Truth and Consequences

Monday night my 26 year old son left a bar in the Tulsa area, to be high-jacked. He was held at gun point, and beaten, stripped down and thrown in a dumpster for dead.

No, we are not safe, people should be able to carry guns, and be able to protect their self, my son was lucky, he did not die. Thank God two men helped him and called the ambulance. Thank you to the two young African American men that helped my son. My son told the police that the three men, told him that they were gonna continue to do this to get some point across.

--Kim Fullerton

It's really hard to figure out whether this is a news story or a random criticism of other local media, but either way it's hilarious.

From the story: "Crime, the more salacious or egregious the better, gets a lot of time in the media." ("MediaWatch," Sept. 29-Oct. 5 issue)

It gets a lot of time in UTW, too. Two standing columns in most issues, in fact: "Body Count," which is a list of the people who have been murdered, and the grammatically challenged "Who's Shooting Who," which turns a list of gunned-down locals into a bulleted -- pardon the pun -- list.

UTW has published this despite the apparently declining murder rate, as referenced above.

So who's being fed by crime hype and frenzy?

--Steve Bitner

Editor's Note: "Body Count" and "Who's Shooting Who" have not been included in an issue of UTW since Sept. 1 and were intended to bring attention to, what was once, a rising crime rate in Tulsa. Though incidents will continue to occur, the crime rate is currently lower than past years. You can look for occasional media watchdog column "Media Watch," when there are trends occurring in local sources.

Way to Go

Fantastic article ("Living Movement," Sept. 29-Oct. 5 issue) -- again -- from a writer who does her homework!

--Steve Liggett

Kindred Spirit

Great message ("The New Megachurch in Tulsa," Sept. 29-Oct. 5 issue)! I am 100 percent with you on this Matt (Nelson, UTW Above and Beyond contributor) and just wanted to say thank you for putting it out there.

--Scott Eppler

Strong Supporter

Dear Nicci (Atchley, UTW contributor), Thank you so much for the wonderful write-up in the Annual Manual ("A Solid Foundation"). We are so happy to have your support and hope we can look forward to continuing our relationship. Your story is going to help bring attention to many deserving students and may very well end up being the key to fulfilling a dream. Thank you again for believing in us and our mission.

--Dwight Eskew

Cap the Coach

There are three words that University of Oklahoma football coach "Big Game Bob" Stoops will never learn -- "No thank you."

How said is it that in the midst of the worst economic times since The Great Depression our "sacred cow" coach insults every slave-wage worker in the state by accepting a $75,000 annual bump in his base salary and other "stay bonuses" and "stay benefits."

His current salary is $4.875 million a year. Football-crazy regents raised his pay while socking students with a 5 percent hike in tuition and fees.

Stoops new deal is a seven-year, $39.4 million package that raises him to $5.15 million a year for 2016-2018. This kind of greed is not good for paycheck-to-paycheck working stiffs -- no matter how many national championships his teams win.

His players deserve the pay much more than Stoops. As one old Del City football coach said, "It's not the x's and the o's, it's the Johnnies and the Joes." But Stoops doesn't have the guts to lead the fight to pay his players for their year-round, full-time jobs and reject pay raises for himself. The coach gets the gold and the players, who risk life-long injuries, get the shaft. So, let him go to the National Football League where there is no limit on his paycheck.

--Virginia "Blue Jeans" Jenner