After his rope-a-dope of non answers to a straight forward question on ABC’s This Week on Sunday morning, Indiana governor Mike Pence revealed his true allegiance to the Eat-their-cake-and-have-it-too lobby. Fallout is raining down amid whipsawing backlash from big business at the Governor’s signing of the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act last week. When given…
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Surveying our priorities
Another week has passed in which I had to restrain myself from blogging before all the pertinent stories evolved. It has been another week of Oklahoma in the national spotlight. On the upside, the Oklahoma Sooners advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Sadly, they were eliminated last night by Michigan State. It was…
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Iwo Jima + 70
It was seventy years ago this past week that the Pacific war battle of Iwo Jima was declared over and the island secure. Today on that small volcanic island in the western Pacific that was the site of one of the most savage battles of WWII, a group of aged veterans returned to the scene of what was likely…
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Mandating a sacred civic duty
Last month I took time to acknowledge the lowest common denominators all people living on this planet share, those being death and taxes. Today in Cleveland, OH, President Obama promoted the idea of expanding those two of life’s certainties by one more, VOTING! Coming on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the events leading…
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The Oklahoma Hall of Shame rapid expansion week
Since the late evening hours of this past Sunday when the infamous OU Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity racist chant video went viral, I have had to stop myself multiple times from making this post. There have been other news items this week worthy of admission to this expansion of the Hall of Shame. They include the passage of HB 1125…
Continue ReadingPlanting grass seed
Tonight was the night. Pursuant to Article 1, Section 1 A of the Bylaws of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, precinct organizational meetings were held at 7 PM this evening. I was proud to attend the designated meeting place for my south Tulsa precinct along with two dozen or so other enthusiastic Democrats. This meeting place…
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Documentary Film Review: Children of the Civil Rights
President Harry Truman once said, “The only thing new in this world is the history that you don’t know.” On this fiftieth anniversary commemoration of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Circle Cinema held a special showing of the documentary film Children of the Civil Rights. It was indeed a celebration of a piece of not so much…
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Legislating morality
After two nights and a day of cabin fever amid a late winter spate of snow and ice, I ventured out this afternoon to the monthly meeting of the Atheist Community of Tulsa. Today the organization hosted a guest speaker, one Toby Jenkins, Executive Director of Oklahomans For Equality. Mr. Jenkins spends a fair amount…
Continue ReadingWho stands for what and why
It came to my attention this week that a few of the local secular organizations, outfits that make residence in such a religious conservative locale habitable, have made the “anti-Christian bigotry” list of a national pro-theocratic organization. Among the local organizations that made the list of the American Family Association is one I have written about previously, the Atheist Community of Tulsa. Also making the list…
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Advanced propaganda vs. the critical thinking imperative
As one who has sworn both an Oath of Enlistment and an Oath of Commissioning, let me say this about the USA and Oklahoma: My Country and my State, right or wrong. May they always be right. When they are wrong, may they be put right! Another week has passed in our illustrious state’s First Session…
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