Oklahoma
updated
3:01 a.m.
I don't see how the Repugs can possibly beat this. Biden's speech was fantastic, and the "surprise" appearance by Obama was just bloody brilliant. Go Dems!...
Sinister - Wed 8:20 p.m.
Our favorite Chicken Hawk , Dick (Five Deferments) Cheney , spoke to the American Legion convention today in Phoenix. This is rich . Cheney, who was of military age during the Vietnam years , never served a day in uniform. Instead, he got five (count 'em: five!) deferments from the draft. Cheney had, in his own words, "other priorities." Yet Cheney had no problem sending other people's c...
Alternative Tulsa - Wed 8:20 p.m.
1) The roll call vote was interesting - I like how Clinton did the whole acclamation thing to stop the vote and declare Obama the nominee. I feel a little bit bad for those states after New York - those delegates didn't get to spend 5 minutes yakking about their state, saying "The home of bleah and blah and whatnot." I kind of wanted to hear the Oklahoma delegation. Ah well, whatever works. 2)...
Sinister - Wed 7:04 p.m. - 5 clicks 
Today on the Randi Rhodes show, guest Stephanie Miller said of Cindy McCain, "She looks like one of those aliens from V." V was a TV series back in the '80s about lizard creatures that take over the world and hide their lizard skin under a layer of human skin. Well, let's see. Could this: be under here? You be the judge....
Sinister - Wed 4:33 p.m. - 2 clicks
Sinister will provide analyis of the DNC convention. I have been following the coverage, but I haven't had a lot of time to digest it. A few preliminary notes: 1) Bravo to Ted Kennedy - he demonstrated great personal strength last night and demonstrated why he continues to be a progressive leader. Jeers to the media who used the speech as an excuse to eulogize the man before he's even dead. W...
Sinister - Wed 4:33 p.m.
The sweetest sound - the crowd behind the panel drowning out Pat "Little Adolf" Buchanan with a chorus of boos....
Sinister - Wed 4:33 p.m.
1) How was Mark Warner the "keynote" speaker? His speech was sandwiched between several other speakers, and very little distinguished it from the other speeches. His speech was a cascade of platitudes, and it was easily forgettable. 2) MSNBC was more interested in yakking than in covering the convention. C-SPAN ran all the speeches in their entirety, but every time I switched back to MSNBC, Ch...
Sinister - Wed 4:33 p.m.
In the world as it should be, we recognize that equality in relationship, family, and adoption rights isn't an abstract principle, but goes directly to whether all Americans can lead lives of dignity and freedom. Right on, Michelle....
Sinister - Wed 4:33 p.m.
For those of you who don't know, the American 'Family' Association is an ultra-religious hate group dedicated to narrowing the definition of "family" so that it excludes as many people as possible. Their latest campaign is to send Hallmark messages demanding that the company discontinue producing cards for gay marriages. I just got onto their website and used their form to send Hallmark a messag...
Sinister - Wed 4:33 p.m.
The Independent Movement has a petition on its site: We the undersigned independent-minded voters, want to change our political process so that our elected officials act in the interests of the American people, not the political parties nor the special interests that control them. We recognize that despite the vast increase in voter participation this year, and the enormous momentum for profou...
Sinister - Wed 4:33 p.m.
Well that pissed me off. I would have thought the Democrats would be more sensitive than to do a blatantly Christian invocation. As a "party of inclusion," they should have had a non-denominational and inclusive prayer (or no prayer at all)....
Sinister - Wed 4:33 p.m.
Kucinich throws down. A speech you probably didn't see last night unless you were glued to C-Span. Kucinich is great - he's so bloody earnest and strident and energetic. Yes, he's over the top, and he likes big grandiose metaphors that don't always work, but this is still a good speech....
Sinister - Wed 4:33 p.m.
AT's favorite critique of the Sen. John McCain, courtesy of Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania in a speech in Denver earlier today: John McCain says he's a maverick. But he's voted with Bush over 90% of the time. That's not a maverick. That's a sidekick! ...
Alternative Tulsa - Wed 3:26 p.m.
Right-wing radio is sometimes sad, sometimes funny, most often wrong. But hey, who needs actual facts or information when the whole idea of the wingnut blabbers is to exaggerate, distort and lie about people they don't like? Neal Boortz, the Atlanta-based talker heard in Tulsa on KRMG AM 740, defended John McCain's inability to answer a question about the number of houses he owns th...
Alternative Tulsa - Wed 3:26 p.m. - 3 clicks
AltTulsa's nomination for Quote of the Day comes from the Daily Show's Jon Stewart. Speaking this morning in Denver, Stewart nailed the Fox News gang for its Orwellian slogan : The "fair and balanced" motto, Stewart said, is an insult "to people with brains." Stewart continued: "Barack Obama could cure cancer and they'd figure out a way to frame it as an economic disaster." ...
Alternative Tulsa - Wed 3:26 p.m. - 3 clicks
Speaking of Dick Cheney (see previous post), we learned this week that the vice president will be out of the country during next week's Republican convention. Press reports say the Veep will be visiting the embattled Republic of Georgia , the former Soviet satellite recently invaded by the Russians. We don't care for conspiracy theories, but it strikes us that the timing on Cheney's trip ...
Alternative Tulsa - Wed 3:26 p.m.
A ballot initiative that would bar any unmarried couple from adopting children has made it onto the Arkansas ballot for November. It was sponsored by another one of these "family" organizations who are trying to save the world from the scourge of same-sex couples calling themselves "families." (how dare we!) Look, if you're all so pro-family, and you're all so anti-abortion, shouldn't you be enc...
Sinister - Mon 1:52 p.m.
The premise used to be that homosexuality was an activity, that gays were people who chose to behave badly; or, if they weren’t choosing to behave badly, were nonetheless suffering from a form of sickness or, in the words of the Vatican, an “objective disorder.” And so the question of whether to permit the acts and activities of such disordered individuals was a legitimate area of legislation and...
Sinister - Mon 1:52 p.m. - 2 clicks
Usage Note: Historic and historical have different usages, though their senses overlap. Historic refers to what is important in history: the historic first voyage to the moon. It is also used of what is famous or interesting because of its association with persons or events in history: a historic house. Historical refers to whatever existed in the past, whether regarded as important or not: a min...
Sinister - Mon 1:52 p.m.
Send them to http://www.voteforchange.com/ a website designed to help people register with easy instructions and state resources....
Sinister - Mon 1:52 p.m.
The evidence of Vice President Dick Chene y's disingenuousness in the run-up to the Iraq war continues to mount. Here's a summary of a report released this week: A new report on the documents from George Washington University's National Security Archive…presents compelling evidence that the Bush Administration pressured the CIA and other intelligence agencies to tailor their reports ...
Alternative Tulsa - Sat 2:24 p.m. - 6 clicks
Alrighty then. I guess that's fine. I just worry about Biden's tendency to be somewhat undisciplined......
Sinister - Sat 7:44 a.m. - 3 clicks
State Sen. Glenn Coffee is AT's unanimous choice as Oklahoma's Chump of the Week for his facetious invitation for Democratic candidate Barack Obama to visit the Sooner State . Here's Coffee's comment, his tongue firmly lodged in his fat cheek : Speaking on behalf of all Oklahoma Republicans, and in the spirit of true bi-partisanship, I want to join Governor Henry in inviting Barack Obama t...
Alternative Tulsa - Fri 8:28 p.m. - 16 clicks
It's not just his seven (or eight) houses , it's not just his trophy wife's $100 million beer distribution fortune , now it's his household servants . Yes, servants. Here's a new report from Politico : The McCains increased their budget for household employees from $184,000 in 2006 to $273,000 in 2007, according to John McCain's tax returns. The additional cash supports an "increase ...
Alternative Tulsa - Fri 8:28 p.m. - 2 clicks
There seem to be a lot of folks who are morally opposed to marriage equality and call being gay an "unhealthy lifestyle" that "threatens traditional marriage." I have to ask them a couple of questions. In your own life, at what point have you, personally, seen a gay couple and thought, "ack! two men in love! my marriage is ruined!!" and what, exactly, led you to that conclusion? Why, exactly, ar...
Sinister - Fri 3:21 p.m. - 4 clicks
At the request of a lesbian couple, the Coquille Indian Tribe on the southern Oregon coast, in the U.S. West, has adopted a law recognizing same-sex marriage. Tribal law specialists say the Coquille appear to be the first American Indian tribe to sanction such marriages. Most tribal law doesn't address the issue. The Navajo and Cherokee tribes prohibit same-sex marriages. Great news. Congratu...
Sinister - Fri 3:21 p.m. - 2 clicks
A ltTulsa's nomination for Political Headline of the Day , a follow-up to McCain's admission this week that he wasn't sure how many houses he and wife Cindy own : Official Net Worth: McCain $36.4 Million, Obama $799,000 ...
Alternative Tulsa - Fri 10:40 a.m. - 15 clicks
C andidate John McCain likes to present himself as a GOP maverick , an outsider who can buck the system when necessary. Too bad his campaign staff belies that idea. Here's what the Sacramento Bee found when it looked at McCain's ties to the telecommunication industry : More than 60 present and former telecom lobbyists work for McCain's campaign as staffers and volunteers, some in ...
Alternative Tulsa - Fri 9:20 a.m. - 2 clicks
January 20 can't come soon enough. That's the day America will be rid of George W. Bush, one of the worst presidents in U.S. history . As evidence, we present the latest report on the Bush signing statements , highly questionable documents misused by the White House: The Bush Administration’s use of presidential signing statements to indicate disapproval of enacted legislation has generate...
Alternative Tulsa - Thu 11:08 p.m. - 2 clicks
"How can John McCain lay broadband across the country when he doesn't know what it is?"...
Sinister - Thu 10:08 p.m. - 2 clicks
Obama is hitting McCain hard with negative ads. He's also pouncing on McCain's incredible statement that he doesn't know how many houses he owns. How can a guy who has so many houses that he can't count them all call anyone an elitist? Now Obama needs to jump on McCain for agreeing that we need to reinstate the draft. That'll lose McCain whatever portion of the youth vote he may still have...
Sinister - Thu 10:08 p.m. - 2 clicks
why the right wing has such a problem with arugula? Seriously. You don't have anything better to use against Obama than what type of lettuce he might choose to eat? If that's the case, you're really, really, really screwed. Especially when your candidate is such a super-rich elitist that he doesn't see the need to keep track of how many houses he owns. How many of you have trouble keeping t...
Sinister - Thu 10:08 p.m.
T he Arizona senator's latest gaffe, one that contradicts his "good ole boy" persona : Sen. John McCain said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own. "I think—I'll have my staff get to you," McCain said. "It's condominiums where—I'll have them get to you." This is more than embarrassing . It underscores the fact that Mc...
Alternative Tulsa - Thu 1:24 p.m. - 3 clicks
S tate Sen. Andrew Rice , who is running for the U.S. Senate seat now held by former Tulsa Mayor Jim Inhofe , is moving up in the polls. Rice's website reported yesterday that Rice had moved to within 9 points of Inhofe , a veteran politician with high name recognition in the Sooner state. This strikes us a great news for Rice , a first-time candidate in a state-wide race. Yet Oklahoma rema...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 20 - 9 clicks
Research and negotiate oil and mineral lease. - 3/16 royalty and cash bonus or the straight 1/4? Sue your neighbors. - They started it. Watching the Olympics using the DVR. - Even the wussy type of handball as opposed to the the real kind. Collecting firewood for winter. - Ronald Reagan style. Thin out squirrels. - Hey, it’s been [...]...
Okiedoke - Aug 19
Supporting the troops. GIs favor Obama by big margin U.S. soldiers have donated more presidential campaign money to Democrat Barack Obama than to Republican John McCain, a reversal of previous campaigns in which military donations tended to favor GOP White House hopefuls, a nonpartisan group reported Thursday. Troops serving abroad have given nearly six times as much [...]...
Okiedoke - Aug 17
I t's going to be a long election season for some incumbent Republicans, so much so that they are skipping next month's GOP convention in St. Paul. After the continued incompetence and failed policies of the Bush-Cheney years, it's not too much of a surprise that some Republican leaders will keep their distance from the party regulars, including John McCain . Here's a summary, cour...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 17
T ulsa photography buffs will be treated to the work of a modern master with the opening of the Ansel Adams show at the Gilcrease Museum . The show, which opens tomorrow, promises to be well worth the trip. It includes 138 photographs, including many of his most well-known photographs from Yosemite National Park in California and other places in the West. Adams is known to d...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 14 - 8 clicks
A T's nomination for Political Headline of the Day : Obama Tops in Donation from Troops Looks like the Bush-Cheney-McCain elective war in Iraq isn't playing so well with our soldiers and sailors. ...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 14
C ampaigning for president against Al Gore in 2000, George W. Bush made a point of stressing "accountability." Unlike the corrupt and double-dealing Clinton-Gore Administration, Bush declared, members of his administration would be accountable. In a Bush Administration, he would hold individuals fully responsible for their actions. Despite the lofty rhetoric, the last seven-plus years have d...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 12 - 7 clicks
R epublican blowhards are always waxing eloquent about their family values and other supposed merits of the conservative philosophy . To hear them tell it, everyone to the left of center is a Godless communist, bend on destroying the American family, religion, the flag, and apple pie. But moral posturing and exaggeration will only carry a political party so far. In the real world, Republ...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 12
I t's not really a surprise, but it is now official: Some Republican Party leaders are supporting Barack Obama for president. Here's a news brief confirming the switch, courtesy of (yes!) FoxNews.co m: Barack Obama’s campaign is rolling out a number of centrist Republicans who are endorsing the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee over Republican rival John McCain - in a show of his a...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 12
Y ou'd think a booming oil market would improve the economic outlook of Sooner state voters . You'd be wrong. The new Sooner Poll , reported in today's Tulsa World , found a mere 4 percent of Oklahomans who said the economy was improving. The vast majority, more than 80 percent , said the economy is getting worse . The poll included 750 likely voters in Oklahoma. Given this enormou...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 10 - 8 clicks
A nother winner from The Onion , our favorite humor publication. In the paper's "Our Changing Nation" column, the Onion's writers "report" on the nation's quest for success with these two headlines: Nation To Try Its Luck Out West Entire Population Seeking Greener Pastures ...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 10
A s long-time Tulsans, we don't usually get jealous of Oklahoma City . But we do admit to a little envy of our fellow urban Sooners after the appearance Friday of a positive travel article in (yes!) the New York Times . The headline says a lot about the tone of the piece: "Booming With Oil and a New Exuberance." OKC? Really? Who woulda thunk it? The article goes on to praise the city's ...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 10 - 7 clicks
AltTulsa likes to be optimistic . Ordinarily we don't usually believe in government conspiracy theories , nor do we think of ourselves as especially paranoid. Then we saw this story in yesterday's New York Times : The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday that it had improperly obtained the phone records of reporters for The New York Times and The Washington Post in the newspapers’ I...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 9 - 6 clicks
AT's nomination for the Headline of the Day , courtesy of our friends over at The Onion , the humor paper that calls itself (wink, wink) "America's Finest News Source:" Local Idiot To Post Comment On Internet ...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 9
Now that the McCain camp has criticized Barack Obama as a mere celebrity just like Paris Hilton, it comes out that McCain is the one courting celebrity status. As some of the Talking Heads are reporting, McCain has more than a passing acquaintance with celebrity culture. He's hosted Saturday Night Live , for instance. He's been on the television show 24 and the movie Wedding Crashers ...
Alternative Tulsa - Aug 7