Posted on February 21 at 3:29 a.m.Suggest removal

Trains really aren't that great. I'd much rather drive, and I think that 90% of people would rather drive as well. That's why there aren't really a lot of trains in this country, because we have the freedom of driving. The FW-OKC-KC line might be a good idea, but anything other than connecting the major metro areas would certainly not be lucrative or make any money. As the ticket prices would likely rise above gas prices, due to the inherently high costs of running a train, people would stop taking the train, because it would not provide benefits enough to keep people from driving. I think highways are a much better investment than train lines. Also, if the three cities felt as if a train line would really boost their economies, I am sure they could come together and create some sort of line.

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Posted on December 16 at 1 p.m.Suggest removal

Geez. Now I can't tell ethnicity through the user names, but I'm going to guess that IrishCarBomb (an offensive name in it's own right) is a white person. I just think it's funny how much more white people tend to get offended by this stuff. Now, that said, I didn't read the original article because it was pulled down before I could (which is a shame in itself), but this piece was very well done. Self serving? What writer isn't? A writer is someone who thinks his or her opinions and insights are so valuable that others need to read them, so of course you can expect a degree of that. But what he did with this piece, is send the message that he made a mistake in the first column, but that he is trying to learn from it, and in an effort to do so, decided to write a second piece on the same topic in order to explain his mindset during the first article, and show that, while he may have made a mistake, he is going to keep working. What more can you ask for? Every time we "ruffle some feathers" are we supposed to give up and go hid under a rock? And let's not be so quick to point the accusatory finger. He may have some prejudice, but are you free from it? Is anyone? No. But just because you have some prejudice, doesn't mean you're automatically a racist. So cool it with the racist talk. This was a very well written piece, and highly entertaining. I very rarely read columns this long on the opinion page, because they're usually stupid.

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Posted on December 10 at 9:43 a.m.Suggest removal

because it cannot be proven that God provided any assistance to you as you took the test, wrote the paper, etc. Even if God delivered to you a 20 page paper a la 10 commandments to Moses style, you would have a hard time proving that, and your accusers would have an even harder time. Moreover, you are only talking about tests. Do you think if you prayed for God to help, that he/she/it would magically give you knowledge that you didn't already have, or transform the questions from their original to make them easier so that you know them? The most help that most people would say that they've received from a god on a test would be that they suddenly remembered something they had forgotten after praying, which really would just be a holy reminder, not cheating. P.S. where do you come up with this bull?

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Posted on December 10 at 9:33 a.m.Suggest removal

Nah, think you're blowing it out of perspective. It was probably a poor choice to send out a memo like that, but really, The Oklahoman has everything to gain with the passage of MAPS 3. As a result of the passage of MAPS 3, The Oklahoman is likely to enjoy increased readership and circulation as commerce and population around the city grow, increased ad revenue as commerce and business grow in the city, and increased amount of news to write about as events and new activity bustle around OKC as it continues to grow and develop. What would The Oklahoman gain if it did not pass? Less news to write about, decreased growth in ad revenue and readership as the failure of MAPS 3 would mark a stagnation to OKCs current unprecedented growth, etc. So the paper basically has everything to gain if MAPS 3 passes, which it did, and nothing to gain if it fails, which luckily it did not. So, essentially, the paper was working in its own self interest, and it's naive to think that this is wrong. Does it cross some boundaries? Perhaps, but it's not a big enough deal to really accuse the paper of being terrible and biased. I applaud The Oklahoman's coverage of MAPS 3, and it's role as the city's largest newspaper of working towards the improvement and future growth of the city. In the newspaper business these days, you gotta look out for number one. And if you fail to have that foresight, no matter how much journalistic integrity or lack of bias your newspaper has, you're going to end up in the history books as a paper that used to be around.

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Posted on December 2 at 5:49 p.m.Suggest removal

I think it is naïve to believe that withdrawing and living at home like happy shiny people will bring an end to all our problems abroad. I think that Pres. Obama gave a very good and clear speech. He clearly defined the objectives, why we are fighting, and our principles as a nation. He talked about how our nation has become the most successful in history, not by seeking to dominate and steal, but by seeking to help and create. I think that Obama has chosen the best of possible paths. To leave immediately, would result in utter chaos. To stay as we are currently would only lead to more problems, and at best, no progress. And to stay indefinitely would create an unrealistic burden on the US and Afghanistan. I think that he has chosen the best option, to add more troops and swiftly defeat the Taliban, seek to increase the central government's influence, train Afghan police and military, and withdraw when this is over. A clearer strategy to this existing problem could not have been espoused. I think the current default liberal position is to not ever want to fight in wars, regardless if we are defending or fighting for freedom and stability. We should never be to eager for war uneccesarily, nor should we ever cower from a necessary fight. Basically, some things are worth fighting for, and at this point, after several years of neglect, the situation in the region is worth fighting for.

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Posted on November 19 at 5:17 p.m.Suggest removal

I am also a college kid still relying on my parent's support and living in the insulated world of the college lifestyle which is not really a part of the real world. I also have ungrounded shame in my nation's and culture's success and feel like I should be a martyr for all the world's problems, and by golly, when I make it out there into the real world, I'm gonna fix those problems by riding my bicycle to the whole foods store and buying fair trade goods. You see, I believe that humans en masse are innately moral creatures and always have been, and so if we just keep up the morality, the world will finally be the magic place that it's been waiting to be this whole time while our human shortcomings and greed have been getting in the way. So unlike you Matt, I'm ready to buy that fair trade coffee, even though it puts an unnatural and complex burden on commerce and hinders economic growth and progress. After all unlike you, I don't need cheap consumer goods to make me feel better about myself. I on the other hand can spend my money on fair trade coffee, organic produce, and other moral items that make me feel good about being so good. When I buy my way to happiness, at least it makes the world a better place... right?

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Posted on November 18 at 6:20 p.m.Suggest removal

No need to teach grown adults responsibility. This whole program screams of "I know how you should take care of yourself better than you do" liberalism. Geez, relax people, just don't be dumb. Plus in the course of a year, how much is $12,000 really? That's not that much considering a laptop costs anywhere from about $1000-3000. So that's only maybe like 6-8 thefts a year in a library system that accommodates a student body of over 20,000. And that's not even factoring in iPods and cell phones which would probably reduce the number even more. So really, it doesn't seem like much of a problem. This program just seems like a waste of time and effort. Think about being an employee and having to monitor if someones been gone for 5 min. This is stupid, change it now.

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Posted on November 18 at 6:12 p.m.Suggest removal

that's the dumbest program idea I've ever heard! And there's some pretty damn dumb ones at OU. Here's a tip, don't be retarded and leave your stuff unattended. Boom, problem solved. The library's usually a crap place to study anyway. It's never really quiet enough, and people use their phones anyway, and now you've got to worry about people taking your stuff for safekeeping... what is this nursery school? Man alive, I hope OU is unique and is not an indicator of society at large. It's a great University, but there are some real dumb ideas that get tossed around and enacted.

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Posted on October 9 at 3:06 p.m.Suggest removal

Why worry about other people's choices? If they smoke and die, will your approval or disapproval have changed anything? When I light a cigarette or any other tobacco, I never think if other people are approving of this action or not. Attempting to govern peoples personal choices which do not affect anyone else never works. Your argument may be that second hand smoke affects others, but not in the same way that robbing someone's house affects them. It is minor and negligible at best, especially now since there is the indoor smoking ban. Get a grip and devote your time to something more important. There is nothing you can do, except complicate things for people who are going to find a way to smoke regardless of your opinion.

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Posted on July 1 at 3:29 p.m.Suggest removal

Well written. I see a lot of dead beat dads, and that may be worse than having no father around. I have to say though, that having a father figure around is very important, especially to young men and boys. I still struggle with my Dad not always being there, and it won't be something that I pass on to my kids.

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