“I just feel it’s disrespectful to the flag and to the nation. It bugs me,” says one Sooners fan, Dick Murphy, who served in the military before retiring to Norman. He isn’t alone. Many other Oklahoma fans are speaking out against the practice, which began earlier this decade (school officials couldn’t more closely pinpoint when it started). Oklahoma president David Boren agrees, saying,

“I strongly believe that the words to the national anthem should never be changed. Especially the word “brave” should be sung because it can be taken as a reference to those who have fought and given their lives for our country. I sincerely hope our fans will choose to sing the national anthem with the words as they are written and then shout ‘Go Sooners’ just after the anthem is finished. To me that approach is more appropriate and honors both our country and university.”

Soon, there may be as big of a group yelling “brave” as their is yelling “Sooners” at the end of the anthem. Fans note, however, that this shouldn’t have to be a shouting match. Those yelling the incorrect word likely don’t mean disrespect to the country or the men and women serving in the military today. They’ve noted that it is just fun, and that they’re “just words.”

Picture via sxc.hu.

Post from: EveryJoe

Oklahoma: Home of the…Sooners?

Image: Newscom

• Mack Brown, Texas
• Jim Tressel, Ohio State
• Troy Calhoun, Air Force
• Jim Grobe, Wake Forest
• Rick Neuheisel, UCLA
• Houston Nutt, Mississippi
• Tommy Tuberville, former Auburn coach, who also went last year (see picture)

The coaches will meet and greet American miltary personel in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. They’re scheduled to leave from McConnell Ar Force Base in Kansas on May 28, and will return home on June 4. Many of the men and women they’ll meet are the same ages as the players they coach.

Last year, the coaches on the tour included Tuberville and Charlie Weis of Notre Dame.

Good luck and safe travels to everyone participating in the trip. I know celebrities tour over there all the time, and they are highly protected, but it is still dangerous.

Post from: EveryJoe

Football Coaches to Tour Middle East

Obviously this has some security issues.   We wouldn’t want any security information  from Military Bases such as control points,  guard posts, barriers and other similar information in Google Maps as these can be used by terrorists.   The last thing we would want to have is another 911 and then later on find out that they got some of their information from google.

In fact, a similar Google service called “Google Earth” may also pose some concerns as it provides aerial view of potential “targets” by terrorists.

Hmm…I wonder if Google has a photo of “Area 51″ which is a famous spot believed by many to be  a “secret Military base” which houses some “alien” technology such as UFOs captured by the US government?

[ via latimes ]

Post from: EveryJoe

Google Mappers Banned from Military Bases