Love Letters/Hate Mail

The More, the Better

Dear Editor:

(In response to "Statue of Limitations" by Mike Easterling in the Sept. 17-23 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Let's place one of these in the state capitol of all 50 states! Let everyone in the world know we are still a nation blessed "Under God" and "In God We Trust"! We developed this nation with God in mind; let's get back to where we were then and quit letting the non-believers tell us we can't have God in our schools and public places!

-Claudia Henry

Rivalry Revisited

Dear Editor:

(In response to the Cover Story, "A Tale of 2 Cities," by Mike Easterling in the Sept. 17-23 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Wow! What an incredibly interesting article. I have long struggled with the question of the Tulsa/OKC rivalry and am happy to find that I wasn't the only one to ponder the relationship. Well done on all accounts, Mr. Easterling!

-River Rat

Dear Editor:

I just want to say that our street car system is getting voted on this December. Not in decades.

And while the BOK center does match our Ford Center, the ONEOK Ballfield will not be anything close to our Bricktown Ballpark. They're not even catering to the same league of baseball and capacity.

And umm, The Thunder just got here a year ago, tell me how Bricktown has thrived just off of Thunder games for 10 years without it?

Anyways, besides some obvious boosting, it's a very good article and I love both of Oklahoma's cities.

- Requiem OKC

Former CEO Under Fire

Dear Editor:

(In response to "Turning the Page" by Mike Easterling in the Sept. 10-16 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

I wish the new interim CEO luck in trying to right this sinking ship. It sounds like she is way, way unestimating exactly how low morale of employees actually is. It's in the sub-basement according to employees I've talked to.

And, I wonder if the interim CEO will explain why the former CEO wasn't at work for several months, while drawing full pay, just before being fired? The interim CEO was there, so why was the former CEO AWOL from work, with no one raising the red flag? Was any pay fraud committed?

Will there be full disclosure, or a cover-up?

Throw Randi Out

Congress Plays Keepaway with the Public

Dear Editor:

The name of the game is "keepaway." Keep Congress in Washington and away from the folks back home. It's a key strategy for Congress' liberal leadership, which has announced the new fall schedule for meetings and votes on Capitol Hill.

The original official plan was to adjourn by Oct. 30. Now the target is Thanksgiving but the expectation is Christmas, with maybe a one-week break somewhere along the way.

By keeping Congress in session and away from angry voters, leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi hope to plead, pressure and cajole enough votes to enact a massive health care bill. There's less competition and interference from everyday people when elected officials are in Fortress Washington.

President Obama's big speech was targeted more to Democrats in Congress than to the general public. He needed to buy time and probably did so by claiming he has a plan to solve the problems without adding a dime to the deficit. He's still given no specifics on how that might magically be accomplished. But the very claim that a plan is in the works was enough to stall fellow Democrats so they will respectfully wait for details rather than jumping ship.

That provides the time for hardball politics, trading votes for pet projects or legislation, or just plain arm-twisting. A Congress that hears more from party leaders and less from the folks back home is easier to lead down the big government path.

A majority of Americans told pollsters before the speech that they oppose Obama's plan--but so what? It is Representatives and Senators who have direct votes to decide the fate of national health care; the rest of us do not. We will be stuck with whatever Congress passes. A bad bill could not be reversed even if incumbents are voted out next year and the majority changes hands. Because Obama is in office until 2013 he can veto any repeal efforts.

Liberal leaders almost lost it during the August recess, dominated by the enormous turnout of those who oppose the legislation. But the more time elected officials spend in Washington and the less time they spend at home, the more likely it is that Obama and his allies can win.

And if that impacts the 2010 elections? They'll think about that tomorrow. November 2014 is 14 months away--a lifetime in politics.

-Ernest Istook