Oklahoma's Progressive New Abortion Law

On April 16th, 2008, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry vetoed a bill requiring all women seeking abortions to receive and view ultrasounds of the fetus within one hour before proceeding with the pregnancy termination. This law had no exemptions for victims of rape and incest. It also calls for a medical physician to describe the images being seen, including the development of the embryo. The governor had this to say,

"While I support reasonable restrictions on abortion, this legislation does not provide an essential exemption for victims of rape and incest...

"By forcing the victims of such horrific acts to undergo and view ultrasounds after they have made such a difficult and heartbreaking decision, the state victimizes the victim for a second time. It would be unconscionable to subject victims of rape and incest to such treatment.

"Because of this critical flaw, I cannot in good conscience sign this legislation."

This is terrific, except for the fact that today, April 17th, the Oklahoma legislature overrode his veto of the bill.

This is purely and completely ridiculous. It's morally perverse, irresponsible and out right disgusting. Here is what I propose: I have compiled lists of every email address for every state senator and state representative. Lets blow up their inboxes.

email me at:
reluctanttulsan@gmail.com for the lists and lets tell them they did not listen to us and did not introduce legislation to benefit the whole of the state.

Let's tell all of them how we feel about inhumane treatment of abuse victims and the waste of our tax dollars. I mean, really, is there a woman out there who is ever overjoyed with getting an abortion? Why are we putting each other through more pain, and making tough decisions even tougher? I thought Oklahomans were supposed to be better than that.

These are the same people who want these unprepared mothers to raise children, but then they don't want to cough up any dough when its time for food and diapers. These people, Democrats and Republicans alike, are a disgrace to humanity. They should all be deeply ashamed of themselves...but of course, they aren't.

Well, That's Not Something You See Everyday

Last night as I was leaving my apartment and getting into my car I noticed something walking down the sidewalk towards me. I thought, "What the hell is that?" As it approached, I realized what it was--"Oh my god, it's a goddamn fox."

True story, here comes a fox trotting right past me, just strutting down the sidewalk with a dead rabbit in its mouth. "Hey Swift." He just winked and nodded and kept trotting, never straying from the sidewalk. I got in my car and followed it. Swift walked two more blocks to 17th and Peoria, looked both ways and crossed the street. I couldn't believe it. The fox was just walking like this was an everyday occurrence--a fox hunting and returning home through the middle of Midtown Tulsa, strolling down the sidewalk, not the street, but the sidewalk, obeying all traffic laws like a homo sapien pedestrian.

Unfortunately, I cannot report on any David the Gnome sightings in the area.

The Reluctant Tulsan--Biting the Apple

Friday, April 11th, the Individual Artists of Oklahoma is hosting their annual Biting the Apple erotic art show at their gallery in downtown Oklahoma City.

My friend Anndrea from the OKC metro was invited to display her creative works at the event and she has been so kind to share some of them, and her motivations, with us.

"During school at UCO I studied small metal design and fibers...I would usually find myself creating an abstract painting to unwind, or just 'for fun'. [These two] samples are my first two watercolors ever made..I recently took a workshop over watercolor this fall at Quartz Mountain with Michael Crespo and immediately fell in love with the medium.

"My art reflects what I believe in, people that have touched my life, where I have come from, and the many things that I have brought with me on my journey so far. My first watercolor is a large sea turtle titled 'Going Home.' I have a strong connection with turtles...they have been my spirit guide for many years. I consider myself a nomad and I admire sea turtles for always finding their home.

"The second watercolor I created, titled 'Sunny,' was made for my father who was trying to find land in Wisconsin at the time. I grew up there and loved to ice fish with him for these beautiful fish. 'Sunny' holds a connection to a place and time I once called home. The fish is accompanied by a full, yellow moon--there was a full moon the night I painted it and its energy will forever be in place in the large, midnight blue waters."

If you're disappointed at the lack of erotic art, you should head to OKC Friday, April 11th and have a look. Or, you could visit the events web page, as linked above for samples from the show tomorrow night, but only if travel is not an option.

Thanks again to Anndrea for sharing some of her thoughts with us, and we look forward to hearing more from, and about, her in the future.

TheReluctantTulsan

Politiks

This is a blog about Tulsa and the surrounding area, generally. We will, and often do, touch on subjects that aren't region/area specific, but still have some impact on us. One such issue is politics and national current events that could have some bearing on our lives as a collective.

Sally Kern's recent remarks (which will not be repeated here) do not represent the feelings of all Oklahomans. I would venture so far as to say those views of hers aren't even shared by a majority of the populace, but of a select minority. I agree that yes, she should be very ashamed of herself, but she isn't. And sadly, that's what passes as a Christian in this state. Be aware fellow citizens of Tulsa and the state, that our "demographic," will act in response to unjust, unreasonable classifications of those that lead their lives differently than the majority. However, in a free country, you're allowed to have complete idiots...and if you live in Oklahoma, you elect them to state congress.

The Reluctant Tulsan's political views are rather quite inconsequential. This is not a space to rant about Republicans and Democrats. Although we fully support and condone healthy conversation and debate, this isn't our soapbox on that issue in particular. We do care strongly about social, economic, and political issues (especially when they will or should have impact on us as Oklahomans), which we will touch on (see below)--but we encourage everyone to find their own passions.

Engage the system and participate in being a citizen, don't waste it.


ProCon.org
FactCheck.org
Get My Vote!

Change Something

Here lately, I’ve found myself thinking about "change". And I don’t mean the word being tossed around by presidential hopefuls, but something bigger.

Every day we’re greeted by "change". Some for the better and some for the worse.

As a society, "change" has become something we have not only grown accustomed to, but it’s something we’ve really taken for granted.

Clothing, buildings, climate, enemies, friends, the way we watch movies and listen to music, our language, our beliefs, society, rules, tastes, climate, etc... All these things are changing while we sleep and as we live our days, and so much is changing we don’t even notice it.

When JFK took office, we had half the people on this planet as we do today, and that was less than 50 years ago. If that’s not crazy enough, briefly think about the technological age we’re in. Had you told me 10 years ago, I could get a phone with a camera, an mp3 player, the Internet, a touch screen and everything else an iPhone offers, I probably would have thought it was science fiction.

Tonight, I listened to a journalist/writer discuss how advertising as we have come to know it is dying a bloody death as fast as the newspaper in print. This is changing the way we live our lives.

Following his lecture, I came home and watched The 11th Hour, which is basically An Inconvenient Truth Lite. It not only has opinions from more than 50 experts on what is happening to our planet, but it also offers suggestions how we can reduce some of the problems we’re creating.

I don’t want to turn this into a tree-hugging lecture, but it is mind blowing to me that there are politicans who speak out against global warming. Some of these same politicans are currently discussing whether we should send our athletes to China where the smog is so thick marathon runners are already saying they won’t compete.

(By the way, there is video evidence of entire ice shelves breaking away and melting. This didn’t used to happen, Jim.)

What I like most about The 11th Hour is it makes a point to prove that nature will outlast us. We may be dumping millions of toxins into our water daily and creating desert like atmospheres in South America, but nature will ultimately win.

What I want to do is issue all of us a challenge. We all need to slow down. I recently realized this and quit wearing a watch.

We only have this life one life to live on this planet in this body. Enjoy it!

While that may be a challenge, the other I want to offer is that we all change one thing in our life.

It can be something small or something major. Just change something.

Be more friendly to strangers. Slow down when driving. Recycle. Smile more. Save more money. Question your beliefs. Eat better. Drink less. Go for a walk. Tell someone you love something nice. Start practicing what you preach. Say "no" to something.

Change something.

If we all change one thing in our lives, we will change the world we live in.

Sincerely,
Lando

Weather Madness

Why the fuck can't I ever watch a sporting event without some douche bag weatherman fucking my shit up? Every time some significant sporting event happens that I want to watch, be it the NCAA basketball championship, the NBA finals, a BCS bowl game, the World Series or the Super bowl; a thunderstorm will roll into town and I have people like Travis Meyer interrupting every couple of minutes just to tell me, "Yes, it's still raining...yes there is a storm...no, there probably won't be a tornado..."

Then what the hell are doing popping into my television? It's a goddamn thunderstorm! It storms here...ALL THE TIME! If we aren't in immediate danger, then go the hell away. Oh, and another thing--quit shrinking the picture to run your stupid weather crawl. There is no reason for a "severe weather alert" for a stupid, measly thunderstorm. Floods? Ice? Blizzard? Hurricane? Zombies? Alien invasion? Please, interrupt me. If not, shove your 4-D radar up your ass.

TheReluctantTulsan.