I remember the last time I was at a venue which was inundated with Secret Service agents. It was April 1991 and the location was the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD. I was in Phase I of my nurse anesthesia training and my class was in the process of getting our ACLS certifications renewed. It…
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A Democratic General
The advent of term limits in the Oklahoma state legislature has contributed much to the reduction in the number of career politicians along this the most conservative stretch of old Route 66. It is no longer possible to be a lifelong legislator in this state when you are limited to six two year terms as…
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The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month
Ninety-seven years ago this morning Paris, France time the guns on the Western Front of the Great War fell silent. Though the official end of hostilities came with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28th, 1919, all fighting between the Allied Powers and Imperial Germany ceased with the armistice declared at the…
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Steeped in the privilege of the loyalty oath
Anyone in the over 40 demographic who pays attention to politics likely still has vivid memories of the 2004 Presidential campaign. That particular year holds a special significance for Yours Truly as that was when I actually got down off the fence and chose sides by joining a political party for the first time in…
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The nucleus of a winning message
We are still over three months away from Primary season for the 2016 General Election and sensory overload from candidate interviews and rhetoric seems to be the new normal. Turn on any cable news outlet or talk radio program and much of the time it is like trying to take a drink of water from a wide open fire hydrant. As is often…
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Propaganda, nonsense and a thinning herd of candidates
It was a very newsworthy week in both the nation and along this, the most conservative stretch of Old Route 66. Yes, we had a visit from a GOP Presidential hopeful in Tulsa this past Thursday. Dr. Ben Carson, who has surged past Mr. Donald Trump in some polls, was on hand at a local…
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The pre-primary project of reinvention
Evolution of the adult character, persona and political credentials is a fascinating phenomenon. The value of education is that it affords enlightened minds an opportunity to change opinions and embrace new values based on established evidence and reason. Experience likewise allows for the releasing of viewpoints, doctrines and policies that fail more than they succeed or outright do not…
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Benghazi, Planned Parenthood and the point of diminishing returns
Much has happened in America this past week in spite of the fact that inside the Beltway our government, specifically the GOP-led House of Representatives, is languishing in indecision. For a political party to have such overwhelming success during a midterm election a year ago, they sure have had a disproportionate degree of difficulty getting…
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Embracing the right to not get shot
The Constitution of the United States is a beautiful document not so much for its literary elegance but more for the ideals it embodies. In short it is the heart, soul and character of a grand experiment that is still in progress. As the next election cycle heats up it seems that there are a…
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Conservatism’s not-so-finest hour
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. …
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