Campus Gun Bill Shot Down in State Senate

Finally, a little sanity comes to the Oklahoma legislature. After being rounded criticized by every major college leader in the state, the campus gun bill has died.

The Tulsa World is reporting today that the ill-advised bill to permit some students to carry concealed weapons on campus is dead for this legislative session.

Here's part of the World's story posted on its website this afternoon:

The state Senate will not hear a controversial bill to allow certain people to carry concealed weapons on campus, top Senate leaders confirmed Monday.

The confirmation from Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, came shortly after a governor’s task force on campus security unanimously approved a resolution urging that the bill not be heard in the Senate, after being approved earlier by the House.

Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis said Monday the bill would have allowed Timothy McVeigh, executed after being found guilty of the Oklahoma City bombing, to carry a concealed weapon on campus because he was a military veteran.

University of Oklahoma President David Boren thumped a podium Monday, as he intoned, “Please, please, please,” defeat House Bill 2513.

Still More Random Gun Violence

A sad (but predictable) headline in today's Tulsa World:

Shots kill teen in Tulsa County

What We're Reading: Abu Ghraib Photographer Sabrina Harman Considers Her Role

Sabrina Harman, the specialist who took many of the most shocking and infamous photos of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, is the subject of an important article in the March 24 edition of The New Yorker.

The writers, journalist Philip Gourevitch and documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, investigate the circumstances that led Harman's unit, the 372nd Military Policy Company from Cresaptown, Maryland, to torture the prisoners under their control and to document the mistreatment on their digital cameras.

Harman, as it happens, was something of a softie. One of her fellow soldiers said she was "just too nice to be a soldier."

But the conditions at Abu Ghraib were horrendous. Hanson said the place looked like a concentration camp. "It was just disgusting. You didn't want to touch anything. Whatever the worst thing that comes to your mind, that was it—the place you would never, ever, ever, ever, send your worst enemy."

Even so, Harman learned to tolerate the conditions and accept the torture inflicted upon the prisoners. Prompted by a lack of guidelines as well as the Military Intelligence personnel who were questioning the prisoners, the Maryland MPs were inspired to continue mistreating the men.

Although Harman and her fellow soldiers were blamed for the torture, the article makes clear that they alone were not to blame. "[T]he abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib was de facto United States policy," they write.

Harman, who wanted to become a cop, took many of the photos that later embarrassed the military and the nation. But as Gourevitch and Morris report, she was originally motivated by a fascination with photography and a simple curiosity about death.

As the mistreatment continued, however, Harman started using her camera to document the abuses, as a way of proving the mistreatment she was seeing.

In the end, Harman and several of her follew MPs were convicted for mistreating the prisoners. Only low-ranking soldiers were convicted, the authors note, and no one has been charged for the abuses that were not photographed.

There's more about the whole sad affair on The New Yorker website, which can be found by clicking here.

This Week in Random Gun Violence, Part 3,247

Virginia officials have arrested two teenagers who authorities believe were taking potshots at drivers along Interstate 64.

Police arrested a 19-year-old and a 16-year-old on Friday in connection with the shootings, which left two drivers injured.

The suspects have been charged with two felony counts of malicious wounding, one count of attempted wounding, two counts of the use of a firearm in a felony, and five counts of maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle.

According to the AP, the highways shootings "stirred memories of the Washington-area sniper shootings six years ago that killed 10 people."

Let's Rally for Sally the Homophobe—Not!

Oklahoma's most notorious homophobe, GOP Rep. Sally Kern, has lots of friends on the right side (and we use that term loosely) of the state's political spectrum.

Kern, as far too many people know, made a fool of herself recently when she claimed that gays are "worse the terrorists" and a threat to every virtue known to Western Civilization.

Kern was "outed" as a conservative wingnut when her comments to a Republican group were recorded and released on YouTube. Her remarks were met with widespread disapproval in the blogosphere and elsewhere.

Kern's allies, however, want the beleaguered legislator that she's not alone in her bigotry toward Oklahoma's gay residents. They are organizing a "Rally for Sally" to show they're just as intolerant and small-minded as Rep. Kern.

We have no idea how many people are likely to show up in Sally's defense. But whatever the number, it won't make her hyperbolic attack Oklahoma's homosexual citizens any less offensive.

In a free society dedicated to human liberty, Rep. Kern and her right-wing allies can speak out or can take any position they please. But they don't have the right to tell the rest of us, even those folks in a minority, how to think.

And because they have no lock on human wisdom or individual judgment, they don't get to be Oklahoma's morality police.

Pilot's Gunshot Raises Safety Questions

When a US Airways pilot's pistol went off accidentally in the cockpit last week, it raised new concerns about public safety on airlines—and elsewhere.

Beyond careless pilots, USA Today points out that gun accidents are inevitable. On an airliner, of course, a gun accident could cause a catastrophe.

More commonly, mishandled guns kill and wound thousands of citizens every year. In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, there were 789 "unintentional firearm" deaths in the U.S. and a whooping 15,388 firearm injuries in the U.S., more than five for every 100,000 citizens.

USA Today concludes its airline gun editorial with this point: "[T]his much is clear: Guns in holsters don't just go off by themselves. Something went very wrong on US Airways 1536, and the flying public deserves an explanation.

Republican Leader Tom Cole: GOP Too Shrill

As AltTulsa noted earlier (see last post), Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole is the subject of a major political report to be published in Sunday's New York Times Magazine.

The article looks to the fall election and Cole's role as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. As reporter Benjamin Wallace-Wells notes, Cole has his work cut out for him.

Social issues, for example, are working against the GOP. Younger voters are increasingly libertarian and have reacted against Republican positions, Cole told the Times.

"My problem on [Republican] social issues is the tone—sometimes we have been too shrill, and that has alienated voters who might otherwise have joined us," Cole said.

Oklahoma's Tom Cole Profiled in Sunday's New York Times Magazine

Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is the subject of a major story to be published Sunday in The New York Times Magazine.

The profile, called "A Case of the Blues," outlines Cole's "daunting" task this election year—trying to shore up a faltering Republican position in the U.S. House.

Some sample lines from reporter Benjamin Wallace-Wells' article:

• "[Cole] finds himself in the unlikely position of flying into what used to be considered safe conservative districts and trying to goad Republican businessmen and state senators into running for Congress."

•"It is difficult to watch Cole these days, or the Republican apparatus generally, and not be aware of the distancing from the Bush presidency that is taking place." (Ouch!)

•"The perversity of Cole's position is that the consummate party man has arrived at precisely the moment when the party is eroding beneath him. The problem is money."

There's more, of course, on the Times website. Or pick up a copy Sunday.

Our take: Tom Cole comes off in the story as an interesting and effective political operator. But don't look for Cole to single-handedly save the Republican Party this fall.

Out of Ideas, Inhofe Plays the 'Liberal Elite' Card

Jim Inhofe, former Tulsa mayor and now Oklahoma's senior (God help us all) senator, needs your money. And if you don't give it to him, the "powerful far left special interest groups" are gonna get him.

Inhofe's campaign sent out an e-mail message this week with just that message. Contribute to my campaign, Inhofe said, so he can push back against the "Washington liberals."

(The liberals are coming! We're so-o-o-o-o scared!)

The language in Inhofe's e-mail is worth some analysis. The senator offers no positive agenda, no ideas, and no endorsement of any Republican legislation or policy. There's only the well-worn scare tactic—the hoary specter of "far left special interest groups" and "Washington liberals."

Having embraced nearly every policy of an unpopular and failed president, having kissed up to the most arrogant and wrong-headed vice president in recent history, having supported an unnecessary and unpopular war, Inhofe has little positive to say about himself or the Republicans. 

Reading between the lines, Inhofe's message is clear: I'm not much of a senator, he seems to say, but liberals are worse. So send me money.

Remember: Liberals are bad. And did I mention I need your money? 

Five Years After the Invasion, Columnist Brooks Clams Up About Iraq Anniversary

Five years ago, conservative columnist David Brooks, then with The Weekly Standard, was beating the drums of war. Brooks bought into the Bush-Cheney hype about Saddam and his (non-existent) weapons of mass destruction hook, line and sinker.

Here's a succinct Brooks gem from those heady days of Neocon glory: "The president has remained resolute. Momentum to liberate Iraq continues to build. The situation has clarified, and history will allow clear judgments about which leaders and which institutions were up to the challenge posed by Saddam and which were not."

Today, with five years of history to review, Brooks might want to reconsider his pro-war position. Perhaps that's why Brooks, now writing for the New York Times, conveniently forgot to mention the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion.

OU Profs Take Aim at Campus Gun Bill

The University of Oklahoma Faculty Senate voted last week to oppose a proposal that would allow students to carry concealed guns on campus.

The vote wasn't even close: 27 of 30 faculty members voted against the gun bill.

The OU faculty vote puts them in line with a growing number of Oklahoma college officials. OU President David Boren has publicly opposed the bill, as has the Council of Presidents, a group made up of Oklahoma's 25 public colleges and universities.

OSU's new president, Burns Hargis, has also spoken out against the bill. "While we all share concern for the safety of all our campuses, this proposal is fraught with unnecessary risks," Hargis told the AP last week.

The legislative proposal would allow veterans, active-duty military personnel, and several other categories of people to carry concealed weapons on campus. Supporters of the bill, including the NRA, claim the legislation will make Oklahoma campuses safer.

Based on last week's vote, the OU faculty feels otherwise.

After More than 70 Years, Swinneys Hardware Says Goodbye, A 'Big Box' Victim

We all know that family-owned businesses have a tough time hanging on in the era of Big Box stores. 

Still, it gives AT no pleasure to report that Swinney's Hardware in Tulsa's Kendall-Whittier neighborhood is closing. The Tulsa World reported the closing in Saturday's edition.

According to the World, John Swinney Sr. began the business as a used furniture store in 1934. Later, the family converted it to a hardware store that became known for carrying many rare and hard-to-find items.

Although the business thrived in the 1970s and 80s, the national home improvement chains hurt Swinneys and other small hardware retailers.

Family members told the World that they have tried to save the store, but unless a buyer steps forward soon, Swinneys will close.

Photoblogging from Downtown Chicago

This post departs from politics, Tulsa, or any of our usual AT topics. Instead, we present a few photos of our recent (and very quick) trip to Chicago. The weather was wet and chilly, but downtown was abuzz as always.

An early evening view of the glass towers along Chicago's Wacker Drive.

Yes, it looks like a giant, chrome-plated kidney bean. But up close, this Chicago sculpture is more impressive than you might expect. The day we were there, it was beaded with raindrops and condensation, which gave the metal a softer feel. It's neat to walk under it too, which we did.

Chicago's Millennium Park includes several public sculptures, including this boxed-in glass screen where huge faces and other images are projected on a rotating basis. Oh yes, the images move too. Very cool.

The front steps of the Art Institute of Chicago, home to an amazing collection of ancient and modern art.

Surprise! Cheney's Iraq War Pediction Was (We Could Have Guessed It) Wrong

Now that Bush's Iraq war has entered its sixth glorious year, it is worth recalling the war wisdom of Vice President Dick ("Five Deferments") Cheney.

As the Bush Administration pushed the Iraq invasion, NBC's Tim Russert posed this question: "[D]o you think the American people are prepared for a long, costly, and bloody battle with significant American casualties?"

Cheney's reply: "Well, I don’t think it’s likely to unfold that way, Tim."

Recent Reading: Peter Hoeg's Danish Thriller

The AltTulsa team takes its reading seriously, which is why we seek out a wide range of books and magazines, including the odd novel in translation.

Our most recent fictional encounter was the gripping and entertaining thriller, translated from the Danish as Smilla's Sense of Snow. We found an old copy of Peter Hoeg's novel at the recent Holland Hall book sale in Tulsa for a measly $4, a steal in hardback.

For some reason, we've always been fascinated by the title of this book and its promise of mystery. Who's Smilla? What is her "sense of snow"? What's this story about?

The answers to these questions are worth the time and effort, even in a 450-page novel. Smilla, it turns out, is a half-Inuit native of Greenland who makes it her business to find out why her 6-year-old Inuit neighbor in Copenhagen—a lad named Isaiah—fell from a rooftop and died.

The story is stuffed with odd characters and exotic locations, as well as a compellingly unorthodox quest. But Hoeg's primary achievement is the creation of Smilla Qaavigaaq Jaspersen, a tough and complex heroine worthy of his tale.

We happily recommend Smilla's Sense of Snow, the only novel you're ever likely to read about the sublime qualities of ice.

McCain Campaign Coming to OKC; Will Charge Sooners $2,300 for Photos (Yes, Really)

Sen. John McCain, the Republican candidate for president, is coming to Oklahoma City in April to raise campaign cash.

Assuming you have deep pockets, you can meet Sen. McCain and even get your photo taken with the good senator. But face time with the man will cost you. According to Oklahoma Republican Party sources, host committee members have agreed to raise $10,000 each. (Ouch!)

The announcement also said that those wanting photos with McCain will be required to donate $2,300. (Seems a little steep to us.) Thank goodness, the general reception will only cost you a mere $1,000 per person.

True, Democrats do the same thing.

But this kind of money-grubbing gives all politicians a bad name, doesn't it? And isn't McCain running as a GOP maverick, a no-nonsense reformer who intends to clean up the political mess in Washington?

If so, he's got some explaining to do. This sounds like the same old political nonsense that McCain says he's against.