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.

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.

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.

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.

Arnold vs History

How could Arnold have seen Soviet tanks in the British occupied part of Austria? Well, he couldn't.

Covering the Hurricane

I'm very sorry about the suffering of people in Florida as Frances hits them. I can't help but note that there was virtually no "action news" coverage when it hit the Bahamas. Do Bahamians suffer too?

Watching the news people standing out in 70 mph winds with rain and debris slapping them around is, well, kind of entertaining if you can forget about the destruction. They always seem to show up in poorly designed rain gear that flaps and blows as they stagger around with their cheeks flapping when they try to talk. Look, if you are going to do the hurricane coverage thing on national TV why not put on a wet suit that will make you look cool. At least the hood won't balloon out and make you look like a drunk Martian.

Who is Zell Miller?

Fred Kaplan has the best point-by-point review of Zell Miller's speech at the Republican Conention. See it at Slate.

JC Watts and Zell Miller

JC was on MSNBC's After Hours news show tonight. I had to change channels several times so I wouldn't choke on his platitudes. JC is among the best at talking at length without saying anything. Why do the news programs have this guy on?

Now retiring Senator Zell Miller of Georgia says something when he talks! He may be an 18th century lunatic but there's no mistaking what he is trying to communicate. When he wants to challenge a news pundit to a duel he says he wants to duel. If JC Watts ever got passionate I can imagine he might challenge Chris Matthews to " Agree on the facts bearing on the problem and close the issue at hand".

Reality Video

I was at the back of the Hollywood Video store this evening when I became aware that the violent video being played loudly throughout the store was sounding increasingly realistic. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a commotion. Two men at the front of the store were kicking the poo out of each other. A teenage girl was screaming. The Hollywood Video staff was watching in disbelief. Blood was flying. Were there knives? I ran to the front to see if my daughter was OK - she was smart - she ran to the back. The fight went outside and one of the guys got in his car and sped away. Within minutes a fire truck and three police cars were at the store bandaging the other guy. I rented Kungfu Soccer.

Money Politics and Special Interests

I received a form letter from Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi today. She began with:

Dear Friend, Do you really want to be told the truth?

The six-page letter asked for contributions for the Democratic Party. The letter also attacked the Bush Administration for, among other things, "George W. Bush and the right-wing Republican controlled Congress are advancing a radical agenda backed by ... special interests."

Moments after reading and tossing Pelosi's letter I watched the always excellent "Now with Bill Moyers" on PBS which featured an investigation of the parties sponsored by special interests - primarilly corporate interests, at the Democratic National Convention last month. One of those parties was for Nancy Pelosi who refused to explain why she let Time Warner throw a party and fireworks display for her that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Journalists crashed the party and tried to film Pelosi hobnobbing with Time Warner's chairman but her aides interposed themselves between the camera and Pelosi in a vain attempt to prevent her being seen. What a hypocrite. But that's the political system being dominated by money corruption. Both major parties play the game. The only difference is that most Democrats give lip service to solving the money politics and most Republicans make no apology about it.

What is Right vs What is Correct

I recently heard someone (the name escapes me) explain the difference between being right and being correct. Ralph Nader is right to run for president but not correct. The person that may win because of Nader's participation is the "greater of two evils" according to the pundit I was listening to.

This is similar to the conundrum I often find myself in when it comes to deciding who to vote for. As an independent living in Oklahoma I rarely if ever find a candidate I can even agree with on 70% of the issues. Even the "moderates" in Oklahoma are pretty far right as the nation goes. Take Brad Carson for instance. The latest mailer I received from his campaign touts his support of "gun rights" and his support of an amendment to the Constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman (thus, for the first time putting a limitation on rights in our Constitution). If Brad Carson is the "liberal" in the race where does that put his opponent, Tom Coburn? Pretty much at the extreme fringe of the extreme right. So do I vote for one of these guys?

I learned my lesson in the last presidential election when I declined to vote in that race because I didn't feel comfortable with either major candidate. Declining to vote for someone you don't agree with on some issues may be the RIGHT thing to do but I now see it is not the CORRECT thing to do. Given the current political system, choosing the lesser of two "evils" is the correct choice.

Fred Harris Spotting

Fred Harris, former US Senator from Oklahoma and two-time candidate for president, was spotted by Brian Curtis of Slate at the Democratic National Convention in the New Mexico delegation.

Don't Sign up for Netzero! (or AOL)

I had this Internet provider for about a year and canceled my account several months ago when I went broadband. The monthly charge for Netzero disappeared from my credit card bill for three months and then suddenly reappeared on it last month. It had been a hassle cancelling it the first time because Netzero requires you to call and wait a long time to talk to a human in order to cancel your account. You can easily sign up online but they make canceling as difficult as possible. AOL did the same thing to me last year.

When I called back tonight to re-cancel I got a lady with a heavy Indian accent that I could barely understand. She denied that I had canceled my account and had, in fact, only asked for a two-month suspension of my account. When I insisted I had canceled my account she transferred me to cancelations. I waited 20 minutes on the phone until a polite fellow canceled my account again and said my credit card would be credited - in a couple of months. I'll believe that when I see it.

Is Netzero using this disappear and reappear tactic knowing many credit card owners don't check their bills every month? Are they counting on the difficulty of calling and waiting on the phone for long periods of time to discourage customers from getting around to the hassle of canceling - again?

When will these corporations like Netzero and AOL start treating customers with the courtesy to make cancellation of services as easy as signing up? For this reason I avoid automatic deductions from my credit card accounts if at all possible.

Boren and Free Sling Mud Like Crazy

While the Republican candidates for the US Senate race in Oklahoma pound each other over the head with negative ads (except Coburn) the Democrat candidates for the Congressional seat from Eastern Oklahoma are slinging mud like crazy also. Dan Boren and Kalyn Free have engaged in a bitterly negative back and forth battle of ads that leave the citizens confused about who is for what and who's lying the most.

I don't vote for anyone that's cozy with the NRA so when I heard that Boren was endorsed by the NRA I thought Free had a point. But then Free comes out with an ad that touts her membership in the NRA. Okay, no points here. Then I hear that Boren voted with the lowlife cockfighters in votes in the Oklahoma Legislature this year. Okay, can't vote for any twit that's cozy with chicken fighters. Then I see a Free ad that accuses Boren of being in favor of moving jobs to Mexico. I'm not voting for any candidate that is anti-free trade and uses outsourcing as a red herring to pander to people that don't understand economics. Best thing to do in this race is just skip over it on the ballot. Neither one of them deserves a vote.

Election for US Senate Heats Up

The Oklahoma State Chamber is focusing on getting pro-business candidates elected this year and employers are funding the effort under the rubric of the "Prosperity Project".    To see what they are up to take a look at their website.   One of the leaders of the effort is Paula Marshall Chapman, CEO of Bama Pie in Tulsa.  I drove by her mansion the other day and noticed she had Kirk Humphreys signs in her yard.   I see a lot of Humphreys signs on the public rights of way and on highways but Tom Coburn signs predominate in private yards in my neighborhood.   Haven't seen any Bob Anthony signs in yards yet.

I did catch part of the TV debate between the Republican candidates for US Senate and was most impressed by the candidate I had never heard of before - Jay Richard Hunt.  Kirk had the best tan.  Anthony had trouble speaking.  Kirk, Tom and Bob all tried to outdo each other in pandering to the religious right by bashing gays.  If you missed it KFOR-TV's Kelly Ogle had this "incisive" analysis of the debate.

Schmidley's Texas Tech Buddies Get OSU in Hot Water

OSU President Schmidley brought gaggles of his Texas Tech employees to OSU when he moved to Stillwater to take over. Many OSU workers were displaced by the invaders. Some of those buddies have proven to be troublesome and Schmidley is trying to distance himself.

Anthony Sued by Daily Oklahoman

The Associated Press reports that the Oklahoma Publishing Company (Daily Oklahoman) sued Bob Anthony and his campaign, seeking the removal of some of Anthony's ads. A hearing was to begin Friday in the matter. The Oklahoma Publishing Company called the ads misleading and said Anthony used their copyrighted material without their permission.

What is this really about? It's about the Gaylords, owners of the Daily Oklahoman, not being happy about Anthony running against their man, Kirk Humphries. Lots of candidates use quotes from newspapers in their campaign ads and you can bet that if Humphries did the same, the Oklahoman wouldn't sue him. After all, they own him.

Learning to Park

This is a seldom-needed skill needed in Oklahoma unless you are one of the few that work in a metro downtown. But if you are planning a trip to NYC you may want to try this.

When You're Sick of Political Ads

on TV and you get ground down by the details take a moment to look at this and this to gain some perspective.

Oklahoma Election Law on Independents

Chris of Flyover Country points out the source of the law that the Election Board used to toss out Tom Cole's only opposition.