Red Dirt Reporter

NEW SITE: RedDirtReport.com

2007-08-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-08-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-01T11:00:00.001-07:00

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'

2007-07-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-07-06T15:07:00.001-07:00

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

2007-07-06T14:07:00.001-07:00

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

2007-07-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

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"

2007-06-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-06-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-21T16:38:00.001-07:00

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

2007-06-10T18:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

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'

2007-04-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-04-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-04-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-24T05:55:00.000-07:00

'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

2007-04-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-19T04:14:00.000-07:00

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.

Cho and Hinrichs: Depressed loners with murder on their mind

2007-04-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

Do Cho Seung-Hui and Joel Henry Hinrichs III have something in common?
As I note below, I believe there are some interesting similarities.

As noted in today's top story at PrisonPlanet.com, writer/researcher Paul Joseph Watson has a story headlined "Neo-Cons to Spin Va. Massacre as Terrorist Attack."
Now, I didn't make the connection at the time but I did find it curious that news reports coming out said that when killer Cho Seung-Hui's body was recovered, police found the words "Ismail Ax" scrawled on his arm.

"Ismail Ax"? Yes, it had a distinctly "Muslim" ring to it. But I didn't make much of it. Now that I've read Another Day in the Empire's Kurt Nimmo, I understand that:
"'Ismail Ax' is a well known phrase in the Muslim world. The Muslims believe that the [Old Testament] is wrong in saying that Abraham was supposed to kill Isaac with a knife, rather they believe he was supposed to kill Ishmael (Ismail) with an Axe.

They also believe that Abraham was supposed to go out and attack idols with an axe, and some also attribute the phrase to meaning that Ishmael was supposed to kill Isaac, the father of all Western culture, with an axe…Cho was a South Korean immigrant to the US, but it seems undeniable that his killing spree, at least in part, was motivated by some sort of belief in Islam.”--END--

That may be the case. But we don't know much about his history. Was he frequenting militant Islamist sites? Was there a mosque in Blacksburg or Roanoke that he attended? We do know he would go to Roanoke from time-to-time and that is where he purchased his $571 Glock 19 and ammo, according to the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. Was Cho visiting a psychiatrist? Was this person connected to the military?

Well, as I mentioned here yesterday, we can only look to the strange case of Colorado man Joel Henry Hinrichs III, a 21-year-old engineering student, attending the University of Oklahoma in Norman, who could be almost a carbon-copy of Cho Seung-Hui. Both were depressed, unbalanced loners on medication.

Except where Hinrichs strapped himself with explosives in hopes of being a suicide bomber (a choice of destruction more common in the Middle East and Asia ... hmmm?) in the midst of a crowded Gaylord Family/Oklahoma Memorial football stadium, fortunately failing in his murderous attempt, blowing himself up instead, Cho opted to be a killer with a gun, killing 33 and injuring dozens.

Within a week, reports were coming out that Hinrichs had visited Ellison Feed and Seed on Porter Avenue in Norman and had tried to purchase ammonium nitrate fertilizer, as noted in this AP story.

Oh, and reports were saying at the time Hinrichs frequented a local mosque. This was never confirmed from follow-up reports I've read. And while OU President David Boren, a secretive man with well-known ties to the CIA, a former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Yale's Skull and Bones secret society, spun the story and said Hinrichs was merely a depressed, lonely kid who wanted to commit suicide.

Yet, months later, in a story that didn't receive much attention, a bomb expert with the Norman Police Department says in an AP story: "I believe he accidentally blew himself up."
This means that Boren, as we investigative bloggers (scolded by the Wall Street Journal at the time) noted at the time, was covering and spinning this event like crazy. This from a man whose university was a popular spot for CIA assets Nicholas Berg and Zacarias Moussaoui.

And investigators were successful in getting reports regarding the findings in Hinrichs' off-campus apartment sealed.
As Norman-based investigator Michael P. Wright notes, "This raises questions. Boren wants us to believe that no terrorist conspiracy existed and that the death was just an 'individual suicide' by an 'emotionally troubled' student.

If there were no other suspects, then certainly no harm would come to a prosecution effort by describing all the evidence found in the Hinrichs investigation, for the purpose of informing the public about the true nature of the event.
We deserve all the evidence available in order to assess our own risk level for terrorism. Football fans deserve to know this in the process of deciding whether to attend games. There can only be two reasons for keeping a lid on the evidence, at this time:
1. there are other suspects, and disclosing it at this time might interfere with prosecution strategies, or
2. Hinrichs, acting alone, did have terrorist intentions, but the courts and FBI are helping their friend Boren in covering this up.
--END--

And Paul Joseph Watson, it should be noted, is right in being concerned that neo-con ideologues will try to paint Cho as a Muslim extremist wanting to kill Christians and "rich kids," due to the cryptic "Ismail Ax" message on Cho's arm.

This may have been written on his body after his death. These are the feds, after all.It's too early to tell what Cho's real motivation was or if he was under the sway of a secret nest of government operatives. It is curious that in the midst of this horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech, some BIG things are going on on the national and international scene from the now-delayed testimony of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, tensions in Iran and Russia and dying bees.
Before signing off, I thought this might be of some interest to those interested in the Hinrichs case.According to a fall 2006 report from Colorado Springs TV station KTTV and noted at Bellaciao by researcher Michael P. Wright :
"Authorities say 25-year-old Thomas Hinrichs had an assault rifle, two boxes of ammunition, three ammunition magazines and a military helmet when he was arrested earlier this month.He was allegedly angry with this country's government and school system for creating an environment that led to Joel's death."
Added KFOR TV here in Oklahoma City: Thomas Hinrichs was charged November 21st with threatening an FBI agent after he allegedly admitted he daydreamed of shooting the agent. The 25-year-old Hinrichs also is accused of assaulting his father.
--END--

His father also said his other son is insane. It's really rather sad. Still, unbalanced people can sometimes be used by black ops in order to achieve a desired outcome (in Hinrichs' case - heightened security measures at public stadiums and in Cho's case - gun control).

Oklahoman Carrie Underwood takes home three CMT awards

2007-04-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

Checotah native Carrie Underwood (the "American Idol" contestant I predicted would win) brought home three CMT music awards Monday night - best video for "Before He Cheats," best female video and best video director.

Here's the run down from the AP via the Tulsa World website ...

And while I missed the show due to other commitments, I was disappointed that Toby Keith didn't bring home any awards.

'Lawyer outlines a broader conspiracy in search for FBI documents on Oklahoma City bombing'/ Salt Lake Tribune

2007-04-17T09:17:00.001-07:00

Probably won't see this story in The Oklahoman, Tulsa World or Journal Record. Why? What is it about this story that scares Oklahoma media so much. The victims and victims families deserve the truth.

Senate passes muscular immigration reform bill

2007-04-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Received today from the House press office ....

Speaker Cargill and Rep. Terrill Praise Senate Passage of Immigration Reform

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 16, 2007) - House Speaker Lance Cargill and state Rep. Randy Terrill today praised members of the Oklahoma Senate forpassing a tough illegal immigration bill and predicted it will soon besent to Gov. Brad Henry.
"This landmark legislation recognizes that government first hasa duty to those citizens who play by the rules, follow the law and pay taxes," said Cargill, R-Harrah. "We cannot expect others to abide by thelaw when there are rewards for breaking the law."
"This is a great day for Oklahoma taxpayers," said state Rep.Randy Terrill, R-Moore. "For too long, the working families of Oklahoma have been forced to subsidize illegal immigration. With passage of House Bill 1804, that will come to an end."
House Bill 1804, by Terrill, creates the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007. The bill is part of the House Republican majority's legislative agenda and previously passed out of the Oklahoma House of Representatives by an overwhelming, 88-9 bipartisan vote.
The Oklahoma Senate approved the bill today with strong bipartisan support on a 41-6 vote.
HB 1804 has the support of two national immigration reform advocacy groups and has been labeled one of the nation's toughest anti-illegal immigration laws.
Key elements of the bill focus on determining work eligibility. The measure also contains provisions to ensure taxpayer-supported benefits are made available to American citizens and legal immigrants only. The bill also gives state and local law enforcement officials the power to enforce federal immigration law.
Terrill said he is committed to working with advocacy groups to address any continuing concerns they may have about the new law.
House Bill 1804 will now return to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for a final vote before going to Gov. Brad Henry for his signature.
"After accepting Senate amendments, I sincerely hope that Governor Henry will quickly sign House Bill 1804 into law," Terrill said.
--END--
Just a note, the Red Dirt Reporter spoke with Sen. Randy Bass (D-Lawton) about the immigration bill just prior to hearing it and said, "Nobody wants anyone illegal in the United States. To me it's more of a federal issue."
Bass added that this issue was of particular importance to his constituents noting that "Everybody is calling in about this. I've received 5,000 emails ... they're clogging my computer."
Bass also said his only concern is that he doesn't want legal immigrants adversely affected by the law, were it to pass, which, as we know, it did. And that's a good thing. :-)

Meetings set on state water plans / Lawton Constitution

2007-04-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

By Andrew Griffin
Special Correspondent
The Lawton Constitution
Posted: April 15, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY — With the state entering the beginning stages of planning for the state’s 50-year Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan, state officials are beginning a yearlong tour of the state to share their opinions with the public about what should be included.
At Tuesday’s monthly meeting of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board in Oklahoma City, OWRB Executive Director Duane Smith explained to the board that between now and 2060 surface water and groundwater issues in the state will be increasingly important.
One of the topics addressed during the meeting was the water plan, which will be discussed at meetings around the state, including Altus, Hobart and Lawton.
“Water-use projects over the next 50 years are not expected to go up very much,” Smith said as he gave the board a presentation addressing Oklahoma water issues.
And after showing the board a chart showing rainy and dry periods throughout Oklahoma history and noting that the state is apparently entering a dry stretch, Smith added, “The next 50 years will be very exciting for the OWRB in terms of conflict.”
In addition, the tour is part of a legislative mandate that the OWRB develop and periodically update the state’s comprehensive water plan, which includes estimates on projected water demands and water supply infrastructure needs.
“As a state, we’re facing difficult decisions on a variety of water-related issues that will affect us, our kids and their kids,” said Mike Langston, assistant director of the Water Research Institute at Oklahoma State University, said.
To find out more about the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan visit www .okwa terplan .info.

Cargill tells Henry, Dems to quit political posturing

2007-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Red Dirt Reporter was in a press conference Wednesday with House Speaker Lance Cargill, R-Harrah, and listened to the speaker complain that Gov. Brad Henry won't approve appropriations bills that mirror his own executive budget.

I loved this quote: "It's the theater of the absurd when the governor won't take yes for an answer."

He added that he welcomes ideas from Gov. Henry and the Democrats, yet was sticking to his guns.
"Why won't the governor submit a plan? What does he have to hide?" asked Cargill, adding, "I think it'd be worthwhile for the governor to submit a plan."

Here's the AP account of Cargill's press conference.

Westboro haters protest soldier's funeral in Norman

2007-04-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

I was driving through Norman today, on my way to pick up some office supplies, when I came upon a protest at the corner of Main and University.
On one side were lots of people with American flags and on the opposite corner were some cretins holding signs reading: "Thank God for IEDs" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers.""Holy toledo! It's those knuckle-draggers from Kansas, the Westboro Baptist Church haters who protest the funerals of soldiers who've died in the "War on Terror."

I had heard Sean Hannity interview the daughter of the head of this hate group, Fred Phelps, and there was no reasoning with her. Their reasoning for protesting makes no sense to me.

They're the same jerks that protested Matthew Shepard's funeral in Wyoming.

I was stopped at a light and running late.
Still, I tried to snap some quick pix on my camera. They didn't turn out so well and a State Trooper was right in front of me. In fact, the trooper was asking a guy with a flag what was going on. He explained that they were there protesting the haters from Kansas.
The light turned green and I made my turn on Main heading west. I gave the smirking idiots with their day-glo hate signs a big thumbs down.

How sad.

Here's the story about their "visit" in today's edition of The Norman Transcript.

(p.s. Also posted at Slice O' Life)

9/11 Truth Jam from TulsaTruth.org

2007-04-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

These creative young 9/11 Truth activists hit the streets of Tulsa recently and helped spread the word about 9/11 and what it wasn't.

Check out their site at TulsaTruth.org or watch their YouTube video here. Way to go, fellow Oklahomans!!!

Legislature recognizes OKC/NOLA Hornets before NBA season ends

2007-04-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

Just as I left Louisiana for Oklahoma soon after Hurricane Katrina, so did the underdog New Orleans Hornets NBA team. And I must attest that I was seriously impressed with how well the Hornets were received here in Oklahoma City.

Here is an Oklahoma Legislature press release praising the Hornets operation for embracing the Sooner state and its residents. High marks goes to Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, for his efforts to get the Hornets to Oklahoma temporarily. Who knows where this experience will lead. Perhaps, like Memphis, we'll get our own professional sports team. We can only hope and pray.

Here's the press release I received today:

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 11, 2007) - Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Senate plan to praise the Hornets basketball team for its achievements and look to the future of pro sports in Oklahoma.

A House concurrent resolution by state Rep. Joe Dorman and state Sen. Mike Morgan praises the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets" for their support of Oklahoma throughout the past two years" and"extends a warm welcome to the Hornets family to return to their adopted state anytime in the future ..."

The resolution is being filed in advance of the Hornets final Oklahoma game on Friday, April 13.

"The Hornets have been a great success story for Oklahoma,"said Dorman, D-Rush Springs. "We've proven that Oklahoma is NBA-ready."

Dorman and Morgan are two of the main authors of a tax incentive bill that lured the Hornets to Oklahoma after they were displaced by 2005's Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans.

At the time, officials expected the NBA team could provide a multi-million boost to the state economy - and they were right.

A 2006 study showed the Hornets had an economic impact of $66.4 million on Oklahoma City during the 2005 season.

"Above the economic impact, the spirit brought forth by this team was contagious and led many Oklahomans to immediately adopt this team as their own," said Morgan, D-Stillwater. "The Hornets tenure in Oklahoma was great not only for them to continue and grow as a team while New Orleans rebuilds, but it also gave Oklahoma the opportunity to experience top-level professional sports regularly in our great state."

"Oklahoma displayed to the rest of the world we can be thehome of professional sports," said Dorman.

"Whether we are the recipients of an existing team or a newly-created expansion team, our state will no doubt be hungry to see an NBA team located here permanently in the near future. We appreciate the opportunity extended by the Hornets and the NBA to be the adopted home of the team and their personnel," Morgan said. "The experiences over the last two years with community serviceprovided by the players and the Honeybees has been an immeasurable benefit to Oklahoma and we will not soon forget how great an opportunitythis was to have them here."

"There's no denying the state got a fantastic return on our investment," Dorman said. Dorman noted that average attendance at home games was 18,718, more than 97 percent of capacity with 18 sellouts in the first season. The Hornets regular season ends next week with the team still seeking a spot in the playoffs.

--END--

Thanks Hornets!

Soldier killed in Iraq was from Norman

2007-04-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Remember Ryan Dallam, the Norman soldier who died in Baghdad, Iraq last week. The story in the Norman Transcript was written by a former colleague at The Lawton Constitution.

Such a sad story. Dallam clearly was a sharp young man with a bright future.

Investigator finds 'Colony Collapse Disorder' in UK

2007-04-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

Since my story "Beekeepers all abuzz about mysterious syndrome" appeared in The Lawton Constitution on March 25, I've been keeping a close eye on stories about the disappearing bees and what could be behind the so-called "Colony Collapse Disorder." So far, here in Oklahoma, not many hives have been affected. Still, some in Southeast Oklahoma opened up hives to find all the bees simply gone.

Well, Linda Moulton Howe at EarthFiles.com (she's investigated all manner of unusual phenomena) reports the following:
In addition to the United States and Canada, in Europe at least nine countries are now reporting massive disappearances of honey bees – similar to the Colony Collapse Disorder that has affected American beekeepers since the fall of 2006. The European countries reporting bee disappearances are:
1) Spain
2) Poland
3) Greece
4) Croatia
5) Switzerland
6) Italy
7) Portugal
8) Germany
9) England.
To everyone’s surprise, in the U. K. where genetically modified crops have been resisted and beekeeping is on a smaller scale with less pesticide use than in the United States, honey beekeepers in London who opened hives the end of March found at least half of their hives empty.
--END--

Howe continues with interviews with John Chapple the Chairman of the London Beekeeping Association. Chapple said he and fellow beekeepers in Greater London are perplexed by the disappearance of all the bees and estimates that half of the approximately 9,000 hives in the London area have disappeared.

Read the interview here.

And as for beekeepers here in Oklahoma? Well, the rumblings at the Oklahoma State Beekeepers Association is that pesticides and GMO's are most likely at the root of the problem. Agri-giant Monsanto was muttered as well among some at the meeting. Methinks they may be on to something.

'Watermelon may become state vegetable ' / Lawton Constitution

2007-04-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

By Andrew Griffin
Special Correspondent
The Lawton Constitution
Posted: April 8, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY — What’s green on the outside and red on the inside and tastes sweet and refreshing on a summer’s day?
Answer? It’s the watermelon, and thanks to two Southwest Oklahoma legislators it’s another step toward becoming Oklahoma’s state vegetable.
That’s right. The state vegetable. The popular misconception is that the watermelon is a fruit, but it is, in fact, considered both a fruit and a vegetable, according to the online fact sheet at the watermelon information site www.watermelon.org.
State Sen. Don Barrington, R-Lawton, said he co-authored the bill, HB 1669, with state Rep. Joe Dorman, DRush Springs, and it unanimously passed through the Senate General Government Committee. The bill is scheduled to go before the full Senate in the next several weeks, Barrington said.
“I think it has a good chance of passing,” Barrington added.
“Hopefully, it gets to the governor’s desk,” Dorman said, adding that he had tried to include this as an amendment in a bill last session, but it was left out by the legislator.
“I took his advice to try it again this year,” Dorman said.
And while the state has an official beverage (milk) and an official tree (redbud), there is, surprisingly, no official state vegetable, said Dorman, who is the 1994 Rush Springs Watermelon Festival seedspitting champion.
In fact, Dorman wasn’t sure why, considering Oklahoma’s agricultural economy, no state vegetable had been selected.
“It falls in as a fruit but it’s also a vegetable because it’s a member of the cucumber family,” Dorman said, adding that the attention brought to the watermelon is a boost to his district. Promotion for Rush Springs
“It’s a huge promotion of Rush Springs and the surrounding area,” he said. “Everybody (in Rush Springs) is happy that we’re pursuing this.”
Dorman also said this bill has been popular with school children in his district. In fact, many of them drew colorful watermelons and mailed them to members of the Legislature as a sort of grade-school lobbying effort.
“It’s exciting because we get to teach the kids about the (legislative) process,” Dorman said.
While botanically the watermelon is a fruit,because it’s a vegetable crop using vegetable production systems, it’s considered a vegetable.
When Barrington was asked whether folks considered a watermelon a fruit or a vegetable, he simply replied, “It depends on who you ask.”
Dorman, meanwhile, said the bill came up at a contentious time in the Senate and that the bill helped lighten the mood.
Dorman said he recently visited South Korea and noticed that watermelon is a staple of their diet and it’s popular in China in their stir fry dishes.
--END--

Southwest US (including OK) to experience superdrought?

2007-04-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, I see snowflakes outside my window here in downtown Oklahoma City. Yet, the latest news is that climate change will lead to a super-drought here in the Sooner State and throughout the Southwestern United States.

And with the Southwest being one of the fastest-growing regions of the United States, water shortages are likely.

By the way, over breakfast this morning, I asked a friend if he felt the United States would experience a break-up, such as Vermont and other New England states breaking off or Washington, Oregon, Idaho and northern California becoming "Cascadia" or somesuch. Well, he said he doubted it and that we would remain united. Now, whether the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico will become states, it remains to be seen.

Coburn's vendetta against 'Voice of America'?

2007-04-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Wayne Madsen, who runs the D.C.-based news site Wayne Madsen Report, is reporting today that Oklahoma's junior U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Muskogee) has it in for the greatly diminished Voice of America radio system. Why?

Writes Madsen:
Oklahoma's extreme right-wing Republican Senator Tom Coburn is on a Joseph McCarthy-like crusade against the Voice of America -- or what remains of it after draconian budget cuts, foreign language program cancellations, and neo-con editorializing.
According to VOA sources, Coburn is on a personal vendetta against some long-serving VOA broadcasters. Coburn is accusing some of having links to Hezbollah, the government of Iran, and other bogeymen of convenience.
Radio Farda, a joint operation of the VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has been dubbed by Coburn and his staff of neo-cons as "Radio Khatami," a reference to the previous moderate President of Iran, and of airing wire reports from the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
The VOA's Persian language service has also come in for intense criticism from Coburn.
A VOA official, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said Coburn's vendetta against the VOA was obsessive and mean-spirited.
--END--

This story sounds as if it's worth investigating further. What is Sen. Coburn's issue with VOA? Will see what I can find out.

Toby Keith shines in "Broken Bridges"

2007-04-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma native son and country superstar-turned-actor Toby Keith stars in a film I watched last night called "Broken Bridges."

And while this film is nothing close to what I'd refer to as "high art," Toby Keith seemed comfortable in his role as a washed up country singer who is reunited with his old girlfriend Angela (Kelly Preston) and their out-of-wedlock daughter Dixie Leigh (Lindsey Haun). Toby does a great job in tackling his role and his sense of humor and wit comes through crystal clear.

Surprisingly, Burt Reynolds is again miscast and ignored, playing Angela's grumpy father. Of course it wasn't as bad as his role as Boss J.D. Hogg on the Dixie dud "Dukes of Hazzard" movie out a year or so ago. Willie Nelson plays himself in the film and can do no wrong.

Highlights on "Broken Bridges" include "Crash Here Tonight" (also on his 2006 album "White Trash With Money") and the soulful "Uncloudy Day" featuring Toby, Willie and BeBe Winans.

Now, I've heard through the grapevine that Toby is working on a new project called "Beer For My Horses." I assume it's a modern-day Western based on his 2003 hit of the same name. Will post any updates as they come along.

Choppers!

2007-04-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

From my perch here on the fifth floor of a swell building in downtown Oklahoma City, I have a great view of the city looking north. And as I look northward, I've noticed a number of wee helicopters zipping about. Are they news choppers, "eyes in the skies," medical copters or something else. Is there an emergency? I can't say. Will keep y'all posted.

Watermelon as state vegetable?

2007-04-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

I was reading this Norman Transcript story today and noticed that two legislators from Southwest Oklahoma want the watermelon to be the state vegetable. Here's how it reads as written up by CNHI Capitol reporter Jaclyn Houghton:

* House Bill 1669, authored by Sen. Don Barrington, R-Lawton; and Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs; passed out of the Senate General Government Committee with a 10-0 vote. The bill would designate watermelon as the state’s official vegetable.
--END--

I had no idea Oklahoma did not have an official state vegetable. Watermelons are terrific and make for a top-notch choice. Good job Sen. Barrington and Rep. Dorman.

Rudy, ribs and Iran

2007-03-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

Well, as controversy increasingly swirls around New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his presidential candidacy, The Oklahoman does a usual bang-up job on missing the obvious questions.

Instead, the Sooner State's paper of record simply reported bland comments by patrons at Earl's Rib Palace in Oklahoma City and Rudy's own talking points. And not surprisingly, Rudy made much of New York's connection to Oklahoma via the fact that both places experienced terror attacks. In between gulping down ribs, Rudy makes sure the folks know he's a tough guy, a New Yawkah' who, if elected, will put those Iranians in their place.

Writes Okie reporter Michael McNutt:

"Iran has to realize that we're not going to allow them to get nuclear weapons," Giuliani said.

Continuing...

Giuliani's stand on social issues, such as supporting abortion rights and gun control, are contrary to most conservatives, including many Oklahomans, critics say.
"I am who I am,” he said. "I'm not going to pretend to be somebody else. And then people have to evaluate the whole thing, what are the most important things, what are the most important issues.
"If they agree with me on most of the things ... then they should consider voting for me,” he said.

--END--

Yeah. Sure. And what of your advanced knowledge of the 9/11 terror attacks and the mysterious implosion of your mayoral command center in WTC 7 on that fateful day?

Not a word.

And do we want this guy's third wife involved in Cabinet decisions? Hell no!

Please rain fall

2007-03-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

The rain continues to fall here in Central Oklahoma. And while it may be inconvenient for some, we have to remember that it's a real blessing.

Who's this 'Rudy' guy?

2007-03-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Try as I might, tomorrow's fundraising event for presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, to be held at the Oklahoma History Center, is closed to the press, according to a spokeswoman at the host facility.

Too bad. I'd have TONS of hardball questions for ol' Rudy, from his strange behavior (and alleged profiteering) during and after 9/11, and the overall "weirdness factor."

He's really wanting support from the Heartland and Republicans fed up with Weekly Standard-ish "big-government-conservatism."

And then there's this, ummm, glamour shot ... (thanks Chad!)

Inhofe wants 'Live Earth' dead in the water

2007-03-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Will it ever end with this guy? U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-OK, wants the pro-Gaia rock 'n roll to stay home. Where's James Watt when ya need him?

Writes Elana Schor for The Hill:
Fresh from his face-to-face tussle with former Vice President Al Gore, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is vowing to stall Gore’s hotly anticipated Capitol concert to draw attention to global warming.
Inhofe’s belief that climate change is “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people” is common knowledge in the capitol, and environmental groups cheered the new prospects for carbon-capping legislation when he ceded the Environment and Public Works Committee gavel this session. But Inhofe’s parliamentary powers can block indefinitely the resolution that would permit Gore to choose the capitol’s West Front for the U.S. leg of his seven-continent Live Earth concert tour — a collaboration between Gore and promoter Kevin Wall, who masterminded previous blockbuster charity concerts Live Aid and Live 8.
(I love this next quote ... Inhofe is clearly on top of his game)

“There has never been a partisan political event at the Capitol, and this is a partisan political event,” Inhofe said yesterday.

(Brilliant! Never a partisan political event at the Capitol. Is he joking? Anyway, Inhofe added that he's got plenty of support. Even some Democrats.)

Democrats “may not be willing to stand up to Al Gore, but many of them found it just as objectionable as Republicans do,” he said.
--END--
As the story noted, there was a concert for Earth Day in 1990. I think 10,000 Maniacs played that gig. Anyway, Inhofe, still fuming over Gore's visit last week, is not going to let this issue slip away. And you'd think he'd have more important things to do.

Mass transit needed in OKC Metro area

2007-03-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

I was listening to KGOU (Oklahoma City/Norman NPR affiliate) this morning and they had a great segment on it regarding mass transit - rail in particular - and how activists, business leaders and urban planners are kicking the idea around.

I feel Oklahoma City really needs to invest in mass transit. Many comparable cities are doing it from Albuquerque to Richmond. Hearing one of the segment's speakers talk about folks crossing Northwest Expressway in wheelchairs, just to get to the store, was heartbreaking. A city of our size should be seriously looking at our options and finding ways to not be so dependable on automobiles.

Beekeepers all abuzz over mysterious syndrome

2007-03-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

Here's my story on that vanishing bee syndrome I've been blogging about ...

Beekeepers all abuzz over mysterious syndrome

By Andrew Griffin
Special Correspondent
Posted: March 25, 2007
The Lawton Constitution

NORMAN — “Colony Collapse Disorder,” a mysterious syndrome that affects entire bee colonies, resulting in their disappearance and supposed death, has not hit Oklahoma as hard as other states in the nation, but wary beekeepers and those in related agricultural fields in the Sooner state are keeping a close eye on the situation.
Beekeepers and those with an interest in the apiary arts from across the state gathered in Norman for the spring meeting of the Oklahoma State Beekeepers Association and several spoke of coming across hives only to find honey and no bees. This has been a growing problem around the U.S., particularly in the Pacific Coast states, the Upper Midwest and the Northeast. The Southern Plains appear to have been spared the brunt of this situation.
And recent news reports note that Colony Collapse Disorder has not only been a serious problem in North America, but in Europe as well, where standards regarding genetically-modified organisms are far stricter.
Lawton beekeeper Eli Farley, who attended the meeting with his father E.F. Farley and fellow bee hobbyist Willie Bowser told those in attendance that in Southwest Oklahoma he hasn’t seen any problems with his hives.
“We really haven’t had much of a problem with the collapse,” Farley told the group. Earlier, Bowser told The Lawton Constitution that his bees were “doing great.”
Meanwhile, in the southeastern part of the state, Keith Amason, vice-president of the OSBA and a resident of Kiowa, southwest of McAlester, said with his bee operation, they were “having a problem with CCD or something like that.”
Another beekeeper, this one from Noble, added that he would come to a hive, find plenty of honey but no bees anywhere.
Another Noble beekeeper, Jim Bollinger, suggested that pesticide drift from encroaching housing developments may be to blame for the bee decimation.
OSBA President Kenny Hammond said he is aware that the state is working to obtain money to study Colony Collapse Disorder. He added that following the “pathetic” crop situation in 2006, during the drought, the bees couldn’t find crops and plants to pollinate and make honey. So, he wasn’t entirely surprised about this problem, because, he said, “bees lose interest” and “bees have a tendency to get lazy.”
Hammond said CCD is causing “quite a stir” in the beekeeping and honey-production world and that it’s too early to tell what is causing this vanishing bee syndrome.
“I hope they can figure out what’s going on,” Hammond said. “We may find out that this is normal. We just don’t know.”
One of the speakers, county extension agent Wes Lee, of Sulphur, gave a talk on bees and genetically modified plants.
He said that it’s too early to tell what the effect will be on bee colonies as they try and pollinate more and more genetically-modified plants.
He noted that in the Altus area, “almost 100 percent of cotton has Bt (bacillus thurigiensis) and Roundup Ready genes” provided by agri-giant Monsanto.
And this fall, Lee noted, “a lot of Roundup Ready alfalfa will be planted.” Lee reiterated that while these modifications will help plants ward off pests, it’s still unclear how and if this will adversely affect bee colonies down the road.
“The genie’s out of the bottle. You can’t put it back in,” Lee said. “Farmers depend on the technology we have.”And as for the bees? “We don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.

'Colony Collapse Disorder' not affecting Okie bees?

2007-03-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

Am looking into this issue related to disappearing honeybees/hives and the so-called "Colony Collapse Disorder." A meeting of state beekeepers is expected to take place at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds on Saturday. I expect to ask some questions of these beekeepers to see if it is occuring in their communities. One Metro area beekeeper said the '06 drought took a toll but so far this year he hasn't noticed any problems with local hives. Will keep you posted.

Flaming Lips' 'Yoshimi' to hit Broadway!

2007-03-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma City's very own Flaming Lips are Big Apple bound according to this Pitchfork Media article - "Flaming Lips 'Yoshimi': Broadway Bound."

Way to go guys!!! "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" is terrific! Hopefully the guys will bring it to the Civic Center in downtown OKC.

Oklahoma's senior senator shines again

2007-03-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

Think Progress has the goods on an exchange Sen. Barbara Boxer D-CA had today with global warming denier Sen. James Inhofe of our fair state of Oklahoma. This was during the senate hearing on global warming with former Vice-President Al Gore.
Inhofe, TP notes, was extremely rude to the environmentally-minded man from Tennessee. Shame on Sen. Inhofe for being so belligerent and un-gentlemanly. Just let the man speak.

Hobart to upgrade sewer system/Lawton Constitution

2007-03-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hobart gets $950,000 loan for sewer projects
By Andrew Griffin
Special Correspondent
The Lawton Constitution
Posted: March 21, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY — It won’t be long before things are flowing a little more smoothly in the Kiowa County city of Hobart.
At this month’s meeting of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board in Oklahoma City, the City of Hobart was granted a $950,000 loan for a project that would include improvements to city sewer lines and mains, manholes and lift stations.
Joe Freeman, the financial assistant officer for the OWRB, said the board had no qualms about giving Hobart the loan because of its solid reputation and responsible city management.
“We enjoy working with Hobart,” Freeman said. “They have good government.”
Hobart City Manager Will Brown said Hobart had some sewer system improvements in the late 1990’s and again in 2004.
“We’re wanting to bring the sewer system up to standard, as it should be,” Brown said.
Work will begin as soon at the city gets its permit from the state. Work will focus on areas on Ohio, Monroe and Eastern streets, Brown said, and a sewer main on Hill will be replaced.
Now that the city has been given the loan, the city has already put in its required request to the Department of Environmental Quality. Once that is approved, the bidding process will begin. And once the bidding process is complete, the project will begin, taking approximately six months, Brown said.
Citizens of Hobart, Brown said, “can expect everything to operate the way its supposed to” upon completion.

Sooner citizens march for peace!

2007-03-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Due to other obligations this past weekend, I was unable to attend this "Spiritual March for Peace" in Oklahoma City this weekend, which marked the fourth anniversary of the illegal Iraq war. The U.S. is going into its fifth year in that blood-drenched land. It's criminal!

Anyway, there is an informative post about the march over at Nathaniel Batchelder's Peace House Oklahoma City site.

Speakers at the march included Iraq War veteran Brandon Jackson as well as State Sen. Constance Johnson and State Reps. Anastasia Pittman and Al McAffrey, all representing Oklahoma City congressional districts.
However, Sen. Andrew Rice was noticeably absent, if this report is any indicator. Sen. Rice, where art thou?

Norman Public Library to inquisitive patrons: Throw the book at 'em!

2007-03-21T09:16:00.001-07:00

For a couple of weeks now, I've been meeting with Norman researcher and activist Michael P. Wright and he has a very strange story to share.

Basically, Wright's problems began March 8 when he was banned from the Norman Public Library by head librarian Susan Gregory after he mailed an Open Records Act request to her and Pioneer Library System Director Mary Sherman about the online videotape copy of the "Big Read" event focusing on John Steinbeck's award-winning novel "The Grapes of Wrath."
The event was sponsored by the Norman Public Library and held at the Sam Noble History Museum at OU back on February 15.

Wright said that the day after he had mailed the OR request, the librarian approached him in the corridor leading out the door and stopped him, saying she wanted to talk to him about his request. Wright said he believed he was entitled to a written reply and did not want an off-the-record conversation. He invited Gregory to send him a email. Then he attempted to leave. That was until she allegedly became angry and an accompanying cop gave him a warning.

What is this? Soviet Russia? "Papers, please." Well, here's the background leading up to this whole sad tale of librarians-gone-wild.

A few weeks back, Wright, 60, was looking for the online version of the video on February 24 and when he found it, discovered that it had been severely edited, specifically the portion where he questioned "The Grapes of Wrath" expert and retired OU professor David Levy about statements made by U.S. Congressman Lyle Boren in 1940 about "The Grapes of Wrath."

As you may or may not know, Lyle Boren was the father of OU President David Boren and on the congressional record had called Steinbeck and his novel all sorts of names including his calling Steinbeck a the "creation of a twisted, distorted mind." Was Lyle Boren pandering to his constituents or was he just anti-great literature? Wright seems to think Lyle Boren's comments are being covered up by his powerful son who rubs shoulders with bigwigs from Rudy Giuliani to Al Gore to Watergate reporter Bob Woodward.

In fact, in February, Wright had an article about Lyle Boren's statements and Oklahoma's acceptance of "The Grapes of Wrath" in the California newspaper the Monterey County Herald.

Interestingly, Wright notes, one of the Big Read panelists, Rilla Askew, quoted from Lyle Boren's 1940 tirade and Wright points out that this was when the video appears to have been cut in the original version of the video as posted with Google video and placed on the Big Read website.

Wright, meanwhile, is a medical sociologist and researcher who has researched everything from AIDS to the mysterious case of Nick Berg and his ties to OU and convicted "20th hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui. In the 1990's he was also a four-time federal research grant recipient. He said he is shocked at how he was treated like a "low-life vagrant" by Gregory.

Wright said that he was kept from leaving the NPL after waging his inquiry by Gregory and a Norman Police Officer named Flores who kept Wright and took down his driver's license information. He was told if he returned to the library, he would be arrested.

"Nobody should treat anybody the way she treated me," Wright said during an interview at OU's main library.

The Red Dirt Reporter did interview Gregory, as well as Anne Masters, associate director for system services for the Pioneer Library System and an Internet systems person named Adri.
They claim that the problem with the online version was easy to explain, that it was simply technical difficulties and that there was no desire to conceal or censor Wright's remarks or anybody elses.

"I was horrified that he would think we'd edit his remarks," Gregory said in an interview at her office in the Norman Public Library. "For a customer to accuse us of censoring something is a slap in the face."

As they explained, while the video was filmed at the museum, it was videotaped by an employee of the Norman Public Schools. Gregory said she didn't even know this until later and Adri and another tech person with the library said they didn't even attend the event and wouldn't have known about Wright's comments about Lyle Boren.

But back to the story at hand. Basically, after Wright made these inquiries about the edited video (still available via Google cache) and how he believed the library was abusing federal funds, since the Big Read is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. The video, Wright explains, was returned to its full version but back-dated Feb. 23, to leave the deceptive impression that before his complaint the libray had intended to put the full version online at the Big Read site. That was the same date the edited version was posted on the Big Read site.

"I find it very coincidental that my comments and Rilla Askew's comments were conveniently missing," Wright said.

Gregory, Masters and Adri make it clear that when Wright checked the site and didn't see the full video, the audio was on the site in its entirety.

Wright said he is currently looking for an attorney to take on his case. He is wanting to sue the city over the way he was treated.

In an email, Wright wrote: "The administrator of the Norman library, ONLY after I made my
OR request and refused to hear her off-the-record reply to it, announced that I was 'banned' while saying 'I'm in charge here and I make the rules.' Later, through (OU Police Detective John) Bishop, she greeted me with the false accusation that I was 'loud and aggressive."

When asked if he was being unruly in the library on the day in question, Gregory said she can't comment on specifics in order to protect Wright, as well as the library staff.

"We want to give him all the respect and privileges as expeditiously as possible," Gregory said.

Wright counters that he's a peaceful, inquisitive citizen of Norman who is not afraid to research controversial subjects, even if it makes the establishment uncomfortable.
As for Gregory's description of Wright as loud, Wright said he has complained about the noise in the library, primarily from cellphone users and whiny children whose parents refuse to keep them under control. He even shows this reporter a copy of a January 2000 letter he received from Gregory where he had complained about the excessive noise in the NPLin a letter to The Norman Transcript. She had written him, saying "We will share the information in your letter with various staff members to ensure they understand procedures to follow when dealing with a scenario such as you outlined."

"My guess is that the promised "procedures" were never even developed," said Wright via email. "The library certainly hasn't become any more quiet since January 2000."

Gregory said she really would like for Wright to come in and meet with her and smooth this whole situation over. Wright is firm that he won't do that, that he only wants to communicate with Gregory via email, particularly in light of Gregory's reaction to him and the threat from the police officer.
Gregory said she has not mailed a letter to Wright, outlining specifically why he has been banned because she is hopeful he'll still come in and meet with her, so she can explain the library rules. She said that with thousands of library patrons coming through the library every month, to go back and forth via email would be "long and litigious" and she doesn't have the time for that kind of communication. She said that on March 8, she happened to see Wright in the library and wanted to talk to him right then and there.

Wright said he felt Gregory's treatment of him was demeaning and "schoolmarmish."

"I felt like she was talking to me as if I were a naughty boy," Wright said.

Gregory recalls Wright's demeanor on the day of the encounter as "dismissive, abrupt and rude."

Wright counters by saying, "And I was coerced and detained (by police) into hearing her spiel."

"When we received that mailing (the Open Records request)," Gregory said. "I did not know Mike was angry with us." Gregory then notes that she received a call from the NEA who said Wright had contacted them, complaining about the situation.
"(The NEA) said they are supporting us," Gregory said. "That we have the right to edit anything on the website."

"Not that we did edit anything," Adri added.

Wright is frustrated by this whole situation and wants the NPL staff to see that he has no desire to cause problems. He simply wants to access public information and use the facilities that are paid for with the help of his tax dollars.

"I've lived here for 40 years," Wright said. "People know I'm not aggressive. I'm law abiding. I've never been arrested by the Norman police. The only time I've ever been arrested was in 1972 at an anti-war demonstration at Tinker Air Force Base."

Wright has been in contact with Detective Bishop, who moonlights at the library, and who he says acted in an appropriate fashion when false suspicions were being circulated about Wright around the OU campus in 2003. Wright makes it clear that he is an outspoken critic of OU president David Boren.
Bishop, however, wrote Wright saying that the library has the right to ban him because of a portion of Norman City Code Sec. 15-605 which deals with trespassing; illegal entrance; and exceptions.

(a) Except as otherwise provided, no person shall enter upon or remain upon any public
or private property or in any area or structure of such property when:
(1) Such entrance or remaining is plainly forbidden by signs, markings, or otherwise,
or by verbal command of the owner, his agent, or employee;
(2) The property is enclosed.
(b) Persons excepted from the above subsection are those entering:
(1) By authority of federal or state law or city ordinances; or
(2) With the expressed or tacit consent of the owner, his agent, or employee in charge thereof.
(Ord. No. 0-7273-56)

Writes Wright via e-mail, regarding the city code:
"The ordinance gives authority to the 'owner, agent, or employee' of the
property to ban EVERYONE. That is exactly what the phrase 'no person' means. The ban of EVERYONE can be announced by a sign or by verbal command. Of course, people can ban specific individuals from their private property. The ordinance does not give Susan Gregory the power to ban people from the PUBLIC library because she doesn't like them.
And if such authority existed in law, banned persons, at the time they are being banned, would be entitled to written notification, listing of reasons for the banning, and right of administrative appeal."

This Red Dirt reporter went to the Norman Public Library and found Officer Flores in order to question him about Wright's detainment and banishment from the Norman Public Library.
A is me and F is "Flores."

A: "Hello Officer Flores."
F: "Hello, how may I help you?"
A: "Well, I was wondering if you were the officer here yesterday regarding an incident involving Michael Wright?
F: "Yes, I was."
A: "Well, I was wondering why he was detained? Was he detained after inquiring about some information?"
F: "He wasn't detained."
A: "I received some information that he was and that he's been banned from the library. Is that true?"
F: "He's been told not to return. He's been giving the staff a hard time."
A: "O.K. That's what I wanted to know." As I walked away, he said, "So, how are you connected to this? Are you a friend of his?"
A: "I know Michael and wanted to confirm that this had happened. Just for my own information."
--END--

Wright read my account with Flores and responded via email. Here is what he wrote:
"Flores was wrong to say I was not detained on February 8. I was ordered to stop in the corridor when I was trying to leave the library after telling Gregory that I wanted a written response to my Open Records Act request.
It is most interesting that the day after I was banned, Flores was making no accusations that I was being "loud and aggressive." It's obvious that Susan Gregory fabricated these accusations after she had a few days to think it over."
--END--

As it stands now, Wright is continuing his fight and hopes he, a Norman taxpayer, can return to the Norman Public Library. He's already contacted the Cleveland County District Attorney's office and he has requested a copy of the incident report from the Norman Police Department.

Norman city attorneys completely clueless?

2007-03-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Last week, The Oklahoman did several stories about sunshine laws and open records law in Oklahoma and featured a big story on how reporter Ryan McNeill tried to get information from the City of Norman and was told they would have to pay $560 for copies of PUBLIC records. Well, in today's Oklahoman editorial, Norman's city attorneys get the smackdown. Check it out ...

Oklahoman Editorial
Posted: March 20, 2007

SEEMS one of our news reporters struck a nerve with the good folks in Norman, with a story about how officials there had placed a $560 price tag on public records The Oklahoman is seeking. That cost, we were told, was to cover the writing of a special computer program that would be needed to provide the data sought.
The day after the story appeared, the reporter, Ryan McNeill, got a phone call from the Norman city attorney's office during which McNeill asked whether anyone had changed their minds about the records, given that the attorney general's office had come down on the side of the newspaper. The short answer: No (although they did lower their price to $240).
But during the 20-minute conversation, it became clear that the attorneys involved in the conference call don't seem to have a firm grasp of the Oklahoma Open Records Act. Perhaps more to the point, they don't like looking bad in the newspaper.
Referring to a previous meeting involving McNeill and assistant city attorneys regarding the open records request (which was first made nearly a year ago, by the way), Assistant City Attorney Rick Knighton said, "At what point in time during that meeting did you say, ‘I want this information to do a statistical analysis of metro crime?' You never said that.”
McNeill, incredulous because reporters aren't required to disclose why they're requesting information, replied: "Am I supposed to?”
Knighton (Yelling): "If you want us to treat you like a professional, if you want us to believe that you're not just down here b.s.ing us, yeah, I think you do need to say that. I don't have time to screw around with playing games with regard to ‘We want this information and I'm going to come down and I'm going to tell you that it's for one reason' when in fact it's for some totally different reason that you're going to print in the newspaper.”
Oh.
Later on, another assistant city attorney, Susan Rogers, chimed in to McNeill that she was a journalism major in college and "I've been very disappointed with how you've reacted to this.” She accused McNeill, of making it a habit to bully people — "We checked around” — and said that if the relationship between him and the office were to be repaired, it would require a good-faith effort on his part. The former journalism major even had a suggestion.
(Get a load of this final quote. It's priceless!)
"What I want you to say is if we decide to do something of our own good will, not because we're required to or you bullied us, that you will write some sort of retraction or something that is positive.”
Sure hope she's not holding her breath.

Boren's buddy Bloomberg heading to OU

2007-03-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

David Boren, president of the University of Oklahoma, has managed to nab New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the speaker for OU's spring '07 commencement. Check out this story.

Bloomberg follows Rudy "The Penguin" Giuliani as another cover-up artist from the Big Apple that is getting major attention and is a buddy of Boren.
In fact, as you may recall, back in 2004, Boren had Giuliani as a speaker at OU and paid the man $100,000 for the privilege. So, we know Boren loves using public funds to bring his pals and cronies to the Sooner State in hope that he somehow benefits.

So, what of Bloomberg? Well, this wealthy entrepreneur is coming to our fair state with a dark cloud following him.

Featured in today's edition of the New York Post and written by reporter Susan Edelman is a story that warrants serious attention:

Mayor Bloomberg killed a study on the city's response to the 9/11 attacks after his lawyers said they did not want a report that cited any missteps or dealt with "environmental" or "respirator issues," says a former city official.
City lawyers raised fears that the proposed "after-action report" - which the U.S. Department of Justice had offered to fund - could lead to criticism and fuel lawsuits, David Longshore, former director of special programs for the city's Office of Emergency Management, told The Post.
"The Bloomberg administration acted to sweep any potential problems under the rug," said Longshore, who was trapped in a loading dock outside the WTC while both towers collapsed. He later developed sinusitis and throat polyps and sued the city.
Longshore, who left his city job last year, showed The Post his work notes on internal OEM discussions with city lawyers in February 2003. His notes say the Law Department "doesn't want a critical report" and "does not want a report that says we did anything wrong."
--END--

So, is that the sort of person Boren and OU want speaking at commencement? I know I wouldn't. I think the local media in the Oklahoma City metro area needs to ask Bloomberg the tough questions.

OG does expose' on Oklahoma 'Minuteman' group

2007-03-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason (ad revenue, I reckon) the Oklahoma Gazette won't post Greg Horton's article, "MinutemenThe Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is attracting recruits in Oklahoma by rewriting American history," in its entirety. Too bad. I would've forwarded it to lots of folks.

Anyway,

Writes Horton, quoting a Minuteman member, who talks of "Maria Holloway," a woman raped and killed in rural South Texas after coming across the border.

"We’re supposed to be a Christian nation!” he said. “Where is our outrage? We can summon outrage for Natalee Holloway, but Maria is raped and left for dead by an American citizen and we remain silent. These people are engaged in a modern-day slave trade. Seventy-seven percent of the women who cross the border are sexually assaulted. They are forced to work at slave wages cleaning or cooking, or sometimes forced into prostitution. And that’s the ones (who) don’t die in the desert.
Continuing ...
“We would do these ladies a favor if we stop them at the border and say, ‘You can’t come in this way.’ We have a moral obligation to stop this for their benefit. We cannot be a sovereign nation if we ignore this tragedy. We will be punished; we are being punished.”

So, I guess I'll need to go find me a free copy of the OG and comment more about the story later. Something tells me that Horton's take on illegal immigration doesn't match mine or that of Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore.

Lawton Rep.Shannon authors anti-gang bill

2007-03-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

Here's my story about Rep. T.W. Shannon's new anti-gang bill, HB 1864, known as the "Delinquincy and Youth Gang Intervention and Prevention Act." It passed this afternoon on the House floor and moves to the Senate for consideration.

Shannon authors anti-gang bill
B Y ANDREW GRIFFIN
Special Correspondent
The Lawton Constitution
Posted: March 13, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY — A Lawton state representative is concerned about rising gang activity throughout Oklahoma. Rep. T.W. Shannon will present a bill to the full House of Representatives today to address those concerns.
The bill, HB 1864, is known as the “Delinquency and Youth Gang Intervention and Prevention Act.” If it passes in the House and Senate and is signed by Gov. Brad Henry, it could serve as an important tool in the fight against gang activity and violence, Shannon said.
House Bill 1864 would create a steering committee, or task force, to be created to assess where gang activity is most prevalent and problematic and to come back with a plan on how best to reduce gang activity using local, state and federal resources.
“Traditionally, the task force has been made up of law enforcement people, but with this bill we wanted to incorporate more social services people as well,” Shannon said.
He also said that the legislature would not be simply throwing money at the issue but would expect the steering committee to achieve certain benchmarks each year to ensure that progress is being made.
Shannon, a Republican, said he is well-aware of the gang problem in his hometown and elsewhere and that this plan is for the act to cover not just Oklahoma’s larger cities like Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Lawton, but smaller cities as well.
“Lawton saw a decline (in gang activity) a few years ago and now there’s a sudden peak again,” Shannon said, noting that a new generation of gang members is starting to take hold.
“We’re seeing this (gang) problem is places like Duncan and Altus — places where it hadn’t been a problem before.”
Shannon said an annual amount of $1.4 million would be required to address the gang issue statewide.
Recruitment into these gangs, Shannon said, is not only happening on the streets, but over the Internet as well.
The bill, Shannon said, is bipartisan, with his Senate coauthor being Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Oklahoma City. He added that his bill has already received a lot of positive response from fellow legislators.
The bill, Shannon said, is following a national model that “presumes that gangs become chronic and serious problems in communities where key organizations are inadequately integrated and sufficient resources are not available to target gang-involved youth.”
This would involve not only local law enforcement in addressing the gang problem but also social welfare agencies and grassroots organizations. They would then identify problem areas.
This model, put forward by the U.S. Department of Justice, includes five core elements: community mobilization; opportunities provision; social intervention; suppression; and organizational change and development.
Gene Christian, executive director of the Office of Juvenile Affairs, said he is just now becoming familiar with the bill and said he felt it was a good bill and that gang activity in Oklahoma towns and cities is “a major issue.”
--END--

The Wrath of Boren

2007-03-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

Many of you may not know that back in 1940, the late Oklahoma Congressman Lyle Boren, issued a vicious written attack against author John Steinbeck and his critically-acclaimed novel "The Grapes of Wrath." Lyle Boren is the father of David Boren, the former U.S. Senator and current president of the University of Oklahoma.

Well, Norman-based author and researcher Michael Wright brought this to my attention via a written commentary he had published last month in California's Monterey County Herald.

Here's a sample from Wright's piece: Oklahoma's cultural leadership did not appreciate this novel. Boren vilified it in colorful language that rings of the hellfire-and-brimstone judgmental tones of a southern fundamentalist preacher. He called it a "dirty, lying, filthy manuscript," the product of a "putrid-minded writer." He called the book "a lie, a damnable lie, a black infernal creation of a twisted, distorted mind."
Boren blamed California -- not because Californians abused the migrants -- but "for being the parent of such offspring as this author."
Boren's cues were followed in the region. The Daily Oklahoman's editorial page published a long excerpt from his remarks. The library of East St. Louis, Ill., banned the book as did other libraries. Boren expressed pride in the fact that the U.S. Postal Service banned the book from the mails.
--END--

Makes one realize that in the scheme of things, 1940 wasn't so long ago. Scary.

Chips 'n insurance

2007-03-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

Sure, the Oklahoma Gazette's "Chicken Fried News" made fun of Sen. Brian Crain's anti-microchip bill, a week back, but CFN may not have known what we knew. The chip issue is very real.
Let me remind you all. Back in 2005, when Supreme Court Justice John Roberts was going through Senate hearings, he was questioned by Sen. Joseph Biden about how in the future, he'd be having to rule on the implantation of microchips. Not too funny, eh Gazetteers?

At the time Crain's sensible bill was introduced a few weeks ago, the Oklahoman questioned Sens. Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City and Patrick Anderson, R-Enid, Health and Human Services committee members, about their reasons for voting against the bill. Rice said he didn't see a need to prevent something when it wasn't a problem and Anderson gave some bland answer. Having attended some committee meetings Anderson has attended, I couldn't quite get a read on him. Then I heard that Crain's bill, SB 47, was approved on the Senate floor, with Anderson's wacky "uninsured car seizure" amendment tacked on to it. Here's how the Capitol Network News saw things. Again, Anderson gives some bland statement, not worthy of a quote. Read the story below:

Senate OKs amended anti-microchip measure
Author plans more focused measure
By Shawn Ashley
Posted: March 5, 2007

(LIN) The Senate gave its approval Monday to a bill prohibiting the forced implantation of microchips, a measure that now includes a provision allowing the seizure and forfeiture of automobiles driven by those without liability insurance.
SB 47, by Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, prohibits the forced implantation of a microchip and authorizes the Department of Health to impose a maximum fine of $10,000 against violators. Each day of continued violation would constitute a separate offense. Crain said constituents first brought the issue of microchip implantation to his attention.
Although he viewed their concerns dubiously at first, he said examining the website of the primary chipmaker, the VeriChip Corp., caused him to rethink his position and propose the measure. Company press releases, Crain explained, tout the use of the microchips in people. He said he hopes approval of the measure will make a public policy statement that Oklahoma opposes forced implantation of microchips, a policy the company's website indicates should be the standard for the chip's usage.
As currently written, the measure would prevent anyone from forcing another person to have a chip implanted. Crain said in response to questions that he hopes to have the bill amended in the House to focus the prohibition on employment situations and requirements for access to medical care.
The amended bill includes language by Sen. Patrick Anderson, R-Enid, which would allow the seizure and forfeiture of motor vehicles driven by individuals without liability insurance, a requirement under Oklahoma law. Responding to questions, Anderson acknowledged he did not think the bill would solve the problem of uninsured motorists but added that it would provide another tool for dealing with the problem.
Anderson's amendment was adopted on a vote of 32 to 16 (adding a new section that amends 63 O.S. Section 2-503, by adding "10. The Department of Public Safety, county sheriffs and all other duly authorized peace officers of this state during the course of their normal duties to uphold and enforce the laws of the state may seize and take into custody any motor vehicle being operated on public streets and highways by a person who fails to show proof of compulsory liability insurance as required by Section 7-600 et seq. of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes.") The bill, as amended, passed on a 35 to 13 vote.
The bill now heads to the House for its consideration.
-END-

So, there you have it. Anderson wants cops to have even more police state powers. If it passes and becomes state law, I'm SURE everything will be on the up-and-up.

Foreign flags at basketball tourney in Tulsa?

2007-03-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

Hop on over to Spelunking Through the Chaos and check out the latest post regarding an alleged event where the Mexican and Canadian flags were brought out by the color guard, alongside the American flag, prior to a Mid-Continent Conference basketball tourney in Tulsa.

UPDATE (March 6, 2007)
Bruce DeLay, the Tulsa-area minister who brought this to peoples' attention, e-mailed me this morning, clearing up some questions that I had. Seems plausible, eh?

Writes DeLay: Here's some Info I have gathered on the flag incident at the ORU ballgame...
Turns out, the local Shriners provided the color guard.The following explaination was given by a past shriner president named Harry Potts:
The reason for the Canada and Mexico flags was that the "Shriners of North America" have childrens' hospitals in USA, Canada, Mexico, and Panama."They said the Oklahoma flag was used - in lieu of a Panama flag which they don't have.
They said the Oklahoma State flag is supposed to be lowered - But that flags of other nations are not supposed to be lowered. In answer to: "Why were the Canada and Mexico flags held at the same level as the USA flag?"
They answered: They were held just slightly lower than the USA flag, but not dipped like the Oklahoma flag. (I guess they were held so slightly lower that people in the crowd could not tell they were lower than the USA flag).

I guess that clears up that issue.

Gore's Global Warning

2007-03-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

By Andrew Griffin
Red Dirt Reporter (originally posted on Slice O' Life)
Posted: March 2, 2007

NORMAN -- It was an exciting afternoon in Norman over at OU's Lloyd Noble Arena where former Vice-President Al Gore was the featured guest, there to discuss the growing crisis of global warming, as featured in his Oscar-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

I arrived in the parking lot an hour or so before the doors opened and while I waited in line, a group of OU freshman, presumably College Republican types from Enid, joked about Gore and his "globaloney."
"Hey, if this is true and the seas do rise," said one young man. "Then I may have some beachfront property in Enid."
Yeah. "Ha-ha."
Keeping us entertained in the meantime was a guy (or gal) in a "Climate Change" polar bear suit (as pictured up top). The polar bear danced around and held signs, including this one which read: "My home is MELTING." How sad is that? In fact later, Gore would feature some despondent polar bears clutching to a small iceberg, looking forlorn ...

At about 3 p.m., the doors suddenly opened and there was a mad dash to the entrance, making me think that this is the sort of mob that led to that horrible event in Ohio in 1979 when people were killed at a Who concert.
So, I found a pretty good spot down front, great view. I was pretty pleased that I got such a great spot, since security didn't even bother to determine if I was student or faculty. Well, I figured, I'm a journalist, so I could get in and get a decent spot. In any event, I was in.Instead of cheering "Go Big Red," students chanted "Go Al Gore." This guy is a borderline rock star now. It's really quite incredible.

Before long, Gov. Brad Henry and his wife and several state senators, including "progressive" Andrew Rice, showed up and were recognized by OU President (and Bonesman) David Boren, who told the crowd that the numbers for Gore's visit were bigger than those for Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher. Boren's best line was when he told the crowd that Gore was "the man who received 500,000 more votes" than Bush. The crowd went wild.

Boren went on about all the environmentally sound projects that the campus was engaged in, including wind power. Goodness knows there's no shortage of wind in Oklahoma.
Gore, meanwhile, got a standing ovation when he was introduced by his former congressional colleague - "A person truly dedicated to this country and to public service - Vice-President Al Gore."

Having recently seen "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore's presentation was pretty much along those same lines. Using an Apple-powered PowerPoint-type presentation on a big screen, Gore's information on how the climate is rapidly changing for the worse was quite compelling. And he was somewhat self-deprecating, "I am Al Gore, and I used to be the next president of the United States." Or this little gem: "I'm a recovering politician. I'm on step nine - you win some, you lose some ... and then there's that little known third category." WILD APPLAUSE!!!
"Climate crisis," Gore intoned, "Is the most dangerous situation we've ever faced." He made statements such as these while images of the planet Earth, graphs and charts were featured and the snows of Kilimanjaro were down to a mere 15-foot-tall icicle.

"Virtually every mountain glacier is melting," added Gore. He then noted how numerous rivers in Asia begin in the Himalayas and how "Forty-percent of the world's population depends on water from the Himalayan watershed."

Gore noted that critics/skeptics of global warming note how there have argued that there was a warming trend in the Middle Ages and that such warming events are evidence that "global warming" is really "cyclical."

Gore's info proves otherwise and shows how CO2 emissions are incredibly high. He continued showing how warming seas, due to global warming, is increasing the number of hurricanes, floods, storms and droughts across the planet. Indeed, this appears to be occuring. He showed the high number of hurricanes that have come from the Atlantic and how a first-ever South Atlantic hurricane struck Brazil in 2004.

"Climate refugees," he said, will flee flooded or drought-stricken areas and seek shelter in other areas. This has already happened in East Africa, he said, and has led to conflicts in Sudan and the genocide in the Darfur region.

As more animals die off, more diseases and pests will flock to regions they've not been known to visit. And then there were the manatees that are showing up in areas like Cape Cod and the mid-Mississippi River region.

"Nature is on the run," Gore said glumly. "On the run."

Indeed it appears to be. But Gore offered hope, noting how human ingenuity has faced incredible odds before and has overcome serious obstacles. Reversing the climate crisis, he said, is possible.
Global warming and climate change, Gore said emphatically, "Is is a moral, ethical and spiritual issue. This is the moral challenge of our lifetime."

All in all, Gore's presentation was one of the most interesting and inspiring I've heard in some time. If you get a chance to see him in your town, make sure you do so.

p.s. If you've listened to the likes of neocon talk radio hosts like Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh, you may have noticed that they've ridiculed Gore left and right. No surprise.

Former FBI Director wants OKC bombing case reopened

2007-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

For well over a decade now, I have had serious questions regarding the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building here in Oklahoma City. There were too many unanswered questions and too many loose ends. And there were too many players. I've long held a belief that there was a conspiracy involving the federal government and Janet Reno's Justice Department.

Well, A new BBC documentary, set to air this weekend, regarding the Oklahoma City bombing and an alleged cover up, features Former FBI Terrorist Task Force director Danny Coulson calling for a new grand jury investigation into what really happened on April 19, 1995, reports Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones of PrisonPlanet.com on Friday morning.

The BBC program, "The Conspiracy Files," notes: Mr Coulson said a federal grand jury is now needed to find out what really happened: "We have victims here and we have victims' families and we don't even know the answers. And the answer is frankly for a federal grand jury."
He argues this is the only way to prove whether other people were involved in the bombing in a wider conspiracy beyond Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who was also convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy and sentenced to life in jail.

And lawyer Jesse Trentadue who has been investigating the suspicious death of his brother, who died in federal custody after the bombing, believes a reopening of the bombing investigation would be serious.

Writes Watson and Jones: Asked what the impact would be if a new investigation was allowed to go forward Trentadue responded, "It would destroy Hillary Clinton's campaign, it would result in the loss of careers of some high level people within various law enforcement agencies and the federal government, and it would probably result in a good number of them being prosecuted and sent to jail."

We shall wait and see.

Privacy rights? What privacy rights?

2007-02-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

Gotta love the Oklahoma State Senate. Always looking out for the folks. For instance, I see in The Oklahoman today that the Senate passed a bill, SB 390, on Tuesday that would "allow state authorities to give confidential juvenile justice records to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and federal probation officers," writes Capitol reporter John Greiner.

And all of this without a court order.

So, you may be asking, who was behind this brilliant piece of 4th amendment-trashing legislation?

None other than Lawton Republican Don Barrington.

There was some sanity in the room. For instance, Tulsa Democrat Tom Adelson opposed the bill, as noted in The Oklahoman story, saying: "This is a wholesale loss of our privacy. I don't want any federal agency to have wholesale access to my children's records."

Alas, Adelson's sane comments were overwhelmed by the likes of blowhard Jonathan Nichols, a Republican Senator from Norman. What did Nichols say? Check it out:
"Surely we can trust ... Homeland Security."

Ha!!! Nichols sounds like a tried-and-true neocon. Nichols probably doesn't get the joke when someone wisecracks: 'We're the government, we've come to help you!' We know what they did at Ruby Ridge, Waco and, dare I say it, Lower Manhattan and suburban D.C. on 9/11/01.

... but I digress ...

Sen. Tom Ivester, D-Sayre, stood up to the bill, "saying he's concerned about attempts to shoot holes in privacy rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights." The Fourth Amendment, Ivester noted gives people the right to "be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures."

Ivester, the story noted, has no problem with the feds or others obtaining a court order to get this information, but, "Because you are alleged to have committed an offense does not mean you lose your Fourth Amendment right."

Good point, Senator. We do have a Constitution and Bill of Rights, something many Republicans have conveniently forgotten about.