Embarrased

I love living in Oklahoma. We moved here some 17 years ago. However, when my company first suggested this transfer to Tulsa, my first thought was "What did I do wrong?" Initial thoughts were of the Joad family and their travails in the Grapes of Wrath - dusty, flat, barren, windswept and ugly as sin. I was pleasantly surprised upon my arrival. The Tulsa area is, instead, a lush, green area with rolling hills. While we do experience the "...Wind sweeping down the plain", and other weather related difficulties, it is generally a nice place to reside and raise a family.

Lately, however, actions within our state have occurred that have made national news are embarrassing to some of us who live here. I say "some of us who live here" because, in a few of the things I will relate, the vast majority of the State's population agree with what has been said, or done by our two Republican Senators. First though, a national story that simply won't go away is one involving a state trooper who pulled over an ambulance on a remote highway in a rural town in Oklahoma.

The story goes like this: An ambulance driver is transporting a passenger/ill person to a hospital in a town several miles away. He does not employ the use of his siren or flashing lights. According to other emergency workers, this is normal procedure. As he is doing so, a state trooper gets a call, and is responding to an emergency of his own (although this has never been explained). He also does not employ the use of his siren, though the blinking lights are on.

Apparently, the ambulance driver does not see the trooper approaching rapidly, so does not yield to him. The trooper, after riding his tail for some moments, pulls even with the ambulance driver, uses his P.A. system and tells the ambulance driver that he needs to obey the law and yield to a law officer. Here's when it starts to get murky. The trooper pulls away with the impression that the ambulance driver gave him the one finger salute; the driver says he simply threw his hands up in the air in surprise, as he didn't see or hear the trooper coming until he heard that announcement.

The trooper goes to his call which apparently doesn't take long. The ambulance driver continues transporting his ill passenger on to the hospital. A few minutes later, the trooper returns, orders the ambulance driver to pull over - which he does - both men get out of their respective vehicles, and the trooper starts reading the riot act to the EMT. Family of the ill passenger is following behind the ambulance and come out to see what's happening and begin to take a video with their cell hone. This makes national news, as the trooper - clearly out of control - accosts an EMT, and puts a chokehold on him. It is an ugly scene.

Days go by. Finally the State Highway Patrol in an effort to defend their trooper, release their dashboard camera showing a lot more of the entire confrontation. However, to most of us, it simply shows that the trooper was an enraged man. It was ugly and embarrassing to Oklahoma, and made us look like a stereotypical "Southern" state with a bunch of Bull Connor-type vigilante cops running around dispensing their kind of justice. To top it all off, of course, the ambulance EMT's were both African Americans. Nice, huh?

Just this morning, our Senior Senator - Jim Inhofe, a Republican, made the news yet again. He is the guy who famously said, "Global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people." He also had the highest percentage of votes WITH President George W. Bush of ANY Senator during W's 8 years in office. Anywho - yesterday, he continued with his penchant for stupidity. First, with still a month to go before hearings even begin on Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonja Sotomayor - he stated he would NOT vote for her. How's that for an open mind? Secondly, though the White House experts released even more damning information about the effects of greenhouse gasses and what will happen as a result of them (i.e. severe droughts; severe rains; intense heat, etc.) Inhofe again disputed these findings.

Our other erstwhile Senator, Dr. Tom Coburn - another Republican - who is sometimes referred to as Dr. No, meanwhile used pictures of Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment from the movie "Sixth Sense" in a report on the stimulus package to try to enhance his opposition to it. Coburn, who recently announced his intention to run for a second term, is also known for his continuing opposition to Pork projects (not really a bad thing) The other thing Coburn is noted for is his comment about Terry Schiavo 'All you have to do is look at her on TV. Any doctor with any conscience can look at her and know that she does not have a terminal disease and know that she has some function.' Pretty good diagnosis for a FAMILY Doctor. He should have pressed his views with the folks who, in their autopsy, declared the unfortunate woman, BRAIN DEAD. Maybe they were actually referring to Coburn.

Many of my friends, who live in other states call, or e-mail, from time to time, laughing, or worse yet with an incredulous "How can you stand to live there?" I go on to explain the many benefits, but there are days....

Old Fart Mike