Yearly Archives: 2010

Merry Christmas

David Arnett, Publisher

“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved. No one who believes in him will be condemned; but whoever refused to believe is condemned already because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.” John 3:16-18, The Jerusalem Bible

“The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favor.’” Luke 2:9-14, The Jerusalem Bible

Christians are being persecuted in deadly ways worldwide. Even in the United States of America which is established on a foundation of faith in God, fundamental secularists are attacking from coast to coast – in Tulsa, Oklahoma most recently by misuse of the Christmas name in parade promotions.

That controversy can be revisited by clicking here, but the issue arose from a small committee that first substituted the name “Holiday” for “Christmas” at the last moment in 2009, then solicited participation and funding under the name “Christmas Parade” then filed for a parade permit in 2010 again with the name “Holiday.” Thus ends a seventy-year tradition of a Christmas Parade in downtown Tulsa.

Citizens protested in 2009 and again in 2010, but the daily newspaper true to form featured the dispute as U. S. Senator Jim Inhofe refusing to participate because of the name change. That was an egregious omission of multiple disputing parties and mischaracterization for purely political purpose.

Next year Tulsa is expected to hold several December parades with downtown to lose exclusivity because a small committee of unelected worshipers of political correctness thought it best. Advance plans on next year’s parades will be featured in coming stories here on Tulsa Today.

My final thought on this issue, “May God bless each as He sees fit.”

Tulsa Public School funny, sad but true

David Arnett, Publisher

One of the most respected independent voices on Oklahoma policy from a Conservative perspective, Brandon Dutcher, has proven once again why so many love him.

On his blog, Dutcher wrote, "Here’s what we know from recent news reports surrounding the Tulsa Public Schools (TPS). The top bureaucrat is earning more than a quarter-million dollars annually to oversee a school district in which half of the sixth-graders can’t read at grade level, but which did manage to borrow $100,000 from your grandchildren to secure a federal earmark for campus police officers who will attempt to enforce the law in the very district that is openly flouting the law."

Now that’s funny.

So when your friends wonder why you pulled your children out of public education – here is one answer. The most important reason, however, is the quality of education or the lack thereof.

Government “Wastebook 2010” available online

Staff Report

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) today released a new oversight report, “Wastebook 2010” that highlights some of the most egregious examples of government waste in 2010.

“As 2010 ends, millions of Americans are still struggling to find work. Even those lucky enough to have jobs have had to tighten their belts. Yet, Congress continues to find new and extravagant ways to waste tax dollars. In today’s economy, we can’t afford to spend nearly $2 million to showcase neon signs no longer in use at Las Vegas Casinos, nor can Congress and federal agencies afford to spend nearly $1 billion a year on unnecessary printing costs,” Dr. Coburn said.

“Our national debt is the greatest threat to our national security according to our own military leaders,” Dr. Coburn added. “Well-intentioned people across the political spectrum will argue about the best way to get us back on track. But we can all agree that cutting wasteful and low priority spending from the budget is not only sensible, but essential.”

“I hope this report will give taxpayers and concerned citizens the information they need to hold Washington accountable. As dysfunctional as our politics can seem, our system still works when ordinary citizens get informed and engaged,” Dr. Coburn said.

Examples of wasteful spending highlighted in “Wastebook 2010” include:

• The city of Las Vegas has received a $5.2 million federal grant to build the Neon Boneyard Park and Museum, including $1.8 million in 2010. For over the last decade, Museum supporters have gathered and displayed over 150 old Las Vegas neon signs, such as the Golden Nugget and Silver Slipper casinos.

• The National Science Foundation provided more than to $200,000 to study of why political candidates make vague statements.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spends $175 million every year to maintain hundreds of buildings it does not use, including a pink, octagonal monkey house in Dayton, Ohio.

• Medicare paid out over $35 million to a vast network of 118 “phantom” medical clinics, allegedly established by members of a criminal gang to submit phony reimbursement claims.

• The Government Printing Office (GPO) is using a “video game space mouse” (and nearly $60,000 in taxpayer funds) to teach children the history of printing.

• In July, nearly half a million taxpayer dollars went to the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, where wine tasting and castle tours were among the events planned for the conference participants.

• The Internal Revenue Service paid out $112 million in undeserved tax refunds to prisoners who filed fraudulent returns, according to the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

• The National Science Foundation directed nearly a quarter million dollars to a Stanford University professor’s study of how Americans use the Internet to find love.

• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) took the term “cold case” to a new level in 2010. The agency spent over $20,000 in taxpayer money “to unravel the anonymity of a 2,500-year-old mummy.”

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent nearly $442,340 million to study the number of male prostitutes in Vietnam and their social setting.

• This year, taxpayers forked over $60,000 for the “first-of-its kind” promotion of the Vidalia onion in conjunction with the movie, Shrek Forever After. ”

• The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded over $600,000 to the Minnesota Zoo to create a wolf “avatar” video game called “WolfQuest.”

• A $700,000 federal grant paid for researchers to examine “greenhouse gas emission from organic dairies, which are cause by cow burps, among other things.”

To read or download the report, click here.

Clutch goal lifts Oilers over Jacks 3-2.

TULSA, OK– Even though the Transport Workers local 514 is a huge supporter of the Tulsa Oilers and all of the professional sports teams in the Tulsa area, the team itself is rather hard on their tour buses.

For the second time this season, a tire overheated and caught fire on the way back from the Oilers 5-0 victory over the first place Allen Americans early this morning. Unlike with the November 5^th incident on the way to Independence which destroyed the bus, the fire was extinguished and as a result the team did not make it back to Tulsa until 7am, as opposed to the normal 2am arrival.

Still, in the face of the demise of another bus the Oilers still had hockey to be played, and this afternoon’s opponent was the Odessa Jackalopes. For a good portion of the season Tulsa has been pursuing the Jacks and with the mid season surge from the Oilers the roles have reversed somewhat of late. The Jackalopes have won their last three games against Laredo, Colorado and Texas, and they have won six of their last 7 games coming into the first of four meetings between the two clubs, and the only one the Oilers will play against Odessa at home.

The Jacks have a 12-13-1 record with 25 points and the Oilers are at 13-13-1 with 27 points. The Oilers headed into Sundays game had won 10 of their last 12 games and were riding a 2 game win streak upon their return to the amazing BOK Center on Sunday afternoon.

In the game Odessa opened the scoring with a goal at 14:26 of the first period with a goal by Todd Robinson, who got the puck past Oilers goalie Ian Keserich off a pass from Dominic Leveille from behind the net. Robinson would score his second goal in the second period at 12:20 off assists from Daryl Bootland and Alex Dunn.

Jack Combs ruined the shutout effort of Odessa goalie Michel Robinson at 13:51 with Tulsa on a two-man advantage with Chad Costello and Tom Dignard getting the assists. Dignard would get his second assist of the night on a goal at 14:20 of the third period when he sent a pass from behind the Odessa net into a neat one-timer shot from Sean Erickson that whistled past Michel Robinson for the equalizer.

Regulation time ended with the two teams knotted at two, and that gave way for the 5 minute, 4-on-4 period that precedes the shootout. In achieving the extra frame the Oilers attained sole possession of third place in the Berry Conference of the Central Hockey League when one standings point was awarded to both teams for the tie.

Thirty-eight seconds into the extra period Chad Costello was sent to the penalty box for tripping, and after Marty Standish won the ensuing face off Derek Eastman took the puck in on a 2-on-1 break and fired a rocket from the left hand circle. The puck deflected in the net off Robinson’s legs and the game was over.

Eastman’s game winning goal continues a unique streak for the Oilers player-assistant coach. All of his 8 goals this season have come during special teams situations. He is a league leader with 7 power play goals and tonight’s overtime shorthanded marker is his eighth for the season so far.

Even though the Jackalopes managed to put a pair of goals past him, Oilers goalie was stellar in the Tulsa net, turning away all but two of Odessa’s 41 shots, including 21 of 22 shot at him in the first period.

The Oilers return to the mothership this Tuesday night to face the Texas Brahmas at 7:05pm. That game will be preceded by two high school hockey games that will complete the GTR Cup series, presented by the Oilers and GTR Newspapers.

The Tulsa Comets will play the Jenks Trojans in the 3^rd place consolation game at 3pm with the championship game between the Union Redskins and Broken Arrow Tigers will commence at 4:30pm. A game ticket for the Oilers matchup with Texas is good for the high school games as well.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

Tickets for all Oilers games are available at the BOK Box Office, tickets.com, Tulsa area Reasor’s stores, and by calling 1-866-7BOK-CTR (866-725-5287). More information is available by calling the Oilers office at 918-632-PUCK (7825).

Tulsa blanks first place Allen 5-0.

alt Keserich flawless in shutout; Eastman nets 7^th power play goal

ALLEN, TX– The Tulsa Oilers traveled to Allen, Texas to face the team who had sole possession of first place in the Berry Conference of the Central Hockey League on Saturday night and handed them a stunning 5-0 shutout. It’s the second shutout this season for goalie Ian Keserich, who stopped all 45 shots he faced in the contest.

His first was a 3-0 blanking of the Quad City Mallards back on November 23.

Five different Oilers players scored in tonight’s game. Brennan Barker, Evan Kotsopoulos, Gary Steffes, Harrison Reed and Derek Eastman all found the twine behind Allen goaltender Adrien LeMay. Eastman now has seven goals in the 2010-11 campaign and all of them have come on the power play. His came with the extra man in the first period, and in the game the Oilers went 1-for-4 with the man advantage. The Americans went 0-for-5 on the power play.

The win lifts the Oilers into third place in the conference with 27 points,tying them with Rio Grande. It also elevates them to an even .500 with a record of 13-13-1. Chad Costello, who assisted on Eastman’s power play goal in the first lead the teams in points with 35 points on 14 goals and 21 assists, followed by his line-mates Harrison Reed with 28 points and Jack Combs with 26.

The Oilers return home to face the Odessa Jackalopes on Sunday afternoon, capping off a great day of hockey in the BOK Center with the matinee game being the GTR Cup, presented by the Oilers and GTR Newspapers, which will feature the best of high school hockey in Tulsa. The Broken Arrow Tigers high school hockey team will take on the Tulsa Comets at noon, followed by the Jenks Trojans and Union Redskins at 1:30
p.m. The championships will be held on December 21^st prior to the Oilers game with the Texas Brahmas with the third place game for the GTR Cup starts at 3 p.m. followed by the championship game at 4:30 p.m.

Tickets for the Oilers game are good for the GTR Cup high school games. Tickets for all Oilers games are available at the BOK Box Office, tickets.com, Tulsa area Reasor’s stores, and by calling 1-866-7BOK-CTR (866-725-5287). More information is available by calling the Oilers office at 918-632-PUCK (7825).