Blogging here will be preempted for the next week due to the Okiedoke homestead hosting a family reunion.

Normally I’d have time to post something, but the wife gave me a to-do list that promises to keep me too busy to do anything else the entire time.

And yes, we like to discuss politics. Why do you ask?

Now that the easy work of obtaining a NBA team for Oklahoma City has been done, the difficult task of naming the recycled franchise remains thanks to the Oklahoma team owners leaving the excellent SuperSonics brand in Seattle.

They took the word “Seattle” away back in March. But now it doesn’t say “Supersonics” on what used to be the Supersonics website either.
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Until further notice, it’s the “NBA OKC” site. The team is simply referred to as “Oklahoma City” for now.

There is no shortage of suggestions. However, the lack of good suggestions are the problem.

Finding a nickname for OKC’s new team is almost impossible

It’s not easy to think of a good nickname, but it’s sure easy to think of a bad one.

As an example:

NBA Team in Oklahoma City Needs a Slam Dunk of a Name, Says Dunkadelic TV

The Sonic-Boom in Seattle is now a Dunkadelic-Boom in Oklahoma City. Should OKC choose a unique and colorful name like the Dunkadelics or something more traditional like Thunder, Wildcats, Lightning, or Stampede.

The Oklahoma City Dunkadelics has a nice flow and would make the franchise the only team with a dunk/mascot name.

A hundred more can be found here.

And of course, there’s already an unofficial contest:

The NBA no doubt is working on a new design as we speak, but we can’t trust them to come up with anything palatable. So Uni Watch is issuing the following challenge to you, this column’s faithful readers: Come up with a new name, logo, and uniform set for Oklahoma City’s NBA team. And do it fast, before the NBA issues its own crummy design that we end up having to look at for years.

So far, I’m leaning to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

When Sen. Obama has the cajhones to address the problem of absent African-American fathers, Jesse Jackson wants to “cut his nuts off”.

Spending time outside lately has me yearning for the cooling spray from a waterfall. Perhaps Turner Falls, or maybe one of the places in four continents TR has visited during the past eight weeks.

Man! After that, returning to Oklahoma in July must be pure Hell.

So, I have been savoring every single minute of my first summer back in Oklahoma which will end suddenly next Tuesday when I wing my way across the Pacific to work the Summer Olympic Games. In these past two weeks I have been present and accounted for every tangerine prairie sunset, every bloom coming and going on ever flower in my garden — I have not missed a minute of the summer life that goes on in my little backyard. I revel in barefoot splendor watching the grass and the sunflowers grow everyday. In these two weeks I’ve worked diligently trying to eat an entire summer’s worth of vine-ripened tomatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, okra, purple-hulled peas, banana peppers, and sweet corn washed down with a couple of gallons of sun tea flushed with the mint from my garden.

I think I’ll go out and pick some beans.

When I first spotted this article, I had high hopes.

Most Popular Baby Names Change Dramatically

The top 10 baby names from 1950 look nothing like today. Here’s the list from 1950, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration:

Most popular boy/girl baby names in 1950:

1. James / Linda
2. Robert / Mary
3. John / Patricia
4. Michael / Barbara
5. David / Susan
6. William / Nancy
7. Richard / Deborah
8. Thomas / Sandra
9. Charles / Carol
10. Gary / Kathleen

I was a child of the fifties and my parents went with #4, and no, Barbara isn’t my middle name. (In 1953, when I was born, Michael was the most popular name for boys at a rate of 37.2 per thousand.)

And while I like the name Michael just fine, I never really liked being a Michael. Because being a Michael usually meant I was one of many in any given situation that included more than three males. I’ve spent probably a third of my life responding to calls of “Mike” from people that don’t even want to talk to me.

So, seeing a headline that baby names have changed dramatically gave me hope that, if I can live another 50 or 60 years, I might be the only Mike within earshot once in a while. But no…

Here’s the list from last year:

1. Jacob / Emily
2. Michael / Isabella
3. Ethan / Emma
4. Joshua / Ava
5. Daniel / Madison
6. Christopher / Sophia
7. Anthony / Olivia
8. William / Abigail
9. Matthew / Hannah
10. Andrew / Elizabeth

Great! Not only is Michael still on the list, it’s even more popular. It looks like me and a couple billion other Michaels will continue spending much of our lives listening to the expression, “I wasn’t talking to you.” I guess I should just be glad my last name isn’t Smith.

By the way, my son never had, or will have, the same such problem.

Oklahoma U.S. Representative Tom Cole’s political evaluation:

It is not just the fact that Obama will now be the first major party presidential nominee since Watergate to opt out of public financing in the general election that should raise eyebrows — though it makes the Richard Nixon comparison even more compelling. In classic Richard Nixon style Obama chose to blame his reversal on his opponents than accept responsibility for the decision himself. Nixon always had some plausible sounding excuse to one up his opponents, to reverse his positions and to lower his standards. That excuse was the same one Obama chose to offer in defense of his recent reversal — political expediency.
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Campaigns tell us who a candidate is as well as what he believes. And, last week Barack Obama looked and acted a lot like Richard Nixon. That ought to concern his supporters even more than his opponents.

And the public response to Cole’s logic:

1. […] first carter, now nixon? give me a fucking break. […]
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3. So Tom Cole now supports public financing? Because in April of this year he said he did not, a politically expedient change, which, in some circles, would be called “Nixonian.”

Q: Do you support voluntary public funding of all federal elections to reduce the influence big money has on our democracy? You’d be able to spend more time serving your country and less time dialing for campaign contributions.

A: Listen to: U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK)

First of all, I’m opposed to public funding of political campaigns – first and foremost because most of the public is as well. It’s not a very popular system. Second, it doesn’t remove money from campaigns; it just removes it from candidates. And you see it spent through all sorts of special interest groups and organizations with every point of view. So I would much prefer that my tax dollars go to fund government, and that I contribute to candidates I support as opposed to a portion of the money that I pay to the government being diverted to people I may or may not support.

Source: http://www.askyourlawmaker.org/node/358
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7. You are either (a) a hypocrite or (b) suffer from some brain disorder, which causes you to completely contradict your prior statements.
….
Tom Cole: proverbial politician through and through.

One reason why Okies don’t favor taking away weapons to reduce violence is that, to be successful, the only thing legally available in Oklahoma would be foam cups and toilet paper.

Burglary charge filed in vacuum assault

Police said Ford and an unidentified man entered a residence in the 1800 block of Beaumont Drive June 22. Ford allegedly punched the resident and picked up a vacuum and hit the man over the back with it.

To be fair, Ford did supposedly earlier warn the victim that he would ‘mop up the floor with him’.

The WynnBlog sparkles with a July 4th podcast.
Straight Shooter prays with Washington for America
CycleDog speaks of energy independence.
Oklahoma Lefty aces the citizenship quiz.
Brit Gal’ in the USA lists the pros and cons of U.S. independence.
The McCarville Report Online is flagged.
Turtle Rock Farm runs with scissors.
Today In Idabel Oklahoma celebrates, uh, Idabel.

Yeah, we have the flag up today. However, people here in Little Axe don’t judge the degree of a person’s patriotism by the display of a flag in front of your house, on your truck bumper, or on your lapel. We have more discerning standards. And I’m happy to say the Okiedoke homestead ranks near the top.

Atmospheric Nazis want folks in Oklahoma City to give extra attention about launching burning products into the sky this Fourth of July holiday. And no, they’re not talking about fireworks.

Local officials have issued an ACOG Ozone Alert Day for Friday, July 4.
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Because of immediate health concerns for people that may be susceptible to the effects of air pollution, residents in the metro area are encouraged to reduce air pollution by adapting their daily routines.
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Automobiles and gasoline-powered engines are a primary source for these pollutants. Industrial machinery, lawn and garden equipment, recreational boats, drying paint and charcoal grills are some of the other sources.

Yep, can you believe it? Government bureaucrats have the gall to call a smog alert on the very day we celebrate our nation’s birth. And get this, in addition to making people feel guilty about barbecueing or going to the lake, the fascist bastards want us to give up some long cherished freedoms:

• Avoid “topping off” the tank
• Avoid unnecessary vehicle trips
• Drive the speed limit on highways

Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I do kinda like clean air. So maybe I will help out a little:

• Avoid lawn mowing.

While OKC gets an NBA team, the headlines are slightly misleading:

SuperSonics bound for Oklahoma City

Last-minute deal lets Sonics move to Oklahoma City

Actually, the Sonics, among other things, will not be coming to Oklahoma City.

… with Bennett leading the way, leaving behind the team name, colors and 41 years of history.

I’m a little disappointed. Not only did I already have a team logo graphic, I also believe “SuperSonics” is an excellent name for an Oklahoma team. I doubt the team will end up with a better one. Although, The OKC Gassers exudes a certain Okie charm, and also fits the bill.

Of course, we know how the fans in OKC and Seattle feel that ’some rednecks from Oklahoma made off with the team’, but how do actual team members feel about it?

Bennett said the franchise’s move will begin Thursday and will start with the players. He said that the business side of the team employs about 125 people, but that he doesn’t know how many of them will want to move with the Sonics to Oklahoma.

Well, we do know how Damien Wilkins feels about it:

I’m really, really mad.

No big deal; Wilkins can easily be replaced. In fact, the whole team can go, that is except for homeboy, and rookie-of-the-year, Kevin Durant.
And as James, at NBA Obsessed, sees it:

Kevin Durant skips for joy on learning his game is going to Oklahoma

Now they have a new city, new arena, new owner, and one of the best young players in Kevin Durant.

Let’s go Okie City Sonics!

Well, maybe “skipping for joy” is exaggerating a bit. Durant says:

I’m a little shocked and a little disappointed…

Yet, “little” is the key word. Little things don’t bother big players.

We’ve got to move on, continue to be professional and play basketball.

Already OKC’s most valuable player.

This is bad news for not only Oklahoma Army General Tommy Franks, but also American and Iraqi soldiers and citizens.

US Army’s Own Report Faults Poor Planning, Lack of Vision In Iraq

The unclassified report written by military historians Donald Wright and Colonel Timothy Reese says too much emphasis was placed on a military triumph, and not enough on detailed planning for the post-war period. It says part of the reason was optimism by the White House and Defense Department on what would happen when Saddam was defeated.
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The report also criticizes the invasion’s top commander, General Tommy Franks, for his decision to overhaul the Baghdad-based military command, creating a short-staffed headquarters led by an inexperienced general.

Speaking of poor vision:
Tommy Franks To Campaign For Inhofe

And why wouldn’t he? Inhofe has long supported Gen. Franks:
July 10, 2003

KEENAN: But let’s follow up on that, Senator Inhofe. I mean the morale situation in Iraq, among our troops, isn’t good. Tommy Franks today saying that the troops will be there indefinitely, although he doesn’t see a need for more troops. Are you happy with the situation there?

INHOFE: Well, first of all, I don’t think he said they’re going to be there indefinitely. He said they’re going to be there for a long period of time…

KEENAN: Foreseeable future. Foreseeable future, right.

INHOFE: … and then he’s going to have others come in and take up some of that responsibility, and I believe that’s going to happen.

Other insight from Sen. Inhofe:
- the best way we can support our troops is to keep them out of Kosovo, out of a protracted war that, in my opinion, we are not going to end up winning.

- You can always find in Scriptures a passage to misquote for almost anything, … something very strange.

And Gen. Franks:
- Where we stand today is not only acceptable in my view, it is truly remarkable

- Probably we’ll think of Sen. Inhofe in years to come as an American environmentalist.

Got ya on that last one, huh?

I bought a couple of USA farm-raised catfish the other day. At least I think I did. With NAFTA Corp. and the Food and Drug Administration running things, who knows? Take the salmonella tainted tomatoes of late:

A widespread practice of mixing tomatoes from different farms at produce distribution centers has made it impossible so far to trace the source of a nationwide salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds, federal regulators said Friday.

Dr. David Acheson, an associate commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration, acknowledged that the extent of the practice, known as “repacking,” was a surprise to agency investigators, and that it vastly complicates the process of tracing the path of tomatoes from farm to store.

“We are learning that this is a very common practice,” said Acheson. “Possibly 90 percent of tomatoes are repacked.”

Now, I can see why distributors might want to package products from multiple farms together for efficiency. Sure it makes narrowing down problem produce more difficult, but FDA investigators should at least be in the ballpark. Not even close.

The agency has found, for example, that tomatoes from Mexico have been shipped to Florida, repacked and sold with tomatoes from Florida.

Well, I think everybody expects that kind of stuff. But only die-hard NAFTA supporters understand this:

Similarly, tomatoes from the United States are sent to Mexico, where they are repacked and shipped to the United States as a product of the United States.

To someone without a marketing degree, that wouldn’t seem to make good business sense. However, it’s all part of what makes NAFTA a win-win deal.

Take the Arkansas tomatoes I purchased along with the catfish. If those tomatoes were shipped directly to Oklahoma, it wouldn’t help the US export business one bit. But if those same tomatoes arrived in Oklahoma via Mexico, Arkansas would not only get credit for exporting products outside the US, Mexico would also get the extra jobs of repacking the tomatoes. And we’d still get the tomatoes. MBA’s call that a win-win situation.

The more Oklahomans get to know the real Barack Hussein Obama and John Sidney McCain III, the better.

Oklahoma polling since the February primary

6/09 - 6/11, McCain 52% Obama 38%
- Research 2000

4/01 - 4/10, McCain 62% Obama 21%
- Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Assoc

I dare say, fellow Okies, yes we can!

Mind Prairie expresses crazy love for Oklahoma.
ERV extolls the death of punctuation.
JMBzine sees Oklahoma Green in Obama.
D-USA knows the difference between Currywurst and Doener.
Okay City attends a really okay concert.
The Lost Ogle gets farked up.
Big Ass Belle is ready to pack it in.
Miss Wisabus plans a blog celebration.
Flow of Consciousness puts Oklahoma sovereignty in perspective.
Oklahomeless has never lost a trial.