Celebrating Black History Month: Katz Drug Store sit-in 1958

On August 19, 1958, Clara Luper, a high school teacher, and thirteen of her students entered the Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and sat down at the lunch counter, refusing to leave until they were served. 

Luper and her students had recently traveled to New York City where they experienced an integrated environment.  Black people in New York City enjoyed freedoms such as integrated restaurants that Luper and her students were not accustomed to.  

Back in Oklahoma City, Luper decided to conduct a non-violent protest by staging a sit-in.  One of the students was Donda West, who would become the mother of Kanye West.  On the first day, the protesters remained at the counter for hours.  They were denied service, and white people kicked them, punched them, spat at them, poured things on them, and cursed at them.

They returned for two more days until the third day when one of the employees served them their food, which ended segregation in the restaurant.  Katz Drug Store ended their segregation policies.  Sit-ins occurred throughout Oklahoma City until 1964, when the city passed an ordinance forbidding restaurants from refusing service to anyone based on race, religion, color, sex, or national origin.

Celebrating Pride Month: Adam Graham, gay mayor, terrorized out of office

Adam Graham, the youngest and first gay mayor of The Village, Oklahoma, resigned after only two months in office because he become the target of threats that were getting more violent.  Graham, elected in May 2022, sent a letter to the city manager that he had been followed home from meetings, threatened while walking his dog, and his tires had been slashed.

He said it had been a "great privilege to break boundaries", but he no longer felt safe to serve as mayor.

Terrorism and hate win again.

Tulsa Race Massacre begins 1921

One of the worst, if not THE worst, race riots began in Tulsa, Oklahoma May 31, 1921. A young black man, Dick Rowland, was accused of assaulting a white woman in an elevator in the city.  The man was arrested, but word got around, mainly due to the white newspaper in Tulsa at the time, spreading rumors of a lynching.  The paper used inflammatory language which stirred up the white population into a murderous frenzy.

The black community rallied around Rowland, by arming themselves and showing up at the jail where he was being held.  The sheriff reassured them that Rowland would not be lynched.  However as the crowd began to disperse, a gunshot was heard and "all hell broke loose".

The riots, arson, and murders took place in the Greenwood area of Tulsa, a wealthy, black neighborhood, which had been dubbed "Black Wall Street". 

Over the course of two days, people were killed, houses were burned, businesses were looted, and scores injured. The exact number of casualties is unknown but estimates range from 36 dead to 300.

For decades, the incident was kept quiet and omitted from local, state, and national histories.  The Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 was formed in 1996. The commission reported that the city had conspired with the racist mob.  Oklahoma passed legislation to establish scholarships for descendants of the survivors, and develop a park in memory of the victims of the massacre.  Schools in Oklahoma have been required to teach students about the massacre since 2002, and the massacre became an official part of the Oklahoma school curriculum.

However, the governor and the state superintendent of schools have declared teachers cannot teach that the massacre was based on race.

To read more about this go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: State of Oklahoma bans "Killers of the Flower Moon" from schools

 

Although Oklahoma's state measure HB 1775 doesn't specifically ban David Grann's award-winning novel Killers of the Flower Moon about how dozens of members of the Osage Nation were killed by white settlers who wanted in on the oil profits, its wording is so vague that teachers are afraid to include it in their school curricula.  The measure prohibits schools from 

"teaching the idea that “an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously” or that “any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race or sex.”"

Educators fear that assigning the book will result in them being punished or fired.  Oklahoma school districts are not longer to use terms including 'diversity' and 'white privilege' in classrooms.  To Kill a Mockingbird has been banned and teachers are to teach students that slavery was 'beneficial' to African Americans.  

Oklahoma, where the hate comes sweeping down the plain.

The Johnny Bright Incident 1951

The Johnny Bright Incident, October 20, 1951, was a dark day in college sports, when a white player attacked an African-American player so violently, the man was knocked unconscious and his jaw was broken.

Johnny Bright, born June 11, 1930 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was a top college football player while he attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Bright received a track and field scholarship from Drake and lettered in football, track, and basketball during his schooling.

In his sophomore year, he lead the nation in total offense, and the Drake Bulldogs finished the season 6-2-1.  In his junior year, he set an NCAA record for total offense (2,400 yards) in 1950, again leading the Bulldogs to a 6-2-1 record.  He was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate and was leading the national again in rushing and total offense during his senior year.

The Bulldogs had won their five previous games when they traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University).  Apparently, it was no secret that A&M players were targeting Bright claiming that he "would not be around at the end of the game". During the first seven minutes of the game, Bright was knocked unconscious and had his jaw broken by three blows from defensive tackle Wilbanks Smith.  

The incident was captured by Des Moines Register cameramen John Robinson and Don Ultang, and showed clearly the blow that broke Bright's jaw was delivered well after he had handed off the ball. They had been watching him when rumors of his targeting became too much to ignore. The six-frame sequence won Robinson and Ultang the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for Photography.

A&M's president Oliver Willham denied anything had happened even when presented with overwhelming evidence.  Smith was not penalized and NEVER apologized.  HE maintained he was not racist nor was it a racially motivated incident.

Yeah, right.  The incident provoked changes in NCAA rules regarding illegal block and the use of helmets with face guards.  The wikipedia article doesn't mention if there were any changes to rules concerning physical assault on other players.

Of course, Oklahoma A&M was not going to take any action against Smith, because they won the game.

Oklahoma: Where the Hate Comes Sweeping Down the Plain (Part 2)

In small, obscure, insignificant Achille, Oklahoma, school officials have closed school the past two days after parents, i.e. grown-ups or adults, threatened a 12 year-old transgender student. 

Among the comments, parents have called her 'it' and 'thing'.  They've called for her to be
stabbed or beaten.  One even went as far as to say:

“If he wants to be a female make him a female. A good sharp knife will do the job really quick.”

A list of those parents who made these nasty comments can be found at this link.

For the Fox News version:

http://www.kxii.com/content/news/Mother-of-transgender-Achille-ISD-7th-grader-shares-struggles-following-threats-490766611.html

Oklahoma Editorial Board bemoans the resignation of their golden boy

I had wondered how the Oklahoma Editorial Board was taking the news of Pruitt's resignation from TEPA.  Unsurprisingly, they've taken advantage of the opportunity to praise Pruitt and his "impressive" record at the TEPA.  The OEB lauded his efforts to eliminate the Clean Power Plan and redefining the Waters of the United States (WOTUS).  They ignored the fact that all of Pruitt's actions have been challenged in court and nothing has been done policy-wise.  The WOTUS does not declare "large swaths of dry land to be navigable waterways".  During his campaign, The Donald complained that the EPA designated puddles as navigable waterways, which was incorrect, but facts never bothered The Donald.

Or the OEB.

They state that the Paris Climate Agreement set "impossible emission goals" and allowed other countries to "increase greenhouse gas" emissions.  The U.S. is on its way to meet those goals, based on the decline of coal usage and the increase of renewable energy options.

The OEB brags that Pruitt made the Superfund cleanups a priority.  What they don't mention is many of the sites that came off the list was the result of work done during the Obama administration, NOT the Donald's.  And they don't mention how and why other sites came off the list.  Hint: It didn't have anything to do with actual clean-up.

They called Pruitt's numerous scandals as "laughable" but did have to admit that some of those allegations weren't easy to dismiss.

It won't be long before the OEB has their lips pressed firmly against Wheeler's ass.


https://newsok.com/article/5600568/pruitts-resignation-a-chance-to-move-ahead

Two years ago, Okla Legislature called for Obama's impeachment for "bathroom policies"

How far we've fallen.  Two years ago, the Oklahoma Legislature filed a proposal asking Congress to impeach President Obama over his call to allow transgender students to use public facilities they identify with. 

Now the Pretender-In-Chief has admitted to adultery, sexual assault and lying.  It's known he colluded with Russia to hijack our election process.  He has appointed the most corrupt cabinet in history.  The list goes on.

Oklahoma Legislature?  Nothing?

Your silence is deafening.


http://alan-scott.blogspot.com/2016/05/oklahoma-legislators-call-for-obamas.html

http://kfor.com/2016/05/21/its-a-political-distraction-lawmakers-fighting-over-call-to-impeach/

Oklahoma Editorial Board ignores reason for nation-wide high school protests

High school students in Edmond, Oklahoma during Wednesday's walkout

The boneheads on the Oklahoma Editorial Board must be a grumpy lot.  Reading their articles, I get the feeling they are happiest when they have something to complain about.  Saturday, they had a chance to show support for nation-wide walkouts by high school students demanding safer gun controls.  They could have helped send the message across the state.

What did they do?  Complain.  Criticize.  It's what they do best.  They know what the protests are about but they don't care.

The headline is "Student Protestors Muddle Their Message".  Then they cite one isolated case where a brawl ensued with one student getting arrested and another injured.  It occured at Glenpool High School near Tulsa.  Although the overwhelmingly majority of protests occured without incidents, the OEB has to use an obscure event to cast a pall over the entire movement.  Even I had to look up Glenpool to find out where it is.

I suppose they felt they needed additional corroboration to support their argument, so they quoted two teens "whining".  One felt that the football field was the worst place to demonstrate because few adults would see them. 

It worked for many other schools around the nation.  Did it hurt Norman High School's case or were you just mad they didn't do what YOU wanted to do.

The second whine came from an 8th grader who complained she was “not permitted to talk about many of the topics I wanted to talk about.”  What did they talk about?  Gun safety?  Or did they not consult YOU when asked about topics. 

The OEB admits these are minor, so why make them the majority of your op-ed?  Where is your support for students and their call for safer gun controls...oh, right.  It's Oklahoma. 

Even then, they can't resist a jibe from their ivory tower and tell students to study civil rights protests to see what real opposition looks like.  Yes, that is a good point.  Oklahoma was always on the opposite side of the civil rights movement.  So, is their jibe a warning instead?




http://newsok.com/oklahoma-scissortales-student-protesters-muddle-their-message/article/5587391

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crimewatch/glenpool-high-school-student-arrested-another-injured-during-dispute-over/article_63ed0754-5f27-5267-bd0a-7b5fa5a5808c.html

Oklahoma schools having trouble retaining teachers...gasp.

Today, Newsok.com posted a report this morning that Oklahoma City schools are having problems keeping teachers.  I know...what a shock. 

Shane Keenan, director of employee engagement in Oklahoma City is reported as saying the turnover rates are because of "teachers who changed schools or were working with emergency credentials because of the state's teacher shortage."

Not because of budget cuts? Not because teachers' salaries are among the lowest in the nation?  Or could there be other reasons? 

In the past two years, I've found ten articles discussing the Oklahoma government's deplorable treatment of its educators:

1. Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs wanted to stop a one-cent sales tax increase to fund education.  They succeeded.

2. Lawmakers banned advanced placement history classes.

3. GOP state reps tried to take over "underperforming" schools.

4. Teachers leaving the state in droves.

5. Oklahoma State Department of Education could not buy new texts books because Oklahoma lawmakers did not appropriate funds for new books.

6. Teachers leaving the state because of the lack of education funding.

7. Failing blames education system, not herself or governments cutting funding, for suffering schools.
http://newsok.com/article/5508902
http://newsok.com/article/5526191

8. Senate Education Committee approves public funds to go to private schools.

9. Oklahoma City Schools closing due to budget cuts.
http://newsok.com/article/5542383
http://kfor.com/2017/03/20/several-schools-in-oklahoma-city-may-close-due-to-budget-crisis/


10. More schools closing, eliminating teachers because the House or Reps can't pass a budget.
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-school-districts-move-on-cuts-without-clear-budget-picture/article/5549452
http://newsok.com/facing-massive-budget-cuts-oklahoma-house-rejects-revenue-package/article/5549409?homePageWidget=1

Oklahoma Editorial Board ignores facts to support TEPA Admin Pruitt

Always good for a laugh, the Oklahoma Editorial Board offers up some food for hilarity.  Now they are telling jokes to illustrate their uninformed opinions instead of facts.  That really means they ignore the facts staring them in the face.  Just like The Donald labeling every news story he doesn’t like as “fake news”, the OEB doesn’t like any story that puts their golden boy Pruitt in a bad light.

Just today, they published an opinion on NewsOK.com, and true to their very nature, presented zero facts to illustrate their judgmental position.

Zilch.

Zip.

Nada.

The bug up their ass currently is what they have termed “sue and settle”.  According to the OEB, advocates sue a “bureaucracy to force a change in regulation or enforcement” and the agency settles it without a fight.  They state this was the norm during the Obama administration.  They do present one point of fact saying that “23 economically significant rules resulting from sue and settle were imposed since 2005.”  That means it started with Shrub’s administration, fellas.

The OEB says that Pruitt isn’t willing to negotiate with activists and that’s why environmentalists don’t like Pruitt.

No! This is why we don't like him.

We don’t like Pruitt because he is destroying the rules that keep our water, air and land clean! 

We don’t like him because he is pandering to the oil and gas industry!

We don’t like him because he is stifling research and science!

We don’t like him because he is removing scientists from positions that can only be staffed by scientists!

If Pruitt doesn’t rely on facts, why should the OEB?

http://newsok.com/congress-should-take-on-sue-and-settle/article/5570405

Our environment is doomed...Pruitt's war on the environment in a nutshell

What he says:	What he does:
Pruitt and the TEPA are seeking to reduce the EPA’s funding by 31.4 and eliminate up to one fifth of the staff.	He is spending $25,000 on a soundproof “privacy booth” in his office.  His round-the-clock security detail has cost $830,000 for his first 3 months on the job, double the amount of his predecessors.  He spent 43 out of 92 days from March – May traveling between Oklahoma and DC.  He spent $36,068.50 to fly on a military jet to and from Cincinnati in June.
Pruitt has accused the Obama administration for failing to protect the environment.	He has tried to ease restrictions on methane releases.  He tried to reject banning a harmful pesticide.  He and the TEPA are trying to eliminate the Waters of the US rule, which is part of the Clean Water Act.  He has repeatedly denied the change in climate despite the mountains of data showing it is real.  Pruitt and The Donald have removed the US from the Paris Climate Agreement.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-pruitt-spending-epa_us_59cc2a95e4b05063fe0ef9b3

Is it me...or is The Oklahoman suddenly silent on Trump?

In the days leading up to the presidential election in November, The Oklahoman squandered no opportunity to bash Hillary Clinton, and exalting The Donald.  After Mrs. Clinton had been exonerated by the FBI for her use of emails and the Benghazi scandal, The Oklahoman repeatedly used those cases against her, not emphasizing the facts, nor stating them (I'm sure) so voters in Oklahoma would continue to feel horrified and disgusted at the thought of putting Hillary in the White House.

Prior to the election, many of the nation's biggest and prestigious newspapers endorsed Hillary for President. Even those publications that are typically apolitical or conservative threw in their hats for her.  Newspapers from smaller but major cities in Oklahoma who endorsed Mrs. Clinton include Enid, Muskogee, McAlester, Woodward, Norman, Ada, Talequah, Stillwater, Duncan  and Chickasha.  The Oklahoman and the Tulsa World did not endorse either candidate (1).  But shortly before the election, the Oklahoman basically said, "we're not telling you to vote for Trump, but DON'T vote for Hillary." You can read their holier-than-thou rant at the link below (2,3).

But in recent events where The Donald has shown his true colors, pasty white with a yellow streak down his back, the Oklahoma Editorial Board has gone silent.  Even a search of the top stories on The Oklahoman's website and NewsOk.com discovers little of the tragic events in Charlottesville and The Donald's meltdown at his press conference.  The only editorials come from columnists from other papers around the country.

Not even a bit on the deadly landslide in Sierra Leone.

What is the top story in Oklahoma?  A 12 year-old ventriloquist is a semi-finalist on "America's Got Talent".

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper_endorsements_in_the_United_States_presidential_election,_2016
2. http://newsok.com/on-nov.-8-good-of-the-country-must-come-first/article/5522581
3. https://okiefunk.com/node?page=24

Government scientists "leak" a climate change report before Trump can bury it

The New York Times received a draft of a report from government scientists providing data that we're feeling the effects of global warming right now.  The scientists made the draft public in fear that The Donald and his WH staff might try to bury it.

The report states:  “Evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans,”

This contradicts...nay, it PROVES that The Donald's and Pruitt's "beliefs" do not hold up in the face of cold hard facts.  The current administration has long denied that global warming and climate changes exists.

They don't have proof.  They just don't believe it.  Disputing it does not mean it is wrong, fellas!

The NYT article addresses the authors citing thousands of studies by tens of thousands of scientists have documented climate changes.  I learned of global warming and the greenhouse effect in the late 1970's.

“Many lines of evidence demonstrate that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse (heat-trapping) gases, are primarily responsible for recent observed climate change,” the scientists wrote in their draft.

Pruitt said in March  “No, I would not agree that [carbon dioxide is] a primary contributor to the global warming that we see.”

Again, no proof, just a statement.  

The EPA and 12 other agencies have until August 18 to approve the report, but it's no small stretch of the imagination that Pruitt and The Donald will try to kill it.  Or edit it to leave out the global warming stuff.

Kinda like W. back in 2003,  when he ordered WH officials to edit a similar report by the EPA and deleted all the data on climate change.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-report-draft-nyt_us_598907ece4b0a66b8bae1fc6?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=__TheMorningEmail__080817&utm_content=__TheMorningEmail__080817+CID_10ffcfa282b1476041611456cad67004&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=HuffPost&ncid=newsltushpmgnews__TheMorningEmail__080817
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/07/climate/climate-change-drastic-warming-trump.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/19/us/report-by-epa-leaves-out-data-on-climate-change.html

Oklahoman Editorial Board contradicts itself in supporting Pruitt

Once again, the medieval mindset at the Oklahoman Editorial Board, its lips firmly pressed against Scott Pruitt's backside, decries the evils of science in favor of profits for the rich.  In an editorial posted yesterday on Newsok.com, the OEB said citizens should "welcome" the changes at the EPA.  In  a typical narcissistic tone, they call opposition to the change "hysterical" and sending people into shock.  It's bullying tactic to call the opposition names.  And it's  childish.

It accuses the EPA of destroying businesses and ignoring important issues  such as Superfund sites.  True to fashion, the OEB did not offer  any examples of business that were destroyed by the EPA.  Which businesses were they?  Or does the OEB make up numbers like Pruitt. (Has anyone figured out where those 50,000 new jobs are?)

The example they do provide is for the Superfund site, saying the EPA has scandalously ignored this issue.  The EPA hasn't ignored it, fellas!  It's been bogged  down and delayed by bureaucratic red tape and corporations refusing to pay to clean up the messes they have made.  

Also, don't you think global warming and climate change  is a pressing issue, too?  Oh...right.  More of that science-y stuff.

The OEB goes on to say "fringe groups have threatened to file endless lawsuits to block the reforms now underway."  The National Resources Defense Council can hardly be described as a 'fringe group'.  They have filed lawsuits to keep industries from dumping mercury into our water and to keep pesticides from our environment.  

I  don't know about you but I tend to appreciate clean air and clean water.

But the best part of  the article:

Thanks to replacing coal with gas in generation of electricity, Pruitt noted, the United States is “leading the world” in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

This is credit to President Obama, not Pruitt, who has been pushing hard to roll back regulations on the coal industry, who has been touting all the new jobs in the coal industry. 

No, guys!  You owe the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions  to the man you love to hate!

Read the article here:
http://newsok.com/citizens-should-welcome-epa-changes/article/5558350

The Oklahoman Editorial Board: Science leads to dark paths!

We can always count on the Neanderthals on the Oklahoman Editorial Board to provide us with a good laugh every now and then.  An opinion published July 20 was titled: “In policy, debates, bowing to “science” can lead down dark paths.”

The opening sentence states that the use of “science” is an intellectually offensive tactic of some activists to stifle debate.  Reading through the opinion, the Oklahoman Editorial Board talks about how the eugenics, or ethnic cleansing, was declared a science by then associate surgeon general Dr. W. C. Rucker of the U.S. Public Health Service.  The article proceeds to demonstrate how this set a precedence for sterilization of inmates in prisons and mental asylum.  It was even perpetuated into the 1970’s when American Indian women were sterilized at an OKC federal facility.

Read this quote from the article:

“It took the Nazi Holocaust to discredit eugenics. Before then, critics were dismissed as backward, anti-science zealots.”

Leave it to the Oklahoma Editorial Board to say the Holocaust was good for something.  As typical, the OEB does not cite any references that one can follow to read more about these subjects.  What did Rucker show as his evidence to support his eugenics?  Did other doctors or scientists support his findings?  The article does not say.  It implies that once Rucker made his declaration, the rest of the country followed like mindless rats seduced to follow the Pied Piper.

Rather than give other examples of “science leading us to the Dark Side”, the OEB latches on to this one thread and doesn’t let go, as if feeling the need to beat it into our brains to make the point.  And all the examples are limited to Oklahoma.

The intro to the second to last paragraph is the most worrisome and chilling, that this board has a voice that is reaching out to the mindless rats:

“Science is one thing.  People’s interpretation of science is something else.”  Then, “policy proposals based on debatable interpretations of science should certainly be debated.” 

Didn’t they warn us at the beginning about debates with science? 

Although never specified in the article, one can read between the lines and see the inference to the present “debate” over global warming.  Never fans of science, Gov. Failing, Pruitt and other Republicans, in Oklahoma and nation-wide deny climate change and global warming vehemently.  They cling to their faith and beliefs and shun the evils of science. 

Scientists can be wrong, which is why we have peer reviews.  Nobody is ‘debating’ the issue of climate change, i.e. no one has presented data to show our climate is NOT changing.  NASA and NOAA have submitted decades of data that have been researched and reviewed by both sides of the debate and have reached one conclusion: Earth is warming up. 

The OEB has a point that one cannot take one person’s word as proof.  Yes, got it.  We went to a dark place then.  But that has changed.  We’re in the 21^st century now, guys.  People are watching each other like Orwellian Big Brothers.  It’s okay to be skeptical but not to be obstinate and suspicious.

http://newsok.com/in-policy-debates-bowing-to-science-can-lead-down-dark-paths/article/5556929

Scott Pruitt, EPA lie about the increase coal mining jobs

Scott Pruitt and the TEPA claimed last month in an interview with "Meet the Press":

"Since the fourth quarter of last year until most recently, we've added almost 50,000 jobs in the coal sector. In the month of May alone, almost 7,000 jobs."

Sounds awesome, doesn't it?  The problem is it isn't true.  Politifact did some fact checking on Pruitt's claim and found out Pruitt isn't even close to being right.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2017 only 1300 coal mining jobs were added and only 400 of those in May.  A far cry from the 50,000 this year and 7,000 in May Pruitt claims.  And most of those jobs began before The Donald was even elected.

Politifact admits that deciphering BLS' data is tricky, so they looked at "mining and logging" jobs, which is a broader term.  But those jobs amounted to 38,000 jobs, still much less than 50,000.


 

Read the whole article here:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jun/05/scott-pruitt/are-coal-mining-jobs-50000-last-year-not-exactly/

The Oklahoman: People are being mean to poor, innocent Trump

Oklahoma's daily rag, the Oklahoman, has never been one to focus on facts and doesn't bother with the truth, as demonstrated in an editorial published yesterday, claiming vile attacks against The Donald are now "par for the course".

Now that may actually be true, but the opinion seems at a loss as to why this has happened.  Yet, they cannot even come up with reasons why we should NOT attack The Donald.

Look at one example:

"Following Trump's decision last week to remove the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, billionaire Tom Steyer called it “a traitorous act of war against the American people.” Bette Middler tweeted that there has “never in US history been such a destructive megalomanic in the WH. Thank you to US press and other numbskulls who put him there.” (That's especially rich — blaming the press for Trump's victory.)"

Why should The Donald not be criticized for a decision to pull us out of an agreement that nearly ever other country in the world supports, the majority of Americans supports, and is working to save our global environment. People have said "It's unfair to America!" The Oklahoman did not even mention that part of the argument.

Here's another:

"Criticism of Trump's impulsiveness is often merited, and was in this case. He shouldn't have tweeted about his policy preference so soon after what occurred in London. But that doesn't justify Aslan, who called Trump is “a piece of s---“ and said he was “not just an embarrassment to America and a stain on the presidency. He's an embarrassment to humankind.”

I think we all the viral video of Eric Trump defending attacks against his papa, criticizing people's use of profanity, and name-calling.  Only to see clips of Trump, during his campaigning, using profanity (e.g. "a piece of s---") and name-calling.

Here's the last great one:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in an interview that his party's top priority “is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” He was speaking in a political context — GOP goals clearly weren't going to be realized with Obama in the White House...

He was speaking in a political context, all right.  But his message was clear:  We are not going to do the job we were elected to do.  We are going to focus on what WE want to do.  McConnell has shown himself to be the most hypocritical person in the Senate, which is saying quite a bit.

Editors at the Oklahoman:  Pull your head out of your asses...well, out of Trump's ass at least.  You can't even defend your own opinion.

http://newsok.com/vile-attacks-against-trump-have-become-par-for-the-course/article/5551980

Talequah businesses not accepting gov-issued Cherokee Nation IDs

Once again, Oklahoma proves it is a breeding ground of hatred, bigotry and racism.  Businesses in Talequah, Oklahoma are posting signs in windows stating they no longer accept the Cherokee Nation's ID cards.  A sign appeared at EZ Mart, which stated "state-issued identification or driver's licenses".  According to the article on nativenewsonline.net, Buffalo Wild Wings and a local bar, Ned's, are also refusing the Cherokee Nation's ID card.

Cherokee Nation ID cards have been issued since 2012 and are government-issued.  This is nothing more than racism and hatred.

Way to go, Oklahoma.  We can't even go more than a day without becoming a global embarrassment.

http://nativenewsonline.net/currents/local-businesses-cherokee-nations-capital-city-refuse-accept-cherokee-nation-ids/
http://www.cherokee.org/News/Stories/33231

Our children are doomed...Pruitt's EPA rejects banning harmful pesticide

Researchers at Columbia University began studying the effects of pollutants on pregnant mothers in low-income neighborhoods long ago but only two years into their study, they discovered that chlorpyrifos, a insecticide used to control bugs in homes for decades, caused brain damage in baby rats.  Scientists discovered that children born with comparatively higher levels of chlorpyrifos weighted less at birth.  Between ages 2-3, they were more likely to experience persistent developmental delays, including cognitive, motor and attention problems.  By the time they reached the age of 7, they had lower IQ scores.

Although the study did not prove definitely chlorpyrifos was the exact cause, it did find that the higher a child's exposure to the chemical, the worse effects.

After the initial results proved the brain damage in baby rats, the pesticide was removed from stores and banned from home use although it is utilized widely in agriculture spraying crops.  Ten years ago, environmental groups brought a petition seeking a complete ban on chlorpyrifos.

Scott Pruitt and his EPA have denied the petition stating there "continue to be considerable areas of uncertainty".  WTF?  He said the agency will make a final determiniation on the pesticide in 2022!  He also said the EPA was "returning to sound science in decision -making - rather than predetermined results".  Trumpsters, this is on you again!

How many children have to suffer brain damage or experience developmental problems before Pruitt is ousted?  Decades of exhaustive research do NOT constitute "pre-determined results" but if Pruitt used his brain, which he has shown conclusively he does not, he would understand that.  Of course, banning the pesticide would mean that Dow Agriculture, who praises the ruling, would have less money to line Pruitt's pockets.

So who cares if our children have lower IQs.  It's what Oklahoma has been striving for!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/health/pesticides-epa-chlorpyrifos-scott-pruitt.html?_r=0
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/us/politics/epa-insecticide-chlorpyrifos.html