So THIS is why we had to change Oklahoma law…

I’m on vacation this week, but I saw this video, and it so succinctly answered some questions I’d had over the past several months, that I had to share it with you. After this, I’ll see y’all after the holiday…unless something else really, really interesting happens.

Updated 07/03/08 – See: University donor deadline may hurt state

Note: Sarcasm Warning

A lot of us have been wondering why it was so important for V. Burns Hargis to go to work at Oklahoma State University in March instead of waiting until July (in plenty of time for the school year to start), that we had to change Oklahoma law on allowing University Regents to hire themselves (changing the wait time from one year to six months).

Now, the recent publicity over large donations (see here, here, and here) to OSU, explains it. As Ed Kelley points out in this video, the donated funds are matched by the state…and we really have no idea at this point how the taxpayers are going to pay for that, but that is not V. Burns Hargis’ problem, no sir!

Of course, getting into the position earlier also allowed Hargis to help stop students in the military and those with concealed-carry permits from protecting themselves and classmates in the event of a Virginia Tech-style massacre (similar to the one that was narrowly avoided at Claremore earlier this year); it also put him in a good position to help Chesapeake Energy fight the enforcement of HB 1804, the immigration bill Oklahomans worked so hard to pass. (It’s probably a coincidence that one of the recent large donors was Chesapeake…?)

All of this in the first four months of office. One wonders what he’ll be able to “accomplish” during the remaining 32 months of his three-year contract. Perhaps he really will be able to fulfill his vision of changing the thinking of Oklahomans to come more in line with those of the international community, via his “State of Creativity” project.

Click here or on the image below to watch the video.