A chance to affect court
GOV. Mary Fallin will get the chance next year to name a justice to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, providing another chance to lend a more conservative tinge to the nine-member group.
This year, Fallin chose Patrick Wyrick to replace Steven Taylor, who resigned at the end of 2016. Wyrick had been solicitor general since 2011 in the office of former Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a staunch conservative. Now Fallin will choose a successor to Justice Joseph Watt, who is retiring effective Dec. 31.
Watt was appointed to the court in 1992 by Democratic Gov. David Walters. Taylor was one of six justices appointed by another Democrat, Brad Henry, during his two terms in office.
Some conservatives have been critical of the court in recent years and want changes in how justices are selected. We have cautioned against sweeping changes resulting from differences centered on ideology.
Meantime, Fallin can use the current process to continue making an incremental difference with this next pick. And who knows? She could have more opportunities before her second term expires in January 2019. One justice has been on the court since 1984.
A worthwhile bill
As the U.S. House debated a bill this week that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, some Democrats complained about the timing — just a few days after the Las Vegas massacre, and not long after a hurricane struck Puerto Rico. “This is a time for Congress to be focused on solutions, working together and doing everything we can to help those who are suffering rebuild and recover,” said Rep. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Truth is, few elected Democrats want any restrictions on abortion, regardless of when the issue is raised. The House passed the bill on a mostly party-line vote. It faces a tough road in the Senate, but Rep. Steve Russell, R-Choctaw, underscored why the bill makes sense. “Along with China and North Korea, America is in the top 4 percent of countries with the most permissive abortion policies,” Russell said. “Our nation can do better.” We’d certainly like to believe so.
Dr. Suess — racist?
It seems you cannot underestimate the ability of some people to inject politics into anything. An example comes from an elementary school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which was one of several schools selected to receive a donation of 10 Dr. Seuss books from first lady Melania Trump as part of “National Read a Book Day.” The Washington Post reports the school librarian, Liz Phipps Soeiro, refused to accept the books, and instead wrote a letter to the first lady decrying Seuss’s illustrations as “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.” Apparently no one told that to the nation’s first black president. The Post notes former President Barack Obama declared himself “a big Dr. Seuss fan” in 2015. Naturally, Soeiro’s letter also argued for increased government spending on schools. Yet her comments only serve to remind that the biggest education challenge in some schools has nothing to do with spending.
Students come through
Oklahoma is teeming with caring and conscientious people of all ages, a fact underscored this week in the Moore school district. Following the historic flooding in Houston and along the Gulf coast caused by Hurricane Harvey, Moore schools combined to raise about $30,000. At Moore High School, students held several fundraisers that produced $5,157. This week, members of the school’s senior leadership team presented a check to Superintendent Robert Romines. Joy Atakpo, senior class president, noted the support that others from around the country showed to Moore following the devastating May 20, 2013, tornado. “So for us to be able to help them feels really nice,” she said. Kudos to all involved.
Sign of respect
We don’t know whether Thomas Gunderson is a fan of Donald Trump or the job Trump has done as president, but the young man clearly holds the office of the presidency in high esteem. Gunderson, 28, of Newport Beach, California, was among those wounded in the Las Vegas shooting — he took a bullet to the leg. When Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited the Las Vegas hospital where he is recovering, Gunderson insisted on getting out of his bed. A video shows him standing briefly to greet Melania, then standing again when Trump entered the room. “I will never lie down when the President of this great country comes to shake my hand!” Gunderson wrote on his Facebook page. “There may be plenty of issues in this country but I will always respect my country, my president and my flag.” Bravo.
Anthem counterprotest
National anthem protests have become commonplace in the NFL, much to the annoyance of sports fans, and the fad has even spread to some high school games nationally. That wasn’t the case for the Fort Gibson High School football team. Instead, team members recently ran onto the field carrying U.S. flags sponsored by the American Legion. According to the school profile issued by the state Office of Educational Quality and Accountability, 47 percent of Fort Gibson students are American Indian, outnumbering the share of white students. While this may come as news to Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who started the anthem protest movement, this nation’s dealings with American Indian tribes haven’t always been a source of pride. Yet that didn’t stop students at Fort Gibson from standing up for a country that continues to be a beacon of opportunity for all people of all backgrounds.
Misunderstood?
Some NFL executives have complained that people misunderstand the point of players’ national anthem protests. Perhaps that’s because of the actions of former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started the protests. Kaepernick’s foundation recently gave $25,000 to Assata’s Daughters, a Chicago organization that honors Assata Shakur, a former Black Liberation Army member convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper in 1973. Shakur later escaped from prison and fled to Cuba. On the group’s website, Assata’s Daughters says its mission is to “develop and train young people, ages 4-19, in the Black queer feminist tradition and in the spirit of Assata.” Kaepernick has also tweeted birthday wishes to Assata. So Kaepernick, who previously wore socks to practice that depicted policemen as cartoon pigs, is a fan of a cop-killer and an organization devoted to the “legacy” of one. How could anyone think his motives are less than pure?