It has been a week and a few days of heavy news much of which is still evolving which accounts for such a tardy post on the subject. Yes, it has been a time of a Papal visit to America and of a Presidential candidate’s visit to Oklahoma, and of the resignation of the third office in line to the Presidency. …
Continue ReadingCategory: Culture
The decline of the fourth estate
It has been another exciting week along this the most conservative stretch of Old Route 66. One historic date that passed nearly unnoticed was the 228th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution which was Thursday, September 17th. I realize I refer to the Constitution often as so many topics I write about somehow relate to…
Continue ReadingWill’s eternal influence
I don’t believe I have ever mentioned on this blog that the other moniker for Old Route 66 the Mother Road is the Will Rogers Memorial Highway. You know you’ve earned a permanent place in the heart and soul of the nation when the Congress of the United States adjourns in your honor on the day…
Continue ReadingMaking Presidential history on Old Route 66!
What a week it has been along this the most conservative segment of Old Route 66! This past Wednesday in the Bryan County seat of Durant in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to visit that town since Teddy Roosevelt in 1905. Forget the fact that he…
Continue ReadingA massive political tectonic plate shift
It has been a rough couple of weeks to be a conservative Republican in America. As I sit here writing this my thoughts drift back to what happened in Gettysburg, PA 152 years ago this very afternoon. Members of the GOP, especially the Evangelical wing of the party, must feel like Confederate survivors of Pickett’s Charge. As one rebel…
Continue ReadingFarewell to toxic symbolism
It has been a very historic week in America in terms of commemorating notable events, landmark decisions handed down by the highest court in the land and executive orders issued by some southern state governors to remove archaic incendiary emblems from their purview. I myself could feel the tectonic shift of public opinion when the Supreme Court…
Continue ReadingFreeOK 2015
Imagine if you will a camp meeting of atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers and pagans. Focus on that conceptual image for a moment and you can grasp the essence of the fifth annual Oklahoma Freethought Convention. FreeOK 2015 was held on Saturday, June 20th at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa. This is another of those…
Continue ReadingPride is alive along the Mother Road!
One of the community celebrations that make this the most conservative segment of Old Route 66 habitable took place this past weekend. Yes, the 33rd annual Tulsa Pride celebration attracted thousands to Downtown Tulsa on Saturday afternoon and evening culminating in the Pride Parade. This is an annual festival sponsored by Oklahomans for Equality. Yours truly was…
Continue ReadingMemorializing a wrong and worn out narrative
It was an eventful and amusing week along this exceedingly conservative stretch of Old Route 66 in the run up to the Memorial Day weekend. The justly earned “Tempest in a Teapot” award goes to the local ABC affiliate KTUL for their coverage of a Politico article posted to the Tulsa County Democratic Party Facebook page last…
Continue ReadingArming our public schools
The deeply ingrained firearm culture has expanded yet again, this time to Oklahoma public schools. Governor Mary Fallin signed off on House Bill 2014 earlier this week. This new law authored by freshman representative Jeff Coody of HD 63 (Lawton) is intended to provide an extra level of security by allowing a trained school employee to carry a handgun on school…
Continue Reading