Anadarko Daily News

Rebtcmaing Woishingtoh Politician$ cipitER. GOVAiCS COM 2013

From bear westling to texting while driving DONKEY ELEPHANT

IT WAS NOMINATED Bc THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE, CANNES FIR FESTIVAL

& THE FILM ACADEMY.

©2013 Jeff Stahler/Dist. by Universal UClick for UFS

Page Eight • Wednesday, March 6, 2013 • The Anadarko, Oklahoma, Daily News

EDITORIALS AND COMMENTARY How 'bout

that ..... WISE WORDS from Will

Rogers.

GOOD JUDGMENT comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

IF YOU get to thinkin' you're a person a some influence, try or-derin' somebody else's dog around.

IF YOU find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.

AFTER EATING an entire bull, the mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral of the story is — when you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

Sequestration The Sun Journal Lewiston, Maine

To hear President Barack Obama tell it, we should begin feeling something like the apocalypse.

Sorry, Mr. President, but most of us have already shrugged our shoulders. We have become so ac-customed to near-misses, last-minute deals and cans being kicked down the road that we don't get very excited anymore.

You say the restrooms won't work at Acadia, some federal work-ers will work four days rather than five and an aircraft carrier is stuck in Norfolk?

Yeah, whatever. The federal sequestration that

went into effect March 1 cuts $85 billion from this year's $3.6 trillion budget, or about 2.3 percent.

But it is very difficult for the av-erage person to determine what that means, and politicians aren't mak-ing it any easier.

Obama has been barnstorming the country predicting that the "bru-tal" cuts will "eviscerate" govern-ment programs.

Republicans, meanwhile, point out that federal spending has in-creased 17 percent since the presi-dent first took office and even after the cuts the government will spend more than it did the year before.

Indeed, these cuts will only slow the growth of the federal debt, not reduce it. ...

UniversalAlmanac Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Today is the 65th day of 2013 and the 76th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, the Alamo mission and fortress compound in Texas fell to Mexican forces after a 13-day siege.

In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property in Dred Scott v. Sandford.

In 1899, the German pharmaceu-tical company Friedrich Bayer & Co. patented aspirin.

In 1981, Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time as "CBS Evening News" anchor, a post he had held for 19 years.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Michelangelo (1475-1564), painter/sculptor/architect; Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655), soldier/writer; Lou Costello (1906-1959), actor/comedian; Will Eisner (1917-2005), cartoonist; Ed McMa-hon (1923-2009), TV personality; Alan Greenspan (1926- ), econo-mist; Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927- ), novelist; Rob Reiner (1947- ), actor/director; Connie Britton (1967- ), actress; Shaquille O'Neal (1972- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The median age for an American man getting married for the first time in 2011 was 28.9 years old. The median age for women was 26.9.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1964, world heavyweight boxing cham-pion Cassius Clay announced that his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muham-mad, had given him the new name Muhammad Ali.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursu-ing dreams." -- Gabriel Garcia Mar-quez

TODAY'S NUMBER: 25 cents -- price for 1 pound of Oreo cookies in a novelty can when the cookie was introduced by the National Bis-cuit Co. (today known as Nabisco) on this day in 1912.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (March 4) and new moon (March 11)

COPYRIGHT 2013 UNIVERSAL UCLICK

By Dr. WILLIAM HAMILTON There is a scene in the 2010

novel: The Berlin Conspiracy by William Penn, that deals with how to recognize and compensate mili-tary personnel who sit in air-condi-tioned trailers or buildings on U.S. soil as they, with just the click of a computer mouse, employ Un-manned Aerial Vehicles (AKA drones) to kill terrorists on foreign soil.

What was a fictional problem back in 2010 became a troublesome reality on February 13, 2013, when the Obama Administration an-nounced the Distinguished Warfare Medal (DWM) to recognize the men and women who kill suspected enemy combantants by using armed rones controlled from the United States. Under certain circum-stances, the DWM can even be awarded to individuals for fending off a cyber-warfare attack.

Doubtless, service members who kill the enemy or even ward off cyber attacks merit our nation's thanks for their services and even merit a decoration to wear on their uniforms. But just where do you place the DWM in the Order of Preference, within the already ex-isting awards for valor when valor is defined as actually risking your life and limb on or over a foreign field of battle?

Sitting state-side in an air-condi-tioned van does not put the operator of a computer mouse at risk of life and limb. And there is no "risk" of earning the Purple Heart which is awarded to those who have actually shed their blood on the battlefield in defense of the nation.

Now, let's review the medals awarded for "valor" on the battle-field. The top is the Medal of Honor. Next, come the Distin-guished Service Cross, Navy Cross, and Air Force Cross -- all equal in rank. They are followed by the Sil-ver Star. Next is the Distinguished Flying Cross. Then comes the Bronze Star for Valor followed by the Purple Heart. So, guess where the Obama Administration placed the new DWM within the Order of Precedence? Right above the Bronze Star and above the Purple Heart.

For the record, there are two kinds of Bronze Stars: The Bronze

The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle The pope is much more than the

head of the Catholic church. He is the head of a city-state

called Vatican City that actually is-sues passports and has a population count (about 800). That makes him a world leader. And even though he heads the smallest city-state on the planet, no world leader's reach comes close to the pope's. This is a position for which national bound-aries mean little. His jurisdiction and followers are scattered all about the countries of the world.

A papal visit can be a life-chang-ing, even world-changing event.

Moreover, ours is a world starv-ing for moral leadership, regardless of religion or denomination. What other leaders in peace, love and morality come quickly to mind?

Indeed, many believe that John Paul II was one of the great world leaders of the 20th century. The Poland native's gentle staff stood up to Eastern Bloc communism and fractured it in much the same way Moses' own freed the Israelites.

John Paul II was a decidedly dif-ficult act to follow — and Pope Benedict XVI also was cast into the fire of a blazing pedophilia scandal. Benedict's fatigue and his frustra-tions — even about a lack of pri-vacy — were evident in his last public addresses before becoming the first pope in six centuries to walk away from the job.

TheAnadarko Daily News

An Independent Community Newspaper

ESTABLISHED AUGUST 15, 1901 Phone (405) 247-3331 All Departments

email: [email protected]

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Central View

By

William Hamilton

Star with "V" for valor is awarded for being on the ground in a combat zone and performing an act of valor on the field of battle. The other Bronze Star is for meritorious serv-ice while being on the ground in an active combat zone.

By placing this new DWM above the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, the Obama Administration has effectively downgraded the service and sacrifices of those who have earned the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Maybe not a big deal to the 91-percent of Americans with zero military service. Maybe it's not a big deal in Congress where only 118 members are veterans. But it is degrading to those who have earned their awards on the field of valor. And, even if the awardees are dead, their heirs must feel that the valorous achievements of their loved ones have now been dimin-ished.

Congress can fix this injustice by passing a law that places the DWM below the Bronze Star and below the Purple Heart. Meanwhile, GIs are likely to call the DWM the "Mickey Mouse Medal" because, instead of a firearm, it involves a computer mouse. Or, if they feel charitable, the "Mighty Mouse Medal." Given the misplaced rank-ing of the DWM in the Order of Preference, it is hard to imagine that anyone would want to wear it.

William "Bill" Hamilton, long-time featured columnist for USA Today and former paperboy for THE ANADARKO DAILY NEWS is a Distin-guished Graduate of the U.S. Naval College and a Distinguished Re-search Fellow at the U.S. Army War College. He was also educated at the University of Oklahoma, George Washington University, the University of Nebraska and Har-vard.

©2013. WILLIAM HAMILTON

The leader of 1 billion Catholics, and the voice of conscience for many others, a pope carries the world on his shoulders.

What a burden it must be for even the holiest among us. And that weight is usually added at an ad-vanced age...

The process to choose Benedict's successor is shrouded in smoke literally. But here's hoping the next pope can be a shepherd of peace not only for his own flock but for a world awash in conflict, confusion and chaos.

Catholics and non-Catholics alike could sure use a John Paul the third.

Dark alley The Washington Post

The president's team has formed Organizing for Action, a group in-tended to advance his priorities using the potent grass-roots tech-nology and troops from his winning re-election campaign.

But how the Obama people are going about it stinks.

They have registered the group as a 501(c)4 organization, under a sec-tion of the Internal Revenue Code that provides tax-exempt status for "social welfare" organizations, a broad category that was originally envisioned for civic leagues and the like but which has become a fa-vored dark alley for political oper-ators.

Such groups are not required to publicly disclose donors or amounts of contributions, as they would be if they operated under the rules of the Federal Elections Commission.

Bible Thought A foolish woman is clamorous:

she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her

house, on a seat in the high places of the city, to call passengers who go right on their ways:

Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

— The Proverbs 9:13-18

By DAVID PERRYMAN The first live bear I ever saw was

on Main Street in Kinta, Oklahoma. The year was about 1962 and the Ursus Americanus had not wan-dered into town from the mountains south of town. Nor was it an es-capee from the zoo in Tulsa. Tech-nically, it was not even a part of a circus.

This black bear was chained to a tree in front of a tent and was the property of a promoter of one of those rural American holdovers of the 1800's. The event being pro-moted was bear wrestling and the barker was looking for both specta-tors and contestants. I was not old enough to qualify as either, but tick-ets were selling like hotcakes.

I don't remember if my older brothers were allowed to go, but I am pretty certain that they did not wrestle the bear. We lived seven miles from town and they would not have had transportation at the time. The tent that was set up was not large enough to keep the crowd very far from the ring, but by the looks of the tired old bear, vicious animal bites were not likely.

Apparently the sport of bear wrestling first became popular in France and came to the United States in December 1877. Rural America provided circuits of com-munities where there was just not a lot of constant commotion. To say that times were slow is an under-statement and for decades, into the 1960's any type of entertainment was welcomed.

However, before you get too up-pity, please realize that once in a while we did get to attend some re-ally special events. For instance, in my home town of around 350 resi-dents in the 1960's , we actually got to meet Meadowlark Lemon when the Harlem Globetrotters came to our old WPA gym.

My point is that until 1996 bear wrestling was legal in Oklahoma.

The statute that prohibits bear wrestling also prohibits horse trip-ping. I don't know how bear wrestling and horse tripping were addressed in the same statute. In fact horse tripping doesn't sound fun at all.

Historically, Oklahoma has taken the lead and enacted statutes that are needed for the safety of Okla-homans. One of the hottest topics that I have been contacted about over the past ten days is the pro-posal to ban texting while driving.

Unfortunately the majority lead-ership of the Oklahoma House of

THE FIRST AMENDMENT

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more per-fect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and es-tablish this Constitution for the United States of America....

Congress shall make no law re-specting an establishment of reli-gion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of griev-ances.

(The Supreme Court ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Four-teenth Amendment applies the First Amendment to each state, includ-ing all local governments.)

For The Common Good

By

David Perryman

Representatives has its head in the proverbial sand and is playing pol-itics with lives concerning this ex-tremely dangerous issue.

House Bill 1503 by Rep. Curtis McDaniel (D-Smithville) is a pro-posal to make texting while driving illegal. Over 80% of Oklahomans support a ban on texting while driv-ing. According to AT&T, a Virginia Tech study showed that persons who text while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash than persons who are not tex-ting while driving. Rep. McDaniels' Bill passed out of committee, but is being blocked from being heard on the house floor.

AT&T reported that a Texas Traf-fic Institute study showed that When drivers read or send a text message, their reaction time is dou-bled and when asked to respond to a flashing light while texting behind the wheel, drivers were more than 11 times more likely to miss the light altogether.

The telephone giant has dedi-cated millions of dollars to its "It Can Wait" campaign and says that "No text is worth dying for. And that is why AT&T is committed to putting an end to texting and driv-ing." AT&T says that, "Our goal is to save lives and to make texting and driving as unacceptable as drinking and driving."

Under current law, an Oklahoma Highway Patrolman cannot stop a driver who is texting and driving at the very instant that the highway patrolman passes the driver.

Thirty-nine other states prohibit texting while driving.

Should Oklahoma? According to the Associated

Press, House Speaker T.W. Shan-non (R-Lawton) stated last week that he is among those who have

opposed a ban on texting while driving in the past because he be-lieves that there is a slippery slope argument to be made about what people are doing inside their cars.

At this time, the bill is being blocked from being voted on by the full House of Representatives and Oklahoma law does not allow local control by municipalities across the state. The Cities and Towns that could otherwise adopt texting and tobacco laws are being stopped by the state legislature.

Ninety-Seven percent (97%) of teens say that texting and driving is dangerous.

What is your opinion? Do you want HB1503 to die without a vote or do you want it to be heard on the House Floor? It is your civic duty to let your voice be heard. Take ac-tion for the Common Good. Call or eMail a member of the House Cal-endar Committee or the Speaker of the House and let them know your opinion about HB1503. Their phone numbers and eMail ad-dresses can be found at www.ok-house.gov.

If the House Calendar Commit-tee will allow the bill to be heard, I will vote in favor of it. It is my opinion that the need for a ban on bear wrestling has taken a back seat to the need for a ban on texting while driving.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your State Representative. If there is ever anything that I can do to assist you, please call me at 405-557-7401 or eMail me at David. Perryman@okhouse. gov

I look forward to seeing you soon.

On this day Ten years ago: A somber Presi-

dent George W. Bush readied the nation for war against Saddam Hus-sein, hurling some of his harshest invectives yet at the Iraqi leader during a prime-time news confer-ence. The United States ratified a treaty on cutting active U.S. and Russian long-range nuclear war-heads by two-thirds. Democrats blocked President Bush's nomina-tion of Miguel Estrada to a federal appeals court.

Stolen Valor: The Mickey Mouse Medal

Also a world leader