NEW SITE: RedDirtReport.com

My new site is: WWW.REDDIRTREPORT.COM.

Hope to see you over there!

-Andrew in OKC

OK Gazette asks: Are giant octopi eating swimmers in Oklahoma lakes?

This had to be one of the more bizarre non-stories to grace the cover of the tried-and-true Oklahoma Gazette.

Giant octopi? What about real investigative pieces? How about a story looking into the murder of Oklahoma City Police Officer Terry Yeakey following the Oklahoma City bombing? C'mon Gaz, we expect more from y'all!

LAST MAN OUT: William Rodriguez takes '9-11 Hero Tour' to Tulsa

By Andrew W. Griffin
Red Dirt Report
Posted: August 13, 2007

TULSA, Okla. – Amidst the chaos, death and destruction of the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept.11, 2001, one man was able to save many people and get out alive himself – just barely.
That man is William Rodriguez, a native Puerto Rican who worked as a janitor in the North Tower of the World Trade Center for 20 years. Traveling around the world, Rodriguez brought his compelling and harrowing tale of strength and heroism to a group of 200 at the Renaissance Tulsa Convention Center on Aug. 8, sponsored by TulsaTruth.org. This visit is part of his “Last Man Out” 9-11 Hero Tour which has taken him to Britain, Malaysia, Venezuela and many other countries.
Rodriguez, as it turns out, is a very engaging and interesting guy. He breaks the ice by joking about how he resembles and sounds like Desi Arnaz of “I Love Lucy” fame. But it isn’t long before Rodriguez is telling the crowd how he almost didn’t come to work on that fateful morning, telling his boss he just didn’t feel up to it, mainly because his task includes being in charge of cleaning 110 floors of stairwells.
But his boss convinced him to do otherwise, and Rodriguez came in – late. As he later notes, his tardiness saved his life and the lives of others, as it turns out.
“I went to the North Tower basement where our office was located and it was at 8:46 that there was an explosion that was so loud. BOOM!! That came from below us.”
There were five more basement levels below where he was with the other workers.
“I suspected the generator blew out,” Rodriguez said. “I had the sensation of being pushed up.”
Seconds later, as he was getting his bearings, Rodriguez said there was another explosion, this time far above them. This was the first airliner striking the tower many floors above them.
“There were two different events separated by seven seconds,” Rodriguez said, adding that someone was screaming ‘It’s a bomb, it’s a bomb.’ Rodriguez, it should be noted, survived the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
Meanwhile, his fellow workers are screaming in terror not sure what to do. It’s then that an Aramark vending machine worker named Felipe David makes his way into their office, his burned skin hanging off of him.
“He was crying ‘Help! Help!’” Rodriguez said. “I put a towel around Mr. Felipe and told him we’re going to get out.”
And they made their way out of the basement area and up to the street, finding an ambulance for David.
At this point, emergency vehicles were arriving and he’s beginning to get a better sense of what is going on. Looking up, he sees the top of the tower on fire, where the plane had struck it. Immediately he thought of all his friends on the 106th and 107th floor where the Windows of the World restaurant is located. In fact, on a normal day, he’d be up there having his free breakfast and working his way down to the bottom floor. But, since he came in late, that wasn’t the case. In all, he said he lost 200 friends on 9/11.
Going back inside to his office, the sprinklers are flooding the offices and it’s then that he hears screams. It is two men trapped in a freight elevator which is also filling up with water.
Not sure how to get them out, Rodriguez says he was able to find an unsecure mop and is able to use it to help the two trapped workers make their way to freedom.
Around this time, the firemen are figuring out how to go in and save people still inside the tower. Because Rodriguez carries the coveted master key, which opens all floors and offices, he tells the firemen that he will lead them in there, opening each door.
“These guys are my heroes,” Rodriguez said of the fire fighters. “They had between 55 to 125 pounds of equipment on their backs, not to mention their protective suits and boots. I mean, they were just struggling to get up the stairwell.”
As Rodriguez was leading them up those first dozen-or-so floors, opening doors and checking offices for people, three more loud explosions could be heard coming from below. While one fireman suggested it was gas tanks in the kitchens blowing up, Rodriguez said building codes don’t allow gas in skyscrapers like the WTC 1. They’re all electric.
By the time he reached the 33rd floor, he had managed to call his worried mother in Puerto Rico and assure him he was all right. While on the 33rd floor, Rodriguez got spooked by the sound of something huge being scraped along the floor of the 34th floor just above him.
“I knew that was an empty floor,” Rodriguez said. “What I heard sounded like a metal dumpster with metal wheels scraping across the floor.”
What this was, Rodriguez wouldn’t speculate. However, he did say this was the only floor he didn’t enter.
About this time, Rodriguez hears another explosion, this time coming from the South Tower. The second plane had hit. The force shook the North Tower as well.
Realizing he’s never going to make it to the top floor to save his trapped friends, Rodriguez begins making his way back down towards the main floor.
Along the way, he hears the screams of people trapped in elevators. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the tools to get them out and had to move on.
In the main lobby, Rodriguez said he was stunned by the destruction. The elevator doors were blown upward as if something blew up from below. The marble tiles on the walls were blown off and the glass blown outward. It was utter chaos. Going outside, Rodriguez sees cops nearby screaming at him to not look back. Of course he does look back and sees the remains of people who had been forced to jump from the higher floors.
“I started screaming in total shock and crying,” he said, adding that he thought he recognized the clothing of a friend of his from Windows of the World.
He also saw a woman he had saved earlier who had been cut in half by a piece of glass.
This horrifying scene was overwhelming, he said. It was then that the cops began running away and chunks of the building began coming down as the earthquake-like destruction of the complex began to take place.
He knew he had seconds to find safety, and as he made his way to a nearby fire truck, Rodriguez prayed to God that if they found his body that it would be intact for the sake of his mother.
The building fell all around him, burying him under the debris as the firetruck held up under the strain. He mentioned that his training as a magician (by the Amazing Randi, interestingly enough) helped him survive.
The dust burned his lungs and skin, but incredibly he was pulled out of the rubble – alive and no bones broken.
Rodriguez said he shared his harrowing tale of survival on CNN and other networks and talked about bombs going off in the building, particularly on the sub floors. This was broadcast for about three days until it was finally stopped. Apparently, he said, his story wasn’t fitting in with the official story. Bombs going off everywhere? It was only a plane that caused the building to come down into its own footprint.
Rodriguez said that over time he fought for legislation to be passed to help the children of 9/11 victims. He also spoke to the 9/11 Commission but his testimony was never used. The rest of his friends’ testimony was ignored by the Commission.
Rodriguez said there are so many things that are clearly wrong with everything related to this attack on the World Trade Center. The Giuliani administration did little to adequately protect first responders – 160 of which that have died, along with all the rescue dogs.
“We have 62,000 people are sick in New York City due to the toxic dust from that day,” he said.
Why? He said the Environmental Protection Agency didn’t warn people about the toxicity of the Ground Zero environment because they wanted Wall Street to reopen.
Rodriguez is totally disgusted with the way they’ve treated the regular folks, survivors, first responders and others connected to the tragedy.
“They’ve used this tragedy to push their international political agenda,” he said. “And now we live in a quasi-dictatorship. We keep losing our rights.”
Rodriguez said the only ‘conspiracy theory’ out there is the one told to us by our own government.
“We owe the truth to the victims, survivors and those affected by 9/11,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, in the intervening years, has lived under a bridge – broke – and has traveled the world. In Venezuela, he was being tailed by an FBI agent and was ultimately given protection by the Chavez government. He knows the U.S. government is not happy with him spreading the word of 9/11 truth around the world via his “Last Man Out” speaking tour.
“I suffer every time I relive my story. I feel those souls on my shoulders, still waiting for answers,” he said.
For more information on William Rodriguez, go to www.911keymaster.com.

Heavy Mental

In case you missed it, the latest issue of the state magazine Oklahoma Today, has a terrific article, by Enid News & Eagle reporter Scott Fitzgerald, about the life of Enid native and "heavy mental" New Age guitarist Michael Hedges, one of my all-time favorite Okies and artists.

Hedges received worldwide acclaim for his albums "Aerial Boundaries," "Taproot" and others, in the 1980's and 1990's. I personally became a fan when I helped run a program in college at John Brown University called "Reflections," on KLRC. Hedges' beautiful acoustic music was a staple on the program.

Tragically, Hedges died in the fall of 1997 - nearly 10 years ago - in an auto accident in California. During this same period, several other great singer-songwriters - Rich Mullins and John Denver - died in accidents involving forms of transportation. Denver in an experimental plane and Mullins in a car. Very sad time.

But Hedges left behind a great collection of music which is widely available via the terrific Windham Hill record label.

And on this subject, check out Enid Buzz's blog post "A Moment in Time," which is about Hedges' home in Enid and a recent gathering of some of the Hedges family.

They've looked at clouds from both sides now

Here's a link to my Norman Transcript story about a cloud study performed by OU scientists and feds, including NASA.

And when I inquired about "jet trails" (i.e. contrails or chemtrails), Dr. Pete Lamb said he wrote a paper on contrails. He didn't take it any further.

Israeli counterterrorism expert warns of multiple terror attacks 'within 90 days'

Israeli counterterrorism expert Juval Aviv said an "Al Qaeda" attack could strike up to seven U.S. cities within the next 90 days.

Read the report here.

Pet deaths concern neighbors

Rather disturbing report comes out of Edmond involving a mutilated cat.
http://www.edmondsun.com/local/local_story_206110249.html

Two reviews: Keller Williams and Brandon Pruitt

By Andrew Griffin
Pop Writer
The Norman Transcript
Posted: July 13 & 20, 2007

Keller Williams – “Dream” (SCI Fidelity)
Popular among jam band aficionados, singer-guitarist Keller Williams made his way into that scene via support from String Cheese Incident. And clearly the cats in the Incident had good taste because Keller Williams is by far one of the most exciting and creative artists working today.
Just check out “Dream,” Williams’ latest project that is just chock full o’songs (and famous friends) ranging from the tricky, reggae-tinged “Ninja of Love” (featuring Michael Franti of Spearhead), or the lyrically-hilarious, instrumentally-amazing song “Cadillac,” featuring guest guitarist Bob Weir of Grateful Dead fame.
One of the most sublime tracks is the Windham Hill-styled instrumental “Cookies,” which features guest guitarist Fareed Haque playing a hybrid guitar-sitar instrument.
What one senses when listening to “Dream,” is that Williams is having an absolute ball playing and performing these songs. It’s no wonder that he was able to get so many friends and peers to make guest appearances on this record.
For more information go to www.kellerwilliams.net.

Brandon Pruitt Band – “Red Dirt Blue Country” (Bonfire Entertainment)
Honestly, before hearing Brandon Pruitt Band’s “Red Dirt Blue Country,” I was entirely oblivious to their music. But when I received the album and gave it a spin, I kept playing it again and again, each song sinking into the inner reaches of my brain.
One thing’s for sure, Oklahoma native Pruitt and his crack team of Red Dirt-loving band members know this genre and how to keep it pure.
In fact, I found “He’s a Cowboy,” a Western song if there ever was one, refreshing and entirely authentic, both instrumentally and lyrically.

Garth Brooks to headline surprise Live Earth gig in D.C.

It's great to see that Yukon native Garth Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood will be headlining a surprise Live Earth concert in Washington D.C. singing his early '90s hit "We Shall Be Free."
They will join Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson, John Mayer and Keith Urban for the performance, hosted by environmental spokesman Al Gore.

Former 'Idol' finalist releases stellar country album

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop Writer
The Norman Transcript
Posted: July 6, 2007

Bucky Covington
“Bucky Covington”
(Lyric Street Records)

When North Carolina native Bucky Covington made became a Top 10 finalist on “American Idol” last year, little did anyone know that the following year he’d become an idol of in his own right in the country music world scoring a number one debut album and a hit song, “A Different World.” I mean, this guy just screams “Americana.”
Why do I say that? Listen to the stomping country-rocker “American Friday Night” and tell me I’m wrong.
Hot rods, prom night, going off to college, getting shipped off to war, learning to respect your elders or missing a girl so bad it hurts. These and many other slice of life themes, already covered by Springsteen, Mellencamp and a score of other country artists and roots rockers, pepper this very appealing debut from the former “Idol” contestant.
If this album is any indication, I’d say Bucky Covington has a solid career ahead of him.
For more information, go to www.buckycovington.com.

Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen take 'Beer' tour to OKC

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop Writer
Norman Transcript
Posted: June 29, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY – First off, I give Texas music superstars Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen high marks for the name of their acoustic tour – the “Hold My Beer and Watch This” acoustic tour 2007. I love it because it reminds me of the old joke about rednecks that say that very phrase before doing something incredibly stupid.

But there was nothing stupid about Rogers and Bowen hitting the hallowed stage at Bricktown’s Wormy Dog Saloon in Oklahoma City and singing their best material in front of what appeared to be a sold-out crowd last week.

Rogers, with his trademark backwards baseball cap and Bowen with a strangely innocent expression on his face, stood side-by-side on the stage cradling their acoustic guitars, while beers and various adult beverages awaited them on a stand directly behind the duo.

After the whoops and hollers lessened after the two hit the stage, Rogers kicked things off with “Rollercoaster,” introducing it by simply saying, “This is a true story.”
Well, maybe. After Bowen got a chance to sing a song he co-wrote with Rogers, Rogers takes to the mic again and says: “Forty percent of the song lyrics are full of (expletive) and the rest are true. It’s up to you to decide which ones are true.”

They gave the crowd the songs they wanted to hear from their hits “Kiss Me In the Dark” (Rogers) and “God Bless This Town” (Bowen) to interesting covers like the Dave Loggins song “Please Come to Boston,” which Bowen tackled admirably.

And that’s what the crowd got this humid night. In fact, in the 75-year old, two-story building that houses the Wormy Dog, the original elevator, installed in the early 1930’s, had malfunctioned, according to Wormy Dog bouncer Johnny Five.
As a result the employees were having to haul in case after case of beer on their shoulders in order to slake the thirst of the crowd.
“Knowing that, three dollars a beer doesn’t seem too expensive, does it?” Johnny Five said.

All the while, Rogers and Bowen played their songs, kicked back, drank beer after beer and swapped stories. Rogers even played a new song titled “Long Enough to Leave,” which he’d co-written a few weeks earlier with Micky Braun of Micky & The Motorcars.

At one point, the two had a contest: who wrote the worst song, a song, they suggested, could be offered to macho country singer Trace “Honkytonk Badonkadonk” Adkins.
“We want you to vote for the worst song,” Rogers said. “And the loser has to buy the winner a … taquito.”
Rogers’ bad tune, a love song of sorts on the level of sub-standard seventh-grade poetry, was pretty poor. But it was Bowen who got the attention of the crowd with his song that elicited every country cliché, from trucks to working in the “West Texas sun,” and an absurd refrain, “She said, ‘Hell yeah, boy!’” Or was it ‘Hell yeah, Bowen.”? Who knows, the sound was so bad in the Dog that night it was hard to tell.

In any event, it was Rogers who owed Bowen a taquito.

Strumming up business / Norman Transcript

Strumming up business

The Norman Transcript
By Andrew W. Griffin
For the Transcript
Posted: June 24, 2007

Wess McMichael loves music.
So do the dozens of teachers and hundreds of students learning various instruments at his Norman-based business, McMichael Music, 1005 N. Flood Ave. Suite 100.

Since 2000 the guitarist-businessman has operated a business in Norman, McMichael Music, and in that time, other music-lovers have come to learn under McMichael and his growing roster of music teachers.

In fact, McMichael said, his music classes, including private lessons and group clinics, has garnered a positive reputation resulting in more and more students signing up to take music lessons in percussion, woodwinds, guitar, piano, bass, violin and voice.

It was simply getting too crowded for his students and teachers at the original McMichael Music in the Elite Plaza shopping center.

“I was having trouble finding places for people to practice and play,” McMichael said. So, McMichael found an available space — a former daycare center — across the Elite Plaza parking lot, and was able to build and expand his business.For McMichael and his students and teachers, the expansion was music to their ears.

“We’re a third bigger now,” McMichael said, adding there are 16 teaching rooms.

On a recent afternoon, McMichael was sitting in the new break room with several of his teachers. All spoke highly of McMichael and the fact that the expanding business is exciting and how they all love working at McMichael Music.

“I have students who range in age from 8 to 70,” said guitar teacher Terry Ware, a seasoned musician who used to tour with Texas musician Ray Wylie Hubbard. “We have every skill level imaginable.” Ware jokingly said in his many years on the road, he’s learned a lot and thinks someone at McMichael Music needs to offer “road and music business advice” to these up-and-coming musicians who may be naïve about the realities of touring and the music business.

McMichael heard this and nodded in agreement, saying that down the road offering such legal advice might be a possibility. One teacher, Chris Wray, has his own jazz group, the Christopher Wray Quartet, and said he was once a student under McMichael and is excited to be working for his former teacher.“I’ve grown musically in this place,” Wray said. “We all really like our jobs.”
In fact, Wray talked about how McMichael hires well-trained teachers and allows them to teach in a style that works best for them.

As the teachers talked, several brought up the fact that they will go the extra mile with their students by offering to show up at local music stores or pawn shops in order to help students pick out an appropriate instrument.

“We help them by showing them what to get and what not to get,” Ware said.

Two guitar teachers, Thomas Anderson and James Spake, offer a rock clinic to students interested in forming rock bands. The teaching duo instructs students on how to do everything from developing a stage presence to maintaining eye contact with a crowd. The latest rock clinic session will conclude in late July with a rock show featuring the new bands at Andrews Park July 29.“There will be eight bands playing three songs each,” Spake said.

Interestingly, members of more established bands are teachers as well, including Norman-based singer-songwriter-guitarist Mike Hosty and Alan Orebaugh, lead guitarist of local Red Dirt rock band Mama Sweet. On this particular afternoon, Orebaugh was giving a guitar lesson to 17-year-old Justin Suman. He has been playing guitar for a couple of years.

“I’ve learned a lot (from Orebaugh) than I’ve ever learned on my own.”

This brings a smile to Orebaugh’s face as he sits across from his student, cradling an electric guitar. Adds Suman: “I’d like to be able to make a living playing guitar or teaching guitar.”

For more information, go online to www.mcmichaelmusic.com or call 360-1199.

Norman company completes rocket test firing

Norman company completes rocket test firing

The Norman Transcript
By Andrew W. Griffin
For The Transcript
Posted: June 17, 2007

Norman may not be known as a hotbed of aerospace innovation, but one small firm in the city is beginning to change that perception as they develop and promote economical sub-orbital rockets that could be used in a variety of ways.

TGV Rockets Inc., a 10-year-old Norman-based company, recently completed critical and successful test firings of a rocket engine at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi, according to TGV Rocket’s founder and CEO Pat Bahn.

Bahn showed The Transcript a video of the TGV demonstration recently filmed at Stennis which showed the company’s 30,000 pound engine, using JP-8 military-grade jet fuel.
Bahn said the first test was a success, which is unusual in the rocket business.Bahn said that the company hopes in the near future, they will be able to provide clients with affordable rockets that will be able to launch, go to the edge of space, perform thier duties and return to earth via a soft landing near the launch site.

This would be done using a low-operational cost.

“When we started the firm, our interest was very broadly focused, but as we developed the ideas, we realized we could replace a multi-billion dollar imaging satellite with a $10 million-class rocketship.”

Bahn said his company is hoping to tap into a new, $800 million U.S. Air Force project that deals with the kind of rocket technology that his company specializes in. Landing that could be a real boon for TGV.

And while the military is an obvious client for TGV Rockets, Bahn said he hopes to get the attention of industrial farming operations looking to lower production costs by showing them that TGV Rockets’ cameras can take high-speed photos of a large agricultural area at the edge of space.
This, he said, could then be used to show the agricultural outfit areas where chemicals are needed or not needed, thereby lessening spray costs among other issues.

“We basically want to create a low-cost way to produce satellite photography better, cheaper and faster,” Bahn said. As for future clients, Bahn’s lips are sealed. He said it wouldn’t be appropriate to reveal any names before anything actually got off the ground. Bahn is hoping the state’s Department of Transportation will begin supporting his company and future tests at the spaceport site at the former Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base near Burns Flat.

He was disappointed the state didn’t seek him out regarding his rocket engine tests and that state officials seem more interested in rubbing shoulders with NASA officials and watching shuttle launches in Florida.“One million dollars was spent in Mississippi,” Bahn said of his successful engine test. “I’m sorry that money couldn’t have been spent here.”

In the meantime, Bahn is talking with state and federal agencies hoping to get some increased attention for TGV Rockets.“We’re trying to take the science out of rocket science,” Bahn said, adding, “and taking it from being a science project to a transportation mode.”

More information on TGV Rockets is available at www.tgv-rockets.com.

Review of Toby Keith's "Big Dog Daddy"

He's not only a country music superstar, he's also runs a record label (Show Dog Nashville) is a restauranteur, a developer, an actor and more. I'm talking about Norman resident Toby Keith and he's got a great new album out called "Big Dog Daddy." Check out my review that ran in The Norman Transcript today ...

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop Writer

The Norman Transcript

Posted: June 22, 2007

Listening to Toby Keith’s latest album, “Big Dog Daddy,” I’m reminded why I’ve always enjoyed this shrewd, cornball Cleveland County resident for so many years.
First, he’s got charisma. He knows what his listeners like and he keeps on giving it to them. He’s got a wicked sense of humor as well as a golden ear when it comes to writing and performing. Remember last year’s “A Little Too Late”? That was one of the best country-pop tunes I’ve heard in years.
Another reason I’ve admired this Oklahoma native is that he’s a man of serious convictions. In fact, that aspect of his personality plays a major role in one of “Big Dog Daddy”’s strongest tracks; “Love Me If You Can.”
Not one to beat around the bush, Keith kicks off the song, framed as a country ballad in the vein of “My List,” with this:
“Sometimes think that war is necessary / Every night I pray peace on Earth / I hand out my dollars to the homeless / But believe that every able soul should work.”
Continuing, into the chorus, he sings:
“I’m a man of my convictions / Call me wrong, call me right / But I bring my better angels to every fight / You may not like where I’m goin’ / But you sure know where I stand / Hate me if you want to, Love me if you can.”
So, Keith, vilified on the left for his patriotic, outspoken nature and stance on the military response to 9/11 is also bugged by the right for not totally towing the GOP line. Keith wants to send the message that when it comes to taking a stand, he won’t be sticking his finger in the wind to see which way it’s blowin’.
He still knows a good country ballad when he sees it, as is evidenced in the Keith and Scotty Emerick-penned track “I Know She Hung the Moon.” A strong contender for a radio single, if you ask me.
One of Keith’s best performances on the new album is his cover of “White Rose,” written by Canadian alt-country singer-songwriter Fred Eaglesmith.
With it’s melancholy, train song feel, “White Rose” is about a filling station in a small town that falls prey to time, the elements and that tricky thing known as “progress.” Keith really sinks his teeth into this tune and shows listeners that he is capable of singing songs that fans of alt-country and Americana music can appreciate.
Everyone from big-money oilmen to self-proclaimed “oil-field trash” such as Keith himself are bound to dig the insanely catchy and almost child-like track “Pump Jack.”
Sure, there are plenty of hook-laden-yet-lightweight country-pop fare here. “High Maintenance Woman” will stay in your ear for days on end, while “Get My Drink On” is “Get Drunk and Be Somebody” Pt. II. And then there’s the silly title track, with the 1977-era female backup singers. I thought I was listening to Jerry Reed or something.
All in all, “Big Dog Daddy” is pretty consistent and musically appealing. It seems as though Toby Keith, who produced the album, is getting comfortable in his new role leading a record label (Show Dog Nashville), running a restaurant chain ( I Love This Bar & Grill) and acting in movies on the side (“Broken Bridges”). The man is amazing and still manages to make great music. Here’s to hoping he brings himself and the band to the Ford Center for a proper concert before the end of the year.
B+

NAFTA Superhighway to come through Oklahoma?

It appears that globalist interests (i.e. Cintra/Zachry, etc.) are looking forward to bring their monstrous superhighway through the Sooner State, sooner rather than later, according to a new article by WorldNetDaily reporter Jerome Corsi.

Of course there are those who pooh-pooh the whole idea that the United States is about to be subjected to a globalist plan where our sovereignty is abolished, our borders disappear and our way of life goes the way of the snows of Kilimanjaro.

Notes Adam Rott, of OklahomaCorridorWatch.com:
Earlier this year in May the Oklahoma Department of Transportation released the "Draft Public Participation Plan," which is a portion of the Statewide Inter-modal Transportation Plan; they are asking the public for their thoughts and opinions on the Public Participation Plan, and it will only be open to public commentary for another 10 days, until June 30th, 2007.
You might want to send your thoughts to ODOT, and ask them how they plan to deal with ideas or opinions once they have been received. I got an email with a letter that a gentlemen, a Mr. Edwin Kessler, sent to ODOT saying just this...here is part of it:
"My comment, in part, is that the PPP seems to me to be a very inclusive plan. While I am not at all an authority on the various ways and means for soliciting public input, I can hardly imagine what might be omitted in the PPP as your office has presented it.
However, there is a vital dimension to this beyond the solicitation and receipt of public views. This dimension is the treatment of those views after they are received. This must pose a difficult problem, because some opinions are grossly uninformed or misdirected, and yet a concerned citizen who posts his opinions and concerns in good faith should not be ignored nor otherwise made to feel that he/she is of a lower class. And recognition of the resultant problem is not alone enough for achievement of a solution to it, though recognition of the problem is clearly the beginning of a solution. Another part is existence of funds and appropriately sensitive and knowledgeable staff to enable proper response to citizen input. And, of course, this represents an important political problem whose resolution lies with all of us."
This guy has raised an excellent point that we need to get a clear answer from ODOT on...because if we turn our attention to Texas for a while, one of the chief complaints from the Texans about TxDOT has been that, even though TxDOT is going around holding these meetings to get the input of the people, they don't care what the people are unanimously saying: we don't want toll roads, and we don't want the TTC-35. The period for public commentary on the PPP is drawing to a close, write a letter to ODOT simply expressing a concern about what will happen with the opinions once received by the the PPP.
--END--

Is it me or have our public servants taken on a role where they think they are our masters? They are increasingly arrogant and condescending when it comes to dealing with We the People. It's very troubling and appears to be a growing trend. On the other hand, people are beginning to wake up to the reality of what is going on. Just listen to any talk radio show and they are up-in-arms over our representatives' behavior regarding the illegal aliens amnesty bill. And with this proposed superhighway, it's guaranteed that more illegals will flood across our once sovereign border. It sickens me to see America being destroyed by design.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert release new albums

Thought I'd include a write-up I did in the Transcript on the new albums from Oklahoma native Blake Shelton and his gal pal Miranda Lambert, a Texan.

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop Writer
The Norman Transcript
Posted: June 15, 2007

I’m not sure if it was coincidental or not but two of the best new country albums to be released in the past month or so happen to be by artists that also happen to be going steady.

The two stars I’m talking about Ada native Blake Shelton and Lindale, Texas singer Miranda Lambert. And yes, it’s official. They are a couple, according to a number of reports I’ve come across. Good for them. I happen to be big fan of both of these young stars.

So, I’m checking the Billboard country charts and for the past five weeks that their albums – Shelton’s “Pure BS” and Lambert’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” respectively – have been riding high with Lambert sitting pretty at #9 and Shelton looking sharp at #12. Not too shabby. I wonder how many couples (well, maybe Faith Hill and Tim McGraw) have had Top 20 albums at the same time.

And listening to the two discs, I have to say that they’re both solid, tuneful and even exciting recordings. That’s always refreshing.

Let’s start with Blake Shelton first. His previous album, 2004’s “Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill,” Shelton was on top of his game with a varied and cool collection of country music. Now, with “Pure BS,” we get Shelton continuing that tradition, but it seems slightly more heartfelt. There are very emotional songs mixed with a few where Shelton is sticking his tongue firmly in cheek, which is fine with this fan.
Always a solid balladeer, Shelton strikes pure, country-pop gold with “Don’t Make Me.” The rollicking “The More I Drink,” is a honky-tonker with a chorus that sticks in your head for at least an hour or so.

The album closer, “The Last Country Song,” is a real winner, with brief cameos from John Anderson and George Jones.

The song I happen to prefer over all others on “Pure BS” is the opening track, “Can’t Be Good.” This is reminiscent of his prison breakout tune “Ol’ Red.” Shelton’s still got it, that’s for darn sure.

Meanwhile, Shelton’s gal pal, Miranda Lambert is hot on the heels of her smokin’ debut from 2005, “Kerosene,” with the slightly less fiery “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

And while the album may not spark as much interest as her debut, there are still some terrific songs here. First, she kicks off the disc with the “Goodbye Earl”-esque “Gunpowder & Lead,” ingredients, Lambert says, that “little girls are made of.” Whoa! Better watch it, fellas! That includes you, Blake Shelton.

The two “town” songs – the Gillian Welch/David Rawlings-penned “Dry Town” and Lambert’s own “Famous In a Small Town” - are both solid efforts from the feisty Texan. And then there’s the bluesy folk-rocker “Down.” You can almost feel the humidity increasing as storm clouds gather out over the Gulf.

Much of the material, framed largely with a classy, Americana vibe, has Lambert addressing subjects relating to love won and lost. From the melancholy “Desperation” to Patty Griffin’s “Getting Ready.” The listener senses that Ms. Lambert is thinking a lot about the subject.
Can’t blame her.
--END--

If you've heard any good music lately, send me a note. Am always wanting to hear something new, exciting or just plain interesting.

Thirty years since Camp Scott Girl Scouts murders

Until last year, I had never heard of the Oklahoma 1977 'Girl Scout camp murders.' But after coming across an eerie site on the web (which I can no longer find) detailing this horrific and disturbing tale of how three Girl Scouts were murdered in their tents 30 years ago this week at the now-abandoned Camp Scott near the Mayes County town of Locust Grove.

Well, the Oklahoman's Ron Jackson just did a front-page story on this case for today's edition, mostly focusing on the family of victim Lori Lee Farmer, whose folks still live in Tulsa.

Read the Oklahoman story here.

And see the images from the overgrown and abandoned camp site along with Jackson's commentary here.

It gives me a creepy, 'Blair Witch Project' sort of feeling when I read or think about it. And to think that it's never been solved ...

'UFOs' in downtown OKC

The deadCENTER film festival has been going on since mid-week and I didn't catch as many films as I had hoped. I did catch one at the Harkins called "Strictly Background" which was about seven different film extras trying to get work in Hollywood. It was actually pretty clever and fun to watch.

But the highlight of the festival was the outdoor screening of "UFOs At the Zoo," a concert video of The Flaming Lips' show filmed at the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheater last September.

I've got to say that the film was actually pretty good. I loved the UFO descending at the beginning of the show and the guys coming out of it, and Wayne Coyne doing his bubble man walk over the crowd.

The only distraction was when the filmmakers blurred out logos and even faces like the mid-90's rap videos where sports team logos and such were blurred out, making it seem less realistic.

But the music was tops! And Wayne Coyne was actually there tonight, introducing the film which he hadn't even seen yet. Of course during the screening Wayne was busy shooting confetti out of a hand-held cannon. That was pretty nifty.

Dean, who was with me, said he had seen the Lips up in Stillwater back in '86 and said they were more of a thrash band back then. I remember that they used to play in Wichita in my high school days. It's amazing that they're still cranking out simply amazing music. And I love that they filmed the concert show in Oklahoma City. Good choice.

Globalists ratcheting up plans for North American superhighway and integrated economies

This Trans-Texas Corridor/North American Super-Corridor Coalition is something we here at the Red Dirt Reporter are keeping a close eye on. We are fortunate to have Adam Rott keeping tabs and reporting on this via his Oklahoma Corridor Watch site. Thanks Adam for keeping us posted. Below is his latest dispatch:

Oklahoma Corridor Watch Weekly Update
By Adam Rott
Posted: June 5, 2007

This week has been very interesting, as the North American Super-Corridor Coalition (NASCO) held their annual meeting in Ft. Worth, which I had the opportunity to attend. It was very enlightening as to what the true goals and aims of NASCO are. Earlier this year NASCO Executive Directory Tiffany Melvin had a meeting with a couple of Oklahoma legislators, (we have the audio of that meeting on our website) and she stated multiple times that the goal of NASCO is not the creation of a new highways, nor the merger of the three nations, but rather the improvement of existing infrastructure and closer collaboration amongst the nations for improved trade and transportation. However this position as exposed this past week, as much of the second day of the conference was devoted to the "integration of Mexico, Canada, and the US."

The first day was primarily about the necessity of developing the Public-Private Partnerships to create economic development, and cited as an example was the Alliance Group 17,000 acre development project. Many of the speakers made it clear that without the public sector partnering with the private sector, North America and our regions will not be able to compete in the global marketplace. What must be kept in mind regarding Public Private Partnerships (PPP) is that it is the merging of the two areas, and, interestingly enough, Benito Mussolini said that fascism is the marriage of the corporation and the state. An excellent example of PPP in action is the Trans-Texas Corridor and the Alliance Inter-modal facility in Ft. Worth. For a very interesting explanation about Public-Private Partnerships, written by Steven Yates of Freedom21 Santa Cruz.

Among one of the more notable speakers on the second day was Michael Gallis of Charlotte, NC; he gave a presentation (which hopefully will be put on-line in the near future) wherein he stressed the absolute necessity of creating a "trading bloc" like the European Union, in order to maintain competitiveness with China and the other trading blocs across the world. He stressed that without the integration of North America, the US will fall behind China in just four years, according to projections.

Even more blatant was the how he compared North America to Europe, in that he said that Germans, English, French, etc, don't think of themselves as German, French or English, but rather as Europeans...as a part of a greater whole. This, Gallis said, is what we lack in North America...Canadian still view themselves as Canadians, and not North Americans, and this nationalist reality represents a "trade barrier" for North America, and we must work to eliminate it. The reception these ideas received was not horror or outrage, but complete affirmation, by attendees from all areas.

The integration of North America into a trading bloc was the general tenor, and as pointed out above, the actual thesis of some speakers, at the NASCO conference. This represents a clear and present danger to the sovereignty of the United States and Oklahoma, the "integration of North America" into a North American Union (NAU) could not be expressed in clearer terms. Yet, even now, you can find people who insist that the NAU is just an elaborate conspiracy theory of lone Internet wackos; newspapers who publish op-eds insisting that there is no NAFTA Superhighway, and that it is only existing infrastructure. That this is deception is revealed in the fact that the I-35 Trade Corridor Study, performed by Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and other DOTs (all members of NASCO), explicitly says that there needs to be new lanes and infrastructure built to handle the NAFTA traffic...10 lanes in the Oklahoma City urban area.
Over the next week or so, we'll be adding articles specific to the areas that the conference addressed, so check back soon.

To reach Adam Rott, email him at:
adam@oklahomacorridorwatch.com

'Fearless Freaks' screened in Norman

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop writer
The Norman Transcript
Posted: May 11, 2007

The sun had already set by the time folks began gathering behind the Dreamer Concept Studio and Foundation at 324 E. Main St., last Friday night. This was in anticipation of Norman’s first screening of “Fearless Freaks,” a documentary about Oklahoma art-rockers The Flaming Lips, a band with ties to Norman.
Amber Clour, founder and executive director of Dreamer, was busy talking to guests who were looking at the eclectic art hanging from the walls of her studio. Nearby, a blonde-headed moppet sold “Fearless Freaks” T-shirts and copies of “Okie Noodling,” another documentary by “Fearless Freaks” creator and Cleveland County native Bradley Beesley.
Asked about the decision to show “Fearless Freaks” during the Downtown Art Walk, Clour said she is a longtime resident of Norman and over the years had come to know Beesley and members of the Flaming Lips. When she approached Beesley to allow her to screen the movie as part of a new series of art and documentary film screenings, Beesley accepted.
“Right now Norman has a great opportunity to grow its arts community,” Clour said. “And I chose to show this film because it was a good opportunity to showcase an Oklahoma filmmaker and a successful band from this area.”
The weather was cooperating this particular night and people began unfolding lawn chairs or finding choice spots to place their blankets in the alley/parking area. Others stood, talking, sharing a beer or simply taking in the entire scene.
Beesley, meanwhile, took the opportunity to show up for the screening of his unique film about the life of the Lips, guys who have become good friends with him over the years, allowing him full access into their homes and lives.
Looking at the dirty tarp acting as a screen hanging from the brick wall near Dreamer’s rear entrance, Beesley smiled and said, “It fits the Flaming Lips aesthetic. It’s definitely appropriate.”
Beesley, who was an art media student at OU said he first met the Lips “about two blocks from here” back in 1990. Befriending the quirky, unclassifiable rock act, Beesley began filming their music videos and by the time of the recording of “Clouds Taste Metallic” in 1994, he was asking documentary-styled questions and doing video not unlike the Beatles’ famous “Let It Be” sessions from 1969.
“At the time I didn’t know I was doing a documentary,” Beesley said. “But filming them that way got me more interested in documentary-style filmmaking.”
Throughout the 1990’s and into the 2000’s, Beesley began amassing plenty of Flaming Lips footage, 400 hours worth.
“It was kind of overwhelming,” Beesley said, talking about the project that would be “Fearless Freaks.” “Wayne (Coyne, the lead singer) is just so open, open to me,he free in front of the camera and will talk about anything possible.”
In 2002, he said, he got funding to put together a documentary feature, cutting down the film from 400 hours of footage to a tight and tidy two hours. And when it was finally released in 2005, it received critical acclaim at film festivals both domestically and internationally.
“We’ve sold about 28,000 DVD’s in the past year. I’ve screened it in about 15 different countries,” Beesley said.
Talking about the night’s screening, Beesley said this isn’t the first request he’s had.
“I probably get one email a week asking for permission to show it her or in Denmark … and knowing we’d never screened it here in Norman, thought it would be cool.”
Asked about the sorts of questions he receives from viewers, particularly in Europe, he said they often ask about Wayne Coyne’s time working at the old Long John Silver’s at 30th and Classen in Oklahoma City. Oh, and the other one? The brutally real scene of multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd shooting up heroin.
“In fact, Steven (who has since kicked his heroin habit) has gotten so many accolades from people and guys in bands like The Strokes, who’ve said they never knew he was a heroin addict and are glad he’s over it. Steven’s really happy that he got that across.”
Beesley’s labor of love is quite a rollercoaster ride of inside dirt about The Flaming Lips. From the Coyne brothers early 1970’s gang-like football club called the Fearless Freaks, to the creation of the Flaming Lips and their crazy ride to stardom and critical acclaim.
When asked about his thoughts about covering this Grammy-winning band, Beesley said he has no perspective. He simply knows Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins as his friends who happen to play music – creatively.
And where were Wayne and the guys? Well, the word was that Wayne would be there, but this reporter never caught a glimpse of the white-suit-wearing rocker.
As for Beesley, he said his latest project is a live DVD of the Lips’ 2006 show the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheater. He is also working on various TV shows and documentaries including a second installment of his popular “Okie Noodling” documentary.
The film was well-received by the crowd and they had a chance to ask Beesley questions afterward.
“I think it’s great that Brad Beesley came to Norman to show his film and connect with young artists,” said Lisa Morales of Norman.
“I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t have any expectations since we’d never done anything like this,” Clour said. “Question and answer session was awesome.”
As for future showings at the Dreamer gallery, Clour said on June 1, she will be screening Ken Cole’s storm chaser documentary called “Tornado Glory.” Dreamer 4 art opening will also be featured that day, featuring four new artists. This will begin at 7 p.m.
For more information go online to www.dreamerconcepts.org or call 701-0048.

Gov't accused of engaging in post-OKC bombing cover-up

I applaud Salt Lake City, Utah lawyer Jesse Trentadue for pressing on with his investigation of his brother Kenneth Trentadue, whom he believes was killed while in federal custody following the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building here in Oklahoma City.

Reports Deseret News reporter Geoffrey Fatah from Denver: A Salt Lake City attorney's quest to prove his brother was murdered while in federal custody received a boost from judges in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, who expressed serious concern over an alleged government cover-up of the case.
"This is a terrible case," said 10th Circuit Judge Robert Henry during oral arguments Wednesday. "The federal government doesn't look well for it."
--END--
But in the end, will anyone face any reprimands, firings, trials or consequences of any sort? With the government's track record these days, don't bet on it. I mean they redact, black out and cover up all sorts of damning information, just check out this nugget midway through the story:
Justice Department attorney Peter Maier said that report (regarding Trentadue's complaint) was part of the council's deliberative process and should not be made public. Maier said government officials need protection from the public domain in order to allow them to be candid. Making such information public would only discourage the free flow of
information.

If that isn't Orwellian, I don't know what is. And we're asked to TRUST our government.

White lines

I don't know how many of you were able to make it to Oklahoma City's Festival of the Arts. I certainly did and had a terrific time. And while the weather was perfect (it's been cloudy and rainy here for days), I couldn't help but notice the jet trails crisscrossing the skies.

Of course these "jet trails" are better known as chemtrails, rather than the innocuous contrails of yore. These new lines-in-the-sky typically start out with these thin lines with little nodule-shaped poofs coming on the edges and within the hour have billowed out and spread across the sky, often merging with other, similar trails.

I've noticed these things across the country and have tried to get meteorologists to talk to me about why they are different from normal contrails which dissipate after 20 minutes or so. These trails have become so prevalent that Disney/Pixar films feature them in animated features like "Cars" and "Over the Hedge." Why would they do that, unless there is a concerted effort to keep the people in the dark about these high altitude aerosol activities.

If you have some pictures in your area you'd like to send to me, email me at: aw_griffin@yahoo.com.

Recycle bins and feel-good propositions

While I initially wanted to vote "yes" on the curbside recycling proposition on the ballot here in Norman, I was convinced, by the time I reached the voting booth, that the $3 fee added to resident's water bills would be unfair. I mean, there are a number of places to go around town where folks can rid themselves of recyclables.

As noted in The Oklahoman, "more than 71 percent of voters said yes to adding" the fee while low-income residents will pay $2.40 a month.

Where's the freedom of choice, city of Norman? This was simply a push by eco activists playing on the fears of folks who believe that global warming is a manmade crisis.

Illegal alien bill signed by Henry

The boy governor appears to have a spine after all. He actually signed the bill that would crack down on illegal immigration in our state. Gov. Henry, you deserve a hearty pat on the back. You stood up for the working class in Oklahoma.

And to you, Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, you stood up for something that stirs up lots of feelings both positive and negative and you persevered. Congrats!

Braum's: 100 years & 100 ice cream flavors

Received this creamy press release from the State Legislature. While I love Braum's ice cream, they tend to be somewhat dirty places. I used to live near one in Wichita when I was a teen and it was a treat to go get a cone or a burger. And I love the crinkle fries.

One Hundred Years and One Hundred Ice Cream Flavors

OKLAHOMA CITY- With less than three weeks left to make final state budget decisions, the Tuttle Chamber of Commerce today offered lawmakers a little stress relief - bowls of ice cream produced by a company that has played an important role in Oklahoma's history.

Today is "Braum's Day" at the State Capitol, giving Capitol employees the chance to partake in some of the state's best ice cream and recognize the Braum family for their significant contribution to Oklahoma's economy and history.

Bill and Mary Braum opened their first Braum's store in Oklahoma City in 1968. The heart of the Braum operation is their family farm in Tuttle, which is home to a private dairy herd of 10,000 cows and a processing plant.

In Tuttle, the Braum family works the land to grow corn, wheat, barley,alfalfa hay and other natural ingredients to feed their dairy herd. Their cows provide the milk that's used to make ice cream, milk andother dairy products.

Bill and Mary Braum, along with their sons and daughters, own and operate 276 Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores in five states: Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri and Arkansas. The company employs around 7,500 people, with 3,900 employees in Oklahoma alone.

Braum's, a State Centennial Sponsor, will introduce two new flavors thisyear celebrating the Centennial. The two new flavors were "tested" by the cone in stores and were so popular that they decided to offer them by the half gallon.

The two new flavors are Premium Fried Ice Cream,made with cinnamon, honey, brown sugar, a caramel ribbon and lots offried cinnamon tostada pieces, and Premium Cake Batter, a cake batter ice cream with pieces of yellow cake with fudge frosting mixed throughout.

"There's no better time to recognize such an important business than when Oklahoma is celebrating 100 years of statehood and Braum's is celebrating over 100 flavors of ice cream," said Winchester,(R-Chickasha). "The Braum family contributes to Oklahoma's economy,health and enjoyment by providing us with delicious yet healthy dairy products that will hopefully be a part of Oklahoma history through ournext 100 years."

"The Braums have proven that Oklahomans can excel in a competitive national marketplace," said state Rep. Phil Richardson, R-Minco.

"Theirsuccess is a tribute to Oklahoma's pioneering spirit.The Braum family continues to play an active role in charitable andcivic affairs in Oklahoma, and it's fitting that we recognize theirachievements," said state Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha. "And if we can eat a little ice cream in the process, I'm certainly not going to complain."

Red Dirt music story rejected by Texas Music Times

By A.W. Griffin
Red Dirt Reporter

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – If you’re a serious fan of the Texas and Red Dirt music scene, the idea of having some popular singer/musicians populating the genre coming to play at your birthday party.
That was the case for Texas/Red Dirt concert promoter Woody Hodges, a 36-year-old Texan who has been promoting the scene via his company, Sold Out Productions, based in Denton.
For his December 5th birthday, Hodges arranged for three artists – Toby Wayne, Johnny Cooper and Mike McClure – to perform an acoustic show at Stage West in Wichita Falls.
For a Wednesday night, there was a good crowd for the gig.
And Hodges, whose seen or worked with just about everyone in the Texas/Red Dirt scene said “it’s kind of a been a tradition to have McClure play on my birthday.”
And Hodges said he is becoming a big fan of Red Dirt outlaw Jackson Taylor. Taylor, a rockabilly fan who performed an acoustic version of Social Distortion’s “Ball and Chain,” took the time to make Woody’s birthday party and play a few songs between Cooper and McClure.
“Jackson wasn’t hired and just showed up to celebrate the occasion,” Hodges said. “We have really developed a good relationship over the last few months and I was very pleased to see him walk in.”
He added that Jackson Taylor is one of his top five favorites on the scene.
And the thing about Woody Hodges, a former disc jockey and drummer, is that he has a real ear for good Texas/Red Dirt music and is always bringing good artists to perform at Stage West for “Woody’s Acoustic Chaos” each Wednesday night.
For instance, Johnny Cooper has been one of Woody’s favorite artist to hire. Cooper is young, enthusiastic and talented. Plus, he has a growing audience and that’s good for business.
Cooper looks up to fellow performer Mike McClure and said as much, noting that tonight’s gig was a “serious thing” and that it had been a while since the two had performed together.
The plan was to have Johnny Cooper play with Mike McClure, along with Cooper’s lead guitar player, Jason Brown, backing them up. However, Brown had an emergency and had to leave.
Cooper seemed a little bummed about not playing with McClure this night. Still, Cooper said he was content to “sit back and watch” the unpredictable, prolific and eccentric Mike McClure.
And McClure was, well, McClure. Looking like a grad student from Cornell, McClure breezed drunkenly through a scattershot set of originals (“Lay Your Head Down,” “North Platte Blues”) and the occasional cover (“Into the Mystic”).
And as a fan myself, it is fun to see the artists at Stage West (or Duvallz in Lawton, Oklahoma) performing acoustic shows and in a more intimate environment.
A week later, Woody, still pumped after last week’s show, hosted another solid gig, featuring Brandon Rhyder and singer-guitarists Lance Burnett and Jeremy Jowers from Seymour, Texas-based Under the Influence Band. This was somewhat of an extension of his post-birthday acoustic chaos gigs. And those in attendance for this latest show were excited to share it with their friend Woody.
Rhyder, who arrived with his guitar and little else, took time to talk to a serious fan who is stationed at a local Air Force base.
“All of his music is awesome,” said Steven Sheeley, a native of Midlothian, Texas.
Jowers and Burnett, who play a Texas music style that has a rock and blues influence, admiring everyone from Michael Nesmith to Chris Knight, put on a good show for the nice, Wednesday night crowd.
In the crowd this night was P.J. Berry, a super-fan from nearby Iowa Park, Texas. Sporting a red Shooter Jennings T-shirt and wielding a digital camera, this 55-year-old was having the time of her life snapping pictures of the artists over the course of the evening.
She talked about suffering from an illness a few years back and being confined to a wheelchair – until she was introduced to Texas and Red Dirt music – music she says saved her life.
“It got me out of that wheelchair,” she said with a winning smile.
Berry, who goes to Texas and Red Dirt shows all over with her husband Ron Berry, said after spending time with her bartending son down in Austin back in the late 1990’s, she took a liking to the music.And for Woody, what did he think of the turnout and the party with McClure and Cooper?
Said Hodges, “I was very pleased with the turnout. It is hard to have a bad show with Mike & Johnny. Then throw in some Jackson Taylor and Toby Wayne, that equals a great party and some of the best talent around. It was one of the best Birthday parties I have had and know I will have a hard time beating it next year. I better start working on that right now!”
--END--

Boren & Tenet & unanswered questions

Interesting blog post from The Oklahoman's Washington bureau correspondent Chris Casteel, who discusses George Tenet's new book, "At the Center of the Storm," and Tenet's connection to current OU President and former US Sen. David Boren, a man with close ties to intelligence agencies and the so-called "black world" of covert ops.

Writes Casteel:
Seven years ago this week, University of Oklahoma President David Boren came to Washington to make an important point about George Tenet: that he was independent and would tell the President of the United States what he needed _ not what he wanted _ to hear.
There is no doubt Boren, a former U.S. senator who served as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee during the first Gulf War and is close to many people in the military and intelligence communities, thought this was a critical characteristic for a CIA director.
There is some doubt now that Tenet lived up to Boren's depiction of him, made at the Senate confirmation hearings for Tenet.

Continuing ...

Tenet essentially claims in the book that he was made the scapegoat by some in the Bush administration for the fact that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. Tenet devotes a whole chapter in his book to his use of the phrase "slam dunk'' during an Oval Office meeting about making the public case that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
In an interview this week, Boren said he repeatedly urged Tenet to resign, or at least threaten to resign, because of the administration's determination to invade Iraq, without conclusive intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.

Finally ...

Boren, who is still a good friend and strong supporter of Tenet, said he accomplished much at the CIA. But, after listing his achievements, Boren asked, "Did he vigorously enough try to convince the president that there was insufficient evidence of WMD before going into Iraq?"
Tenet's book clearly shows that he's been asking that question of himself for years.
--END--

Read the full piece here.

And I have to say that it still leaves some big questions open. Boren and Tenet were having a "leisurely breakfast"together in Washington on 9/11. Click here to read Michael P. Wright's comments and links to articles that point to Tenet (and Boren indirectly) as missing some serious clues that would point to a terrorist attack taking place in 2001. Of course we know Zacarias Moussaoui was in Norman, Boren's backyard, for a while in 2001 and we also know Nick Berg, the young Pennsylvania businessman beheaded in Iraq in 2004, was lurking around OU campus around the time Moussaoui had been in Norman. What does Boren, or Tenet for that matter, know about this?

Henry needs to sign immigration reform bill into law

Hopefully Brad Henry, boy governor, will get with the program and sign the immigration reform bill into law. Sure, the corrupt, unethical businesses in our state may be crying in pain (particularly Seaboard out in the Panhandle, I reckon) as are the pro-illegals activist groups. But our boy governor should think of the hardworking, LEGAL residents first and foremost. He fell down in regards to the abortion bill a few weeks back and lost a lot of respect from those of us in the pro-life movement. So, Gov. Henry, do something right this time and send a message that the state of Oklahoma takes illegal immigration seriously and will no longer tolerate the coddling of lawbreakers.

Terror war plate for sale

So, what to make of this Oklahoma "Global War on Terrorism" license plate? Well, you've got the eagle. Very American. You've got the Twin Towers from the demolished World Trade Center and a ribbon reading "9/11." Hmm. Curious. It's also got that new-style desert camo look. If I wasn't so cynical about the whole affair, I'd think it was kind of cool. But when your eyes are opened and you know something to be completely false, then it's just kind of a bummer. So, if you're interested in picking up one of these plates for your Hummer or whatever, go to http://www.tax.ok.gov/plates/sp145.html. But hurry, supplies are limited.

Inhofe clearly confused as to why we invaded Iraq

Saw this little nugget via ThinkProgress today. Sen. Jimmy is clearly confused once again.

Inhofe: Media invented WMD excuse for Iraq invasion.

Inhofe, speaking to the press before Cheney’s arrival (in Tulsa), lambasted Democrats for Thursday’s Senate vote to begin withdrawal from Iraq by Oct. 1 and the press for “mischaracterizing” the reasons for U.S. involvement.

“The whole idea of weapons of mass destruction was never the issue, yet they keep trying to bring this up,” Inhofe said. […]
Pressed for an explanation, Inhofe said weapons of mass destruction were “incidental” to the decision to invade Iraq.
“The media made that the issue because they knew Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass destruction.”
(Then we find out what Jimmy said back in August 2002 ...)

Our intelligence system has said that we know that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction — I believe including nuclear. There’s not one person on this panel who would tell you unequivocally that he doesn’t have the missile means now, or is nearly getting the missile means to deliver a weapon of mass destruction. And I for one am not willing to wait for that to happen.
--END--

You've embarrassed us enough, Senator.

Henry on OK quarter: 'The results are clear'

Scissor-tailed flycatcher chosen for state's commemorative quarter design

By Michael McNutt

Oklahoman Capitol Bureau

The state's bird and wildflower will be on Oklahoma's commemorative quarter, the governor's office announced today.
Voters preferred by about a 2-1 margin the scissor-tailed flycatcher flying over some Indian blanket, or Gaillardia pulchella, the governor's office said. Four other designs up for consideration each featured a representation of the Pioneer Woman statue in Ponca City. Some Oklahomans were upset that sketches from the U.S. Mint omitted a Bible in the woman's right hand.
That now is a moot point.
More than 148,000 votes were cast — mostly online — in selecting the design for the quarter, part of a special series launched by the U.S. Mint in 1999. More than half, or nearly 77,000, voted for the state bird design.
"Oklahomans have spoken, and the results are clear,” Gov. Brad Henry said in a statement.

--END--

And what a "statement" it was from the boy governor. "Clearly," he is overwhelmed with the selection made by Oklahomans. I don't know about you, but what is it about birds that causes people to lose all sense of perspective? I much preferred the oil rig and the Bible-clutching Pioneer woman. Oh, wait, what Bible?

State House prepared to pass strict immigration bill on Tues.

Red Dirt Reporter received this press release from the media department of the state House of Representatives stating that the House is expected to pass a strict immigration reform bill tomorrow morning.

--BEGIN--
The Oklahoma House of Representatives is scheduled to take up House Bill 1804 for a final vote before sending the measure along to the governor's desk.
House Bill 1804, by Randy Terrill (R-Moore), creates theOklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007.
The bill is partof the House Republican majority's legislative agenda, and has now passed both chambers of the Legislature by overwhelming bipartisan margins.
HB 1804 also has the support of two national immigration reform advocacy groups and has been called one of the nation's toughest anti-illegal immigration laws at the state level.
--END--

Let's hope Gov. Henry signs the bill and sends a message that illegal immigration is not acceptable in the Sooner State.

OU Daily editorial board on Hinrichs stone: WHATEVER!

In typical smarmy fashion, the OU Daily editorial staff have concluded that a paving stone featuring dead bomber Joel Henry Hinrichs III's name on it, and placed on university property, is not worthy of a news story. In the following editorial, linked here, the staff heaps scorn on those of us who actually ASKED QUESTIONS about the Hinrichs case. And now that the Oklahoman has made the university's paper of record look bad, they have decided to cover their embarrassment with an air of superiority - "Oh, the Hinrichs stone? We're above all that. Let the rabble get into a snit about it. We're too busy covering stories about Sonic Drive-In, etc.

Here it is ...

Oklahoma Daily editorial staff
Posted: April 27, 2007
http://www.hub.ou.edu

Our View: Memorial honoring Joel Hinrichs sparks fake controversy in media

In an unfortunate twist of events, news media have flashed back to a year and a half ago and started a minor controversy in the shadow of an unfortunate event.
Oklahoma City media outlets have jumped on a shocking discovery: Joel Hinrichs III, the OU student who blew himself up on the South Oval in October 2005, has a stone commemorating him on the Oklahoma Memorial Union patio.
We admit, it's strange and not necessarily in the best of tastes.
But at the same time, whatever. Despite a major scare, the Hinrichs tragedy affected mostly the Hinrichs family and OU administrators. So if they want to make that decision, whatever.

The problem that has arisen, however, is that message boards and talking heads have reborn what we hoped had died: non-factual rumor-milling and general salacious gum-flapping.
"That damn Muslim terrorist done tried to kill us all!" we expect to hear a few people say. Message boards already become home to similarly nonfactual nonsense. That's why we wish sleeping dogs could have been kept asleep, even hit over the head with a bucket of golf balls, if need be.
And, before we hear cries of being in President Boren's pocket, we merely shared his frustration a year and a half ago when racist Web sites, fake journalists (which KWTV-9's Tamara Pratt managed to devolve into) and couch commentators teamed up for one of the free world's most gratuitous spectacles of misinformation, rumor-spewing and fear-mongering ... ever.

Meanwhile, here's why we didn't do a front page story today: Johnny Journalist is assigned to write the story. He receives OU's official statements, he talks to Joel Hinrichs Jr. and then it becomes time for him to test the waters of public opinion and pick out a few good quotes. But what does Ol' Johnny have to do to get those? Johnny has to go stand by the stone outside of the union and wait for people to pass by."Excuse me, my name is Johnny Journalist, and I was wondering if you had seen this stone here on the ground?"
"Nope. Which one?"
"The one that reads ‘Joel H. Hinrichs III,' who was the guy who blew himself up on campus last year. Do you have a comment?"
And within three seconds of learning of this fact, the student is asked to give an emotional reaction to a controversy that is only a controversy because media have made it a controversy.
Do Johnny's antics sound familiar? Yup. They sound just like what each local TV news outfit did two or three times Thursday.
We didn't feel it necessary to participate.
--END--

OU OUTRAGE! - Bomber Hinrichs gets memorial stone on campus

I give credit to The Oklahoman today for featuring this as their top story - "OU bomber's memorial stone causes shock".
In light of the fact that witnesses said bomber Joel Henry Hinrichs III was trying to get in the stadium that day, this is totally outrageous, particularly in light of the mass shooting at Virginia Tech a week-and-a-half ago.

Anyway, the story, written by crime/terrorism beat "repeater" Nolan Clay, who has covered up for the FBI and former Gov. Frank Keating regarding the Alfred P. Murrah federal building bombing, is interesting. What is OU President David Boren (Skull & Bones, CFR, CIA insider, etc., etc.) up to?

Here it is:
NORMAN -- The University of Oklahoma has put outside the student union a patio stone engraved with the name of the student suicide bomber.
"I was just kind of horrified,” said OU football fan Jenny Clemons, who spotted the stone after OU's Red-White game April 7. "I don't think he has any business being out here.”
OU's student affairs division arranged to have the stone placed, an OU alumni affairs employee said. OU officials say families pay for such memorials but the student's father said OU offered to place the stone and never billed him.
A stone costs $150.
Joel "Joe” Henry Hinrichs III, an engineering student, died Oct. 1, 2005, when his bomb went off at a campus bench a short distance from an OU night football game.
The FBI investigated whether the student, 21, tried or intended to enter the packed stadium but reported finding no conclusive evidence.
The student's father traveled from Colorado to Oklahoma to visit with university officials after the death. Joel Hinrichs Jr. said OU's dean of students, Clarke Stroud, offered to have the stone placed.
In an e-mail, the father told The Oklahoman the dean "very kindly understood that Joel's act was one of loneliness, not of aggression, and offered to have the stone placed in the memorial courtyard; he also indicated that the wife of the university president might select a tree to be placed on campus, also in Joel III's memory.”
The father said he asked to pay for the stone and tree "but was never told anything.” He repeated his offer to the dean in an e-mail Monday after being contacted by The Oklahoman. He said, "They never sent me any indication of cost, or even that they had moved forward.”
In a statement, OU President David Boren said, "As is well known, the death of Joel Hinrichs III was an apparent suicide. A tree was not planted on the campus. Instead, the university gives the opportunity for those who desire to purchase pavers in the union courtyard for students, graduates, or friends of the university.
"Some are given to honor graduates or friends of the university and some are given as memorials. They are paid for by those who have them placed there and the proceeds go towards the upkeep of the student union. The university tries to be sensitive to all the families who have lost sons or daughters while they were students.”
Stroud said in an e-mail: "We invite all parents or members of the university family to purchase stones in the courtyard honoring friends or family members. In this case it is certainly appropriate to allow Mr. Hinrichs to honor the memory of his son who tragically died while he was a student at the university.”
The father said his son was only committing suicide. FBI agents said they do not know if the student intentionally set off the bomb on the bench as a suicide or if he also had intended to kill others elsewhere. A Norman police bomb expert has said he believes the bomb went off accidentally and that the student had further plans.
Clemons, 50, a hospital nurse, said, "I was in the stadium the day that guy blew himself up. ... I feel like ... if he'd been successful he would have killed a whole bunch of us at the football game.”

Read the rest here.
--END--

Why was the university so eager to feature Hinrichs and give him a memorial stone and not have the family pay for it. Hinrichs clearly wanted to take out people at that stadium. And if the comments at NewsOK.com are any indication, people are outraged about the placement of this stone.

Giuliani caught in a lie at OKC terrorism panel

Here's an article and clip, via Prison Planet (which came from C-SPAN), that features presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on a terrorism panel here in Oklahoma City lying about the way WTC Building 7 collapsed on the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001. He says it came down in stages where most of us know that the building collapsed into its own footprint at freefall speed. Wouldn't you think the MAYOR of New York would remember that? I mean, his own command center was in that building.

McCurtain paper continues to be best source for info on OKC bombing

Strassmeir still mystery man in Oklahoma City bombing

Posted: 4/19/2007
By Roger G. Charles and J.D. Cash
McCurtain Daily Gazette (www.mccurtain.com)

A retired, senior officer of the nation’s intelligence community has confirmed to this newspaper that the German military-intelligence operative, Andreas Strassmeir, was in fact “working for the German government and the FBI” while residing at the neo-Nazi compound known as Elohim City. Strassmeir resided at this compound for four years and closely associated with members of the neo-Nazi group that planned and conducted the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in downtown Oklahoma City.
This intelligence officer identified a specific document, a post-bombing report, that listed Strassmeir’s role as an agent reporting on neo-Nazi activities as part of a campaign being waged by both German and American governments against such activities. (This newspaper is involved in legal efforts to obtain a copy of this report.)
Twelve years after the April 19 bombing in America’s heartland, this and other recently obtained and compelling evidence confirms what had long been suspected – the bombing was the result of a bungled “sting” operation that sought to disrupt international ties between German and American neo-Nazis. It was a sting operation that went bad, horribly bad.
Strassmeir’s role as a possible German military-intelligence operative in the center of neo-Nazi group responsible for this deadly attack had long puzzled Danny Coulson, one of the three most-senior FBI supervisors in charge of the immediate post-bombing investigation.
In a documentary television program aired by the British Broadcasting Corporation on March 4 of this year, Coulson described how unusual it was, based on his own 31 years in the FBI, that Strassmeir was never interviewed by the FBI before he was allowed to return to Germany in January 1996.
“To my knowledge, he was never interviewed by any FBI agents. He was interviewed [in a trans-Atlantic telephone call] by two Assistant United States Attorneys with an FBI [agent] present on the phone but taking notes. But there was never a face-to- face, sit-down, come-to-Jesus meeting with the FBI. That never occurred.”
In the same BBC program, Strassmeir repeated his oft-repeated denial of any knowledge of or role in the bombing plot.
Coulson was not impressed with Strassmeir’s responses.
“Yeah, well a person can claim a lot of things. But, you are known by the company you keep... if you are hanging out with some Aryans [neo-Nazis] and the Aryans are involved in criminal activity, it’s kind of hard to say you know nothing about it. It’s like hanging out with the choir [and you] didn’t know they sang. It’s exactly the same type of thing. He knew what they were up to. He knew what he was doing there. And we should have interviewed him.”
In November 2003, this newspaper obtained a Jan. 4, 1996, teletype from then-Director of the FBI Louis Freeh that contained information about a telephone call from Tim McVeigh to Strassmeir at Elohim City. While federal prosecutors had admitted that McVeigh called Elohim City on April 5, 1995, asking to speak with Strassmeir, the evidence of this second phone call on April 17 was withheld from McVeigh’s federal trial and from both federal and state trials of Terry Nichols, McVeigh’s co-defendant.
This document contains these two other key facts.
One, this source reported to the FBI that McVeigh had a “lengthy relationship” with Strassmeir. Not only was this document withheld from the defense teams, but the federal prosecutors claimed repeatedly that the largest FBI investigation in the nation’s history up to this time had discovered that McVeigh’s and Strassmeir’s direct contacts consisted only of a short encounter at a Tulsa gun show two years before the bombing. (McVeigh’s phone call of April 4 had been for Strassmeir, who had not been present to take the call.)
And, two, this source reported that Strassmeir was (as of Jan. 4, 1996) residing in North Carolina and had plans to “leave the U.S. via Mexico, in the near future.” The source specified where Strassmeir was staying, and with whom.
No action was taken by the FBI to intercept Strassmeir, who walked across the Texas border into Mexico on or about Jan. 10 in route to his home in Germany.
The above revelations were discovered in November 2003 when this newspaper found a copy of the explosive teletype among more than 300,000 pages of FBI records that were supposedly not directly related to the Oklahoma City bombing, known inside the FBI as “OKBOMB.” Yet, the Oklahoma City bombing case number is clearly shown as being the case under which the teletype was drafted, transmitted and filed.
From this same 300,000 pages is a never-before-disclosed FBI teletype dated December 6, 1995, from the FBI office in St. Louis to the Director and 11 other FBI offices. It contains conclusive proof that the FBI actively investigated connections between the neo-Nazi gang of bank robbers and the Oklahoma City bomb team. (Three of the bank robbers lived with Strassmeir at Elohim City at various times.)
This teletype announced a meeting to be hosted by the St. Louis FBI office on Jan. 9 and 10, 1996, for the purpose of exchanging information about the neo-Nazi bank robbers (know in FBI shorthand as the “BOMBROB” major case).
It further stated that, “... this investigation has been featured on the Oct. 28, 1995 segment of America’s Most Wanted (AMW), which resulted in a possible connection between BOMBROB and OKBOMB.”
The teletype lists nine items to be covered in the Jan. 9-10 meeting. Two of the agenda items are particularly relevant.
“6)Presentation from OKBOMB investigator on status of possible connection with BOMBROB.
“7) Explanation of specifics of possible military connection.”
Following the late-December 1995 interviews of a neo-Nazi leader (who was serving as a sergeant in the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Georgia) and his wife, the FBI used this sergeant to lure the leaders of the BOMBROB gang to meetings in the Cincinnati, Ohio area where they were arrested. (Richard Lee Guthrie on January 15, and Peter Langan on January 18, 1996.)
An FBI teletype dated Jan. 3, 1996 announced that, “In view of recent developments in the Cincinnati Division [of the FBI]...,” the planned meeting of members of the BOMBROB and OBKBOMB investigation teams in St. Louis on January 9 and 10 was “postponed indefinitely.”
The Army sergeant and his wife received an undisclosed award for their roles in supporting the FBI’s arrests of the BOMBROB leaders in Ohio.
And, whether it was coincidence or not, Strassmeir – “Andy the German” to his neo-Nazi associates – left the United States on January 10.
Recent documents and other information obtained by this newspaper have also confirmed long-held suspicions about Strassmeir’s immigration records, a few of which were released for the federal trials of McVeigh and Nichols.
Specifically, in Strassmeir’s visits to the United States, dating back to 1988, his immigration records listed him with a coded designation that meant he traveled in a special diplomatic status which carried with it diplomatic immunity.
When retired senior FBI official Coulson was asked in the BBC documentary about his continuing suspicions regarding Strassmeir, Coulson replied:
“There is (sic) lots of questions who he is. Who he works for? And does he work for... for someone in the United States? Does he work for the federal government, or does he work for a government overseas? Did he work for the Israelis? The Israelis certainly have an interest in looking at neo-Nazis because of their history. The Germans have a significant problem with neo-Nazis in their country and they were not happy with our investigation here. And, was he working for them? I don’t know the answer to it. What I do know is he wasn’t just bumming around.”
Twelve years after the worst incident of domestic terrorism in the nation’s history, hard evidence continues to surface that directly contradicts the federal government’s claim that all those who perpetrated that horrible crime have been caught, convicted and sentenced.
Strassmeir, for one, is safe from having to answer official questions about his role in OKBOMB. The German government does not extradite German citizens to countries where they could potentially face the death penalty for their criminal conduct.
--END--

And where is Nolan Clay and his pals at The Oklahoman??!?! Oh, that's right, asleep on the job as usual.

Like oil and water: Mexican trucks on American soil

'Truck Out' protest at State Capitol brings attention to Mexican truck issue
By Andrew Griffin
Red Dirt Reporter
Posted: April 24, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY – Outraged that the federal government is planning on allowing Mexican truck drivers to drive their loads on the roads of America, dozens of sign-holding and flag-waving truck drivers and their supporters gathered on the steps of the State Capitol to voice their concerns, as part of Monday’s national “Truck Out.”
The North American Free Trade Agreement, implemented in 1994, had a provision allowing for the Mexican trucks to come here to deliver their freight. While it has been delayed for several years, in February it was announced that the federal government would allow 100 Mexican trucking companies to travel beyond the 20-mile limit as part of a one-year pilot program.
But the truckers in front of the State Capitol, concerned about the potential damage this will have on their livelihoods and their country, were having none of it if their signs were any indication, pronouncing, “My Trucker Needs His Job” and “Say No to Mexican Trucks!”
“We’re against this,” said Kay Hutchison, an Oklahoma City-based truck driver. “We can’t believe this is happening.”
Hutchison, and her husband Ed Hutchison, said they’re both concerned that these rattletrap trucks out of Mexico won’t be thoroughly inspected as they head north across the border.
“They could be hauling drugs, illegals, terrorists … who knows what could be in those trailers?” Hutchison said.
Dan Howard, with the Tulsa-based organization Outraged Patriots said state and federal politicians hadn’t been doing enough to protect the trucking industry which he said was already overregulated as it was.
“They are taking from you and giving (jobs) to foreign nationals,” thundered Howard.
Sen. Randy Brogdon, R-Owasso, also spoke, telling the audience that he was introducing legislation to address this issue and by noting that the rally was not only about protecting American truckers but was addressing what the country stands for, which he said was “The rule of law and the sovereignty of these borders.”
Added Brogdon; “Our future won’t be determined by the politicians. It rests solely in the hands and power of the people.”

Giuliani tries to score political points at OKC bombing memorial

As a chemtrail-caused haze began to obscure the clear blue skies above, Mob-embracing, cross-dressing, multiple-divorcing, gun-controlling, abortion-supporting, 9/11 cover-up artist Rudy Giuliani was the "special guest" speaker at Thursday's 12th anniversary observance of the government-sponsored destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building here in Oklahoma City.

Arriving in a Suburban with a couple of guys in dark sunglasses, this smirking shill for the New World Order crawled out, shook some hands and walked down to the small podium set up next to the touring piano John Lennon used to compose his 1971 hit "Imagine."

After some words from the head of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum and Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, Giuliani (who fidgeted and looked distracted) took to the lectern and talked about how his city and our city shared much in common; good people and first responders who quickly responded to one another's terror attacks.He then spoke of this week's Virginia Tech tragedy, pledging to do more to "make our schools safer" (sounds like a speech for his candidacy for president) and then proceeded to talk about "strength," "resolve," and how "free people have strength."

"We will do everything we can to prevent further attacks," Giuliani said. "Freedom from violence is our first civil right."

The Rudester closed by saying, "We will win the war on terror at home and abroad."

They then read the names of the 168 victims of the bombing. I was able to get some pictures of Rudy talking to people and taking pictures.

When the media (myself included) approached him and an Oklahoman reporter began peppering him with questions, included a pointed question about his position on gun control in light of the VT shootings, Giuliani got all serious and said, "I'm not here for political questions."

Yeah, sure. His whole reason for being in our city was for political reasons. It was disgusting.

Moore to paint "Home of Toby Keith" on water tower

I was reading the paper version of The Norman Transcript the other day (April 18) and noticed a story headlined: "Moore council OKs repainting water tower with 'Home of Toby Keith.'"

Writes Transcript reporter M. Scott Carter regarding Moore City Council plans to repaint the city water tower at NW 27th and just west of I-35: "The tower does need to be repainted," said City Manager Steve Eddy. "We're going to be doing that; it also has rust on the outside as well as on the inside so we'll be doing some maintenance." The tower was last painted, Eddy said, in '95 or '96, so it does need to be repainted now."

Continuing: "Once covered in a base coat, the tower would have the phrase: "Moore Home of Toby Keith" painted in large, blue letters."
Eddy said he wanted to get the council's opinion on the repainting of the water tower and added, "It (the wording) would be on both sides of it, essentially where you could see what's on there from the southbound and northbound traffic on the Interstate."

Carter ended with the following phrase: The project was approved without debate.
--END--

Way to go Moore City Council! We've got Yukon's water tower with "Home of Garth Brooks" (and spray painted home of Cross Canadian Ragweed) and now we'll have one for Toby Keith. This is great for the artists, great for the fans and great for showcasing to the world our homegrown talent.

'It's a scandal: Oklahoma declares watermelon a vegetable

My Lawton Constitution story on the watermelon becoming a state vegetable was seen by a reporter at UK's Guardian newspaper and he referenced it in this story. Pretty neat, eh? (Oh, and it was bill co-author Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, home of the annual Watermelon Festival, that was teh '94 seed-spitting champ, not Barrington.

It's a scandal: Oklahoma declares watermelon a vegetable

By Matthew Weaver and agencies
Wednesday April 18, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Everywhere else it is considered a fruit, but in Oklahoma the watermelon has been officially declared a vegetable.
And not just any vegetable, Oklahoma's house of representatives yesterday voted to award the watermelon the honour of official state vegetable. The official state fruit is the strawberry.
A bill on the proposal was passed yesterday by 78 votes to 19.
A triumphant senator Don Barrington, who sponsored the bill, said after the vote: "The controversy on whether watermelon is a fruit or vegetable has been officially decided by the Oklahoma legislature."
He told Oklahoma's Lawton Constitution before the vote that the watermelon was a fruit, "but it's also a vegetable because it's a member of the cucumber family".
The Republican, who in 1994 won a local contest for spitting watermelon seeds the farthest, said the state vegetable status would be a boost for his watermelon-growing Rush Springs constituency.
Asked whether people shared his conviction that the watermelon was a vegetable, he replied: "It depends on who you ask."
Others were not convinced. Senator Nancy Riley said her dictionary referred to the watermelon as a fruit.
"I guess it can be both," Mr Barrington conceded.
The Oklahoma governor, Brad Henry, must now decide whether to approve the bill.
--END--

Bowman wants 'Patriots' to take back America

Had an opportunity to hear a talk by Dr. Bob Bowman, Lt. Col. USAF, ret. National Commander last night and came away inspired.

Bowman, who has run both for president and for a congressional seat out of Florida, made a stop at Mayflower Congregational Church, as part of his 100-city "Patriots" tour where he shares his thoughts about everything from this corrupt cabal in the Bush administration to issues related to 9/11 truth and how he believes it was an inside job.

The crowd, mostly middle-age or older, sat in the church sanctuary and listened to peace activist Nathaniel Batchelder with Oklahoma City's Peace House introduce his old friend Dr. Bowman.

It would become clear that Bowman was interested in bringing both left and right together and convincing folks that we're all in this together, in a fight against greedy globalists and war profiteers.

"What I'm trying to do with the Patriots tour is to bring people in our country together to where we recognize our common need to take back our country for the people," Bowman said, adding that the increasingly common thread among people of all political stripes is that they "love their country but fear their government."

Added Bowman, "It's time to come together and take back our government,"

Bowman, who directed the Department of Defense's 'Star Wars' programs under the Ford and Carter administrations and was a Democrat candidate for U.S. Congress in Florida's 15th district in 2006, said there is really little difference between the two major parties and that's what the elites - the "Corporate New World Order" - want.

Bowman then told the audience that he had drafted an inaugural "State of the Union" speech that he would give to the American people were he to be elected president someday. I have to say that he made some powerful, hard-hitting statements.

"Benjamin Franklin's worst fears came true," Bowman said in his speech. "We've lost our Republic."

Bowman hit the 9/11 inside job issue pretty hard, saying that there is "evidence of a massive cover-up of 9/11."
Interestingly, he said he spoke with 9/11 Commissioners Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean and they told him that information they wanted in the final report was whitewashed or simply left out of the report.
"If the Bush administration had nothing to hide," Bowman thundered, "Why did they hide everything?"

He poked holes in the perposterous 9/11 conspiracy theory peddled by this corrupt government, saying that 19 hijackers with box cutters could not have pulled off the attacks. And if they did, how did they know real-life drills dealing with the exact same scenario were going on? He told the audience that a number of the "hijackers" were trained by our own government and may have simply been "patsies" and "dupes" that were taking part in an anti-terrorism event that they were caught up in.

Someone in the audience scoffed, saying "That's pretty far out," when Bowman suggested the planes may have been operated under remote control.

"The American people have not been told about who is responsible for 9/11," he said, noting, "Who were the guilty parties? The Saudis? The Pakistanis? The Israelis? Americans?"

Bowman included text from speeches he gave prior to our illegal invasion of Iraq in March 2003. He railed against the administration and the war, and as a veteran himself, told the audience that many thousands of troops will come home suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and poisoned by exposure to depleted uranium. He added that many children born to soldiers exposed to DU will sadly be afflicted with "severe birth defects."

He then talked about how after the end of the Cold War, the first Bush administration needed a "boogeyman" and chose Saddam Hussein, even though he had been an asset of our government for decades.
"Saddam was always a bad guy," Bowman said, "But he was always our bad guy."

And now, he said, more terrorists are being created as this disastrous war churns onward. People with no hope turn to terrorism out of desperation, he said.

Speaking to the largely left base in the audience, he said that under his administration, the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia would be closed and end the embargo on Cuba.

He then wrapped up his speech saying that the turnout in Oklahoma City was the best he'd seen so far, better than even Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

During the question and answer period, Bowman told the crowd that effective ways to get your voice heard was to write short letters to Congress, making your one, single point. Peace demonstrations are effective, as is running for office, which gives one a "soapbox."

Interestingly, Bowman, who said he had supported John Kerry for president in 2004, noted Kerry's membership with Skull and Bones. He said that he is also working alongside the John Birch Society. He noted that after an audience member asked how one could "expose the money trail related to the military-industrial complex." He said the Birchers have done a lot to expose that, finding out who belongs to the Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission and the Bilderberg group.

Now, I didn't agree with everything he said. I'm not in favor of re-instating the so-called "Fairness Doctrine," which would silence certain voices in the media. As much as I'd love for Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck and O'Reilly to all retire, they do have a right to say what they want, no matter how un-American and/or odious.
Bowman also called for universal health care for all Americans, although he did not go into specifics as to how that would work.

Alas, he didn't get around to answering my question which had to do with the militarization of space and releasing documents related to UFOs. Oh well, maybe I'll catch him again some other time.

If he comes to your town, I urge you to go out and hear him.