The Cherokee Phoenix published news of a lawsuit to protect the Illinois River, crown jewel of summer recreation in the Cherokee Nation and a source of running water for ceremonial purposes. Since the Cherokee Reservation was allotted to create Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation has not owned enough riverfront land to protect the water by tribal ordinance.

Keeping the water clean becomes primarily a responsibility of state government, but according to the lawsuit filed by Save the Illinois River, Oklahoma State Question 777 will render state regulation difficult if not impossible.

We can presume State Question 777 was numbered by luck of the draw but it has nothing to do with Boeing and there is plenty of reason to hope it crashes at the ballot box. Authored by Rep. Scott Biggs (R-Chickasha), 777 would create a “right to farm” in the Oklahoma constitution.

Don’t Oklahomans have a right to farm now?

Of course they do, but like all other businesses, farms are subject to pesky regulations to protect air and water, farm workers and animals. The selling point, if it has one, is that 777 would be a shield against charges of animal abuse that have come out of hidden camera operations in some states. Should 777 become law, the damage a video of misery caused on a factory farm could inflict would likely be limited to public relations.