I started blogging way back. It was enjoyable. It was a fun way to vent and make my statements about whatever I felt like commenting on. I never set out to develop a following or win any awards. I have, nonetheless, made some great friendships with people—some of whom agree with me and some who don’t—and I love that. I’ve been nominated for Okie Blog Awards (I’m a perpetual loser), and Oklahoma Magazine named the WynnBlog one of the top 75 blogs in Oklahoma. I was honored.

And then I just kind of quit.

And I never really started back up again. I’ve thought about it, but I never really got it rolling again. And I’ve really been thinking on why why I haven’t. There are lots of peripheral reasons: too busy, Twittering instead, Facebooking instead, operating http://WelchOK.com instead, yada, yada, yada. There are all kinds of excuses. But they’re not really the big reason. I have always been busy—at times extremely busy—and still found time to blog. That’s what got me to the main reason I checked out of the blogoshpere. I simply quit caring enough to comment.

I got to a point where I thought (and I largely still do) that nothing I had to say made a difference. I do my best to advocate for a faith in Jesus Christ that I believe to be the one true means to God, and my fellow “Christians” play politics, lie, cheat, gossip, and basically worship a god made in their own image. I, and my ilk, did our best to make the case against the candidacy of Barack Obama. America elected him anyway. I did my level best to point out what I view as serious, serious problems with higher education in Oklahoma, specifically at Rogers State University, and no one—and I mean NO ONE, even highly respected conservative politicians—will even dare to take a real look at the mess, even when provided documentary evidence. It just all felt so worthless. No one cared. I didn’t care anymore.

Sure, I still have opinions. I’m as conservative as ever, and I think it’s the best political hope this nation has. I still believe in open, fair, and accountable government. I’m still a Christian, and I know Jesus Christ is the only hope this world and its peoples have. I have an unshakeable faith in my Savior, even when I doubt those who claim to be His people.

I guess, all told, I just got tired of contributing to this big swirling mass of opinions that like-minded folks loved, those with differing philosophies hated, and which really had no serious effect on the world. I didn’t see it accomplishing anything. It just made me feel as if all my efforts and time were worthless, and if I want that feeling I can always go back to pastoring.

So, here I am, a blogger without much to say. Maybe I’ll have more; maybe I won’t. Time will tell. If you’re a reader—or I dare say, fan—of the WynnBlog, you’ll just have to hang around and see what happens. I’m doing the same.

The Berlin Wall came down because Ronald Reagan told Gorbachev to tear it down. That was 20 years ago. Hard to believe. They are commemorating it today at the Reagan Library.

There’s news today that a Texas Planned Parenthood director quit after seeing an ultrasound. One of the efforts Oklahoma Baptists have made is to make sure all our crisis pregnancy centers are equipped with ultrasound capabilities so that young women (and young fathers) can see that there is indeed life within. Satan is a deceiver at his core, and so long as he can convince the world that an embryo or fetus is not a living human, he has the battle won. When we shine the light of truth by showing young women that they have life within their wombs, nearly 90% choose life. When the fathers will look at the ultrasound, it’s 99%. Thankfully, when they can see clearly, people make the right choice, and I am thrilled that we also help provide a means for the young moms to have healthy, happy babies, while gaining an education and having the security of a home. We Baptists do some things wrong; this is not one of them. Carry on, my brothers and sisters.

It’s been a busy few days, so I don’t have a lot of analysis to provide with these documents, but I did want to share them with you.

As you may know, the lawsuit by former Bit by Bit director Jana Walstrom against Rogers State University for wrongful termination was kicked from the federal courts back to state court, specifically Rogers County District Court, where the case is presided over by Judge Post.

Here is RSU’s response to the allegations made in Walstrom’s First Amended Petition.

Here is the schedule both sides have agreed to for trying the case.

And, here is what I consider the most significant document in the file. This was attached to the back of Judge Eagan’s federal court opinion, which I previously shared here. I find this document noteworthy because, in all the litigation I have seen RSU involved in—and there has been a bunch—I have never seen RSU or any of its people represented by attorneys other than those of OU’s office of Legal Counsel. As this document clearly shows, former State Senator Pro Tempore—and RSU library namesake—Stratton Taylor is listed as lead counsel, as is Clint Russell, of Taylor’s law firm. To further muddy things, it should be noted that the Burrage of Taylor, Burrage, Foster, Mattett, Downs & Ramsey is current state senator Sean Burrage. Further, Sean Burrage’s wife, Carole, is a former RSU faculty member, and Stratton Taylor’s wife, Carolyn, is currently on the faculty of RSU’s History & Political Science Department. Clint Russell, of Taylor’s law firm, is also listed as lead attorney, and it appears as if he has been signing most of RSU’s documents; additionally, two attorneys from OU’s Office of Legal Counsel are listed.

Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern has created a Proclamation for Morality, asking for signatories, and planning a signing ceremony at noon, Thursday, July 2, 2009, at the Capitol Rotunda. Many are keen to get behind the proclamation, with some viewing its support as indicative of one’s conservatism. Kern has been the center of much controversy in the past, due to her statements about homosexuality. While I agree with much of the sentiment of her proclamation, I cannot sign it. Read the proclamation (take a deep breath, it’s long), then I’ll explain why.

WE THE PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA, Invoking the guidance of almighty god, in
order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty; to secure
just and rightful Government; to promote our mutual Welfare and
Happiness, do establish this proclamation and call upon the people of
the great State of Oklahoma, and our fellow Patriots in these United
States of America who look to the Lord for guidance, to acknowledge
the need for a national awakening of righteousness in our land.

WHEREAS, “It is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the
Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have no government armed with power capable of
contending with human passions unbridled by Religion and
Morality” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious
people” (John Adams), and

WHEREAS, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization,
not upon the power of government…. But upon the capacity of mankind
for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern
ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the
Ten Commandments of God” (James Madison); and

WHEREAS, “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a
right that belongs to us by the laws of God” (Benjamin Franklin); and

WHEREAS, “God who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties
of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm
basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties
are of the Gift of God” (Thomas Jefferson); and

WHEREAS, “Whether any free government can be permanent, where the
public worship of God, and the support of Religion, constitute no part
of the policy or duty of the state” (Joseph Story); and

WHEREAS, “We hold sacred the rights of conscience, and promise to the
people…. The free and undisturbed exercise of their religion” (Roger
Sherman); and

WHEREAS, “This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by
Christians” (Patrick Henry); and

WHEREAS, “When you…. Exercise the right of voting for public
officers, let it be impressed upon your mind that God commands you to
chose just men who will rule in the fear of God” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, “The principles of genuine Liberty and of wise laws and
administrations are to be drawn from the Bible” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance
upon the Creator of the Universe; and

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater
national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion,
pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate
births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America
is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was
built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the President of these United
States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past
presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the President of these
United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and
pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned elected
officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of
the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world,
solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of
these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and
Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, believers in the One True
God and His only Son, call upon all to join with us in recognizing
that “Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord” and humbly implore
all who love Truth and Virtue to live above reproach in the sight of
God and man with a firm reliance on the leadership and protection of
Almighty God; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, humbly call upon Holy God,
our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, to have mercy on this nation, to
stay His hand of judgment, and grant a national awakening of
righteousness and Christian renewal as we repent of our great sin.

Signed on the Second Day of July in the Year of our Lord Christ Two
Thousand and Nine.

So there you have it. It’s long, as proclamations tend to be, and it employs many good words—some from our Founders, and most of the sentiments I find biblical and worthy of support. But, there’s one thing in particular that bothers me.

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater
national moral crisis; and

Really? Sorry, but I don’t buy it. What if our current economic woes are due to persons at all levels making bad economic choices  and/or many being the victims of fraud and/or the federal government being altogether too entangled in the affairs of her subjects citizens?

Can and does God bring economic calamity as a punishment for moral lapses. Certainly. Is every economic travail an indication of rampant sinfulness in the lives of those affected. Certainly not! This is some of the wrong-headed thinking about the Gospel that I can’t stomach, and I hate to see that my fellow Baptist Sally Kern has made this leap into what I can only term as error.

Think about Christians down through the ages. We Christians, historically, have certainly not been characterized by wealth. What about those Christians today who suffer both abject poverty and acute persecution? Are they paying economically for their views on abortion, homosexuality, and pornography? I know it’s counter to a whole segment of prosperity preachers of this modern age, but Christ said that foxes had holes and birds had nests but the Son of Man had no place to lay His head. This, from the same Guy who said that a servant is no better than his Master. If we believe Him, and I think it’s a pretty good idea that we do, we understand that there is no guarantee of financial blessing because we claim Him as our Lord.

We have, no doubt, been a supremely blessed people. Being born in this country is a blessing above all blessings. And even in a nation that is currently slouching toward the false promises of socialized this and government-guaranteed that, we are freer, richer, and better off than most people on the planet in any era of history. Why? This thing called Liberty.

The same liberty that allows persons to choose other than Christ allows persons to shift gears mid-stream and embrace the offer of grace. I know it’s a silly notion, but what if abortions plummeted not because they were illegal but because our collective hearts were changed to the point that the physical expression of love occurred between committed, married couples who would welcome a child into the world? What if smut no longer sold because the market dried up due to God’s replacing hearts of stone with hearts of flesh? What if child and elder abuse died because we simply loved life? I know, I know. I am an idealist trapped in a realist’s body. It is right and proper that we have laws against these things on the books, but I long for the day when His government rules and the law of love is perfected. For now, though, dark as the world is, it sure looks white unto a harvest. Does this Proclamation for Morality do anything to bring in the sheaves? I’m unconvinced it does.

And so for now, though I can agree with much in Kern’s proclamation and the sentiment behind it, I cannot endorse it or encourage others to do so. If I need to get behind a proclamation, I’ll continue to support the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am convinced that committed Christ followers elect better representatives, so if we want morality to reign in the halls of government, we best share Christ.

OK, I guess the talking point is that Letterman’s comments about the Palin family were “in bad taste.” I could describe it very differently. But what just blows my head off is how Matt Lauer on Today could not resist coming at Palin and asking her if it wasn’t in bad taste that her spokesperson said they intend to keep 14-year-old Willow Palin away from David Letterman. You have to be kidding me! What kind of moral eqivilization is this? I know some places here in Oklahoma where Letterman’s comments would have gotten him, at least, an arse-whoopin’ that even the Sheriff and D.A. would consider justified. I used to be a Letterman fan, but I—like most viewers—have abandoned him in recent years. Anyone who has not the sense to just admit his horrible mistake and truly apologize deserves a public uprising and channel-changing. And, as for Matt Lauer, I am appalled that his own political views and obvious disdain for Palin can allow him to make such an utter fool of himself. Neither of these two hacks would have ever behaved this way if Michelle Obama were substitued for Sarah Palin, and you know it.