Flying Away from Twitter
Plus, a look at Oklahoma's 5th Governor, a county named after William Jennings Bryan, and headlines from around Oklahoma.
On October 19, 2023, at 8:02 AM CDT, I deactivated the Blog Oklahoma account from Twitter, now known as X. Blog Oklahoma was on Twitter for 16 years. For most of those years, Twitter was an excellent place to share and read news and a great place to connect with the Oklahoma blogging community.
Twitter wasn’t without its problems. Posts were lost in an algorithm; ads, bots, trolls, misinformation, and discontent permeated your feed; and the feeling of community slowly diminished. Well, at least for me anyway.
Now, Elon Musk is turning X into a walled garden with even more misinformation, discontent, and, yes, hate. I can’t say there was a final straw, but it was time to go. X is just not a place I want Blog Oklahoma associated with. I’m not the only one. Check out this post by political historian Kevin Kruse. You’ll find many are leaving for similar reasons.
Blog Oklahoma joined Mastodon years ago and has found a wonderful and ever-growing community there. Even the brand new Threads has started to grow. I haven’t looked into Bluesky yet, but someday I will. I’m always exploring new social spaces online. So, if you decide to join the Twitter diaspora and find your new community, be sure to look for Blog Oklahoma and say Hi.
In The News
A look at some of the latest headlines from around Oklahoma and beyond.
What Oklahomans should know as Health Insurance Marketplace open enrollment begins | KGOU
Tulsa doctor, lawmaker push for Oklahoma schools to require hearing screenings for student | KTUL
Advocacy group to investigate Oklahoma Department of Education partnership with PragerU | KGOU
State virtual school board chairman won’t sign contract for first religious charter school | KFOR
Pinnell lobbies for substantial increase in film rebates | The Journal Record
Oklahoma agency on track to end 13-year waitlist for disability services | Public Radio Tulsa
Biden nominates first Indigenous woman to serve as Oklahoma federal judge | Oklahoma Voice
Osage County bison herd thrives on one of the last remaining tallgrass prairies in the world | KOSU
Life-saving vending machine placed at OK County Courthouse | KFOR
Oklahoma's bigfoot organization delves into mysterious sightings and undiscovered creatures | KOKH
PSA: it’s time to update WinRAR due to a big security vulnerability | The Verge
ONLYOFFICE 7.5 Released with New PDF Editor + More | OMG! Ubuntu
In Oklahoma History
On October 23, 1923, Oklahoma’s 5th and shortest-serving Governor, Jack C. Walton, was impeached by the Oklahoma House of Representatives and suspended from office. The Oklahoma Senate convicted him and removed him from office on November 19, 1923.
In his brief 10-month term, Jack Walton frivolously spent state funds, attempted to reward his associates, and meddled in the administrations of the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma A&M.
Following the tragic events of the Tulsa race massacre on May 31, 1923, and the rise in activity of the Ku Klux Klan in the area, Governor Walton declared martial law in Okmulgee County on June 26. Later, in August, he extended the martial law to Tulsa County, which included the suspension of habeas corpus. However, this step was forbidden by the state constitution.
On September 15, 1923, Governor Walton placed the entire state under martial law in response to an Oklahoma City grand jury investigation into his office. Impeachment demands were rampant. By October, the Oklahoma House of Representatives brought 22 charges against him. In November, the Oklahoma Senate convicted him of 11 charges including suspension of habeas corpus and general incompetence.
Governor Walton was the first of only two Oklahoma Governors to be impeached and removed from office. The other was Governor Henry S. Johnson in 1929, but that’s an interesting story for another time.
More Information
About Oklahoma: Bryan County
Welcome to Bryan County.
Bryan County is in the southern part of the state along the Red River bordering Texas. The county was formed at statehood in 1907 from Blue County, a part of the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation, and named after famed politician and orator William Jennings Bryan.
Durrant, Oklahoma, located in the center-west of the county at the intersection of U.S. Highway 70, U.S. Highway 75, and State Highway 78, is the county seat, the county’s largest city, home to Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Other notable towns in the county include Kenerfic, Caddo, and Armstrong in the northern, Bokchito and Bennington in the eastern, Calera, Colbert, Achille, Hendrix, and Kemp in the southern, and Mead and Silo in the western parts of the county.
The county is home to Lake Texoma, Oklahoma’s second-largest lake by area (first by volume) and one of the largest reservoirs in the United States. Bryan County is also where the infamous Red River Bridge War took place near Colbert, Oklahoma.
Established: 1907
County Seat: Durant, Oklahoma 74701
Map: Google Maps
Area: 909 mi2 (2,354 km2)
Population: 46,067 (2020 Census)
Time Zone: UTC−6 (Central), DST observed
Area Code: 580
Congressional District: 2
State House District: 19, 21
State Senate District: 6
Weather: NWS Tulsa
Tourism Region: Choctaw Country
History: Oklahoma Historical Society
Historic Places: Exploring Oklahoma History
More Information: Wikipedia
Extras
Here are some more things I hope you'll find interesting.
A Top 10 Best Worst Heavy Metal Horror Movies | The Bad Movie Bible
What's Going On With Digital Circus? | Saberspark
Feedback Welcome
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave a comment on Substrack, email me at blogoklahoma@blogoklahoma.net, or connect with me at Mastodon at @blogoklahoma@social.tulsa.ok.us or Threads at @blogoklahoma@threads.net.
Have a great week.
– K.