A friend pointed me to an interview from 2016 in which Tulsa legend John Erling sat down with our old family doctor, the inimitable Tom Coburn, to record for posterity his story, insight, and wisdom. Let me tell you, it's an amazing recording. voicesofoklahoma.com/intervi…

To the Commission, As a Gold Star spouse, I am grateful that our nation is finally building a memorial to honor those who served and sacrificed during the Global War on Terrorism. This generation answered the call after September 11th and carried the burden of nearly two decades of war. Their service deserves to be remembered. That said, I have serious concerns about the proposed design. When I look at the concept images, I see an abstract landscape. I see architecture, symbolism, and reflection spaces. What I do not see are the men and women who fought these wars or the names of those who never came home. My husband, SSG Alan Shaw, was killed in Iraq in 2007. He was 31 years old. He had a name. He had a family. He had children who grew up without their father. Like thousands of others, his sacrifice was not abstract. Nothing about the current design makes me want to take my grandchildren there to learn about their grandfather and the sacrifices made by him and thousands of others. A national memorial should do more than inspire reflection. It should teach. It should tell a story. It should ensure that future generations understand who served, who sacrificed, and what was lost. The men and women we lost were not concepts. They were individuals with dreams, families, and futures that ended in service to this country. I believe names matter because names force us to confront the true cost of war. They transform statistics into people. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial remains one of the most powerful memorials in our nation because visitors are immediately confronted with the scale of the sacrifice through the names of the fallen. The names are not a design element. They are the memorial. I am not opposed to symbolism or artistic expression, but I believe the Global War on Terrorism Memorial should provide direct recognition of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. If someone visits this memorial fifty years from now, they should not have to guess who it was built to honor. The memorial itself should tell that story clearly and unapologetically. The combat fallen deserve more than an abstract representation of their sacrifice. They deserve to be remembered by name. Respectfully, Sharrell Shaw Gold Star Spouse

This is a brand new level of sign vandalism... 🤦‍♂️

Picked the best pump at the station. 👍

Just took a short #okgov poll call: 3 questions on Mazzei and 1 on Merrick (they voted for/against this bill, which did this, does that make you more/less likely to vote for them), and then which the 9 GOP candidates would you vote for. 🤔

Lol, they mean for one month of new registrations

Spent the weekend in @colonialwmsburg and the place was a practical ghost town. Few tourists, some groups, but there was nobody there. The bookstore was practically empty and gone were the stacks that were carefully curated some 5-10 years ago before the pandemic. There was nothing of merit to take from the gift stores other than tchotchkes. Mugs you can find at suttler stores online for $15 were being sold for $40. CW used to sell seeds much like Monticello, but that's now long gone. Even the things made at CW were in very short supply, and that which was available was mindbogglingly overpriced. Sorry -- no one is paying $4 for a hand-wrought nail. One would think there would be all sorts of tools and gardening supplies. Nope -- nothing to bring home and make a small corner of your world a 24/7 and 365 day a year advertisement of CW. Then there's the problem that makes things a bit worse. For the last 25 years, we have moved the narrative from every person being able to share a bit of the American story towards something more hostile -- namely, that America is a deeply flawed experiment and there is little to nothing to celebrate much less appreciate. If you are a young person interested in history, what are you learning about America? Why pay $25 for a ticket, $25 for a lunch, $100 for a dinner and $100 on hats, t-shirts, magnets, etc. to participate in a thing that everyone -- in order to be socially adaptable today -- believes is at core flawed and therefore evil? It's not just that living history is dying at Colonial Williamsburg. It's not just the message that we should be ashamed of our history. It's not just the fact that it seems as if half of Colonial Williamsburg is closed or too expensive to access. It's not just the fact that tchotchkes rather than seeds, tools, pamphlets, books, and all the things an 18th century Virginian might have brought home from Williamsburg are practically gone. And it's not just that something is missing, but rather the heart of the thing is being swapped out. Now there are a lot of people who are still working at CW who clearly love the place. There are plenty of opportunities -- especially in a world where smartphones are conquering everything -- to get people to set the technology down and re-engage in crafts and trades and understanding that our post-manufacturing age began with tradecraft as soulcraft, and that those trades weren't always neat and clean to 21st century sensibilities (or 20th century ones). Yet one gets the sense that Colonial Williamsburg is reverting to an architectural museum in order to avoid the question "should we love America?" The answer to that question should be more than a kneejerk and patriotic yes, but a thoughtful and overwhelming "of course!" if for no other reason than the Virginians uniquely broke out of a colonial framework and aspired to human freedom. Imperfectly, yes -- but thank God they did, because much of the world wouldn't be what it is today without the courage of a handful. I will always love Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello and Montpelier and Wakefield and Stratford and Chatham and Ferry Farm and Mount Vernon and all of the places that remind us how special Virginia truly is. Yet between the marketing bros, the fear of being right, and the choice to adopt the material over meaning because it is safer to do so? We lose the thing itself in the process. Colonial Williamsburg has weathered changes in the past, but always with an anchor. One worries that the tether to that anchor is being hacked away by myopic people who might not give a damn or understand the stakes. Tradecraft as soulcraft, please. To anyone at CW who might actually care, re-invest in the romance. America is easy to love, I promise.

The constant zoom-out to keep Secretariat and second-place in the same shot toward the end... 🤯

Featuring the excellent Muskogee Community Band, fireworks finale to Stars and Stripes Forever, concessions, and an art auction, this family-friendly event at Honor Heights Park is well worth attending. They have a special patriotic program planned for #America250. Don't miss it!

My favorite community event of the year in Muskogee. Bring the kids out for this family-friendly concert!

Too bad it wasn't at night!! 😂

Christians do not believe Jesus is the product of celestial procreation. Christians do not believe God was once a man who ascended to Godhood on another world. Christians do not believe God dwells near a star called Kolob. Christians do not believe faithful humans can become gods ruling worlds of their own. Christians do not believe that Jesus visited America after His resurrection. Christians do not believe Jesus and Satan are spirit brothers. Christians do not believe there are multiple gods. Christians do not believe God the Father has a physical body of flesh and bone. Christians do not believe Native Americans received dark skin as the result of a curse. Mormons are generally kind people. But kindness is not theology. Many Mormon beliefs—past and present—are fundamentally incompatible with historic Christian doctrine.

If you've asked, here you go ⬇️