The Thunderbirds Are Going to War

Insignia of the 45th Infantry, National Guard, "The Thunderbirds"

Guard units in 4 states may head to Iraq
Pentagon notifies brigades in Okla., Ohio, Ark., and Ind.; 13,000 troops
The Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. - The Department of Defense announced Monday it has notified National Guard brigades in Oklahoma, Ohio, Arkansas and Indiana to prepare for possible deployment to Iraq.

If the order is finalized, about 13,000 troops would begin deploying in December for a maximum of one year.

"They are receiving alert orders now in order to provide them the maximum time to complete their preparations," the Defense Department said in a prepared statement. "It also provides a greater measure of predictability for family members and flexibility for employers to plan for military service of their employees."

The troops would be used as replacement units and the deployment would not be associated with the current troop surge.

A final determination of whether these units will deploy will be made based on conditions on the ground in Iraq, the statement said.


The four National Guard brigade combat teams given the deployment alert were:

The 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Little Rock, Ark.
The 45th Infantry Brigade, Oklahoma City.
The 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Indianapolis.
The 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Columbus, Ohio.
© 2007 The Associated Press.
MSNBC

It's Been A Beautiful Spring

Fruitless Pear Trees

It has turned colder lately. Spring has a way of doing that here on the Southern Plains. We had some very warm weather and then it got down below freezing. Even had some light sleet and snow. But we're on the way back.

The Mirror

Mirror

Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and George W. Bush went to a fitness spa for some fun. After a stimulating, healthy lunch, all three decided to visit the men's room and they found a strange-looking gent sitting at the entrance.

He said, "Welcome to the gentlemen's room. Be sure to check out our newest feature, a mirror that, if you look into it and say something truthful,
you will be rewarded with your wish.

But, be warned: if you say something FALSE, you will be sucked into the mirror to live in a void of nothingness for all eternity!"

The three men quickly entered and upon finding the mirror, Bill Clinton stepped up and said, "I think I'm the most intelligent of us three," and he suddenly found the keys to a brand new Bentley in his hands.

Al Gore stepped up and said, "I think I'm the most aware of the environmental problems of us three," and in an instant, he was surrounded by a pile of money to fund his next Presidential Campaign.

Excited over the possibility of finally having a wish come true, George W. Bush looked into the mirror and said,

"I think...," and was promptly sucked into the mirror.

I Won!

The Scream

We had our Oklahoma County Democratic Convention, and I was elected County Chair. Now the work begins!

Saturday's the Day!

Go Green!

On Saturday, the delegates to the Oklahoma County Democratic Party Convention will meet to choose our county officers including the one I am running for, county chair. I have been have some anxiety about the result, not so much about whether I will win as much as the thought, "What if I do if I do win?"

This is an awesome responsibility because there is so much riding on our success, and so much work that needs to be done to achieve success.

On Being a Politician

NPR: This I Believe

(Our church has been using the NPR Series This I Believe and the companion book as the basis for its annual Lenten Study Series. Rev. Meyers, our pastor, has encouraged each of us to write an essay describing some belief we have in 500 words or less. This is my contribution which I read at today's service as a part of my responsibility as lay worshp leader for that service.)

I eagerly await the day that researchers involved in the Human Genome Project announce that they have discovered the “Political Gene.” I can think of no other reason why some of us become so politically involved. I am one of those whose political gene is dominant.

My political tendencies manifested themselves very early. In 1960, I had my classmates in the 3rd grade vote on which of my two best friends would be my “very bestest friend”. Since I personally favored one over the other, and I knew my parents favored Nixon over Kennedy, I ran one as a Republican and the other as a Democrat. Thus I not only took part in my first campaign, but my first “push poll” as well.

It is easy to become cynical about politics in our time. In fact, that has long been the case. Aesop is supposed to have said, “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” My childhood faith in politics and politicians has gone through many tests. For example, my first campaign in Oklahoma, was to elect David Boren as governor. Later I watched him as a US Senator vote to confirm Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, an action that Boren later said he, too, regretted.

Politics is like that: glorious one moment, appalling the next, very much like humanity as a whole. Politics is, after all, a human enterprise; therefore, we should not be surprised that it displays all of the generosity and compassion humans are capable of showing as well as the cupidity and cruelty endemic to our species. The same body politic capable of creating Social Security and Civil Rights legislation can also reward corporate greed and deny some Americans their rights because of their sexual orientation.

So why do folks like me, and many of you, keep at it year after year, election after election? I believe it comes down to our faith in the possibility of justice, the only true purpose for any society. After all, any political decisions from the school board to the federal government must be examined in the light of whether or not the choice enlarges the realm of justice. We should always ask this question, “Will or will not this action allow more of our citizens to enjoy their right to dignity?” For human dignity is the true measure of a just society. I also believe that, despite setbacks, defeats and occasional reversals, we are making progress towards securing justice for all. The task, of course, is far from finished. What justice we have achieved happened because a body of people, usually an elected body, had the courage to do a just political act. Because I believe in justice, I must to be political. Therefore, I am proud to say that I am a politician.

Today Is My Birthday!

Today, I turn Double Nickels, 55! I had a very nice birthday that actaully began on Thursday when we had the privilege of seeing Hal Holbrook do his one man show, "Mark Twain Tonight!" at the Rose State College Performing Arts Center. Then we went to Tulsa where Cat's sister and brother-in-law live. They are both movie buffs and so they took us to see a very weird Korean film called The Host. I found it "interesting" but certainly not to everyone's taste, including mine.

The next day we had "brunch" at IHOP with Cat's son, his wife and his wife's two children. I have always said that when I turn 55, I'm going to embrace the age by ordering the off the Senior Citizen's menu, so I had the "Senior Citizen Sampler". The food was okay, but the service was very 2nd rate.

Then we went to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks. I really enjoyed that. I'm fascinated by nature, particularly aquadic nature because I really feel it's like looking at something right out of the age of the Dinosaurs.

I had a great time!

Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain

Barrack Obama Rally at Old Farmer's Market in OKC

Barrack Obama

Barrack Obama spoke to a sold out audience of 1,100 people crowded into Old Farmer's Market on Monday, March 19th.

Old Farmer's Market
Some of the signs from those attending
The line to get in
Some of those attending
State Senator Andrew Rice Warms Up the Audience

Obama Rallies the Crowd

Crowd Gathers at OK State Capitol to Protest the War in Iraq

Anti-War Protest at the Oklahoma State Capitol 3.17.07
Rev. Robin Meyers speaking at the Anti-War Protest at the Oklahoma State Capitol 3.17.07
Crowd at the Anti-War Protest at the State Capitol
Protestors and Sign
Reading the names of Oklahomans killed in Iraq
Protestors and Signs
State Senator Connie Johnson

I've Decided to Run for OK County Chair

Go Green

I've decided to run for the chair position of the Oklahoma County Democratic Party. The election is March 31st.

Early Spring in Oklahoma

The weather has been very warm here lately. We have had some beautiful daffodils bloom in our garden. Of course, next week, being Spring Break, we are likely to be buried under 6 inches of snow and ice.

When Did I Get to be Old Fashioned???

Our old cable box went on the blink. The cable guy (insert your own joke here) came around and installed a brand new "DVR" that does all sorts of neat things if you can just figure out which box to press on our brand new remote.

My wife and I are thinking about adopting a 10 year old, but we don't want it to be a permanent thing.

Is it possible to just rent one?

Beautiful Magnolia Tree Outside My Classroom Window

Southern Magnolia Tree

One of the few beauties we have on our high school campus is this Southern Magnolia tree that can be seen outside by classroom window. I love to see its large, waxy blossoms each spring. My classroom is on the second floor just to the left of the tree. The photo was taken during a spell of warm February weather in the courtyard that my room overlooks.

New Soup

I Can Relate to Ernie

Frank and Earnest

National Pun Day

Idol Time

I have unilaterally declared March 4th, NATIONAL PUN DAY because this date is itself a pun which answers the riddle, "What date do soldiers hate the most?" (Think about it a while and you'll get it.)

Someone said that a pun is not funny only because you didn't think of it. Here are a few of my favorite puns.

One day Abraham was in the family tent working on his laptop trying to download some new software. (This is a little known story from the book of Genesis.) His son, Issac, walked in and saw what his father was doing.

Issac said, "Dad, that old computer has been around since the days of Noah. There is no way that it's going to have enough memory to download that program."

Abraham turned and looked at his boy, "Worry not, my son, God will provide the RAM."

And if that doesn't have your groaning, I give you the infamous "walked into a bar" jokes:

A neutron walks into a bar. “I'd like a beer,” he says.
The bartender promptly serves up a beer.
“How much will that be?” asks the neutron.
“For you?” replies the bartender, “no charge.”

A pair of jumper cables walk into a bar.
The bartender says, "Well, you can come in, but don't start anything."

A ham sandwich walks into a bar.
The bartender says, "Hey, we don't serve food here."

A priest, a minister, and a rabbi walk into a bar.
The bartender says, "Is this some sort of joke?"

A piece of string walks into a bar.
The bartender says, "We don't serve your kind here."
The string walks out, ties himself in the middle, ruffles up his head, and walks back into the bar.
The bartender says, "Aren't you that piece of string that came in earlier."
The string says, "No, I'm a frayed knot."

A mushroom walks into a bar.
The bartenders says, "We don't serve your kind here."
The mushroom, "Why not? I'm just a fungi!"

A snake crawls into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry. I can't serve you."
The snake asks, "Why not?"
The bartender replies, "Because you can't hold your liquor."

A brain goes into a bar and says to the bartender, "I'll have a pint please".
The bartender says, "Sorry, I can't serve you, you're out of your head".

A guy sits alone at a bar, drinking his beer. From out of nowhere, he hears a voice say, "You look great, man! Have you lost weight?" He looks around, and confirms that the only other person in the bar is the bartender, who is all the way at the other end of the bar. He shrugs it off, and takes another drink of his beer. "That's a really nice suit. It looks good on you," the voice says again. The guy freaks out, and shouts, "Hey, bartender! Come here!" "Who keeps talking to me?!" The guy asks the bartender. "Oh, that?" The bartender says, "It's the peanuts. They're complimentary."

Three vampires walk into an bar.
The bartender says, "What'll it be, gentlemen."
The first says, "I vant a pint of blud."
The second says, "I vant a pint of blud, too."
The third says, "I vant a pint of plasma."
So the bartender says, "Okay, let me get this straight. You're ordering two Bloods and one Blood Lite."

Well, that's enough. Happy punning!

You're So Vain!

Me

The man who runs our Oklahoma County Democratic Party website wanted a picture of me for the web page. I scanned this school pic taken this year for the annual. He said that it was good, but that he needed more "pixels". I'm not sure what he meant, so I'm going to post it to see what the pictures does on this blog.

Things are looking up

Baseball Display at the Oklahoma History Museum

Two good things happen tomorrow.
1) The last day of February. (Why is it that the shortest month of the year always seems like the longest one?)
2) Spring training games begin which means Opening Day is not that far off. (April 1st!)

Boots

Boot's Puppy Pic

I don't think I've done a blog entry on our new puppy, Boots. She is a "Peekapoo", a mix of a pekingese and a poodle. She got the name because she has little white feet and a black coat which is now developing a "touch of gray" around her neck. (We don't intend to change her name to Jeri Garcia or anything like that, though.

Intra-Party Politics

Two Democratic Friends

I sent this out to a list of Oklahoma Democratic Party leaders recently. I plan to run for the chairman's spot in my county, Oklahoma County. Our county convention is March 31st and I will be elected by delegates chosen at our state-wide precinct caucuses on March 8t. These are some of my reflections as a candidate for a party office. I will have a friend or two running against me, and we will be asking mutual friends for their support. I hope we can do this a remain friends with each other and united as a party.

We, the members of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, are about to enter a time of "Intra-party" politics. In other words, we are deciding who will lead us during the crucial election we face in 2008. We will be asked to make many decisions and have in front of us many choices, few of them easy. No where in our society, except perhaps in sports, is it more impossible to create "win-win" situations than in politics. Elections mean someone wins and someone loses, if there are at least two people who want the same position. The fact that these elections pit Democrat against Democrat means that we will have friends, colleagues, even allies asking, often demanding our vote.
Yet we recognize that we need a united party in order to succeed, so what do we do? We remember first and foremost why we are Democrats. We have all seen the slogan posted on various signs and bumper stickers: "Democrats Care." I wish I could amend that to read "Democrats Care: About More than Number 1". Probably wouldn't make for good advertising, but to my mind that's why I'm a Democrat. I want a world where we truly realize "justice for ALL." And if my political ideals go beyond individual comforts, then my political commitment must go further than my personal ambition.
Personal ambition is good and necessary if we are to have a vital party. I am running for an office in my county because I truly believe I can do it better than those who are also running for the office can. (We will see what the delegates have to say.) But I do not believe that winning the election is a personal endorsement or losing it a personal rejection. It is an opportunity for service, a means to advance the cause of justice.
So if my Democratic friend decides to support me, great; I hope a majority of them do so. But if not, she is still my Democratic friend, and we will work together for this party we love. For me to feel rejected or, worse, to drop out of active participation in my party would make a lie of everything I feel makes me a Democrat.
I wish you the best of fortune as you help to guide your portion of the party through this often difficult time. May we recognize that we Democrats care about more than 1 in regards to our party as well as our country.
Lynn Green
OK County Secretary

I wonder if he wore hip waders also?

Bush Bullshit


This veteran wears a protective flap

over his ears while President G.W. Bush

addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars

about veteran's benefits.

I checked this out on Snopes.com to see if this is an authentic photograph and text. They report that this actually happened during a speech made by Bush at a VFW Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 22, 2005. The man's name is Bill Moyer, a 73 year old WWII veteran who was protesting Bush's policies.

Poor George

Shift the Blame

"Mr. President, I have bad news and I have worse news."

GI Joke

One day last January there was a heavy snow in Washington D.C. Bush woke up to find that there was at least 4 inches of snow on the ground. When he got down to the Oval Office, he saw something very strange outside one of his office windows. There in the snow were some words written in yellow that said "Bush Lied and Soldiers Died". Bush was enraged. He called down White House security. "Look at that!" he screamed. "If I'm not mistaken. Those letters are written in piss." (Bush recognized this from similar stunts he pulled during his drunken, drugged out college days.)"I want this investigated. And I want it done now!"

The security team got right to it. They photographed the words before they had a chance to disappear, took a sample of the yellow snow, and rushed photo and sample off to the FBI labs.

Later that day, Bush got a call from FBI headquarters. Robert Mueller, the FBI Director himself, was on the phone. "Mr. President," Mueller said, "we have made a positive trace on the DNA from the urine sample we got. I'm afraid I have bad news." Bush thought to himself, if the FBI Director called, this must be bad news. "Sir, I must inform you that the DNA matches that of Defense Secretary Robert Gates. It's a 100% match." Bush exploded, "That bastard., after what I did for him. I'll have his resignation immediately. He and I are finished!"

"Sir,” Mueller continued, "I'm afraid that's not all. It gets worse." Dumbstruck, Bush said, "How could anything be worse?" "Well," Mueller said, "we also used the photo to check the handwriting. It's Laura's."

'Nother favorite comic strip of mine

9 Chickweed Lane

Oklahoma Needs More Alternative Education

The Oklahoma Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 519 by Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson, R-Oklahoma City, which would eliminate one of the three exemptions from a compulsory attendance law.

Wilcoxson said the measure was requested by Gov. Brad Henry.

The bill would eliminate the exemption that allows a student to drop out when a parent, custodian or guardian of the child and the school administrator agree that the student's leaving school is in the best interest of the community and child.

All well and good, but what are the teachers and administrators of Oklahoma's public schools to do with these "at risk" students who will be denied their wish to drop out and must remain in our student population? After all, very few young people drop out of school because they are experiencing success in the classroom.

If Oklahoma lawmakers really want to do something about Oklahoma's dropout problem, they need to expand the opportunities students and administrators have to use alternative education, especially in the urban areas of the state. Any teacher can point out those students in the school who will not make it to graduation unless some type of radical intervention takes place. These students usually constitute about 5% of the student population, but they create about 80% of the schools problems through their poor socialization skills, low academic achievement, and disruptive classroom behavior. These are the students, often, the teacher prays will be absent of class that day because then the rest of the students can learn.
The reasons for these students' problems are numerous: single/zero parent families, drug usage, lack of motivation, and so on. The result is uniform. They create a poor school environment. They hinder other students. They lower school test scores. They drop out and become wards of the state either on the welfare roles or in prisons.

These students will not make it in the "traditional" school. No manner of teacher heroics will save them from their fate unless there is a method to meet their needs, needs the traditional school is not and never was set up to meet.

We need to provide them the opportunity to succeed through something other than the traditional school, but school districts, already pressed with budgets strained beyond capacity, have only limited alternative spots which quickly fill up during the first quarter of the school year. And don't think that school consolidation will provide the necessary resources. In fact, the problem would likely increase if schools become larger and administrative staffs shrink.

The legislature needs to quit its habit of looking for quick fixes and do what any teacher or administrator knows must be done. We need a true state-wide alternative education system and we need it before we lose more students forever.

Huge Increase of Diabetes in the UAE Result of Our Weapons?

Numerous scientific reports state that "GULF WAR SYNDROME" was caused by Depleted Uranium. Fifty-six per cent OF ALL GULF WAR I VETERANS are experiencing health problems compared with 5% of Korean War and 10% of Vietnam War vets!

I received this in an e-mail from Bob Nichols whom I believe works as a reporter in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bob has been long concerned along with others about our use of "depleted" Uranium as a material for conventional weapons like armor piercing shells. The problem is that such shells disintegrate on contact and spread radiation into the ecosystem. Bob sent this information about possible affects that our use of uranium based weapons have had in the region.

World Wide Diabetes Epidemic: "If it is Epidemic, it is not Genetic." - Leuren Moret

UAE [United Arab Emirates] is on the Gulf Coast. . . . They are within close range of Iraq.

Diabetes is contracted within two months of radiation poisoning, according to Dr. Earnest Sternglass. He was the person President Kennedy asked to 'talk to" the US Senate to get them to pass the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963.

Dr Sternglasss told me in an interview that "40 years ago everybody knew it [the relationship between diabetes and fall out radiation]." He was speaking of the increase in diabetes over the historical occurrence rate of diabetes. That knowledge has been "disappeared."

It has been cynically replaced by more of a "personal responsibility" concept of disease that sees CDC actually funding research to see if underarm deodorant causes cancer, rather than funding research to see if radiation causes cancer.

Mueller, a scientist, found in 1927 that one shot of radiation was 10 to 100 Million times more likely to cause cancerous and or genetic changes to egg and sperm cells of a colony of flies. He tracked the same radiation caused diseases and mutations through 40,000 generations.

It has only been taken humans 80 generations to cover the past 2000 years.

Bob Nichols
Project Censored Award Winner
Doctors Welcome UAE Approval of "Revolutionary" Insulin Inhalation Treatment

Molly Ivins 1944-2007

Rest in Peace, Molly

Oklahoma Flag
Oklahomans need to get over an inherent inferiority complex. I wish we would stop our "Texas" fixation. All our politicians want us to be "like Texas" in our tax structure and our economic system. Yet Texas has some of the poorest people, worst crime, and worst pollution in the nation! If we want a model, let us look to states like Iowa or Minnesota where they are dedicated to improving education and health care, not to states where robber barons are given free reign.

Dumpster Diving

Rubes

It Ain't Easy Being Prophetic

Hot Time on the Old Earth


Someone once said that conservatives have an easier task persuading people that conservatism is right compared with liberals. After all, a conservative's pitch is either that things are okay, just the way they are, or that we have gone too far in our society and we need go back to the way things used to be. A liberal, on the other hand, has to say that we need to make changes in the way we are living in order to make them better for everyone.

I cannot say that this is true for all issues of contention between liberals and conservatives. As with all blanket statements, it cannot cover all circumstances. However, when we consider the issue of Global Warming, I believe we see this maxim in action.

Consider these responses to a question from the Newsok.com website:

Humans "very likely" are the cause of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released this morning (Friday). For this group, "very likely" means the scientists have more than 90 percent confidence that human emissions of greenhouse gases have caused observed warming over the past 50 years. Will you change your behavior as a result? Does the responsibility for change fall to individuals or the government?

Here are some of the responses:

I believe volcanos and the heating of the crust of the earth has more to do with the warming of the atmosphere than with manmade activity. Although, regional brown clouds, paving of farm land, artificial irrigation, and other things like eastern red cedar trees cause temprature rise in localized areas. I think it is vain of mankind to think we have a worldwide impact on the weather. The water is warming in the artic causing the ice shelf to break apart. The ambient temp. of the air is way below freezing but has risen from 32 below to 30 below zero, a two degree rise in air temp, won't cause the ice shelf to break apart..
Doug , Madill

Can you say 1500 year cycle?? Man has been using fossil fuels for less than 200 years, and the EU bunch (including Al Gore)want us to believe that we are responsible for the weather? What a sad bunch of egotists. Folks, man doesn't have that much stroke!!!
Don, Oklahoma City

I could limit my trips to Walmart to once per week.
Stan, Guthrie

No one wishes more than I that Global Warming would just GO AWAY! I am a child of the 50's and 60's, and I have a nostalgic wish that we could just go back to the "good old days" of unlimited, cheap gasoline. I miss the muscles cars (giddyup, giddyup, 409, 409). I long for bright, blue, smog free skies. I wish I could make the inside of my house feel like Hawaii during the warmest summers and the coldest winters. And I miss the sight of oil derricks pumping their black gold out of the Oklahoma hills as I cruise along Route 66.

But those days are over. In reality, they never should have been. We cannot continue to live beyond our planetary budget simply because this is what we are used to. Like it or not we must change, or future generations will curse the memory of this generation.

There is no "profit" in being a "prophet". Just ask Amos from the Hebrew scriptures. He was a shepherd to came to the town of Bethel, and did not like what he saw. So he began to tell the people there that if they did not shape up, the Lord was going to ship them out. Finally, a leader of the established church, Amaziah by name, came to tell Amos to shut up and quit stirring up trouble.

We read in the book of Amos:
Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: "Amos has conspired against you here within Israel; the country cannot endure all his words.
For this is what Amos says: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land." To Amos, Amaziah said: "Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary and a royal temple." Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel. Now hear the word of the LORD!" You say: prophesy not against Israel, preach not against the house of Isaac. Now thus says the LORD: Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city, and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by measuring line, and you yourself shall die in an unclean land; Israel shall be exiled far from its land.

So as Amos was unafraid to speak truth to power, we Liberals should not be afraid to tell the truth to those who counsel ease and comfort while signs and portents of global disaster appear all around us.

People who fortell disaster are often dismissed as "Cassandras", people who make predictions of disasters which no one will believe. The trouble is, we forget that in the Greek stories about her, Cassandra was always right!
Cassandra by Evelyn De Morgan

This is a remarkable web site featuring the names and faces of all those who have been killed in Iraq.

They Are Home Now