Nope, not a synonym for 50% - 98 years ago today, Oklahoma Territory became the Great State of Oklahoma, our nation's 46th such political entity.

And it's just two years until we get this. As much of a boondoggle as this could be, I have to admit that they have the right idea - using the celebration to fund dozens of historical restoration and new art projects to make sure our history stays alive. Here in the Crossroads of America, it's helped fund our downtown trolley, and will fund restoration of Fort Reno and something called "Route 66 Series: The Mother Road." Lawton gets a Buffalo Soldiers' Monument, and Tulsa gets a Memorial of Reconciliation for the 1921 race riots. Yet Another Small Town gets Historic Trails.

Oklahomans are notorious for not spending money on themselves. The original state capitol dome plans were left unfinished for 90 years, because the young state's government thought there were better things to buy. And usually that's true, but we often let it swing too far the other way, so all this marks a good spot for everyone to stop and reflect, maybe on how Oklahoma went from one of the most progressive states to one of the most conservative in 98 years.

Then again, maybe it's not that conservative. The last Survey USA poll on reproductive rights found that even in "brick-red Oklahoma," 48% of adults are "pro-life" and 47% are "pro-choice," with a 4.2% margin of error. That's narrowed from 52% - 41% in June, before Justice O'Connor announced her retirement and Chief Justice Rehnquist died, and it started to sink in to most people that reproductive rights might really be in danger.

The most interesting thing to me? Women were 44% pro-choice, 50% pro-life, 6% unsure. Men were 50% pro-choice, 47% pro-life, 3% unsure. There's hope for us all. Happy birthday, "brand new state."

(My own Amazon wish list has been updated recently, for no reason particularly worth mentioning...)