No, Seriously

(In response to "Still Open-minded" in the July 14-20 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

I think this is a great idea to spend taxpayer money to build more nice places for the homeless -- remember when they were called hobos or bums and druggies.

They deserve a nice environment at taxpayer expense. Give me more socialism. I still have a few dollars left at the end of the month and that's just not "fair".

--Robert Call

Break It Down

(In response to "Understanding Community" in the July 7-13 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

" ... it's rarely convenient."

" ... we make a personal commitment to Christ."

These two excerpts I most closely agree with you about as to why our culture, or Americans, struggle to experience true community.

First, it's not convenient. Relationships are messy -- especially when you don't necessarily get to pick and choose who you are in relationship with. It, usually, just happens for one reason or another.

It's very rare in our culture for a person or family to move to a neighborhood or new home because of the relationships or community within that area. Nowadays we are more prone to move for jobs, money or weather. We don't prioritize community like those "Bible people" did. Sad.

Secondly, the idea of making a personal commitment to Christ. I don't think the idea of a personal relationship with Christ is entirely bad but it's a little contradictory for us to bottle up Christianity as a "me and my God" theology when the very nature of the gospel is to share it/tell it to others. It's good news. It's meant to be a message that is told and re-told, and, very often, a community of some form of a relationship is necessary.

Great message, Matt. Thanks for sharing.

--Luke Whitmire

Reality Check

(In response to "The Alternative Energy Gambit" in the July 14-20 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Again, looks like Tulsa is behind the curve. If we are gonna say we are thinking big, let's do it.

Having city services and such be energy efficient is merely a common sense, common approach that everyone is doing -- no news there -- and would indicate a sad state of affairs if it is something we trumpet as "Great news!" San Antonio is getting ready to put in a 400 megawatt solar power plant. That's enough to power 80,000 homes, on top of its efforts to save 250 megawatts from new home energy management systems.

Solana, Ariz. is putting in a large solar farm; Austin is putting in one, etc.; and I am sure with San Antonio's and other cities' recent announcements, the size of other solar farms will only increase.

And that's only one type, for instance. (Wind, geothermal, as some others -- and if you're looking at the prices and capacities of the kind of solar a year or two ago, you're way behind the curve again.) But hey we in Tulsa are in the forefront and thinking big by changing out the light bulbs in City Hall! And we are gonna attract those green businesses to Tulsa, places like San Antonio and Austin haven't got a chance to compete for those companies against our efforts.

--William Franklin

Big Fish

The termites and hatchet-men agenda of the neo-conservatives and the self-righteous rotten theocrat cults is to destroy everything that they cannot micro-manage to increase their power and profits for their contributors, cronies and conspirators. That consists of barbarian billionaires, corrupt CEO's and foreign profiteers.

None of these evil entities care about freedom or democracy -- they are tyrants without moral values and love of the country or U.S. The list is not all illusive. Kill unions and install poverty starvation wages; control the wombs, rights and incomes of mothers; destroy public education and replace with private partisan and parochial schools; privatize and prioritize Medicare and Social Security; reduce or kill aid to poor children and expectant mothers including free school lunches and food stamps to all poor; place all control of all state departments into the hands of Republican governors including school boards that will not enforce their ideologies; and replace local mayors and town councils that do not follow orders.

Rig the voting registrations to control new voters and place conservative voter workers and tamperable voting machines. The local Chamber of Commerce will be infiltrated to reduce rights of its small members in favor of the big corporations to get subsides from the cities -- this has already been done nationally.

Some of the actions are already in process in the 29 states with Republican governors that received massive secret finance from China -- U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2010. America has lost its sovereignty and not a shot was fired. The free press and media have abandoned their Constitutional obligation to the U.S. and to their own advertising sources. Poverty at the bottom destroys everything above it -- always have -- always will.

--J. Ray Hunt