BatesLine Oklahoma headlines

True history of the two million acres opened for settlement in the April 22, 1889, Land Run. No, the land wasn't stolen. American taxpayers paid millions for it, twice.

An essay from 2012. If you want to understand why the people who call the shots don't get much public criticism, you need to know about the people I call the yacht guests. "They staff the non-profits and the quangos, they run small service-oriented businesses that cater to the yacht owners, they're professionals who have the yacht owners as clients, they work as managers for the yacht owners' businesses. They may not be wealthy, but they're comfortable, and they have access to opportunities and perks that are out of financial reach for the folks who aren't on the yacht. Their main job is not to rock the boat, but from time to time, they're called upon to defend the yacht and its owners against perceived threats."

Introducing Tulsa's Complacent City Council

From 2011: "One of the things that seemed to annoy City Hall bureaucrats about the old council was their habit of raising new issues to be discussed, explored, and acted upon. From the bureaucrats' perspective, this meant more work and their own priorities displaced by the councilors' pet issues.... [The new councilors are] content to be spoon-fed information from the mayor, the department heads, and the members and staffers of authorities, boards, and commissions. The Complacent Councilors won't seek out alternative perspectives, and they'll be inclined to dismiss any alternative points of view that are brought to them by citizens, because those citizens aren't 'experts.' They'll vote the 'right' way every time, and the department heads, authority members, and mayoral assistants won't have to answer any questions that make them uncomfortable."

BatesLine has presented over a dozen stories on the history of Tulsa's Greenwood district, focusing on the overlooked history of the African-American city-within-a-city from its rebuilding following the 1921 massacre, the peak years of the '40s and '50s, and its second destruction by government through "urban renewal" and expressway construction. The linked article provides an overview, my 2009 Ignite Tulsa talk, and links to more detailed articles, photos, films, and resources.

From 2015: "Having purged the cultural institutions and used them to brainwash those members of the public not firmly grounded in the truth, the Left is now purging the general public. You can believe the truth, but you have to behave as if the Left's delusions are true.

"Since the Left is finally being honest about the reality that some ethical viewpoint will control society, conservatives should not be shy about working to recapture the culture for the worldview and values that built a peaceful and prosperous civilization, while working to displace from positions of cultural influence the advocates of destructive doctrines that have led to an explosion of relational breakdown, mental illness, and violence."

The Queering of the SBC - Center for Baptist Leadership

Jared Moore writes: "In a 2019 interview with Apologia Radio, Butterfield said that if she were still living a lesbian lifestyle today and were trying to repent, theologians and pastors who teach that same-sex attraction is not sin would have prevented her from doing so: 'I don't know how it would have gone for me today, because ... in working out what it means to have the indwelling sin of homosexuality, I would be told that it wasn't a sin at all; or I would be told it's only a sin if you act on it.'...

Moore discusses a long list of SBC leaders and influencers who have departed from Biblical truth on this question: Preston Sprinkle, Nate Collins, Karen Swallow Prior, David Prince, Patrick Schreiner, Sam Allberry. He points to analysis by New Testament Professor Robert A. Gagnon, showing that "a child's social environment greatly increases or decreases his or her chances of developing same-sex desires."

"The queering of the SBC--and all of conservative American Christianity--is a major problem. It appears that in a misguided effort to be winsome to the world, we have allowed leaders and ministries to advance unbiblical teaching that undermines God's good plan for human sexuality and even celebrates the embrace of sexual immorality in the lives of professing Christians and the church. In our sexually confused and sinful day and age, what the lost need most is courage and clarity, not compromise."

Song Review Index | The Berean Test

Vince Wright analyzes popular songs used in Christian worship to see whether they reflect the teaching of Scripture and properly focus attention on God and His glory. Some of his guiding principles are idiosyncratic -- he rates doctrinally sound hymns like "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" as "PERHAPS" for use in corporate worship because their poetic language might be off-putting to visitors -- but he invites respectful debate about the conclusions he reaches. In his review of "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord, O My Soul)," Wright overlooks the most annoying thing about the song, which you can find discussed here by Christopher Malapati: The constant shifting of referents for 2nd and 3rd persons, sometimes within a single line. (Is "your" referring to God or my soul?) Malapati proposes a fix, which is close to what I sing.

AM car radios seem quaint. But when the twister comes, you'll want that dial. • Kansas Reflector

Max McCoy writes: "Having covered the wake of three major storms -- Greensburg, Joplin, and Katrina in 2005 -- I can tell you that expecting to rely on everyday things is foolish. You're thinking about how much water you have and what kind of food is available and, if you're on foot, where you might possibly charge your phone. Not that your phone will do you much good, of course, because cell coverage is likely down. There's likely to be no electric power for lights or Wi-Fi routers or internet, and what you rely on for information are battery-powered radios, especially a NOAA Weather Radio, or the AM/FM deck in your car.

"AM radio gets a bad rap these days because it's seen as outdated when compared to the modern smartphone. Some vehicle manufacturers, including BMW, Volkswagen and Tesla, have either already removed an AM radio option or plan to do so. AM radio reception is susceptible to electrical noise, which results in static, and consumer demand (except for a demographic we'll discuss later) has softened. But the AM radio in your dashboard will bring you accurate weather information when other devices can't. Your local AM station, especially if you live in a rural area, is likely to provide live severe weather coverage, and these stations often rely on trained storm spotters. This is the kind of coverage that local broadcasters do best, but we're likely to forget about such an essential public service until the next storm season rolls around. Together with a NOAA weather alert radio, live coverage on a local AM station is a reliable source of weather information when the lights go out.

"FM broadcasts are limited to the line of sight of the transmitter, which in flat country like Kansas typically means 30 or 40 miles. But the signal from an AM station can go much farther, especially at night, because it can be reflected from the atmosphere and go beyond the horizon. This is a simplified explanation, and there are many variables in radio propagation, but generally FM radio, which operates on much shorter wavelengths than AM, is blocked by any physical object in the broadcast path. It's a static-free signal, and reproduces music especially well, but the trade-off is distance. An AM signal can be intelligible even if weak and scratchy....

"It's easy to scoff at the idea that AM radio, a messenger from an antique land, is of any use in these days of smartphones and social media. But phones are only as good as their number of bars, and social media are platforms with inscrutable rules enforced by mysterious, anonymous and downright antisocial entities that won't give adequate explanations for what they do. Unlike the broadcast spectrum, the internet is not owned by the public for the general welfare, but is instead treated by the FCC as public utility, sort of like a telephone company."

Who killed Houston's streetcars? - Transit - HAIF - Houston's original social media

"In his 1997 book, Houston Electric: The Street Railways of Houston, Texas, Steven M. Baron writes, 'For half a century, life in Houston was unimaginable without streetcars. Merchants, clerks and factory workers went to work on them. Shoppers boarded them with the day's purchases or the groceries. Young people rode them to school and on dates. Accounts of life in Houston during the decades surrounding the turn of the century are full of references to streetcar travel, for it was the dominant mode of transportation for all but the richest citizens... even after the automobile began replacing the horse, most Houstonians still relied on public transit for everyday commuting. Only in the 1920s did this pattern begin to change significantly.... Until the 1920s virtually every significant land development was located on or near an existing or proposed streetcar line.'...

"As Streetcars had operated on the same 1890s fare for decades, Houston Electric (the streetcar company) eventually ran into financial trouble. Additionally, they were burdened by the city's requirement that they bear the costs for paving streets where they extended their railways. This would essentially usher in their eventual downfall by subsidizing greater ease of mobility for private automobiles....

"In 1924 when the city denied Houston Electric (HE) a fare increase to account for inflation, the company resorted to a federal lawsuit. In a city referendum that year, HE agreed to drop the lawsuit in exchange for the city's abolition of jitney service. HE also agreed to build 8 city-specified extensions of the streetcar system as well as 3 new bus lines, thus turning itself into a hybrid bus and streetcar service."

84 Valley Forge Freedoms Foundation Awards to Tulsa educators and citizens. - Newspapers.com™ - Feb 22, 1968, Tulsa World

Once upon a time, encouraging patriotism and an appreciation for our country's blessings was considered a fundamental aim of public schools in America: "84 Freedom Awards Go To Tulsa: National winners of the 1967 Valley Forge Freedoms Foundation Awards were announced Wednesday with 81 awards going to Tulsa schools and educators and three to Tulsans who helped 'promote a better understanding of the American way of life.' Winners were selected by a 34-member panel of judges. Tulsa received the largest number of awards of any city in Oklahoma. Dr. Charles C. Mason, superintendent of schools left Wednesday for Valley Forge Penn. where he will receive the school awards Thursday -- George Washington's birthday. For the past 16 years Tulsa schools have received many of the awards in various categories.... Verl A. Teeter, 4020 S. Sandusky Ave., received a George Washington Honor Medal Award in the public address category for his speech on "Protecting and Preserving Our American Heritage," delivered before the Broken Arrow Rotary Club last fall. An identical award in the sermon category went to Rev. G. E. Gotoski, 5324 E. 46th St., for his sermon on 'A Christian Manifesto.'" Mason was the namesake of Tulsa's 10th and short-lived high school. Teeter was an educational consultant, former school superintendent, and prolific letter writer. Gotoski was pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Tulsa, a congregation of the American Lutheran Church, a merger of Norwegian, German, and Danish Lutheran denominations that would later be merged into the ELCA.

Oklahoma educational directory, 1973-1974 - Archives.OK.Gov - Oklahoma Digital Prairie: Documents, Images and Information

Fascinating to read the names of long-lost school districts and schools. This was just after the peak of Tulsa Public Schools enrollment, before round after round of closures, with 10 high schools (including Mason), all accredited by the North Central Association, 21 junior high schools (including Carver Middle School, the only school in the district to carry the middle school designation), and 76 elementary schools. Dependent districts Mingo (4 teachers) and Leonard (12 teachers) still existed, as did Red Bird (3 teachers) in Wagoner County. I see Verl A. Teeter listed among the publishers and publishers' representatives; I remember him as a consultant at Catoosa Public Schools who tested me when I was in kindergarten.

I've Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here's How We Lost America's Trust. | The Free Press

NPR editor Uri Berliner warns about the lack of viewpoint diversity at NPR: "In February, our audience insights team sent an email proudly announcing that we had a higher trustworthy score than CNN or The New York Times. But the research from Harris Poll is hardly reassuring. It found that "3-in-10 audience members familiar with NPR said they associate NPR with the characteristic 'trustworthy.'?" Only in a world where media credibility has completely imploded would a 3-in-10 trustworthy score be something to boast about."

Bob & Ray on the Internet Archive

A vast treasure-house of great radio comedy, spoofing the pomposity of mass media, the dry sort of humor that sneaks up on you.

• Bob & Ray Complete Collection
• Bob And Ray - 434 Shows from the Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding Old Time Radio Comedy Team
• Bob and Ray For the Truly Desperate: Digitized off-air recordings

Google's Culture of Fear

From the article: "Before the pernicious or the insidious, we of course begin with the deeply, hilariously stupid: from screenshots I've obtained, an insistence engineers no longer use phrases like "build ninja" (cultural appropriation), "nuke the old cache" (military metaphor), "sanity check" (disparages mental illness), or "dummy variable" (disparages disabilities). One engineer was "strongly encouraged" to use one of 15 different crazed pronoun combinations on his corporate bio (including "zie/hir," "ey/em," "xe/xem," and "ve/vir"), which he did against his wishes for fear of retribution. Per a January 9 email, the Greyglers, an affinity group for people over 40, is changing its name because not all people over 40 have gray hair, thus constituting lack of "inclusivity" (Google has hired an external consultant to rename the group)."

From the comments: "It is fascinating how so many successful organizations end up accidentally setting up incentives that reward and increase the influence of the dumbest people in the room. There are undoubtedly thousands of genius level engineers at Google, and yet they get their marching orders from people who couldn't pass a freshman calculus class."

Tulsa City Ordinances in 2003

If you're curious what Tulsa's zoning code and other ordinances were like in 2003, here they are, in PDF format, courtesy the late City Auditor Phil Wood, who put city government information online long before any official city website. Also includes the City Charter, list of officials from the founding of the city, sales tax ordinances, and bond issues.

MORE: City of Tulsa Executive Orders from 1990-2008.