James over at Mahatma X Files has an interesting post about demographics and politics in the Oklahoma panhandle. He shows a map that delineates, by country, where the Hispanic population is relative to the national average.

Focusing on the Oklahoma panhandle, you’ll notice that the most populous county, Texas County (it’s the one right in the middle of the panhandle), is running as of 2007 at about 35-40% Hispanic. The counties directly to the east and west of us (Beaver and Cimarron, respectively) are about at the national average, and the rest of the state of Oklahoma - with the exception of a couple counties to the far southwest- is below the national average.

One reason for sharing this with you is simply to give a visual to go along with one of my running narratives - namely that the Oklahoma panhandle really is culturally different compared to the rest of the state. In fact, we seem to be more like the rest of the US Southwest (which I’ll include the southwestern portion of Kansas and southeastern Colorado) than our own state. The trend towards higher concentrations of Hispanic peoples here in the OK panhandle is relatively recent - as I understand it, going back about a couple decades the panhandle was still predominantly White/Non-Hispanic. Although the panhandle is notorious for its affinity for the GOP (in presidential elections, we’re one of the “reddest” areas, and our US and state congressional delegations are uniformly GOP), I’d wager that we’re about to experience some changes.

He predicts political changes coming as a result of the demographics, and makes suggestions of how the Democratic and third parties can take advantage of this shift.

The first suggestion: “Stop ignoring us.”

I know that seems obvious, but unfortunately, the obvious needs saying in this case. But I suspect that the panhandle of Oklahoma will get attention from DC to address its problems before it gets any real respect from OK politicians. Certainly this next term, all their energy is going to be dedicated to poking into the personal lives of women.

In 1963 (a year after Nelson Mandela was imprisoned), she testified before the UN and asked them to intervene, give black South Africans rights in their own country, release political prisoners. The UN did nothing and for her trouble, the white minority government stripped her of her South African citizenship.

She finally went back to South Africa after Nelson Mandela became its president. But by that time she was a citizen of the world. She contributed a huge talent to the universe and lived to see South Africa a democracy, Mandela free, and even the son of a Kenyan elected president of the United States.

According to reports, she fought for good causes until the very end, dying from a heart attack earlier today just minutes after performing her signature Pata Pata in Italy on behalf of a writer whose work exposed the mafia-like Camorra.

I’m not a big music buff, but the only singer I’ve heard who has anywhere near the chops of Makeba is Laura Love.

There are lots of YouTubes of Makeba from her long career, but I found many of them had less than acceptable audio. This shows a retrospective of album covers and still photos.

Wikipedia
New York Times obituary

Meet the New Boss:
Note link to great article on Colbert & the media at start of the post.

• Pam Spaulding at Pam’s House Blend
• Taylor Marsh
• Arianna Huffington
• Watertiger at Dependable Renegade
• Belle Waring at Crooked Timber
• Laura Rozen at War and Piece
• Barbara O’Brien at Mahablog
• Avedon Carol at the Sideshow
• Susie Mandrak at Suburban Guerilla
• Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon
• Sheri Zollinger at World ‘o Crap
• Xan, Leah and Chicago Dyke at Corrente
• Georgia10 and McJoan at Kos
• Emptywheel at The Next Hurrah
• Jeralyn at TalkLeft
• Ellen Nagler at The Broad View
• SusanG at Booman
• MaryScott O’Connor at My Left Wing
• Lindsey Beyerstein at Majikthise
• Athenae at First Draft
• Echide of the Snakes
• Roxanne at Rox Populi
• Elayne Riggs
• Julia at Sisypus Shrugged
• Shakespeare’s Sister

Kos won’t put this on his front page, but I will.

It’s always painful when places you thought might be one of the last few outposts of saniety’s [sic] owner and other readers decide they’re willing to trade your life away, and the lives of others away, and ultimately their own lives away, because for some reason, they genuinely don’t understand what’s at stake. Words are important, and so tonight, at daily Kos, I as one of the written off, am going to write a diary for the first time, raise my voice, and once AGAIN tell so called ‘friends’ how much they’re hurting the people next to them. To say nothing of how much they’re cutting their own throats in the process.

There is more that a week’s worth of background/context for this discussion, but it’s 2:30 am and I can’t track it all down right now. The comments on stormcoming’s diary pretty much encapsulate the debate, though.

Oklahoma Women is a new blog promoting the accomplishments of Oklahoma women, politicians, artists, educators, et. al., as well as providing news about and information for Oklahoma women. You can nominate a notable Oklahoma woman with a comment or email to the admin.