Spread the Love

Dear Editor:

(In response to "Got Plan?" in the July 29-August 4 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Why is downtown getting all the small area planning resources?

Downtown has already received more than its fair share of resources. It already has more TIF districts than any other area of the city. To have the first two small area plans be in downtown is an insult and an injustice to the rest of the city, especially to areas that have long been neglected.

It is unacceptable to allow any area of the city to monopolize the majority of the limited planning resources of the city of Tulsa, and downtown is no exception.

How long will other areas of the city have to wait before they get the attention they deserve and their fair share of resources?

Perhaps there needs to be a cap on the number of small area plans approved from each council district annually to prevent all resources from being used in certain areas and to provide more geographic equity across the city in regards to planning resources?

I hope the city planners, planning Commissioners, Mayor and the Council reconsider this move. It sends the wrong message and gets the process of implementing PLANiTULSA started off on the wrong foot.

-Raoul Duke

Lacking the Faith

Dear Editor:

(In response to "True to Blue" in the July 29-August 4 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

I have lost faith in the police department in carrying out their duties. For myself, I have had no problems; however, my ex has filed a restraining order against the terrible woman who was living with him because she keeps breaking into his home and stealing whatever she wants whenever he is gone, swears she is going to kill him, etc., and the police won't do a thing, if they even bother to investigate after being called.

He has called the police when she is sitting at the corner in her vehicle (closer than allowed under the restraining order), and they won't come out. This woman has threatened him in every way possible, and they, the police department, won't do a thing. So much for getting a restraining order against anyone that is dangerous and the men in blue that keeps us safe.

-Gail

Another Suggestion

Dear Editor:

(In response to "Stick to What You Know" in the July 29-August 4 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Having lived in several of the cities (Blake Ewing) mentions, Memphis, Austin, Boston and Portland, it seems so obvious to me as an "outsider," that this is a CHURCH town.

-Fred Fidanque

History Buff

Dear Editor:

(In response to Terri Cooper's letter in "Love Letters/Hate Mail" in the July 15-21 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

No, the U.S. legal system (with the exception of Louisiana, which follows the French) is based on English Common Law, whose origins can be traced somewhat to Germanic roots but mostly to Greco-Roman laws. No evidence exists, or even a common connection, that suggests these were based on Mosaic Law.

The fundamental concepts of American law are inherited from European pagans, not a small Asiatic tribe. If you really believe otherwise, I'd suggest finding a nice Western Civilization class taught at a respectable university, so you can understand how the exact process worked. The very tiny bits of our laws that bear any similarity to Mosaic Law bear the same similarities to other legal codes that predate Mosaic Law (such as the Code of Hammurabi). If our legal system took its cues from Mosaic Law, our country would operate much more like Saudi Arabia, whose laws actually do largely conform to Mosaic Law.

Yes, religious laws may have influenced certain aspects of our system, but to say it is based on them is a fantasy lacking historical verisimilitude. Truthfully, this is a myth perpetuated by those wishing to proselytize others into their religion, or to give their religion, even if it is the dominant one presently, a special significance that it doesn't deserve. Save your Ten Commandment statues and your posturing for church and stop trying to make others follow your belief system through mendacious means!

As for your so-called "liberal misinterpretation" of the separation of church and state: fortunately judges and legal scholars disagree with you, and their opinion is the one that matters. You are right about one thing. It is out of fear, the same fear that made our forefathers codify the concept originally: It was a fear of the tyranny and abuse that happens when religious matters aren't kept divorced from government. Again, refer to Saudi Arabia if you'd like to see the consequences of ignoring that concept.

-Jacob Box, Sand Springs

The True Purpose

Dear Editor:

I've been told that the reason the double doors behind the Supreme Court bench are always open is that they bear the ten commandments on them, and if closed they would obviously form the backdrop for the Court. If this is true, some people should change their way of thinking. By the way, the purpose of the commandments is to show people they're impossible to keep, thus leading to the necessity of redemption through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

-Anatoly Arutunoff