The Gadfly On The Wall

Memorial Day: As my friend Ron Black writes (and I paraphrase) get on your knees and give thanks for the thousands of Americans who shed their blood, lost their lives, or shared their time in our military. I think this weekend of my high school buddy Mike Johnson Hope, who lost his young life as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam more than 40 years ago. And of Army veteran Major John Ford, another high school best friend, who served his 20 well, retired, landed a job with the State of Oklahoma and then died of a heart attack at his desk. God rest them...God protect all those who serve, and who have served.

Redeployment: Grandson Colby, the Navy Reserves Seabee with an Iraq tour already under his belt, heads back to the sandbox next month...likely to duty in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area. He'll join Operation Enduring Freedom, the combat operation involving some coalition partners and currently operating primarily in the eastern and southern parts of the country along the Pakistan border. Keep Colby and all the others who serve in your prayers, please.

Oops: Republican Senator Steve Russell picked a poor time to absent himself from the Senate on Friday. His vote apparently could have avoided a deadlock between Republicans and Democrats over a controversial bill. Upshot is the Legislature did not adjourn Friday as planned and will reconvene on Tuesday. Russell was out of state giving a speech.

And Now: We await Senator Tom Coburn's decision as to whether he'll seek reelection. With J. C. Watts announcing he won't run for governor, there's some thought he might go for the Senate if Coburn doesn't run. I doubt it. Watts said he has too many business entanglements to run for governor...and they would be even more complicated if he ran for the Senate, given that he's now a Washington lobbyist. Speculation continues to swirl about whether former Governor Frank Keating, also in Washington these days, might run for the Senate if Coburn does not.

Righteous Shooting: The pharmacist who shot and killed an armed robber who was firing a pistol at him last week should be receiving praise in all quarters, but some disconnected folks showed up outside the southside pharmacy to shout "Racist!" at him. Look, if someone is firing a pistol at me, I'm not likely to pay much attention to the color of his skin. I'm focused on the damn pistol he's firing. A criminal is a criminal, no matter his skin color and this dead one may have been 16, but the pistol he was firing didn't know that and neither did the pharmacist who was trying to save himself and his fellow employees.

Cheney Uncorked: Former Vice President Dick Cheney has found his voice, taking on President Obama on the war on terror. Earlier, Cheney spoke out on a myriad of issues, so many he had my head swimming. Now, he's focused on what is likely the most important issue of our era, and he is rightfully, and forcefully, scoring points.

Graduates: Granddaughter Faye and grandson Kevin are now officially high school graduates. Kevin was homeschooled and Faye attended Del City High School and Mid-Del Vo-Tech. That's four grandkids with diplomas and one to go. Grandson Michael won his associate's degree from Rose State College after years of persistence. Pride is in abundance at Casa McCarville this week.

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