Barbedwire Ankles
Oklahoma's ban on tattoo shops has worked about as well as Prohibition did in the 30s. Never underestimate the ingenuity of fools to find a way to hurt themselves. Ok, ok, tattoos don't kill (often) but they sure are ugly - especially on the leg or ankle of an otherwise beautiful woman. This is especially true as the tattoo (and the leg) ages, stretches and discolors. I'm not sure if the fad has passed yet or not but I sure notice a lot of 20-30ish women in Oklahoma with barbedwire tattoos encircling their ankles. This is ugly enough but when you see it under nylon stockings in the workplace you can't help but gag a little.
Don't get me wrong. People ought to have the right to get tattoos, pierce themselves with metal or bone, cut off body parts, or whatever they care to do to their own bodies. It's ludicrous for Oklahoma to try to control the expression of free will. I still think getting a tattoo is a permanent indication of flawed cognition.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Swift Vets and a Swift Kick
Aren't you sick of these people? Fortunately, living in a state no national politician cares about, Oklahomans haven't had to suffer through a lot of their ads attacking Kerry for serving in Vietnam. But we still see a few on cable news networks and I get sick every time. The one I saw tonight attacking Kerry for throwing away some of his ribbons or whatever in a protest over the war was really disturbing. The gist of the ad was "how can you trust a guy who threw away symbols of his country?" As if medals or ribbons were as sacred as the US flag and that demonstrating one's revulsion over the war was unpatriotic!
If you go to the Swift Vets website to find a way to contact them and tell them what nattering nabobs they are you'll find it quite impossible - they don't place any contact info on their site. That is, unless you sign up to receive their broadcast emails - after which their contact info suddenly appears. When I signed my dog up to get their emails I was rewarded with the email address to contact them. It is: Latch@SwiftVets.com So now you can tell ol' Latch you'd like to give them all a swift kick.
Just who are these people anyway? Turns out a bunch of them are old dirty tricks professionals and Republican Party operatives rather than actual swift boat veterans. The Disinfopedia has the straight poop on these folks.
Aren't you sick of these people? Fortunately, living in a state no national politician cares about, Oklahomans haven't had to suffer through a lot of their ads attacking Kerry for serving in Vietnam. But we still see a few on cable news networks and I get sick every time. The one I saw tonight attacking Kerry for throwing away some of his ribbons or whatever in a protest over the war was really disturbing. The gist of the ad was "how can you trust a guy who threw away symbols of his country?" As if medals or ribbons were as sacred as the US flag and that demonstrating one's revulsion over the war was unpatriotic!
If you go to the Swift Vets website to find a way to contact them and tell them what nattering nabobs they are you'll find it quite impossible - they don't place any contact info on their site. That is, unless you sign up to receive their broadcast emails - after which their contact info suddenly appears. When I signed my dog up to get their emails I was rewarded with the email address to contact them. It is: Latch@SwiftVets.com So now you can tell ol' Latch you'd like to give them all a swift kick.
Just who are these people anyway? Turns out a bunch of them are old dirty tricks professionals and Republican Party operatives rather than actual swift boat veterans. The Disinfopedia has the straight poop on these folks.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
J.C. Watts, Syntroleum and Nigeria
The Tulsa World reports that Tulsa-based Syntroleum Corp has agreed to develop oil and gas off the Nigerian coast. OkiePundit reported over a year ago that Syntroleum had a close working relationship with J.C. Watts while he was a Congressman and that the Congressman helped Syntroleum open doors in corruption-rich Nigeria. It should come as no surprise that after leaving Congress a couple of years ago Syntroleum showed up on J.C.'s list of clients for his new firm. I'd like to see the Tulsa World ask Syntroleum or Watts how much he's made off this deal.
The Tulsa World reports that Tulsa-based Syntroleum Corp has agreed to develop oil and gas off the Nigerian coast. OkiePundit reported over a year ago that Syntroleum had a close working relationship with J.C. Watts while he was a Congressman and that the Congressman helped Syntroleum open doors in corruption-rich Nigeria. It should come as no surprise that after leaving Congress a couple of years ago Syntroleum showed up on J.C.'s list of clients for his new firm. I'd like to see the Tulsa World ask Syntroleum or Watts how much he's made off this deal.
From Tulsa to Russia
Well school starts for Tulsa Public Schools this week and my daughter heads back to finish out her last year in elementary school. There's a lot of excitement that first day as the kids see each other for the first time in months and head off to meet their new teachers and learn what fate has dealt them in seating assignments. Whether she has to sit behind Simon the bully or Matilda the Cruel are her greatest concerns at this point in her life. Thankfully, in Oklahoma school life is relatively safe. We have the rare shooting or knifing but here, even tornadoes are more of a concern. Not to mention the aggressive SUV and truck-driving idiots that threaten on the route to school.
But none of this is anything compared to the horror that many children in the world face everyday. The worst horror comes in the form of adults so sick with hatred that they will purposely set out to kill other people's children to achieve some goal of theirs. The Russian-Chechen conflict is a little understood matter here. Most Americans, and certainly Oklahomans, couldn't point out Chechnya on a map. Many, sadly, couldn't even point out Russia. Nevertheless, the horribly cruel murder of hundreds of children and adults in the school in the North Ossetia region of Russia this past week had many people here shaking their heads in disbelief. It is beyond belief indeed and while we don't understand the larger situation we do know that ones that lower themselves to such brutality against innocent children is sick beyond all comprehension. There can be no justification whatsoever for killing children.
The extent of most American's knowledge of the murders is that they were carried out by Muslims - Russia says by Al-Qaida funded Muslims. Here again, Americans are thinking "what is it with the Muslims?" "Why is it always the Muslims that are blowing up buses, schools, and markets crowded with civilians?" As a CNN story this evening pointed out, this kind of situation is doing great damage to the reputation of Muslims in general. I hope reasonable Muslims will speak out against these atrocities carried out by their brothers and sisters and help put a stop to the bloodshed.
When I take my daughter to school this week I'll be happy for her - that all she needs to worry about is her seat assignment. At the same time I'll be thinking of all those Russian parents who had their little sons and daughters needlessly taken away from them by evil. I can imagine, for a brief moment, their pain.
Well school starts for Tulsa Public Schools this week and my daughter heads back to finish out her last year in elementary school. There's a lot of excitement that first day as the kids see each other for the first time in months and head off to meet their new teachers and learn what fate has dealt them in seating assignments. Whether she has to sit behind Simon the bully or Matilda the Cruel are her greatest concerns at this point in her life. Thankfully, in Oklahoma school life is relatively safe. We have the rare shooting or knifing but here, even tornadoes are more of a concern. Not to mention the aggressive SUV and truck-driving idiots that threaten on the route to school.
But none of this is anything compared to the horror that many children in the world face everyday. The worst horror comes in the form of adults so sick with hatred that they will purposely set out to kill other people's children to achieve some goal of theirs. The Russian-Chechen conflict is a little understood matter here. Most Americans, and certainly Oklahomans, couldn't point out Chechnya on a map. Many, sadly, couldn't even point out Russia. Nevertheless, the horribly cruel murder of hundreds of children and adults in the school in the North Ossetia region of Russia this past week had many people here shaking their heads in disbelief. It is beyond belief indeed and while we don't understand the larger situation we do know that ones that lower themselves to such brutality against innocent children is sick beyond all comprehension. There can be no justification whatsoever for killing children.
The extent of most American's knowledge of the murders is that they were carried out by Muslims - Russia says by Al-Qaida funded Muslims. Here again, Americans are thinking "what is it with the Muslims?" "Why is it always the Muslims that are blowing up buses, schools, and markets crowded with civilians?" As a CNN story this evening pointed out, this kind of situation is doing great damage to the reputation of Muslims in general. I hope reasonable Muslims will speak out against these atrocities carried out by their brothers and sisters and help put a stop to the bloodshed.
When I take my daughter to school this week I'll be happy for her - that all she needs to worry about is her seat assignment. At the same time I'll be thinking of all those Russian parents who had their little sons and daughters needlessly taken away from them by evil. I can imagine, for a brief moment, their pain.