Annual Round Barn Ukulele Festival

By David Arnett

Did you know there are ukulele clubs in Oklahoma City, Stillwater and Tulsa? 

“One of the best local ukulele groups is ‘MISSPENT UKES’ from Stillwater, Oklahoma,” remarked Round Barn Music Director Joe Baxter. The “Misspent Ukes” are a silly group of serious musicians and singers who love to perform at community events, Baxter said. “I was impressed with their knowledge and mastery of their music & vocals.” 

Quick history: Developed in the 1880s, the ukulele became popular in Hawaii because of great support and promotion by the last of the monarchs, King Kalakaua. High caliber musicians like George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon all played the ukulele. Harrison was a great lover of the instrument and often gave them to friends, including Tom Petty, whom he taught to play.

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Even When They Know He’s Right

By David Arnett

Analysis: Sunday, the New York Post published an article by Victor Davis Hanson, a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness and one of the world’s leading proponents of common sense in public affairs. The full headline is, “Why the left opposes everything Trump backs — even when they know he’s right,” and is well worth the time to consider, but here we focus on the reasons for the opposition not the plentiful examples.

Hanson begins, “The Pavlovian left goes berserk at the mere prospect of each new Trump initiative. Its escalating reactive venom and hysteria are calibrated to the success of Trump’s latest policy. Yet the new hard-left Democratic Party offers no counter-agenda to explain its furor. Still less do Democrats attempt bipartisan efforts to craft shared legislation.”

Victor Davis Hanson
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Protecting Pension Progress

By Jonathan Small, OCPA

Oklahoma was once ranked among the worst states in the nation when it came to the financial stability of our state pensions. That meant many state workers, including teachers, were at risk of reaching retirement without sufficient income to live out their golden years in comfort. Fortunately, reforms that took full effect roughly a decade ago have now made Oklahoma a national model.

“What you did, starting in 2010 all the way to now, really is the gold standard for other states to look at,” said Caren Lock, a managing director with TIAA-CREF, a national financial services firm.

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Tariffs Reduce Deficit by $4 Trillion

By David Arnett

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in a post August 22, declared that as of August 19, increases in tariffs implemented during the period from January 6, 2025, to August 19 will decrease primary deficits (which exclude net outlays for interest) by $3.3 trillion if the higher tariffs persist for the 2025‒2035 period. By reducing the need for federal borrowing, those tariff collections will also reduce federal outlays for interest by an additional $0.7 trillion. As a result, the changes in tariffs will reduce total deficits by $4.0 trillion altogether.

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