Richard Dawkins was recently invited to speak at the University of Oklahoma’s Darwin 2009 series of lectures on March 6th, 2009. The speech to be entitled "The Purpose of Purpose" quickly grew in popularity and even had to be moved to a larger venue to accommodate the quickly increasing crowd. Of course, word eventually reached Todd Thompson. Friction ensues. [more inside]
posted by 5imian on Apr 3, 2009 - 103 comments

This past Spring, Oklahoma State Representative Joe Dorman (D-Rush Springs) and State Senator John Ford (R-Bartlesville) joined together to put their bipartisan support behind House Concurrent Resolution 1047, a bill to designate the Official Rock Song of Oklahoma, as to be chosen by the people. As long as the song was written or recorded by an artist from Oklahoma, it would be eligible. The lengthy list of nominees has now been pared down to ten, and the voting has opened online. The finalists vary from Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" (written by Okie Mae Boren Axton) to "Do You Realize," by The Flaming Lips, and my personal pick, Three Dog Night's "Never Been to Spain." [more inside]
posted by Navelgazer on Sep 4, 2008 - 50 comments

Meet Brent Rinehart: Conservative Republican. Active Christian. Roads Scholar. NOT a homosexual pedifile. [PDF] The controversial mix of comics and politics are back in the news this week. So are Oklahoma's homophobic politicians, with the amazing comic book adventure of Brent Rinehart. [more inside]
posted by Dirjy on Jul 19, 2008 - 81 comments

Goodbye Seattle! Hello Oklahoma! Get ready for the NBA's newest team, the Oklahoma City SuperSonics! Whither Seattle basketball? Methinks not.
posted by parmanparman on Jun 12, 2008 - 78 comments

An anti-gay rant for the ages. By an American state rep. In 2008. Oklahoma state representative Sally Kern told fellow republicans at a private audience that the homosexual agenda is destroying the nation and that gay people are a bigger threat to our national than terrorism. And that no society that has embraced gay culture has survived. And much more. Well, doggone if these things don't get leaked and find themselves online. Have a few links to the videos and coverage. There are some rumors that Kern has a gay son, but who knows? For her part, Kern says that her remarks were misconstrued and that she is "not going to apologize for standing up for God's word."
posted by sneakin on Mar 12, 2008 - 211 comments

A man seeking Confederate gold and his own family's hidden history uncovers a cryptic trail that may stretch back to a secret society and Jesse James.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders on Dec 5, 2007 - 13 comments

Remember the new, inscrutable license plate put out by the state of Oklahoma commemorating 9/11? Well, apparently the CIA can design logos pretty well too. Presenting the Terrorist Buster.
posted by chlorus on Oct 24, 2007 - 72 comments

Between 1902 and 1905 representatives of five tribes in the Indian Territory of the southern United States lobbied for statehood. The tribes proposed creating a tribal state called Sequoyah (hi res image here). At the constiutional conference in 1905 a constitution was drafted and later forwarded to the federal Congress and President, but despite a successful ratification campaign, the effort died on the vine. The Indian Territory and Oklahoma were instead admitted to the Union two years later as one state.
posted by salishsea on Jul 27, 2007 - 19 comments

The Centennial Project. During the 100th Anniversary of Oklahoma's statehood, MeFi'er Brittanie is serializing two personal first-person accounts of her family's journey into the Sooner State, including both her great-great-grandfather's efforts to make the 1891 Land Run and another relative's meticulous biographical history which extends as far back as the Civil War. [via mefi projects]
posted by Ufez Jones on Jul 9, 2007 - 10 comments

Is this the best way to revive the legendary British marque?
posted by punkfloyd on Jul 12, 2006 - 39 comments

This evening, I entertained myself with these clips from YouTube and Google Video. Come inside if you like Bette Davis, Charles Laughton, Kubrick, Frankenstein, Shakespeare, and company...
posted by grumblebee on May 21, 2006 - 46 comments

Roy D. Mercer asks Bill Goldberg if he's ready for an ass whoopin.[more inside]
posted by bigmusic on May 11, 2006 - 18 comments

9:02 AM CST 4/19 1995. Ten years ago today. Do you remember where you were when the federal building in Oklahoma City was bombed? It was then the biggest act of mass murder in U.S. history. Shocking to a people unaccustomed to domestic terrorism. What followed was an outpouring of volunteer support and grief for the victims, a manhunt for suspects presumed to be Arabic, and calls for a 'war against terrorism'. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were eventually arrested for, and convicted of the crime, but since McVeigh was put to death in 2001, a steady stream of new evidence has called into question both the government's handling of the investigation and the official version of events. Survivors and victims' family members gather today to remember and to reaffirm demands for truth.
posted by airguitar on Apr 19, 2005 - 80 comments

Otis Granville Clark is a wonder. At 102, the former butler of Joan Crawford - who served Clark Gable and Charlie Chaplin - still drives, lives on his own and twice a week attends church in his home city of Tulsa, Oklahoma... Today his blue eyes have gone milky but they still sparkle, his wiry frame remains agile, and his most painful memories are still fresh - even after 83 years. Coiled on the edge of an understuffed sofa, Clark leans back and screws his eyes tight to summon up "that day". It remains the most vivid of his life... Historians call the firestorm that convulsed Tulsa from the evening of May 31 into the afternoon of June 1 the single worst event in the history of American race relations. To most Tulsans it is simply "the riot". But the carnage had nothing in common with the mass protests of Chicago, Detroit and Newark in the 1960s or the urban violence that laid siege to Los Angeles in 1992 after the white police officers who assaulted Rodney King were acquitted. The 1921 Tulsa race riot owes its name to an older American tradition, to the days when white mobs, with the consent of local authorities, dared to rid themselves of their black neighbours. The endeavour was an opportunity "to run the Negro out of Tulsa". Burnt Offerings
.See also The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 or the tale of the lost city or another The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. See also Frequently Asked Questions from the Tulsa Reparations Coalition. Previous post by allaboutgeorge re: Tulsa Race Riot Reparations on March 1, 2001 .
posted by y2karl on Feb 22, 2005 - 172 comments

Coming Out for One of Their Own. How an Oklahoma town overcame anti-gay bigotry... to help overcome anti-gay bigotry. (WashPost, login req. Via Pandagon)
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Nov 17, 2004 - 118 comments

Why is there a tiny video camera inside my intestines... Jeffrey Rowland, creator of WIGU, has a new comic telling "true" stories from his life.
posted by drezdn on Oct 26, 2004 - 9 comments

The justice system at work. A sitting Judge in Oklahoma has been removed from the bench for using a male enhancement pump, pleasuring himself and oiling his nether regions during court proceedings - including an August 2003 murder trial. At least he was awake during the proceedings, unlike other judges.
posted by thatothrgirl on Jun 24, 2004 - 29 comments

The Great Mirror. "A collection of about five thousand photographs taken over the last 30 years by Bret Wallach, a geography professor at the University of Oklahoma.  With few exceptions, the photos show cultural rather than physical landscapes and are intended to illuminate the people who have shaped these landscapes and are reflected in it." [Via wood s lot.]
posted by homunculus on Apr 11, 2004 - 3 comments

U.S. to defend Muslim girl wearing scarf in school. In its complaint, the government said the school district violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which it said bars states from applying dress codes in a discriminatory manner.
posted by poopy on Mar 31, 2004 - 21 comments

Writing a story is a felony violation in Oklahoma. High school student who wrote a story about armed invasion of his school faces jail time. Prosectors admit the law is Orwellian, but need a test-case. The story itself is derived from sample text included with an Adobe Pagemaker tutorial, describing hurrican evacuation instructions.
posted by swift on Aug 22, 2003 - 26 comments

Texas Rangers are facing a unique task. They have been sent to arrest over 50 Democrats and drag them back to Austin, TX. The problem: They've fled Texas to 'hide' in Oklahoma. The reason why they left the state? To stop a quorum on Congressional Redistricting.
posted by RobbieFal on May 13, 2003 - 26 comments

Oklahoma's state senator has made a prolific move for all of humanity He wants to require Oklahoma barbacue restaurants to offer napkins. Yes, seriously.

No confirmation if he was paid off by the napkin lobby.
posted by RobbieFal on Feb 10, 2003 - 23 comments

CHAIN: Oklahoma's Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Information Network. A prototype web portal, designed to provide one-stop access to AIDS information for a state with a lower HIV infection rate. Funded by the National Library of Medicine. The concept is that people in small towns or rural areas can access information and contacts without leaving home. Web designers and MetaFiltrans - does the concept work? Seen anything similar in your community?
posted by sheauga on Dec 1, 2002 - 0 comments

Iraqis linked to Oklahoma atrocity This rumor has been arond for some time now, and the Bush group certainly might like to see a connection to Iraq, though the official version seems to deny such a connection. Is this a political move to make legitimate a war against Iraq or an attempt to re-open what might have been a botched detective job originally, or just plain utter nonsense?
posted by Postroad on Oct 23, 2002 - 16 comments

"Dirty Bomber" also John Doe 2? "Here's a discovery to unsettle the average American and elate the average conspiracy theorist: Take a look at these two pictures. Notice any resemblence? The picture on the right is Abdullah al-Muhajir, aka Jose Padilla, whom the U.S. government claims is an al Qaeda operative recently arrested on suspicion of planning a "dirty bomb" radioactive attack on the U.S. And the picture at left? Why, that's John Doe No. 2, the still-unaccounted-for co-conspirator from the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995! What, you say, what? You mean the FBI somehow failed to notice this? Or did they?" (found on rotten.com)
posted by stifford on Jun 12, 2002 - 28 comments

Welcome to the Boomtown. 'Fast Company' magazine profiles the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant -- a rural Oklahoma factory that is the source of nearly every nonnuclear bomb in the United States' arsenal. Man
posted by Dirjy on May 30, 2002 - 8 comments

Bridge Collapses in Oklahoma A barge collides with the I-40 bridge at 7:30 am this morning (CDT), sending 9 vehicles and 3 trucks plummeting 62 feet to the river below.
posted by somethingotherthan on May 26, 2002 - 22 comments

McVeigh, Nichols did not act alone? U.S. had prior knowledge of the bombing? (via Fark) Interesting piece about a forthcoming 500 page report by the Oklahoma Bombing Investigation Committee. They conclude, among other things, that the blast has links to bin Laden. Kind of scary how much the allegations remind me of the JFK investigation.
posted by sixdifferentways on May 8, 2001 - 13 comments

Tulsa Race Riots of 1921: Who pays? I don't think Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating's pledge to fundraise for a memorial/museum will suffice as a remedy -- or cut much mustard with survivors and their families. (Background info here.)
posted by allaboutgeorge on Mar 1, 2001 - 26 comments

A fine football story for the year... Oklahoma won the National Championship, and Penn State did not do so well, however the local hero walks out of the hospital to get on with the rest of his life. Granted the injury was a bruise and Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli saved his life, but my question is how long before we'll see the successful repair of spinal cord injuries? Will Christopher Reeve walk again?
posted by brent on Jan 5, 2001 - 4 comments

"An Oklahoma high school suspended a 15-year-old student [Brandi Blackbear] after accusing her of casting a magic spell that caused a teacher to become sick. Blackbear was summoned to the office of assistant principal Charlie Bushyhead last December after a teacher fell ill, and was questioned about her interest in Wicca."
posted by EngineBeak on Oct 28, 2000 - 34 comments

Small town America. In the wake of a scandal involving a hidden video camera taping in the girl's junior high locker room, teacher Dennis Curtis and Assistant Principal Gary Ferguson have been recommended for dismissal.

So what's the problem? Curtis and Ferguson are the whistleblowers, not the alleged culprits. Harry "Noonie" Red Eagle Jr., seen positioning the camera on one of the tapes, has resigned. His father is the superintendent of the school system, and recommended Curtis and Ferguson be fired.
posted by lescour on Sep 29, 2000 - 1 comment

Oklahoma House passes bill requiring reference to creationism in texts.

"the committee shall ensure" that science textbooks it approves for use in public schools "include acknowledgment that human life was created by one God of the universe."

I need to catch that ship to the next universe.
posted by alan on Apr 6, 2000 - 19 comments