Tag Archives: Oklahoma

What I’m Reading, May 9, 2014

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Philipp Clüver [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsBarbarians in Oklahoma, Charles Pierce, Esquire, April 30, 2014 (h/t PZ Myers)

I am saying this quite deliberately. The state of Oklahoma committed an act of fucking barbarism last night. It did so under the color of law, which makes every citizen of that benighted state complicit in the act of fucking barbarism. The governor of that state, a pink balloon named Mary Fallin, is a fucking barbarian. A state legislator named Mike Christian is a fucking barbarian, for reasons we will get to in a moment. Every politician in that benighted state belongs in a fucking cage this morning.

(Emphasis in original.)

Andrew Wakefield: Attracting antivaccine cranks like moths to a flame since 1998, Orac, Respectful Insolence, May 7, 2014

Andrew Wakefield, like many antivaccinationists, doesn’t like being called an “antivaccinationist” or “antivaccine.” This becomes evident in a part of the interview where Billy D [Billy DeMoss] asks Wakefield if there are any vaccines that are effective; i.e., if there are any vacines that “work.” It’s clear that Billy D wants Wakefield to say that vaccines don’t work. He doesn’t say that—exactly. He does, however, equivocate. Instead of saying whether vaccines work or not, he does say that vaccines result in the production of antibodies against the organisms for which they are designed, after which he questions whether antibodies actually lead to immunity and pulls out the antivaccine trope of questioning how long the immunity from vaccines lasts. He even goes so far as to claim that the mumps vaccine is not needed, that it doesn’t work, and that mumps is a “trivial disease,” which it is not. (If you develop deafness from mumps, to you it’s not a trivial disease.”

Rick Santorum: Georgia Law ‘Creates An Opportunity’ For Gun Owners To Police Airports, David, Crooks and Liars, April 27, 2014 Continue reading →

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Editing Cosmos for Comfort

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The new Cosmos miniseries, hosted by the heir to Carl Sagan’s science-communicator skills, Neil deGrasse Tyson, premiered last Sunday. The series is off to a great start, I think, but others seem to have their doubts about the show’s overt bias towards science. In fact, a Fox affiliate in Oklahoma allegedly edited out the fifteen seconds of the hour-long episode that discussed devil-spawning evolution, in favor of an evening news promo.

The following weeks are going to be an interesting time for that station if they’re going to stick to their guns on this. I hope the editor gets paid overtime. I’m sure I’m not the only person to think of posting this, but there’s really only one appropriate response to the station’s editing decision, and it is this:

My sincerest apologies to all Oklahomans who aren’t into this sort of thing. Believe me, you have kindred spirits down here in Texas.

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If the Constitution Gives You Religious Pluralism, Make Lemonade

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Some day, conservative Christians may finally accept that they have always shared this country with people who don’t necessarily think like them, or at least that the First Amendment applies to all religions, not just theirs. Until then, we get to enjoy what may become a world-class display of religious diversity on the grounds of the Oklahoma Capitol.

Plus, we get to see how the conservative media can try to spin it in their own favor, or at least against people they don’t like. That’s how we got this delightful Washington Times headline: “Atheists smug as Hindus join Satanists to demand display at Oklahoma Statehouse.”

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Comparing Apples to Oranges in Oklahoma

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The Wall Street Journal’s editorial staff is asking why Al Sharpton, et al, are not devoting the same amount of attention to the murder of Christopher Lane in Oklahoma, allegedly by three bored teenagers, as they did to the George Zimmerman case. The editorial begins as follows:

Three teenagers were charged Tuesday in the killing of a white college student in Duncan, Oklahoma…

(Emphasis added to make my point as painfully obvious as possible.) That’s not even the entire first sentence, but it has already explained how this case is different from Zimmerman’s case. To be clear, Lane’s death is a tragedy and a horrible crime that deserves thorough investigation and punishment of the guilty parties. (I shouldn’t have to add that caveat, but I suspect someone somewhere will try to say I don’t care as much about this case.)

Here’s how it’s different: the suspects in Lane’s death are already in custody and facing criminal charges, including murder. Trayvon Martin died on February 26, 2012, but Zimmerman wasn’t arrested until April 11, 45 days later.

No one is disputing that what the three teenagers allegedly did is a crime.

So far, no one has tried to claim that the three teenagers in Oklahoma acted in self-defense, and no one will ever be able to make that claim plausibly. The Zimmerman case involved the killing of a black teenager (who was not committing any crime) by an overzealous neighborhood watch volunteer who, for reasons we’ll likely never know for sure, thought he looked “suspicious.” The narrative of people finding young black men “suspicious,” just for being young black men, plays itself out every day in this country. Certain people are seizing on the fact that the Lane case involves a young white man killed by three young black men as a sleazy way of trying to create a false equivalence with the Zimmerman case, or to fabricate some kind of “both sides do it” narrative.

It’s pretty sickening, really.

Think of it this way: many people expressed a high level of skepticism about the allegation that Zimmerman was motivated by Martin’s race. See if those same people apply the same high level of skepticism to the Lane case.

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Helping the People of Oklahoma, While Not Forgetting the Kind of Leaders They Elected

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Oklahoma isn’t a place. It’s something in your blood. It’s something that you do. It’s the shirt off your back and a tear in your eye and the giddyup in your soul.
Nicole Hill

Moore_Oklahoma_Tornado_DamageThe comments regarding yesterday’s deadly tornado in Oklahoma seem to range from unconditional pleas for help on the one hand, to “political cheap shots” against the people who elected Senators Tom Coburn and James Inhofe on the other. The need for help, and the obligation for us to provide whatever help we can, however much or little, both individually and as a society, should be without question. We are all Americans, we are all humans, and we are all in this together. I disagree, however, with those who say that now is not the time for politics. We are capable enough of multitasking that we can give aid while remembering what the elected leaders of Oklahoma have said in the past. (Coburn and Inhofe stand out right now because they have been so outspoken in the past about these types of issues. I know less about, say, Governor Mary Fallin or the local authorities in Moore, who appear to be doing a stellar job.)

First off, here’s what any of us can do to help. Senator Coburn actually has a good list of aid resources on his Senate website, including the Red Cross, Food Bank, and United Way. The Red Cross operates a service called “Safe and Well” that allows people in the affected areas to report that they are okay, and lets others check on their status. Red Cross Oklahoma tweeted information on how to contribute yesterday:

The tornado left many animals stranded and lost, and the Central Oklahoma Humane Society has information on how to help, both with financial and in-kind donations.

Donate money, blood, supplies, time, or whatever you can. Just do something.

Once we have helped, I believe it is important to note that the senators from Oklahoma might not offer the rest of us help in similar circumstances. They both opposed federal aid to the region affected by Hurricane Sandy, and have generally sought to reduce funding for disaster relief. I have to give Senator Coburn credit for sticking to his principles, as he has stated that he will oppose disaster relief for his own state without corresponding spending cuts. Still, I have to wonder what Ralph Waldo Emerson might have said about Coburn’s style of consistency.

As for Senator Inhofe, the notorious climate change denier seems to be playing dumb. He has his reasons for wanting disaster relief aid for his state, and whether it is genuine concern for his constituents or rank political self-preservation doesn’t even interest me right now. He has to fold himself into pretzels, though, to account for his change of tune.

If we don’t talk about this now, then when? When the incident is receding from the memories of all but those directly affected? No. If Senators Coburn and Inhofe are the kind of people who will stand on principle by refusing to support disaster relief for the rest of the country but humbly request it for their own constituents, they deserve to be called out on it every second of every day, and they should be reminded constantly that they owe thanks to the taxpayers from the other 49 states. Oklahoma is one of those red states, by the way, that receive more federal money than they pay in taxes, around $1.01-$1.50 for every dollar paid.

The voters of Oklahoma that put these clowns in office should be reminded that the people they elected would deny to other states the aid they are receiving, until they either vote Coburn and Inhofe out of office or admit that the majority of the state’s voters does not have the nation’s back. My heart goes out to the people of Oklahoma who have suffered and lost, and my money is going to the Red Cross or whomever is making a difference up there, but I will not neglect to point out the shame that is the Oklahoma Congressional delegation. This is not mockery. Call it judgment if you must. I won’t poke fun at people in Oklahoma, but I do expect them to live with the leaders they have chosen, just as we Texans may have to atone for Senators Cornyn and Cruz.

(NOTE: The inspiration/impetus for this post came from Julie Gillis, whom I love and admire, and with whom I hope I can amicably disagree now and then.)

Photo credit: By National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service staff. (PHOTOS OF DESTRUCTION) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

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