Someone's saying "Ay yippy yi ki yea," and we only wish it were a Rogers & Hammerstein chorus. The singers are instead members of the trial bar, and their newfound enthusiasm for the Sooner State is a rollicking tale of greed, lust and tort reform. OK, maybe not lust.

The lawyer in a leading role here is Stratton Taylor, currently in his 25th year as a Democratic member of the Oklahoma legislature. He also happens to moonlight as a partner at a personal injury law firm in Claremore,Oklahoma.

Mr. Taylor recently sent out a prospecting letter to his colleagues at the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, a copy of which arrived in our inbox. "With recent events that have occurred in Texas, you may be looking to file cases in Oklahoma," he wrote to his brethren, adding that "I wanted to take an opportunity to introduce our law firm."

The "events" in Texas he's referring to is this year's passage of one of the nation's most far-reaching tort reforms. Lone Star Governor Rick Perry signed a bill that, among other things, outlawed forum shopping, capped noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases and limited class-action lawsuits. If there was any lingering doubt that this reform is making a difference in curbing frivolous lawsuits, Mr. Taylor's solicitation letter ends it.

Mr. Taylor, the "President Pro Tempore Emeritus of the Oklahoma State Senate," brags in his letter that he nailed the "largest verdict in history in Rogers County, which was a $10 Million personal injury verdict in a trucking accident." With this credential in hand, he goes on to say he'd be only too pleased to assist "in any cases you may want to file" in his home state.

The letter is in essence an invitation for the entire national tort bar to "forum shop" in Oklahoma, a state that just can't say no to jackpot justice. Former Republican Governor Frank Keating spent two terms lobbying the Democratic legislature to limit lawsuit abuses and made some progress on punitive damages, but it remains a plaintiff friendly venue. Oklahoma's new Democratic Governor, Brad Henry, has so far shown little inclination to follow in the bootsteps of his southern neighbor.

All of which means average Oklahomans are likely to continue to see higher insurance costs, fewer doctors, and all of the other troubles that come with an out-of-control tort system. In short, you're doing fine, Texas. Oklahoma? Not OK.