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Oil in Oklahoma: Tulsa TV 50 years ago
I have finally gotten around to reading Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, in anticipation of the Martin Scorsese film to be released in October. I'm about halfway through, and I was skimming ahead. (It's OK. I already knew who the bad guys were.) I was surprised to...
Oklahoma 2022: Tulsa area legislative races
Two State Senate districts and six State House districts that overlap with Tulsa County have general elections on November 8, 2022. Neighboring counties add in four additional State House seats. Here's an overview with my recommendations in six of the races; details after the jump, and more to be added....
<em>Ave atque vale, Magister</em>: Ronald Palma, RIP
Last week I received the sad news that Ron Palma, my high school Latin teacher, passed away on Monday, September 19, 2022, at the age of 75. He is survived by Fay, his college sweetheart and wife of 55 years, two daughters, and three grandchildren. His 38-year career at...
2022 School & Municipal Primary Election: BatesLine ballot card
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS UPDATE, with all precincts counted: The conservative, pro-parent school board candidates have either won outright (Debbie Taylor in Broken Arrow) or made it into a runoff (conservative Tim Harris against Susan Lamkin, who had the endorsement of the GKFF-connected incumbent and the support of the TPS establishment; conservative...
2020 Oklahoma presidential primary; liquor sales on Sunday
Postdated to remain at the top of the blog until the polls close at 7 p.m. Today, March 3, 2020, is the Oklahoma presidential preference primary. Oklahoma is one of 14 states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia (Democrats only), and Vermont)...
Bob Gregory: A tribute from his son
After I posted my tribute in memory of Bob Gregory, I received an email from his son, Jason Pitcock, who included a copy of the eulogy he wrote for his dad and delivered at his service. What an amazing life he led! Like Bob Gregory's work, Jason's tribute to his...
Covington Catholic and the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect
Mollie Z. Hemingway asks, regarding the unraveling of the mainstream media narrative about activist Nathan Phillips and his confrontation last weekend with the young men of Covington Catholic School: The thing I keep thinking about: if many media types are dishonest about reporting contradicted and shown to be dangerously false...
Jerry Lewis in Tulsa at the Roy Clark Celebrity Golf Classic
Tulsa native and newsman Loren Cosby shared with me a couple of interesting anecdotes involving Jerry Lewis's appearance at a Tulsa golf tournament, and he gave me permission to share them with you. The Roy Clark Celebrity Golf Classic had a nine-year run at Cedar Ridge Country Club from 1975...
Jerry Lewis and Oral Roberts
On the occasion of the death of Jerry Lewis, Harry Shearer has posted his contemporaneous feature story about the 1976 Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. That was the year that, during a live appearance by Frank Sinatra, Lewis was reunited with his old partner in...
Ted Cruz for President
Bumped to the top through Tuesday. Originally posted on February 27, 2016. Ted Cruz will be speaking at Central Park Hall at Expo Square (Tulsa County Fairgrounds) on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at 1:00 pm. Doors will open at 12 noon. He will be appearing in Oklahoma City at 4:00...
Jimmy Young, RIP
Fiddler Jimmy Young, bassist Mac Macrae, fiddler Dale Morris, Jr., with the Texas Playboys at Bob Wills Birthday Bash, Cain's Ballroom, March 6, 2010. Photo by Joseph Bates Western Swing Hall of Fame fiddler Jimmy Young passed away Friday, October 3, 2014, in Amarillo, Texas, at the age of...
Johnny Cuviello, "Texas Drummer Boy," RIP
In the last year or two we've lost several Texas Playboys from the 1940s: guitarist Jimmy Wyble, singing sisters Dean McKinney Moore and Evelyn McKinney Wills, and now Johnny Cuviello. Johnny Cuviello, drummer for Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys in 1946 and 1947 and one of the last surviving...
See the wave...
Polling numbers, indications of voter enthusiasm, and the panicked reactions of Democratic incumbents all suggest that 2010 could be one of the greatest "wave elections" in decades. Could it be the greatest ever? There have been a few major waves in recent history. The post-Watergate wave of 1974 -- a...
Tulseys awards voting underway
The third annual Tulseys are coming up on November 18, and voting is underway. Anyone can vote. (I'm not sure when it ends.) Someone (I don't know who) nominated me this year for the interactive category. I'm surprised and honored to be named in such impressive company. The 2009 winner...
Review: Texas Playboys at Bob Wills Birthday
An orphaned draft, found and published April 12, 2024: I had apparently intended to write a review of the 2010 Bob Wills Birthday Bash at Cain's Ballroom, but got no further than to record that night's line-up and set list. Vocalists are shown in parentheses; songs without vocalists are instrumentals....
Tulsa Election 2009: Pre-primary Republican campaign contribution reports
Here is a summary of the pre-primary Form C-1 ethics reports filed with the Tulsa City Clerk's office by 5 p.m. today by Republican candidates, the deadline for the pre-primary filing for next Tuesday's Tulsa City Council races. I have listed all contributors $1,000 and over for the mayoral and...
Rave review for Bob Wills Tiffany Transcriptions box set
Noel Murray at A.V. Club has reviewed the new Collectors Choice box set of the Tiffany Transcriptions, a selection of recordings made by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys in the mid '40s. It's a great review, with good descriptions of the music and the history behind it, enhanced by...
Palin and the American grassroots tradition
Why are Asian investors keeping their money in America? According to Asia Times columnist Spengler, it's because of Sarah Palin. Or rather, it's because of a political culture that allows concerned citizens like Palin to emerge to challenge and expose corruption. You need to read the whole thing. There are...
Tulsa Straight Ahead
You may have noticed an addition to the header. There's a subtitle -- "Tulsa straight ahead" -- and next to it, on the home page, is a little button. Press the button, and you'll hear Leon McAuliffe and His Cimarron Boys perform a tune of that title, written by one...
Democrats unbound?
From a story in The Hill, about the possibility that John Edwards could be a kingmaker at the Democratic convention: At the Democratic convention this August, delegates will be allowed to vote freely even if they are already pledged to a candidate, [Georgetown professor Stephen] Wayne explained. But he expected...
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