"The American public was misled about the threat posed by Iraq, and this committee is going to do its part to find out why," Waxman said.

"In the next century, the community of nations may see more and more the very kind of threat Iraq poses now -- a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction ready to use them or provide them to terrorists, drug traffickers or organized criminals who travel the world among us unnoticed.  If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow by the knowledge that they can act with impunity, even in the face of a clear message from the United Nations Security Council and clear evidence of a weapons of mass destruction program." President Clinton,  Address to Joint Chiefs of Staff and Pentagon staff.  February 17, 1998

 "The hard fact is that so long as Saddam remains in power, he threatens the well-being of his people, the peace of his region, the security of the world.  The best way to end that threat once and for all is with a new Iraqi government -- a government ready to live in peace with its neighbors, a government that  respects the rights of its people."  President Clinton,  Oval Office Address to the American People, December 16, 1998

 "Imagine the consequences if Saddam fails to comply and we fail to act. Saddam will be emboldened, believing the international community has lost its will. He will rebuild his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. And some day, some way, I am certain, he will use that arsenal again, as he has ten times since 1983." Sandy Berger, President Clinton's National Security Advisor,  Town Hall Meeting on Iraq at Ohio State University, February 18, 1998

 Do I have to point out that President GW Bush took office in 1990?

So I ask you Mr. Waxman, who mislead the American Public?

While listening to a news report this afternoon on KFAQ, I heard a reporter say that Bush was out stumping, trying to help sway the vote. The first thing that came to mind was that he already did...

From this KOTV article : Brad Henry's a Baptist and pushed for the lottery despite an outcry from Oklahoma Baptist congregations. He says he promised the state a vote on the lottery and delivered. Henry says he'll now support what Oklahoma wants.

We don't need Baptist like this in our ranks, we dont need him representing us, and Im not happy with the "outcry" that he received the first time. Come to think of it...  where is that outcry this time?

 Rep. Duncan Hunter is throwing his hat in the ring. I dont know a whole lot about this guy but everything he has stood for so far sounds like a step in the right direction...

1) Voted against NAFTA & CAFTA
2) Co-Authored the 700 mile fence along Mexico
3) opposed most-favored-nation status for China
4) Votes Pro-life
5) Against Gun Control

If you make it out to the fair, be sure to hit the Flat Tax booth on the lower level of the Exposition Center and sign the petition to eliminate the income tax.

Speaking of taxes, unlike Vision 2025 and 4 to fix part deux, what was done with the original 4 to Fix money was money well spent, and I’m sure most would agree. I would be more inclined to support new projects if they weren’t pie in the sky money grabs

 A new study by NASA scientists finds that the world's temperature is reaching a level that has not been seen in thousands of years.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Inflation is on the rise...

And the Republicans want to raise the minimum wage.

With Republicans like this, who needs Democrats?

Those are the words I saw on a bumper sticker

Here's my reply:

Senate denies funds for new border fence

This is just another example where those in charge are out of touch with the American people, out of control, just playing lip service or, in the worst case scenario, selling us out....

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship.

The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.

Alexander Tyler (unverified)

Proposition No. 1
Shall the charter of the city of Tulsa be amended to provide the council may employ attorneys to assist the council in its duties, and to provide that such attorneys shall not be subject to supervision or management by the city attorney?

Proposition No. 2
Shall the charter of the city of Tulsa be amended to provide resolutions approved by the city shall be published?

Proposition No. 3
Shall the charter of the city of Tulsa be amended to provide members of city boards, commissions, authorities, and agencies shall be residents and qualified electors of the city of Tulsa?

Proposition No. 4
Shall the charter of the city of Tulsa be amended to establish election dates and terms of office to correspond with state law providing for the conduct of elections by county election boards?

Proposition No. 5
Shall the charter of the city of Tulsa be amended to specify grounds for which elected officers may be recalled; to require that only qualified electors residing in an election district may circulate a supporting petition for recall; to provide that the signature of each petitioner on a supporting petition for recall shall correspond with the name of the petitioner appearing the voter registration books; and to provide that a valid contact telephone number of each petition shall be specified on the supporting petition; and to provide that supporting petitions for recall must contain the signatures equal in number to twenty-five percent (25%) of those voting in the election district for the affected office in the preceding mayoral general election?

Proposition No. 6
Shall the charter of the city of Tulsa be amended to require the mayor to make appointments subject to confirmation by the council within sixty (60) days or such other time as the council may authorize and to authorize the council to make appointments, should the mayor fail to do so?

on one side you have Bill LaFortune and Kathy Taylor, two sides of the same coin, both are mid-town puppets who will do the chambers bidding. one is weak, the other is unknown, but neither will be good for Tulsa.

 99.76%... That's the chance that Kathy Taylor DID vote twice. Couple that with the way she answered(?) the allegations, I think you can throw the other .24% away.

"Let me say this, I do not believe that is true."
"I can tell you unequivocally, I would never have intentionally voted twice in two states."

And I thought Bill was a dancing monkey...

Dance monkey, DANCE!

Seriously, is this the best we can do? A RINO and a carpetbagger?

I wish I knew their reasoning for  backing Miller...  

 looks like the council has finally swung Tulsa's way (Henderson, Westcott, Turner,  Mautino & Eagleton, with a couple of other races still to be decided, leaving Christianson & Martinson(?) to make a gang of two). unfortunatly now we are stuck with two choices for mayor, a Susan Savage clone, or a yellow-bellied sap sucker.

Tayor says she wants to help Tulsa, yet I want to know what her definition of Tulsa is.
LaFortune Has shown very little spine in the last 4 years, and was pushed by which ever side was strongest, right now with the way the council is shaping up they will have the power if LaFortune is re-elected.

That being said, hold your nose and pull the lever for Bill, cause it's better to go with the devil you know...

...and here are my choices for Mayor & City Council

Mayor - Chris Medlock (Republican)
District 1 - Jack Henderson (Democrat, Incumbent)
District 2 - Rick Westcott (Republican)
District 3 - Roscoe Turner (Democrat, Incumbent)
District 5 - Al Nichols (Democrat)
District 6 - Jim Mautino (Republican, Incumbent)
District 7 - John Eagleton (Republican)
 District 8 - Cliff Magee (Republican)

It is vital that for the future of Tulsa, that we get representation that will look out for the whole of Tulsa, not just midtown and the suburbs. It is time that committies are populated with more than people from Midtown and south Tulsa. We need leadership that will put Tulsa and its problems first. I believe these men will do just that. Tulsa is at a vital turning point, it has taken 15 years to get us into this mess, it will take that long to get us out, but we have to start digging now!

Primary Elections are March 7th
General Elections are April 4th

Please be aware that some of these races will be determined in the Primary Election, so please go out and vote!

or just don't care...

The most requested stories from KTUL's website: (Notice the dates of the stories)

Man Found Shot To Death Near 51st & Memorial (Sunday March 05, 2006 5:31pm)
read 10256 times   
Two People Killed Near Stroud
read 9802 times   
Gay Teen Sues School Over Alleged Assault
read 7138 times   
Woman Injured In Overnight Shooting
read 4998 times   
Tulsa Woman Plans To Send Husband's Remains Into Space
read 4822 times   
Taylor Convicted Of 2nd Degree Murder In Sheriff's Death
read 2958 times   
Sunday Grass Fires Scorch Hundreds Of Acres (Monday March 06, 2006 7:53am)
read 2822 times   
Taylor Says She's Found The Other 'Kathy Taylor' (Friday March 03, 2006 10:45pm)
read 1894 times  

On a related note, Batesline has an excellent analysis of the story.

While pondering the upcoming primarys and general election, there are five possible results.

1) A Reformist Mayor and a Reformist City Council
2) A Reformist Mayor and a Good Ol Boy Controlled City Council
3) A Good Ol Boy Controlled Mayor and a Reformist Council
4) A Good Ol Boy Controlled Mayor and a Good Ol Boy Controlled City Council
5) A Spineless Mayor and a Reformist Council

of those results #1 is Tulsa's best chance for a turn around, followed by #5.
If Mayor LaFortune makes his way past the primary, his track record of not showing any spine would be a benefit if the City Council is composed of reform minded people. who want to actually help the whole of Tulsa, and not just midtown/downtown/the suburbs.

Im sure some of you have received the post card encouraging you to "Vote NO" on Proposition #1 concerning zoning.

The first thing that is obvious is that nowhere on the card does it say who paid for this little piece of propaganda. It is apparent who is behind it though just with the verbiage that they use "Anti-Growth city councilors" & " Conflict and Chaos on the City Council". They also claim it will "undermine the basic American concept of representative government and majority rule."

Either they dont understand the concept or they are outright lying.

Here's how the changes will work:
If there is a sufficient protest to a zoning change (at least 20% of the people on the lots subject to the rezoning or 50% of landowners within 300 feet of the parcel to be rezoned), then the the charter would require a super majority of the council to pass the change. If there is no (or insufficient) protest, a SIMPLE MAJORITY is all that will be required.

Just how does that undermine anyone but developers who want to run roughshod over neighborhoods? ... I guess I just answered my own question.

Vote YES on proposition #1 March 7th

Records indicate Tulsa mayoral candidate voted twice in 2000 election
(a third-degree felony)

First LaFortune has a meltdown with Chief Been.
Then Miller's dirty laundry is aired out (in addition to not filing an pre-primary ethics report).
Now Taylor has been exposed for back taxes  and voting twice.

It may be a McCorkell and Medlock General election by default, IMO Tulsa can not lose in that scenario!

A State Senate committee has just passed on a bill that would give minimum wage workers a $2.50 an hour raise over 5 years. while this may help some minimum wage workers in the very short term, the long term effects would be devastating.

Companies have to maintain the bottom line, so they will either reduce their workforce, or they will raise prices, thus killing any benefit those on minimum wage receive. At the same time, people making over $7.65 an hour will not see a pay raise, especially hard hit in this scenario is the middle class wage slaves, prices go up, wages do not.

As someone who lived through the last series of minimum wage increases, the most glaring thing that happened is those working in the industries is the loss of any benefits they may receive, my wife worked for a local restaurant, she worked hard, yet every time she managed to get above minimum wage, the minimum would rise, leaving her at the bottom rung of the ladder.

Some people do rely on jobs in the minimum wage sector, my wife was one of those people, but increasing the minimum wage it does not help them, it hurts them, as any money that they could have earned (or did earn) by working hard is distributed to those who are looking for a little extra cash or beer money, and any extras the company could have afforded to give to employees will soon be taken away.

Tulsa homicide rate continues to soar
   
While Bill is playing games with the police department, to get himself re-elected, Tulsa is on pace to reach 100 killings by the end of the year.

Bill lied about the reason Been was put on leave and he lies about how we have enough officers. He knows because of his spinelessness that Tulsa is not safe anymore, so he had to do something! and that something was to punish someone who has been telling the public what is needed instead of heeding his warnings. The truth is we need more cops and we need higher paid cops (our boys-in-blue require a college degree, in the 43 largest city while being ranked 143rd in pay... no wonder they are fleeing to the suburbs! to be honest Im suprised we have any cops left!)

Thursday February 23, 2006 5:35pm   Reporter: Teri Bowers   Posted By: Kevin King

Tulsa - A former OSBI director will head up the investigation into the actions of former Tulsa Police Chief Dave Been, who was suspended with pay earlier this week for allegedly failing to tell the mayor of a report critical of the department's SWAT team. NewsChannel 8's Teri Bowers sat down with Been Thursday to find out what the controversy means for keeping Tulsans safe.

the link until 8 kills the story...

No, this doesn't belong under funny stuff.

and just a reminder...

 St Louis found out the hard way that it isnt true...

Convention center expansion has perils
'Arms race' of bigger centers to lure top events creates winners – and losers

"cities must offer a total package that goes beyond adequate meeting space. Large blocks of available hotel rooms along with readily accessible local attractions all play into the site selection equation."

"Whether there is actually any new convention center business to be had these days is a question that has bedeviled the meetings industry since at least 2001. The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington coupled with an economic recession, dealt a crippling blow to the convention and meeting industry from which it hasn't yet fully recovered.

Cities that took a "build-it-and-they-will-come" approach to convention centers throughout the 1990s, when the industry was thriving, are now facing a harsh reality. In many cases, rosy predictions of growth have failed to materialize, leaving cities in fierce competition for convention business that often forces them to slash rental rates or even give space away."

Harper - One city, one mind, one goal.
Lafortune - A trusted mayor leading Tulsans into the future.
McCorkell - Bringing back the spirit that made Tulsa great.
Medlock - A mayor for all of Tulsa.
Miller - Building a better Tulsa.
Taylor - Make life better.

Regionalism is going to cost us a LaFortune!

As mentioned in my Bullseye post, the city is looking north to the beautiful Osage Hills, and all the old houses that arent bringing in much in the way of tax $$$. KTUL posted a story last night that there is Neighborhood Development Coming To North Tulsa.
"I believe that this project is just the beginning"... oh it is, it may be vacant lots being built on now, but just wait for the "substandard" housing to be removed to make room for the $140,000 and up houses... Meanwhile we still cant get water and sewer out to the people in East Tulsa that were annexed 30+ years ago

Here are some clips of the 2 hour meeting that Chris Medlock and Roscoe Turner attended with the residents of Layman Van Acres. If I had the room I would put the entire audio up, but those included below give a good sampling of the things that were touched upon

Imagine downtown Tulsa, imagine the Mayo Hotel turned into a world renowned House of Blues, imagine if you will big name acts visiting this new landmark (just look at their schedule at their other venues for a taste).

Wouldn't that be the neatest thing? A nationally know tourist attraction, located in Tulsa's own historic Mayo Hotel? Wouldn’t that be a big draw for downtown?

Well it was a done deal, until the good ol' boy network caught wind of it. Seems they didn't want someone else taking a piece of their pie, sounds familiar doesn't it?

Remember that we were supposed to be getting a new amphitheater? Same thing, the Mid-Town fat cats don't want any (real) private money poured into their sandbox, it has to be their ideas paid for by our tax dollars so they can make a few more bucks. So things were said, rumors were spread, and they were discouraged from making their investment saying it would be a losing proposition (not too far from the truth).  Remember Gary Sparks? He was going to do the architectural design work  for the thing, he's also the one who was screwed out of doing the Arena construction by a phony vote by LaFortune, re-voting until Cesar Pelli's team won  even though he had more experience in this for of venue (though as Michael Bates points out above, he was one of the bigger contributors so it would have been perceived as a lose-lose situation).

From this KTUL article:

"The competition for police officers is on the fast track. And, Tulsa may be losing. Two of Tulsa's suburbs will soon outbid Tulsa for police officers. As NewsChannel 8's Bill Mitchell reports, that could mean fewer police officers patrolling Tulsa's streets."

That means our crime rate should be going down (according to Bill LaFortune).

After seeing the back and forth antics from Michael Covey concerning his endorsement of Bill Christiansen, one has to ask what’s in it for him?

Sure Bill might “fix” the problem of the bridge, but he has proven time and time again that actions (or inactions) by the group of councilors that he sides with is  destroying Tulsa. So while Mr. Covey can sit back in south Tulsa with the bridge where he wants it, the rest of Tulsa is crumbling, thanks in part to the Good ol’ boy network which Mr. Christiansen is a part of.

If he’s concerned about property values now, just wait ‘til Tulsa implodes, he wont be able to give his property away!

By the way, The enemy of my enemy is my friend has produced such great allies for us as the USSR vs Germany(WWII)  and Iraq vs Iran (before we blew it to kingdom come)...

Seems Tulsa mayoral hopeful Kathy Taylor strongly believes in correcting things that might be perceived as a bad thing. First it was the removal of her name from the so-called "Tulsan's for better Government" site, now after the noise that was brought up on the  Michael DelGiorno show, they have photoshopped the upside down cross from around her neck and replaced it with a simple "+" sign. I wish I had made a copy of the original image, especially considering the previous actions.

I would be a little concerned as to why a person who is running for office would remove such an item without sufficient explaination, especially since an upside down cross is a symbol of Satanism. Surly it had to mean something else, but for those that saw it, just removing it does nothing to eliminate any questions they may have, in fact it may just confirmed what they were thinking...

EDIT... Here are the photos, I've cropped them down to just her pic, other than the crop, the pics are the originals

The Original

The new one, definitally edited.

EDIT #2... Upon further review...

    

The cross on the left is the original, notice the indentions on the cross just below the chain? That indicates that there is some sort of break between the cross and the chain. I am now going to say (and hope) that the cross on the right, was edited to clean up the image a bit, one that was probably a victim of anti-aliasing or bluring.

 To help you all understand better what David, Mee & I have been talking about, take a look at this portion of the map for the substandard housing:

dont you think there ought to be a house on the land for it to be classified as "substandard"?

Here is the same area using an Aerial Photo, below I've zoomed in to the area in question... see any houses? I count two buildings, and this photo was taken in February, 1995. David said he saw no houses on the property

Here is the map of the substandard housing that LaFortune wants to "eliminate". You may have to Download it to view it properly (right click, save as). As has been discussed there is a lot of nice property north of downtown that is ripe for the taking.

UPDATE: after doing a little more looking at the map, I want to know what qualifies as "poor"? Im just comparing my old neighborhood with the area just north of my new one. If David's hunches are correct, it is only land that the City wants that is classified as poor or substandard. They dont want the property south of the airport (yet) so very little property is classified as poor or substandard, however the area on the west side, north of 33rd W Ave & 51st is riddled with poor & substandard. I can say by personal experience that there is very little difference between the two and the area around the airport is worse.

I am so SICK & TIRED of hearing that mantra. First it was Vision 2025 "We'll pass this and we will hope that the county wont hamstring us", now Councilor Henderson says the same thing with the 21st Century initiative. Chris Medlock wanted to add an amendment to the proposal that by approval does not mean the executive branch can create yet another committee to bypass the council. Henderson (and crew) voted that down, stating that we must do something and he would hope that the executive branch would not do as Medlock feared.

In an instance of Deja Vu, Clay Bird was asked about the cost of the project and he stated the $30,000 was just the start up cost and any costs down the road are unknown... for a second there I thought he was talking about the Arena.

On another subject altogether the blocking of the road on 46th behind the new Best Buy and shopping center was discussed at length. while they are worried about a bit more traffic on their streets, the people in Layman Van Acres are still waiting for action on their housed being rattled apart, and their health deteriorating. I guess its all in who you know and how much you got that matters in this town.

Here you will find the Mayors proposals for the 3rd penny sales tax, one thing that is apparent is that he has finally gotten his priorities straight, and some people dont like that! Of the proposed $437,000, $249,356 goes to things like streets and public safety (you know, the things that Government is supposed to do!), $22,750 goes to river parks (I dont know how far that will go), and only $3,000 goes downtown!

LaFortune knows that too much has been centered on downtown to the detriment of the rest of Tulsa, and his own re-election efforts.

Of course people like Tulsa Now are upset by the "lack of Dontown investment", what?!? A Jazz Hall of Fame and a $200,000,000 arena not enough for them?

Truth is, we need to finish and finance the unfunded parts of the prevous 3rd penny first before any new projects are slated. Bill LaFortune, who is proposing these items, probably wont be in office for the duration of this tax, so why hamstring the next mayor?

With the sabotage of the East Tulsa residential development that was to be undertaken it should be obvious, that in Tulsa, the only development that the city will help with is downtown, the good ol’ boys or the suburbs.

Case(s) in point:
East Tulsa residential development stopped but a waterline to Owasso approved
East bound I-44’s south bound exit to 169 removed
Amphitheater between downtown and Sand Springs killed (Sparks was supposed to build it)
Bass Pro Shop given to Broken Arrow to get their support for Vision 2025.
Oklahoma Aquarium passed on by previous administration, which spurred river development in Jenks. Meanwhile Tulsa proper gets stuck with a albatross of a stadium.
South Yale Toll Bridge, which will put an undue strain on our infrastructure, while lining a private entities pocket.

But notice where they are located. The vote for "4 to Fix" are located on traffic medians and right-of-ways, the vote no signs are in the yards of people.

Even Jeannie Cue, candidate for district 2, and  sister of Randi Miller  doesn't have a "for" sign in her yard.

some people are willing to stand up for what they believe in and to put it out in the open for all to see, others hide their affiliations, beliefs, and intentions... who would you rather be on the side of?

VOTE NO!

 Next Tuesday, the voters of Tulsa County have the opportunity to go to the  polls and cast their votes for or against the extension of Tulsa County's  controversial sales tax.  The purpose of this email is two fold:
 
 1.  To ask that you go to the polls on December 13th and Vote No on all four  of the County's propositions; and
 
 2.  To ask that you forward this email to five family members or close  personal friends who live in Tulsa County.
 
 A few of the reasons why the voters of Tulsa County should Vote No on  December 13th are:
 
 *  The County government should be able to perform its governmental  functions by relying solely on its legitimate property tax revenue;
 
 *  Sales taxes are the lifeblood of every municipality and these  municipalities, especially the City of Tulsa, cannot afford to keep giving  this potential source of revenue away to the County;
 
 *  The County's broken process of ignoring citizens' concerns and making bad  financial decisions will not be fixed by giving the County more money in  sales tax; and
 
 *  The County gave away over half a billion dollars in toll revenues to  private investors to build a bridge, yet now the County wants to raise  everyone's taxes for only $62 million.
 
 One week from today, you will be receiving another email asking you to  personally contact the five individuals to whom you forwarded this email and  remind them to go to the polls and Vote No.
 
 Please understand that this is a total grass roots effort and the only way  we can succeed is with your support.  For more information on 4-to-Fix and  why you should Vote No on December 13th, please visit www.thestcc.com.
 
 Michael Covey
 Spokesman for the South Tulsa Citizens Coalition

Pick one:

if you selected #1 then vote Yes for 4 to fix, otherwise vote NO on 4 to Fix so financing can be available for the more important things

According to Michael Bates, Baker announced he was running for mayor at a Democratic fundraiser... so since Baker is against recall reform, can we start a petition immediately upon completion of the election to remove him from office if he wins? After all, Im quite sure everyone who voted for his opponent will more than cover the required number of signatures... maybe we should have people outside of polling places with petition in hand!

I have been hearing that from some candidates in the current election cycle as well as the previous where the seat was filled for vacating councilor Roop. I’ve been hearing "I want to work with the council" or "I'm tired of the division", but what does that mean? And which side of the council are you siding with? (even though we really know the answer to that one).

The truth in these comments from the likes of Martinson, is they want to put the council back as a rubber stamp for the mayor, the midtowners, and the old money.

As far as I can tell David Patrick did nothing for his own district and was there just to side with the cockroaches, and since Roscoe Turner has been involved the cockroaches seem to be running for cover when the light is shined upon their deeds.

Jack Henderson now sits in the seat that Joe Williams once sat at, you remember Joe, the guy who gave a ride to a woman who was not his wife, then called the police out, claiming she stole his wallet, which was found in the backseat of his own car (I wonder how it ended up there?) He then proceeded to call the police department racist...

Those are just two examples of former councilors who "worked with the council", now look at those remaining, Sullivan (who doesnt live in his district, is rude, and acted like a 13 year old at the previous city council meeting), Neal (does she have an opinion of her own?), and Christiansen (The Poster Child for the appearance of impropriety)... are these the people they want to work with?
 

___________: Iraq has abused its last chance
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- From the Oval Office, President ___________ told the nation Wednesday evening why he ordered new military strikes against Iraq.

The president said Iraq's refusal to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors presented a threat to the entire world.

"Saddam (Hussein) must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons," ___________ said.

Operation Desert xxxxx, a strong, sustained series of attacks, will be carried out over several days by U.S. and British forces, ___________ said.

"Earlier today I ordered America's armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces," ___________ said.

"Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors," said ___________.

___________ also stated that, while other countries also had weapons of mass destruction, Hussein is in a different category because he has used such weapons against his own people and against his neighbors.

'Without delay, diplomacy or warning'

The Iraqi leader was given a final warning six weeks ago, ___________ said, when Baghdad promised to cooperate with U.N. inspectors at the last minute just as U.S. warplanes were headed its way.

"Along with Prime Minister (Tony) Blair of Great Britain, I made it equally clear that if Saddam failed to cooperate fully we would be prepared to act without delay, diplomacy or warning," ___________ said.

The president said the report handed in Tuesday by Richard Butler, head of the United Nations Special Commission in charge of finding and destroying Iraqi weapons, was stark and sobering.

Iraq failed to cooperate with the inspectors and placed new restrictions on them, ___________ said. He said Iraqi officials also destroyed records and moved everything, even the furniture, out of suspected sites before inspectors were allowed in.

"Instead of inspectors disarming Saddam, Saddam has disarmed the inspectors," ___________ said.

"In halting our airstrikes in November, I gave Saddam a chance -- not a license. If we turn our backs on his defiance, the credibility of U.S. power as a check against Saddam will be destroyed," the president explained.

Strikes necessary to stunt weapons programs

___________ said he made the decision to strike Wednesday with the unanimous agreement of his security advisors.

Timing was important, said the president, because without a strong inspection system in place, Iraq could rebuild its chemical, biological and nuclear programs in a matter of months, not years.

"If Saddam can cripple the weapons inspections system and get away with it, he would conclude the international community, led by the United States, has simply lost its will," said ___________. "He would surmise that he has free rein to rebuild his arsenal of destruction."

___________ also called Hussein a threat to his people and to the security of the world.

"The best way to end that threat once and for all is with a new Iraqi government -- a government ready to live in peace with its neighbors, a government that respects the rights of its people," ___________ said.

Such a change in Baghdad would take time and effort, ___________ said, adding that his administration would work with Iraqi opposition forces.

(Line of copy removed)

"Saddam Hussein and the other enemies of peace may have thought that the serious debate currently before the House of Representatives would distract Americans or weaken our resolve to face him down," he said.

"But once more, the United States has proven that although we are never eager to use force, when we must act in America's vital interests, we will do so."

for the answer click here

The future of Tulsa is at a crossroads.

Tulsa can either let the powers that be remain in charge which has resulted in the snake-oil sale of an arena that will pull money away from more important things like police & infrastructure, the sabotage of entrepreneurial enterprises from the outside that would have pulled money into Tulsa because the fat cats want to keep outsiders out of their sandbox, and the unnessesary propping up of our neighbors at the expense of Tulsa's future. Those currently in power have failed with our education system, with public safety, and they have failed Tulsa as a whole, especially the north, the west and the east, and if those areas continue to deteriorate, it will eventually seep into midtown & south Tulsa as witnessed by the growing crime rates.

So what is the other option? We need a change in local government (which doesn't include reorganizing the city council or adding large councilors, that power play is nothing more than an attempt to retain/regain control by the current "leaders" to continue its deadly grasp on the city), we need to remove the people who are running this city into the ground; we need a mayor who will look out for Tulsa first, then the region, according to population growth & sales tax revenue reports area communities are doing well on their own without our help. We need initiatives that will bring outside revenue into the city coffers. We need leadership that will focus on public safety, schools, the river and infrastructure, as the saying goes, "if they build it, they will come"

So Tulsa, you have a choice, we can either strive for greatness or continue on the current path of failure.

According to KOTV, the Tulsa World is set to publish the results of a poll taken to see who would vote for which candidate in the Republican primary,  LaFortune is slipping, but MedLock is way behind... could it be that MedLock is wrongly portrayed by the "bought-and-paid-for" local media as the cause of all evil in this city?

PJ Lassik's (a Tulsa World "reporter") outragous behavior at  a recent public works media should be proof enough that the media isnt going to give him a fair shake.

Remember poll questions are often worded in such a way to get the desired results.

Think on this for a minute… the midtown elite want downtown to thrive (and they want everyone else to pay for it... but I digress), they have a few reasons, but one reason is they want a buffer zone between them and the predominantly black, poverty stricken areas north of downtown... you know the areas that the city have virtually ignored for the last 30 years. By not taking care of their needs they have allowed that area to fester to where a buffer zone is now required to protect the Mid Towners property values. Why is that the case? Is it a case of misplaced priorities, or is it something more sinister?

What I see as sweet irony is while the mid-town elitists turn up their noses and believe Tulsa ends at 31st Street, most of the residents of south Tulsa, now classifies anything north of 31st street as North Tulsa... The same area of town they are trying to build a buffer for.

"Nearly half of Senate Republicans say they remain unconvinced that Harriet Miers is worthy of being confirmed to the Supreme Court, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Times."

So they aren't blindly following the "leader"?
They aren't agreeing with the confirmation till they had a chance to question the candidate?
What is wrong with that?

Bob Hope said it best in this clip...

Listening to the Megadeth song of the same title, I have to look at our current batch of so-called leaders Brad Henry? Bill LaFortune? any of the Cockroach Caucus? The Tulsa World? The National Media? who is going to stand up and lead? the Democrats? what have they offered up? Gore? Kerry? Though I see as big of a void on the Republican side. I know what is coming and I will comment on that tommorow sometime, all the pieces are falling into place...

Not the textbook definition, but what they have become.

Just look at the nomination of Aunt Fester… err… Harriet Miers by President Bush for the Supreme Court. With so many qualified, experienced, and proven conservatives on the court, he picks an unknown with no track record that gave money to the Gore campaign in ’88.

Looking at the local level we have Bob Dick, Bill Christianson, Randy Sullivan, Bill LaFortune & Paul Wesselhoft (Moore)… Is this what has become of the Republican leadership? What happened to being representatives of the people? Are Republicans & Democrats different sides of the same coin?

UPDATE: in President Bush's press conference he said about Ms. Miers "I've known her long enough to know she's not going to change, that 20 years from now she will be the same person with the same judicial philosophy she has today"... well according to this article she has changed within the last 20 years... or has she?

From the news article posted here...

"Freshman Democrat Dan Boren voted with the minority as the U-S House narrowly approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement Wednesday night. "

"He cited recent statistics from the A-F-L-C-I-O that show the state has lost 33-thousand manufacturing jobs in recent years. He says he fears CAFTA will exacerbate the flight of such jobs."

What is not mentioned is that maybe... just maybe... we have lost jobs because we are ranked at the bottom of the barrel in wages, our workman's comp sucks and lawsuit reform always seems to take a back seat? maybe its the high cost of doing business in this state that is causing these jobs to leave?

 After a week of being on the receiving end of criticism for not signing on with the council & their resolution to stand against the county and their attempt to take city land for a privately funded bridge (the role of gov't BTW), the Mayor (Im guessing reluctantly) signed on to the resolution.
I say reluctantly because this  goes against his buddy's interests, and his advisor saying he (LaFortune) was for the bridge...

so why is this only "good news"? there are plenty of other channels that the good ol' boys can try and go through to push this through, next stop is Drew Edmondson. I like Drew, I hope he sees through this attempt at an endaround.

Im about as conservative as they come, but I think this whole flag brning amendment goes against the very grain that our nation was founded upon. The First Amendment protects freedom of expression, specifically political speech, not porn as some would like you to believe. Its sole purpose it to express dissatisfaction with the gov't without fear of being reprimanded. Men & women died for this right and now we are trying to make an exception to the rule.

There are already laws on the books which will limit flag burners activities, fire codes, trespassing, inciting a riot, & theft. Does the flag they are burning belong to them? are they one someone's property without their permission? That is the proper way to hinder, but not eliminate their expression. as far as Im concerned they can burn thier own flag on their own property but as soon as it goes out on a public street they have to get all the required permits as if I was going to burn a pile of brush in my backyard.