The Gadfly On The Wall
Family Ties: The McCarville family, as I've relayed here in the past, sent numerous sons to serve in our nation's conflicts. The Canadian branch of the family also had sons in uniform in World War II. Among those who donned the uniform were Fred and Rex McCarville of Prince Edward Island, Canada, who joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940 and served aboard HMCS Columbia, which participated in the hunt for the German Navy's giant battleship, the Bismarck. Both survived the war. I am regularly reminded of my family's military history as grandson Colby Ryan McCarville Stuck (yes, that's his legal name) prepares for shipment to a Navy Seabee unit in Iraq.
Henry Steamed: Word circulates that Governor Henry was steamed this week when a Senate committee failed to approve his 3-year-olds-in-school proposal. The committee vote was 8-8 and under new rules adopted in the evenly-split Senate, the proposal now can't be reconsidered for two years.
Earthquakes: No, not the political kind...the kind that shakes the earth. In the 29 years prior to last December, my part of town had experienced 9 recorded quakes. Since December, we've had 8, ranging from a 1.3 to a 3.0. I felt none of them. Some say they were caused by the rejuvenation of an old oil field in southeastern Oklahoma County. Others say it's just the natural result of central Oklahoma sitting on numerous fault lines. The late Mother McCarville, convinced that man landing on the Moon caused a change in the climate, might have offered a thought about the earthquakes related to Hillary Clinton's quest to be president. Such was Mother's thought process.
Number 45: Ann and I marked 45 years together this week. She is a daily reminder that I married far above my own station.
Well Trained: Some in Fresno, California, question how a gunman who was shooting at cops died. Well, let's see: This guy was on the run, firing at officers. He even stopped his car several times to pop off rounds at his pursuers. Then he stopped a final time to fire again and the officers who surrounded him opened fire. The bad guy's problem was he faced 19 officers. They fired 80 rounds in all. The critics say that's overkill in the extreme; what they don't understand is that cops are taught to fire until the threat no longer exists. That means, usually, emptying your weapon. If I'm in uniform, I'll be damned if I'm going to fire once and then approach the bad guy to see if he's going again to try to shoot me. Nope, I'm going to fire until I know the bad guy is down and out. I pay particular attention to such things these days as grandson Michael completes the extensive process of becoming an Oklahoma City police officer.
Ivan Holmes, Ben Odom: These two gentlemen apparently will face off to see who will be the new chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party. I have no horse in this race, and observe that Holmes helped Lloyd Fields in his successful campaign to unseat incumbent Labor Commissioner Brenea Reneau, no small feat, and that Odom has paid his dues both as party official and candidate. I've known Ben for years and find him unfailingly courteous and about as partisan a "progressive" Democrat as exists.
Jerry Buchanan, Tom Daxon, Gary Jones: These three gentlemen want to be chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party. Daxon is the incumbent seeking reelection. Buchanan is the Tulsa County GOP chairman. Jones is the former chairman who quit to run for auditor and inspector. I have no horse in this race, either, and observe that Buchanan is not as well-known to the party faithful across the state as the other two, Daxon has a long record of party service and Jones has the backing of core conservatives. I've known Tom for 30 years, Gary for a few years. Both, in my experience, are quality individuals. Terry Nichols: I was asked yesterday about Terry Nichols' claim that FBI agent Larry Potts was somehow involved in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Could that be true? I was asked. How am I supposed to know? It is true that I, along with others, spent days on the site after the bombing and spent almost three years after it trying to figure it all out. We didn't, and never will. I do observe, with some sadness, that those who believe several conspiracies had to have been involved, often get their facts wrong and misstate even the things proven or not proven by the evidence, chief among them that there were two primary explosions, not one. They cite seismographic evidence to support this claim even though it does not exist. One seismograph a short distance away recorded the blast at one time, and a second one miles away recorded it a short time later. Hardly proof of two blasts. I do believe there existed a Phillipine terrorist tie to Nichols that he has never explained. I do fault law enforcement (FBI) for its handling of the videotapes recorded that morning by cameras in the area. I do believe some information was withheld by the FBI when it should have been made public. And I do believe the FBI conducted a less than thorough investigation and developed tunnel vision while conducting it. I do believe the FBI ignored, or failed to fully investigate, the reports by many eyewitnesses of what they saw that morning, and where they saw it. I continue to be completely baffled by the thought that Timothy McVeigh, having perpetrated a horrific crime, would drive off in a vehicle from which he had himself removed the license plate; that invited the attention of law enforcement and sure enough, that is what resulted in his capture. And, finally, the theorist claims that some in the news media have ignored the questions because they have some sort of agenda is first-rate poppycock. How Time Flies: I was reminded recently that it was 30 years ago about this time that my first article for Oklahoma Today appeared in print, a piece about the Ponca City Grand Prix. That was followed in a few months by a piece about Barney Oilfield racing in Oklahoma City shortly after the turn of the century.
Could Not Resist: This photo cries out for the best caption. "Does Bill know?" was the first in my mind. "Does Cindy know?" was another. "Pick your poison." was a third. John McCain, for whom I have admiration for his military service and sacrifice but who leaves me absolutely cold as a politician and presidential candidate, is in the news this week by dissing the former defense secretary. Hillary Clinton, who leaves me absolutely cold, period, is in a hissing match with Barack Obama this week.
Henry Steamed: Word circulates that Governor Henry was steamed this week when a Senate committee failed to approve his 3-year-olds-in-school proposal. The committee vote was 8-8 and under new rules adopted in the evenly-split Senate, the proposal now can't be reconsidered for two years.
Earthquakes: No, not the political kind...the kind that shakes the earth. In the 29 years prior to last December, my part of town had experienced 9 recorded quakes. Since December, we've had 8, ranging from a 1.3 to a 3.0. I felt none of them. Some say they were caused by the rejuvenation of an old oil field in southeastern Oklahoma County. Others say it's just the natural result of central Oklahoma sitting on numerous fault lines. The late Mother McCarville, convinced that man landing on the Moon caused a change in the climate, might have offered a thought about the earthquakes related to Hillary Clinton's quest to be president. Such was Mother's thought process.
Number 45: Ann and I marked 45 years together this week. She is a daily reminder that I married far above my own station.
Well Trained: Some in Fresno, California, question how a gunman who was shooting at cops died. Well, let's see: This guy was on the run, firing at officers. He even stopped his car several times to pop off rounds at his pursuers. Then he stopped a final time to fire again and the officers who surrounded him opened fire. The bad guy's problem was he faced 19 officers. They fired 80 rounds in all. The critics say that's overkill in the extreme; what they don't understand is that cops are taught to fire until the threat no longer exists. That means, usually, emptying your weapon. If I'm in uniform, I'll be damned if I'm going to fire once and then approach the bad guy to see if he's going again to try to shoot me. Nope, I'm going to fire until I know the bad guy is down and out. I pay particular attention to such things these days as grandson Michael completes the extensive process of becoming an Oklahoma City police officer.
Ivan Holmes, Ben Odom: These two gentlemen apparently will face off to see who will be the new chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party. I have no horse in this race, and observe that Holmes helped Lloyd Fields in his successful campaign to unseat incumbent Labor Commissioner Brenea Reneau, no small feat, and that Odom has paid his dues both as party official and candidate. I've known Ben for years and find him unfailingly courteous and about as partisan a "progressive" Democrat as exists.
Jerry Buchanan, Tom Daxon, Gary Jones: These three gentlemen want to be chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party. Daxon is the incumbent seeking reelection. Buchanan is the Tulsa County GOP chairman. Jones is the former chairman who quit to run for auditor and inspector. I have no horse in this race, either, and observe that Buchanan is not as well-known to the party faithful across the state as the other two, Daxon has a long record of party service and Jones has the backing of core conservatives. I've known Tom for 30 years, Gary for a few years. Both, in my experience, are quality individuals. Terry Nichols: I was asked yesterday about Terry Nichols' claim that FBI agent Larry Potts was somehow involved in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Could that be true? I was asked. How am I supposed to know? It is true that I, along with others, spent days on the site after the bombing and spent almost three years after it trying to figure it all out. We didn't, and never will. I do observe, with some sadness, that those who believe several conspiracies had to have been involved, often get their facts wrong and misstate even the things proven or not proven by the evidence, chief among them that there were two primary explosions, not one. They cite seismographic evidence to support this claim even though it does not exist. One seismograph a short distance away recorded the blast at one time, and a second one miles away recorded it a short time later. Hardly proof of two blasts. I do believe there existed a Phillipine terrorist tie to Nichols that he has never explained. I do fault law enforcement (FBI) for its handling of the videotapes recorded that morning by cameras in the area. I do believe some information was withheld by the FBI when it should have been made public. And I do believe the FBI conducted a less than thorough investigation and developed tunnel vision while conducting it. I do believe the FBI ignored, or failed to fully investigate, the reports by many eyewitnesses of what they saw that morning, and where they saw it. I continue to be completely baffled by the thought that Timothy McVeigh, having perpetrated a horrific crime, would drive off in a vehicle from which he had himself removed the license plate; that invited the attention of law enforcement and sure enough, that is what resulted in his capture. And, finally, the theorist claims that some in the news media have ignored the questions because they have some sort of agenda is first-rate poppycock. How Time Flies: I was reminded recently that it was 30 years ago about this time that my first article for Oklahoma Today appeared in print, a piece about the Ponca City Grand Prix. That was followed in a few months by a piece about Barney Oilfield racing in Oklahoma City shortly after the turn of the century.
Could Not Resist: This photo cries out for the best caption. "Does Bill know?" was the first in my mind. "Does Cindy know?" was another. "Pick your poison." was a third. John McCain, for whom I have admiration for his military service and sacrifice but who leaves me absolutely cold as a politician and presidential candidate, is in the news this week by dissing the former defense secretary. Hillary Clinton, who leaves me absolutely cold, period, is in a hissing match with Barack Obama this week.
Labels: Gadfly's Columns
posted by Mike McCarville @ 1:37 AM
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