A group that opposes the pipeline quoted the woman as saying she couldn’t sit still while “toxic tar sands are pumped down from Canada into our communities.” Zorn’s hope was that she might inspire others to join the fight.

She shouldn’t hold her breath.

Oklahomans strongly favor construction of the Keystone pipeline. They understand that building the pipeline means jobs, and that worries about pipeline safety are red herrings offered by anti-fossil fuel zealots.

Zorn is left with a story to tell her grandchildren, but not much else. The pipeline is coming, and it should.

As the sequester neared, Reason magazine editor-in-chief Matt Welch was among those arguing that the looming government budget cuts didn’t go nearly deep enough.

Writing at cnn.com, Welch pointed out that the amount cut would equal “a tiny sliver of the federal budget” and should leave people asking what the country gained from doubling government spending from 2000 to 2010.

“If the bureaucrats can’t produce an explanation for the price increase of government, then they should not expect their budgets to be rubber-stamped by an already suffering public,” Welch said.

Complaints are coming from “a government money machine having difficulty adapting to a political universe that no longer accepts automatic annual increases,” he said, and those will continue until politicians muster the gumption “to align government expenditures within miles of revenue.” Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

Gosh, who would have thought the capital city of Oklahoma — reddest state in the nation, dominated by political leaders who expressly reject the “tax and spend” economic philosophy touted by the current occupant of the White House, whose state leaders openly advocate and advance policies actually running the opposite direction — would somehow achieve an unemployment rate far, far below what President Barack Obama claimed was achievable only if lawmakers passed his “stimulus” measure in 2009?

Thanks mostly to people leaving the workforce, Obama was finally able to lower national unemployment below 8 percent. In Oklahoma, we’ve lowered the rate the old-fashioned way: job creation. Sadly, we doubt Obama will take note.

Sales tax collections for the month were 8.4 percent higher than the prior year; motor vehicles tax collections were 2.2 percent higher. Both figures are signs of continuing consumer confidence in Oklahoma. On the downside, low energy prices made gross production taxes nonexistent and individual income tax collections were down 5.4 percent.

Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger noted total collections for the fiscal year to date are $33 million above the estimate. Still, he warned that if the federal government goes over the “fiscal cliff,” it could have dramatic impact on the state economy.

The governor’s office is drafting a state budget responsibly prepared for federal cuts of $137 million to $200 million. Oklahoma’s economy is faring well, but warning signs are on the horizon, and haphazard federal fiscal policy could easily plunge us back into recession. Stay tuned.

Here’s another one for President Barack Obama’s “you didn’t build that” file.

As a mother of four, North Carolina native Brandi Tysinger-Temple started sewing clothes for her children and eventually sold extra items on eBay, then on Facebook. Response was strong and the business grew. From its humble origins in a spare bedroom, Lolly Wolly Doodle today fills a 19,000-square-foot facility and employs more than 100 people in Lexington, N.C.

The business has more than 375,000 Facebook fans. In a town with an unemployment rate of 10.7 percent, Lolly Wolly Doodle is creating jobs the old-fashioned way — by identifying a consumer need and meeting it, not through the crony capitalism too often promoted by Obama.

Tysinger-Temple’s success is an inspiration to those who still believe in the American dream, and a rebuke to government planners who think they know better.

The Twinkie may live on with a different baking company. Will it taste the same? Remains to be seen. Other famous brands that are likely to survive under new ownership include the Ding Dong, Donettes, Sno Balls, Ho-Hos, Chocodiles and Zingers.

We’re worried, though, that another Hostess staple may be too generic to find life after bankruptcy. It’s those miniature fruit pies that (at least in the minds of mothers who pack school lunch boxes) are healthier than other Hostess offerings. Will someone please pluck the fruit pie from the Hostess tree and plant it in another orchard?

Recent trends suggest many entrepreneurs expect little change in future years.

The number of liquor stores in Oklahoma has reached 666, the highest total in decades. In 2001, there were just 538. Some have suggested wine sales in grocery stores would increase underage drinking, but it would seem the growth of liquor stores would have the same potential impact.

From a free-market perspective, the increased number of outlets should boost competition and keep consumer prices lower, benefiting consumers. But allowing grocery stores to sell wine would do the same.

As a result, the growth of liquor stores is actually undermining arguments for the sales restrictions that benefit them.

The price has been so low that many dairies are now going out of business — an estimated 100 out of roughly 1,600 this year. Dairy owners obviously favor raising the price. Cheese makers argue a milk price increase could drive them out of business given the high cost of operating in California due to its other excessive regulations.

To offset the impact of overreaching government regulations, cheese makers are forced to promote … other overreaching government regulations. Instead of competing through the marketplace and letting consumers ultimately determine price, California’s dairies and cheese makers must compete in lobbying state lawmakers.

That’s no way to run an economy.

The program, which applies to those younger than 30 who were typically brought here by their parents when they were children, has drawn just 40,000 applications out of an estimated 1.7 million eligible. It turns out that people who’ve violated immigration laws are hesitant to provide the government their names and locations without a guarantee they or their relatives won’t be deported.

Because the program was enacted through an executive order and not an act of Congress, and because a presidential election looms, Obama can’t make that promise.

We’ve noted Obama’s gesture was more about politics than actually resolving long-standing immigration problems. The response of those targeted by Obama’s program indicates many of them feel the same way.

On the other hand, a new study by the Pew Charitable Trusts shows Oklahoma has the highest known rate of payday borrowing.

Thirteen percent of Oklahomans are using these short-term, high-interest loans to help make ends meet. That’s a higher percentage than any of the other 31 states that had data worth crunching.

A spokesman for the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission noted that the job market here remains very tight. For many Oklahomans, it’s clear that money does, too.

This is good news, as was the recent announcement that Belgium-based ASCO Industries will open a production facility in Stillwater, investing up to $100 million and adding as many as 600 jobs by 2015.

While there’s a natural rivalry among Oklahoma communities, economic growth isn’t a zero-sum game. Job growth in Oklahoma City doesn’t come at the expense of Tulsa, and vice-versa. Our state can’t thrive if just one area thrives while most other communities struggle.

The Tulsa Metro Chamber has a goal to create 10,000 primary jobs at an annual salary of $50,000 or greater. The LTCS announcement brings the group that much closer to achieving its goal.

The Associated Press reports that Williston, N.D., has seen its population double in the past decade, and the average annual wage has surged from $32,000 to $80,000. Because of that rapid growth, housing is in short supply and the cost of buying or renting is increasing as well. That’s especially challenging for those not directly involved in the oil industry, such as teachers who have starting salaries of $31,500. The town’s school is expected to see student growth of 46 percent this year alone.

So far, though, it appears those challenges aren’t deterring teacher applicants. And the problems of rapid population and wage growth are preferable to dealing with struggling local economies and low wages. We suspect many small communities in Oklahoma would gladly trade places with Williston.

MAY 3, 1999 TORNADO: Jack Jones looks over tornado damage in Moore off Western and 12th street. Westmoore High School is in the background.

When an F5 tornado hit Moore on May 3, 1999, it did $800 million in estimated damage to that community’s neighborhoods. Today, the city is one of Oklahoma’s fastest-growing. Recently, Census figures ranked Moore among the top 100 cities in the country based on its growth. The community added 1,234 people from 2010 to 2011 (2.2. percent growth). Oklahoma City and surrounding suburbs have all enjoyed growth in recent years. The Census found that Oklahoma City’s population increased by 2.1 percent from 2010 to 2011, while Mustang and Yukon experienced population growth greater than 3 percent. Yet Moore stands out because of its not-so-distant tragic past. Recalling the horror of 1999 and the broad path of rubble the tornado made of buildings and people’s lives, the growth of Moore has been a remarkable achievement, and a testament to the perseverance of Oklahomans.

Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman Archives

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press)