Long three weeks to go in Tulsa

Some partisanship has wedged its way into our local mayor’s races in recent years, but it doesn’t compare to the tenor of things up the turnpike, where Democratic state Sen. Tom Adelson and Republican Dewey Bartlett Jr. are slugging it out (an independent candidate is also on the ballot).
The Tulsa World took a look this week at some of the television commercials Adelson and Bartlett have been airing. A Bartlett ad touts his experience and says the city doesn’t need "a lawyer or a legislator, we need an experienced leader.” An Adelson ad references Bartlett’s tendency to bring up President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Adelson was an early supporter of Obama). "Bartlett talks about Washington because he can’t talk about Tulsa. Let’s not fall for his bag of tricks.”
The World’s Opinion page asked both men to put down the mud and focus on the city’s future. In a news story, the candidates each defended their actions.
The election isn’t until Nov. 10, so Tulsans have another three-plus weeks of this to look forward to. Ouch.
Not so bogus
Brent Rinehart once said claims that he broke campaign finance laws while running for an Oklahoma County commission seat were nothing more than political games designed "to leave me disgraced and bankrupt.” Actually, Rinehart did plenty on his own to disgrace himself during his one term in office. And the charges weren’t bogus after all. Rinehart pleaded guilty this week to a misdemeanor count of accepting a campaign contribution larger than $5,000. The three-year deferred sentence and $1,000 fine are small potatoes, after more than two years of legal maneuvering. But the plea should send a message that trying to game our electoral system won’t be tolerated. Voters had already let Rinehart know how they felt about his shenanigans by bouncing him in last year’s Republican primary.
Class act
A story out of Kentucky this week reminded us that sometimes it’s the students who can teach adults a thing or two about honesty and class. Emma Talley, a high school sophomore, posted the best score at the state golf championship. But she soon realized her signed scorecard altered her score by a stroke. Signing an incorrect scorecard is an automatic disqualification, but nobody knew about the error except her family. And the correct score was still the best in the tournament. Still, Talley turned herself in, and she forfeited the competition. "That takes some integrity,” said a state athletics association official. No doubt about that.
Classless act
A Republican won a landslide victory Tuesday in an Oklahoma House special election for a district in which Democrats have a 2-1 registration advantage over the GOP. The response from Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairman Todd Goodman was kudos for the loser, no congratulations for the winner and a solid expression of hope for the 2010 elections. Say what? Democrat Larry Peck took 44.1 percent for the House District 55 election. Republican Todd Russ sailed to victory, giving the GOP 62 of the 101 House seats, and yet Goodman sees this as a positive development. Truth is, Democrats face a tough election year when they should be benefiting from the fact that no presidential voting will take place. But then this incumbent president is a major part of the problem. The least Goodman could have done was to congratulate Russ. Instead, he said the election "has helped to strengthen the Democratic Party.”
Happy 99th birthday
Congratulations and best wishes to coaching great John Wooden, who turned 99 this week. Besides his on-court achievements (10 NCAA championships at UCLA), Wooden is notable for an approach to life many of his former players say was more important than anything he taught them about basketball — captured in aphorisms such as "never mistake activity for achievement,” "ability is a poor man’s wealth” and "be quick but don’t hurry.” Another Woodenism reflects his sense of self: "Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” Short and to the point, John Wooden’s timeless way.
Where’s the coach?
Patrons of the Jenks school district deserve to know how Allan Trimble is earning his (significant) salary these days. Trimble, the school’s longtime football coach, has been suspended and reassigned after an investigation revealed he and an assistant coach broke rules regarding recruitment of players. The district isn’t saying what Trimble is doing now. There’s no documentation that spells out Trimble’s current duties except to assist "with administrative duties and special projects.” A spokeswoman told the Tulsa World that the district "will have no further comment ... in order to avoid any further disruptions to our educational environment.” Well, that’s just swell. Did we mention Trimble will make $94,000 this school year? Something tells us this won’t go away, and it shouldn’t.
Passing strange
We received the 2009 UNICEF holiday card and gifts catalogue and discovered dozens of cards with colorful designs, but only a handful of them use the word "Christmas.” At this season of especial importance to children, UNICEF uses the catalogue to help raise money for impoverished kids. Yet we couldn’t help but note that many of the gift items are made in China and UNICEF is offering China-made "eco-friendly” reusable gift bags. This is passing strange given that China is one of the least "eco-friendly” countries on the planet and has an atrocious human rights record. Its population control policy has led to a wave of female infanticide, as some Chinese parents don’t want to "waste” their child-bearing quota on girls. Abortions in China also disproportionately target girls. We doubt, though, that UNICEF has much concern for the unborn of either sex.

http://newsok.com