- tures, he urges that “reality based America must try to keep our zone as large and robust and attractive as possible for ourselves and the next generations.” We are “entitled to our fantasies,” he writes, “but not our own facts, especially if your fantasies hurt people.” We must call out the untrue. It’ll be a struggle to make America reality-based again. Don’t give people a free pass. We need to teach people the difference be- tween “true and untrue as fiercely as you do between right and wrong.” okea.org We need a new protocol, he says. Fight the good fight in the public square. We can’t continue to digest the lies that we hear on Twitter and other places on a daily basis by those who should know better, but seem not to. Anderson pulls off our bandages in his book. He reveals the rawness of a messy democracy in a virtu- al “everything goes” world and its unrepentant past. It’s a great book to understand our current world and conditions we now find ourselves in. Hopefully, with this understanding we can start the healing. John Wood is an associate professor of political sci- ence at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Message Sponsored by Iris Lochner Abortion CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

cedure similar to other medical procedures that are determined by the patient and their physician. I do not have the training to make such a decision by a woman and her doctor. Since I do not believe that legislative bodies made up of men have the knowledge or skills to make such decisions, I will allow this issue to be a matter of choice between a woman and her physician. However, do not expect rational discussions to sway the prejudice of hard-core pro-lifers. What is a pro-choice minister to do? Stand his or her ground knowing that sensitive theology, rational politics and human compassion are at your side. Jeff Hamilton, a Midwest City Democrat who served in the Oklahoma House from 1986-94, is associate minister at First Christian Church in OKC.

42 • FEBRUARY 2018 Observations Better Information, Better Policy Oklahoma Policy Institute provides timely and credible CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 information, analysis and commentary on state policy issues. Henry no doubt benefitted from the ballot presence See our latest issue briefs, fact sheets and blog posts at: of independent candidate Gary Richardson [the same well-heeled Tulsa attorney seeking the GOP nomina- tion this year] who helped split conservative votes. But an even more significant factor was SQ 687 – the proposed statewide ban on cockfighting. David Blatt, Director n 918.794.3944 n [email protected] The blood sport’s supporters turned out in droves, especially in then-reliably Democratic Little Dixie. They failed to save their pastime, but they helped elect Henry who racked up huge margins in south- eastern Oklahoma. The medical marijuana proposal could similarly im- pact this year’s elections – likely to spur turnout, es- pecially among younger, more casual voters. This is significant for at least two reasons: First, they aren’t knee-jerk opponents of marijuana like so many of their parents and grandparents. Second, their party allegiances are often weaker or non-exis- tent. This could create opportunities for Democrats hoping to whittle away at GOP statehouse dominance. Further, the pro-medical marijuana coalition is like- ly to include libertarians who’ve long argued drugs should be legalized, regulated and taxed, as well as TOM GOODWIN a cross-section of partisans who’ve seen the positive impact of medical marijuana in 29 states, plus the Cheyenne, OK District of Columbia. Nearly everyone knows someone who’s risked Reader and supporter of The Observer breaking the law to get pot for a loved one enduring for over 30 years and counting. chemotherapy, arthritis or other crippling maladies. Legalizing and regulating it would ensure it’s no lon- ger criminal to do what’s best medically for you or your loved one. The political dynamics created an election-sched- uling conundrum for the governor. She won’t be on the ballot, of course, because she is term-limited. But as de facto state GOP leader, it was important she do what she could to help her party avoid the kind of electoral upheaval that cockfighting created. Further, in a nod to her law-and-order Republican roots, she hasn’t exactly been warm to the notion of expanding marijuana use beyond current law that permits cannabis oil to treat epilepsy. Yet, Fallin’s decision to place it on the June pri- mary ballot actually may help its chances of passing – especially now that Democrats permit independents to vote in their primary. What typically would be a low-turnout, early sum- THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER mer election now becomes a must-vote event for both medical marijuana supporters and opponents. That has to be good news for proponents, given a Your Passport To Oklahoma’s Most Progressive, recent Sooner Poll showing six in 10 Oklahomans fa- Socially Responsible And Intellectual Audience vor legalization. And even better news for those who know first- Advertising rates start as low as $40 per issue. hand that medical marijuana is a safer, natural, and frequently more effective alternative to opioids. Call 405.478.8700 for details. THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 43 Observerscope

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

FYI: We love receiving letters to the editor, pro or con, but be aware we give priority to subscribers in deciding what to publish. We urge brevity and ask let- ters be typewritten, preferably emailed to ahamilton@ okobserver.net.

Congratulations to Planned Parenthood’s Tamya Cox and Jabari Toure, son of the late Opio Toure, on their recent engagement.

A lethal combination of climate change and over- fishing is to blame for 222 critically endangered bird species. Twenty-one haven’t been seen in years and already may be extinct. – BirdLife International

ICYMI: Term-limited Sen. Anastasia Pittman, D- OKC, was recently appointed to the National Confer- ence of State Legislature’s Communications, Finan- cial Services and Interstate Commerce Committee.

11701 N. MacArthur Blvd. Attention Climate Deniers: 2017’s natural disas- Oklahoma City, Ok. 73162 ters inflicted a one-year U.S. record of $306 billion [405] 721-3252 in damages. – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- springcreekbc.com ministration

Baby boom? After decades of decline, the average number of children born to American women has climbed 11% since 2006. – Pew Research Center

It’s good news/bad news that U.S. Rep. Tom Cole is angling to become House Appropriations Commitee chair. Good that an Oklahoman would be holding the post. Bad that it would be a devotee of tinkle-down economics.

Yo, Chick-fil-A cows! The USDA has a mixed mes- sage for you, estimating the average American will eat 222.2 pounds of red meat and poultry this year, THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER eclipsing record set in 2004. – Time Oklahomans hold Gov. Mary Fallin and the GOP- Your Passport To Oklahoma’s Most Progressive, dominated Legislature in near equal contempt: Fal- Socially Responsible And Intellectual Audience lin’s disapproval 58%, Legislature’s 57%. – SoonerPoll

Advertising rates start as low The Federal Trade Commission fielded 4.5 million as $40 per issue. complaints about robocalls in FY 2017. No Call Lists now seem positively quaint, don’t they? Call 405.478.8700 for details. 44 • FEBRUARY 2018 Letters

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 that benefit them more, instead of sharing the profits with the people who do the work. No one in the wealthiest country in the world should be homeless, hungry, needing healthcare and an edu- cation. Saying Trump is going to drain the swamp is crazy. He is the swamp. Barbara Goodman Midwest City

Editor, The Observer: Rep. Tom Cole, R-OK, is, in my opinion, one of the most intelligent people in the U.S. House. That is why I found reading his explanation and praise of the tax bill [before it passed] so heartbreaking and unbeliev- able. What pressure was put on this exceptional mem- Read The Observer On-Line ber of the U.S. House to make him write such a de- scription of praise about this bill? Why did he sing www.okobserver.org so highly of the “hoped-for benefits” while hiding so carefully the certain costs of the bill? A back-alley of Americans and certain Russian investors than used car salesman could not have done a better job they did to benefit anyone who could be remotely de- of hiding the truth! scribed as American middle class. Why would such a heretofore excellent representa- There are those selected by their political party be- tive praise so highly a bill that would do such great cause they are electable despite their obvious lack harm to the state of Oklahoma, the majority of its cit- of intelligence [such as Donald Trump] because they izens, to the vast majority of American citizens, and will follow, like sheep, any instructions they are giv- to which the vast majority of his constituents were en. But Tom Cole is not one of these mindless nin- dramatically opposed? nies. Tom Cole has a brain that works and works bet- Then, Rep. Cole did the unthinkable – he voted in ter than the majority. favor of the tax bill! The Bible is full of examples of those who, once in As if he, and the rest of the Republican representa- a position of power, fell to the temptations of greed or tives and senators, had sold their very souls to the the promise of great power. Sadly, Tom Cole has ap- extremely wealthy GOP donors, he signaled that he parently either never read the Bible or has forgotten no longer wishes to serve in Congress as a represen- the lesson it teaches. tative of the people. He, and those who joined him in Should Tom Cole have the unimaginable nerve to voting for the wretched tax bill, have stealthily taken seek re-election in 2018 from the state of Oklahoma, away the meager protection of children, declared war whose citizens he has so grievously wounded and on the older citizens of America, declared that Puerto disregarded, it is the duty of every mentally compe- Rico [American citizens, all] were not worth expend- tent Oklahoma citizen in his district to not only vote ing effort to save after the hurricane season, and de- against him, but also to actively campaign against claring, by action if not by word, that children with him. cancer and children with birth defects are not nearly Tom Cole was once such an honest and true man. I so important as to have their causes funded as are sincerely pray that, once he is clear of the influence the super rich in, not only America, but also Russia. of Washington, DC, he will find his way back to Christ In point of fact, when the dust has settled and all and to the teachings of Christianity. the facts are studied, Cole and the rest of the Repub- Gary Ross lican Party did more to benefit a very select group Lawton

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 45 Useful Idiots

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 which outlines the alleged FISA missteps. This cued Perhaps the Republican officials who attack the FBI Trump supporters on the far right to promote #Re- are so blinded by partisanship that they have forgot- leaseTheMemo as a hashtag social media campaign, ten the Russians engage in constant hostile behavior, suggesting that Nunes’ memo will disclose explosive including every kind of espionage. Or perhaps they proof of FBI abuses “worse than Watergate.” are what the Soviets used to call “useful idiots,” now Rep. Adam Schiff, D-CA, the ranking member of mesmerized by Vladimir Putin’s nationalist authori- the intelligence committee, describes the memo as a tarian style. mishmash of errors and distortions. But like Trump’s depredations against the CIA, Whatever Nunes says, however, there was ample which he compared to the Nazi regime, and the State reason for counterintelligence surveillance of certain Department, which he has damaged permanently, the Trump aides – notably Paul Manafort, who worked for question raised by the Republican campaign against Kremlin-linked figures in Russia and Ukraine, and the FBI is cui bono: Who benefits? Carter Page, who showed up four years ago in a case Here’s a clue. The Twitter accounts most fervently that concluded with the imprisonment of one Rus- pushing #ReleaseTheMemo – aside from white na- sian spy and the expulsion of two others. [Page was tionalists and other neo-Nazis – are Russian bots. not indicted.] © Creators.com Robots CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 in December, “ … the effective cost of buying new blue. It was more like a thud in the pit of my stom- equipment will drop and savings from reducing ach. payroll costs could jump by at least 20%.” In other So, this “Tax Cut and Jobs Act” that’s supposed to words: Buying labor-replacing machinery may be spur new hiring doesn’t bode well on the job front – cheaper and firing employees may save more money. unless you’re a robot. Hirsch explains: “Under the law, companies will A recent Rolling Stone included an article about the now be able to write off the cost of new equipment impending automation of the trucking industry. Self- immediately rather than over an extended time, driving trucks threaten the jobs of about 1.7 million thereby lowering their short-term taxes. Because truckers. money is worth more now than in the future [the The sub-head wonders, “Will it also be Trump’s time value of money], they will save more in the long greatest betrayal of his blue-collar base?” run from deductions than they would have previ- Back when Steve Bannon was known only as the ously. With this provision set to begin to phase out right-wing racist nut job which he still is, Karl Rove in five years, retailers looking to automate are under devised the GOP strategy of loading elections with the gun.” false social issues with convenient “others” for “good Yet, while the retailers are “under the gun” to cut people” to hate. jobs now for their greater profits, the workers are Then, having secured the votes of gullible social just under fire for their future livelihoods. conservatives, the Republicans took power and began “Up to 7.5 million retail industry jobs are vulner- economic warfare against their duped working class able to automation within 10 years, the Cornerstone followers. Capital Group wrote in May.” And that plan continues today, with overt racism “Meanwhile,” Hirsch continues, “as the corporate somehow unifying bigot-backing public Christians tax rate drops from 35% to 21%, companies can keep with an economic banditti not seen since the Robber a greater share of their income. That also means Barons of the 1880s. they can pocket more savings achieved through cost Well, some of us share the opinion that the cur- cutting, like laying off workers.” rent Republican ascendancy is nothing more than a Needless to say, the Republican’s repugnant “mock alliance between hypocrisy and credulity.” enrich-the-richest tax bill has no provisions for re- Maybe 5% of Americans are rich enough to benefit training “fired” workers. These folks are not “laid from the Republicans’ corporate socialism. The rest off,” as if lolling in a hammock somewhere. are continually sold a bill of goods – or a bill of bads As someone whose job was “eliminated” temporar- as it turns out. ily until after my termination, I can assure you that Duncan resident Gary Edmondson is chair of the I was not “let go,” either, as if a kite wafting into the Stephens County Democratic Party.

46 • FEBRUARY 2018 It’s Easy To Be A ... CHANGE AGENT MyChange is a new app that makes it easier than ever to support your favorite progressive organizations – like The Oklahoma Observer.

Every time you use your linked debit or credit card, MyChange rounds up your transaction to the next dollar and steers the difference to the Oklahoma Observer Democracy Foundation.

Spend $4.70 on a latte? The Observer Foundation receives 30 cents. It’s that simple.

With just a few easy steps, you can dedicate your spare change to the Observer Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to help create a better, more informed Oklahoma. It’s a tax-deductible gift that supports independent, hard-hitting journalism and commentary, an antidote to the state’s lockstep rightwing mainstream media.

To sign up, visit mychange.com/okobserver

THE OKLAHOMA OBSERVER • 47 An Evening With ... DAN RATHER Celebrating 50 Years Of The Observer THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 7:30 p.m. @ University of Central Oklahoma Boathouse 732 Riversport Drive On The Oklahoma River In Downtown OKC SEATING IS LIMITED Tickets go on sale Feb. 8 Individual: $125 VIP: $250 To purchase tickets, call 405.478.8700 or visit okobserver.org. All tickets include a signed copy of Dan Rather’s best-selling new book, What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism.

VIP tickets include access to a private pre-event reception with Dan Rather.

For sponsorship information, please call 405.478.8700