Sooner Politics.org - Michael Bates

Time for protesters to run for office; time for Tulsa to read the Riot Act

6/2/2020

A young friend of mine was incensed at the attitude of older folks about the incident on the North Elgin overpass of Interstate 244. "The point of a protest is this: How does it feel to be powerless?" So it was fine, in the eyes of this homeschooled, Christian young adult, for people to wander off of the planned demonstration route (on Elgin under the I-244 overpass), block traffic on a busy,...

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Time for protesters to run for office; time for Tulsa to read the Riot Act, Click the headline to read this full article,
Time for protesters to run for office; time for Tulsa to read the Riot Act, at BatesLine

Council to change tax ordinance to enable Gilcrease demolition

5/22/2020

Back at the beginning of March, we reported that Gilcrease Museum would not be renovated and expanded, as Tulsa voters were promised in April 2016, but would instead be demolished and rebuilt as a smaller facility, with the help of funding from the University of Tulsa and other donors. The change is substantial enough that the new plans will not fit within the broad language of the "Brown...

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Council to change tax ordinance to enable Gilcrease demolition, Click the headline to read this full article,
Council to change tax ordinance to enable Gilcrease demolition, at BatesLine

Tulsa redecorates Golden Driller begs for Tesla

5/22/2020

It's cringe-worthy. Some persons, apparently with the permission of the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority, painted the Tesla logo on the chest of the Golden Driller, and painted the name Tesla on his belt buckle, over the word Tulsa. If that weren't bad enough, used some kind of wrap to cover the statue's face to turn it pale, almost white, to try match the appearance of Tesla chairman...

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Tulsa redecorates Golden Driller, begs for Tesla, Click the headline to read this full article,
Tulsa redecorates Golden Driller, begs for Tesla, at BatesLine

Did being "Phillipsburg" stymie Bartlesville's growth?

5/18/2020

Rita Thurman Barnes, a Bartlesville local historian and newspaper columnist, recounts a Tulsa conversation that rubbed her the wrong way. We made a very early trip to Tulsa this morning to get a belt for hubby's lawn mower. We left before breakfast so we could get there when the dealership opened and home to mow before the rain. On the way back about 9:30 we stopped at a bakery and got a...

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Did being "Phillipsburg" stymie Bartlesville's growth?, Click the headline to read this full article,
Did being "Phillipsburg" stymie Bartlesville's growth?, at BatesLine

66% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were sheltering at home?

5/15/2020

There ought to be a law that all social media posts about CCP Bat Virus must begin with the word "Aha!" Quite a few posts on the topic are there not so much as information, but as vindication for whatever theory or policy prescription the poster wishes to offer. I've heard this stat in the title quoted a dozen different ways, by people who want to prove that lockdowns are useless, and by people...

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66% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were sheltering at home?, Click the headline to read this full article,
66% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were sheltering at home?, at BatesLine

V-E Day 75th anniversary

5/8/2020

"Advance Britannia! Long live the cause of freedom! God save the King!" So concluded Winston Churchill's announcement to the British people of the utter defeat of Nazi Germany. This playlist begins with a British Movietone newsreel of V-E Day in London, including excerpts of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's broadcast announcing Germany's unconditional surrender, the procession of the House...

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V-E Day 75th anniversary, Click the headline to read this full article,
V-E Day 75th anniversary, at BatesLine

Spanish Flu in Oklahoma 1918: Avoid osculation

4/28/2020

The earliest reference to Spanish flu or influenza in the Oklahoma Historical Society's Digital Newspapers Collection is from page 4 of the August 31, 1918, edition of the Daily Ardmoreite. The flu is still a far-off thing, but near enough to be worthy of some advice: INFLUENZA AND OSCULATION If your friend or your relative or your best beloved has a runny cold, don't kiss him or don't kiss...

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Spanish Flu in Oklahoma, 1918: Avoid osculation, Click the headline to read this full article,
Spanish Flu in Oklahoma, 1918: Avoid osculation, at BatesLine

Ballot harvesting destroys the secret ballot

4/25/2020

Democrats in Congress and in state capitols are pushing for measures that would enable voter intimidation and undermine the secret ballot, under cover of facilitating voting during the CCP Bat Virus pandemic. Earlier this week, the Daily Signal published a list of 15 election results that were tossed over fraudulent mail-in ballots. The article put a spotlight on the practice of "ballot...

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Ballot harvesting destroys the secret ballot, Click the headline to read this full article,
Ballot harvesting destroys the secret ballot, at BatesLine

The Usual Suspects: Tulsa Economic Recovery Advisory Committee

4/22/2020

Does G. T. Bynum IV know anyone who lives east of Yale, north of 21st, or west of the river? I've been watching the creation of blue ribbon panels for years, and this list is disturbingly familiar. The mayor's picks for his Economic Recovery Advisory Committee are yet another expression of the tunnel vision of this city's ruling class, which can't see beyond its own little network of friends...

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The Usual Suspects: Tulsa Economic Recovery Advisory Committee, Click the headline to read this full article,
The Usual Suspects: Tulsa Economic Recovery Advisory Committee, at BatesLine

Coronavirus notes 2020/03/30: Support your local retailers

4/4/2020

The weekend was lovely, just about my favorite time of year in Oklahoma. Redbuds were at their peak, dogwoods starting to bloom. One of our redbuds has developed clusters of blossoms along its trunk, which is quite fetching. Azaleas are starting to pop. There are magnificent purple draperies of wisteria around the city; one of them overhangs the westbound lanes of the Broken Arrow Expressway at...

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Coronavirus notes 2020/03/30: Support your local retailers, Click the headline to read this full article,
Coronavirus notes 2020/03/30: Support your local retailers, at BatesLine

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