EDITORIAL: Oklahoma ScissorTales: A worthwhile justice reform bill

Jan. 19--AS planned, two Oklahoma House members from opposite parties filed a bill this week to make a voter-approved piece of criminal justice reform retroactive. We expect this effort will succeed, and it should.

Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City, and Majority Leader Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, filed House Bill 1269. It would provide relief to prison inmates serving felony sentences for crimes -- mostly drug and property offenses -- that became misdemeanors with the passage of State Question 780 in fall 2016.

While granting commutations to 21 inmates in December, former Gov. Mary Fallin said about 1,000 nonviolent inmates would benefit if SQ 780 were made retroactive. There are roughly 27,000 incarcerated in the state system.

"These folks are disenfranchised, and their families are suffering," Dunnington said. "This legislation seeks to heal these wounds and continue Oklahoma down the road of responsible criminal justice reform."

Echols said Oklahoma voters, who gave 58 percent approval to SQ 780, have let it be known how they feel about justice reform. He said he hopes to find "not Democratic or Republican solutions, but Oklahoma solutions to the issues facing this state. This bill will be a great step in that direction."

Encouraging figures

The Oklahoma State Election Board has been recording voter registration statistics since 1960. This week, the board provided encouraging news -- the number of registered voters following a gubernatorial election is larger than it's ever been. There are now 2,126,897 registered voters in Oklahoma, up by nearly 111,000 from the same time a year ago. A breakdown by party affiliation shows Republicans make up 47.4 percent of the electorate and Democrats 36.6 percent. Independents comprise 15.6 percent (Libertarians are 0.4 percent). "Our state saw a big increase in voter engagement in 2018," said Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax, "and I am hopeful that this trend will continue through 2019 and into the 2020 elections." Hear hear!

Mike Leach, academic

Mike Leach, former Oklahoma offensive coordinator, Texas Tech coach and current Washington State coach, recently revealed he may co-teach a college class on "Insurgent Warfare & Football." An overview reveals the course would review the "tactics and strategy common" to guerrilla warfare and football, focusing on how insurgent forces can maximize asymmetric advantages to prevail in battle. Leach said he's looking for two class assistants, preferably a student veteran and/or someone interested in a coaching career. The first class (of five) will discuss the "Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire in WWI" along with "game planning and film breakdown" of Washington State's 2017 game against USC. That may be the greatest combo since peanut butter met chocolate. We have no idea how Leach would be as a military strategist, but we can say this with confidence: Leach, who earned a law degree and co-authored a book on the life and tactics of Geronimo, is one of the most interesting people ever to coach college football.

Warren's judgment

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., recently visited New Hampshire to build support for a presidential campaign. Warren, dogged by controversy over her claims of American Indian heritage, was asked if she supported efforts to replace Columbus Day with "Indigenous People's Day." No surprise, Warren was all-in on the idea. Recall, Warren is a member of no tribe. A blood test she touted showed she might be between one-64th and one-1,024th American Indian, which means she may be less Indian than the average white American, according to research. And the test doesn't prove Warren has any Cherokee heritage, which she has claimed in the past. Put simply, she's a flawed spokesperson for any issue involving tribal issues. That this didn't stop Warren from opining shows her long track record of questionable judgment remains unbroken and highlights why so many believe she is a flawed presidential candidate.

Gabbard gets it

To her credit, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is not joining her Democratic colleagues in attacking judicial nominees for their religious beliefs. The latest target is Brian Buescher, nominated to the federal bench in Nebraska. California Sen. Kamala Harris posed several questions to Buescher recently regarding his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization. "Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed marriage equality when you joined the organization?" Harris asked. The Knights are staunchly anti-abortion. Harris asked whether Buescher knew when he joined the organization that it "opposed a woman's right to choose." Another question: "Have you ever, in any way, assisted with or contributed to advocacy against women's reproductive rights?" In an article in The Hill, Gabbard said she opposes this nomination but, "I stand strongly against those who are fomenting religious bigotry ..." and that "no American should be asked to renounce his or her faith or membership in a faith-based, service organization in order to hold public office." Kudos to her.

Whose assets?

When it was announced they were divorcing, there was much speculation over how Amazon head Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie would split their assets, valued at a reported $136 billion. Much coverage suggested the split would make MacKenzie the world's richest woman and effectively referred to the couple's financial holdings as the husband's money. But an article at Wired magazine noted MacKenzie "is already the richest woman in the world, because she's half of the richest couple on Earth." It also noted that "missing, or glossed over" in much coverage "is the fact that MacKenzie helped her husband start his historic company ..." This included handling accounting duties in the company's early days and helping "negotiate the retail giant's first freight contracts." That some people have been too quick to dismiss a spouse's contributions to and direct role in a business leader's success is hard to deny.

Understanding the moment

This week when the national champion Clemson Tigers football team visited the White House and met President Trump, players and coaches were fed an array of fast food, including McDonald's and Wendy's burgers, because the government shutdown made unavailable the staffers who typically prepare meals for visitors. Some Trump critics looked down their noses at such fare, while some defenders went too far the other direction. One supporter even said online that Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence said the team had been served "all our favorite foods" and declared it "the best meal we ever had." Lawrence went on Twitter to correct the record, declaring he "never said" those words, but added that "the trip to the White House was awesome!" Give Lawrence credit for having a better grasp of the moment than those on both sides of the political aisle who obsessed over the menu.

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