Oklahoma Gun Law Alarms Corporations
The Kansas City Star reports that:
A new (Oklahoma) state law allowing employees to keep guns in their locked cars on company property has alarmed some of Oklahoma's biggest corporations and pitted them against gun enthusiasts. The law was passed by the Legislature this year and was scheduled to go into effect Nov. 1. A federal judge blocked its enforcement while he considers a challenge filed by companies fearful that guns at work could lead to bloodshed.
Friday, November 26, 2004
Monday, November 22, 2004
Turkey Mountain Swamp
It was a misty day around the Arkansas River today - my favorite environment for walking across the pedestrian bridge at 31st Street in Tulsa. The best view in Tulsa is looking north from the balcony in the middle of this old railroad bridge. Looking north over the wide Arkansas one sees downtown Tulsa's skyscrapers peeking up above the cottonwood trees that line the river. The entire image is reflected in the tranquil waters just above the spillway here. When the trees turn colors at this time of year is the best time to enjoy this view.
On the other side of the bridge - looking south, one can watch seagulls, pelicans and cranes standing on rocks or hovering over the spillway in search of fish. It's a glorious sight on any day but when the water is running high and a mist softens the edges - even the electric plant on the river bank can't ruin the mood. Looking south past the I-44 bridge one can see the bulk of Turkey Mountain looming over the Arkansas near 71st Street.
Near Turkey Mountain is a shale formation that bears untold numbers of carbonized plant fossils squeezed between the layers of these 300+ million year old Pennsylvanian Era rocks. In these shales are the mineralized remains of giant ferns and tree-sized rushes that once flourished where Tulsa is now. As I watch the birds catching fish in the foreground my eyes occasionally drift up and off into the distance to Turkey Mountain and thoughts of the tropical swamp that bubbled here all those millions of years ago.
The sight helps put talk of petty politics, football games, and injustice in some sort of perspective.
It was a misty day around the Arkansas River today - my favorite environment for walking across the pedestrian bridge at 31st Street in Tulsa. The best view in Tulsa is looking north from the balcony in the middle of this old railroad bridge. Looking north over the wide Arkansas one sees downtown Tulsa's skyscrapers peeking up above the cottonwood trees that line the river. The entire image is reflected in the tranquil waters just above the spillway here. When the trees turn colors at this time of year is the best time to enjoy this view.
On the other side of the bridge - looking south, one can watch seagulls, pelicans and cranes standing on rocks or hovering over the spillway in search of fish. It's a glorious sight on any day but when the water is running high and a mist softens the edges - even the electric plant on the river bank can't ruin the mood. Looking south past the I-44 bridge one can see the bulk of Turkey Mountain looming over the Arkansas near 71st Street.
Near Turkey Mountain is a shale formation that bears untold numbers of carbonized plant fossils squeezed between the layers of these 300+ million year old Pennsylvanian Era rocks. In these shales are the mineralized remains of giant ferns and tree-sized rushes that once flourished where Tulsa is now. As I watch the birds catching fish in the foreground my eyes occasionally drift up and off into the distance to Turkey Mountain and thoughts of the tropical swamp that bubbled here all those millions of years ago.
The sight helps put talk of petty politics, football games, and injustice in some sort of perspective.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Evolution Tales
Today our Pastor focused on the need to be thankful for everything God has done for us - a timely message. Still, he managed to throw in an attack on the theory of evolution and the "natural world's" attempts to promote evolution through every media. He said it was a lie "that we are descended from monkeys". This is coming from an "educated" man no less - one who either doesn't know that Darwin never said we were descended from monkeys or knowingly uses this common misstatement about the theory to arouse the ire of the homo nimcompoopus among his flock.
I collected fossils like many a young boy and frankly would have developed the theory of evolution if Darwin hadn't of beaten me to it. It's so darn obvious to anyone that has collected fossils. Two recent books on this subject are worth reading: The Map That changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester or Richard Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale : A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution. If you don't have the time then look at last month's National Geographic magazine's "Was Darwin Wrong?" This silly argument over evolution vs creationism was settled over a hundred years ago but an astounding near-majority of modern Americans still believe the creation story of the Bible precludes the theory of evolution. Among the many things I'm thankful for is that the Church has given up on the flat Earth doctrine.
Today our Pastor focused on the need to be thankful for everything God has done for us - a timely message. Still, he managed to throw in an attack on the theory of evolution and the "natural world's" attempts to promote evolution through every media. He said it was a lie "that we are descended from monkeys". This is coming from an "educated" man no less - one who either doesn't know that Darwin never said we were descended from monkeys or knowingly uses this common misstatement about the theory to arouse the ire of the homo nimcompoopus among his flock.
I collected fossils like many a young boy and frankly would have developed the theory of evolution if Darwin hadn't of beaten me to it. It's so darn obvious to anyone that has collected fossils. Two recent books on this subject are worth reading: The Map That changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester or Richard Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale : A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution. If you don't have the time then look at last month's National Geographic magazine's "Was Darwin Wrong?" This silly argument over evolution vs creationism was settled over a hundred years ago but an astounding near-majority of modern Americans still believe the creation story of the Bible precludes the theory of evolution. Among the many things I'm thankful for is that the Church has given up on the flat Earth doctrine.