Your Views - The Oklahoman | Newsok.com

There's no such thing as 'free' birth control Published: Wed, Feb 22, 2012 | Leave a comment In response to the outcry from religious organizations being forced to provide contraceptive services to women, President Barack Obama said, “But if a woman's employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company... Read More

Creating unclassified government position irresponsible Published: Wed, Feb 22, 2012 | Leave a comment Regarding “Public Safety Department official resigns after publicity” (News, Feb. 15): Public Safety Commissioner Michael Thompson created a $60,000 executive assistant position and filled it with his friend Scott Barger. What happened to Gov. Mary Fallin's campaign promises to reduce the size of government?... Read More

Mandate not needed to protect a woman's choice Published: Wed, Feb 22, 2012 | Leave a comment Regarding the Obamacare contraception mandate: Women in America have every right to purchase means of contraception and abortions from such product and service providers. Organizations such as Planned Parenthood already provide contraception, health care and abortions free of charge to any woman. The contraception... Read More

A historical perspective on the purpose of insurance Published: Wed, Feb 22, 2012 | Leave a comment Transporting freight by ship in the 17th century was risky. You were ruined if your ship sank. In 1688, Edward Lloyd opened a coffeehouse in London where maritime insurance was bought and sold. The insurance protected an owner who lost a ship. Lloyd's covered catastrophes. It didn't cover maintenance. By contrast,... Read More

President proposes higher taxes for oil and gas sector Published: Wed, Feb 22, 2012 | Leave a comment Despite his recent claim that the technology-driven revolution in extraction of natural gas in the United States is a boon to our nation, President Barack Obama apparently isn't all that excited about allowing the revolution to continue. In his recent budget he proposes to target the oil and gas sector for higher... Read More

Hard work alone doesn't earn wealth Published: Wed, Feb 22, 2012 | Leave a comment John Harris (Your Views, Feb. 10) gave his explanation of the difference between “fortunate” and the work involved to attain wealth. I've recently read that the average salary, bonuses, stock options, etc., come to more than $10 million per year for the hedge fund managers, heads of large corporations and... Read More

Calling these items 'tax loopholes' is deceitful Published: Wed, Feb 22, 2012 | Leave a comment Pending legislation to eliminate the state income tax over a 10-year period would also eliminate all deductions, exclusions, credits and other “loopholes.” This includes the standard deduction ($11,600), personal exemptions ($1,000) and exemptions for aging and blindness. Also being eliminated are exclusions... Read More

Senate bill would further harm Oklahoma's science standards Published: Mon, Feb 20, 2012 | Leave a comment “Oklahoma gets an F for science standards” (News, Feb. 11) again calls attention to the poor state of science education in Oklahoma. It's disturbing that the authors of the Fordham Foundation review observed that Oklahoma's science standards are so bad that it seemed that no one “with a working knowledge of... Read More