I'm declaring today the beginning of Oklahoma's storm season. We've had thunderstorms and very heavy rains since last night, and they are forecast to continue through tomorrow. There really isn't an official start to the storm season here - it can be anywhere from mid-February to Late March or even early April. It all depends upon the weather patterns in play any given year.

While I have experienced some fantastic, powerful storms in my three and a half years here, I have not seen a tornado. The closest was the Moore tornado of May 2003, which tore up businesses and homes just six miles or so from here, following a track close to the monstrous tornado of May 1999. I watched it live on television while the wind whipsawed outside, changing directions every minute or so, spitting rain all over the place. A few days later, I drove past the area where it crossed highway 35. On the left was a motel missing all of its top floor. On the right side of the highway a wide track of demolished houses and trees snapped off at the ground were visible. It literally looked like bombs had been dropped.

Incredible.

I have no idea what this year holds in store weather wise. I'm thinking now about the Oklahoma Home and Garden show Rachel and I went to last month (her mom was working a booth for a friend) where we saw safe rooms made of thick steel you could purchase for inside your home. The likelihood of being hit by a strong tornado is very, very small, but if you are at home when it happens, your likelihood of surviving isn't all that high without at least a basement to take cover in, much less a full fledged storm shelter. I love our house, but it isn't particularly solid, and sits on a concrete slab.

Yikes!

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a senior attorney for the National Resources Defense Council and a cogent critic of the Shrub's environmental policies. This article illustrates Shrub's willingness to create his own "science" to further his corporate agenda. Kennedy also gave a speech to the National Press Club some months back that laid out a defense of the environment that not only fits the true definition of "conservation" but also has the potential to appeal to a wide range of voters. A written version of it can be found here.

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How Shrub and his foreign policy geniuses are accommodating Haiti's slide into further chaos.

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John Kerry is the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States. In a foreshortened primary season, Kerry proved the safe choice, the "electable" Democrat to face the Shrub and his Republican character assault machine in the November general election. Next up: Eight long m months of bitter invective, sleazy ads, anonymous "leaks" to the media, and so on. The prospect makes me tired, and angry.

As Democrats, we have chosen the wrong man, a candidate who squandered his considerable political and military credentials by casting a vote authorizing Shrub to make war in Iraq when and how he saw fit to do so. That vote was the height of irresponsibility, a choice to abandon the advise and consent function of the Senate and colluding with the House to give up the Congressional power to craft a declaration of war after the president has requested it. Kerry, a would be statesman, proved all too willing to ride along with Shrub in a virtual tank across the desert, blowing up hapless Iraqis along the way. Kerry's modulated stance on the vote he cast is that it came "with conditions," among them a requirement that Shrub exhaust all manner of diplomatic solutions. By the time of the vote it was painfully clear Shrub intended to have his war, and the vote was the closer, providing political cover domestically.

As Democrats, we have taken the easier choice, a Senator with some military credentials and a record of opposing the very in which he fought. That Senate vote rendered those bona fides irrelevant, and Kerry honestly has nothing else to offer us. Many of his votes went against the little guy, so to speak, embracing runaway globalism that is tearing apart our work force and lowering environmental standards across the country. He was also a supporter of Clinton's welfare reform which has pared down welfare rolls across the country by punishing poor people for their poverty. He has yet to articulate a coherent plan for the health care crisis facing the 40+ million people lacking any health coverage at all, nor for those who will soon be priced out of insurance as costs continue to rise well ahead of inflation. He has yet to tell us how he can solve the Iraq mess, or stimulate employment. For all of the media bluster about Howard Dean's unfitness for president, he at least had a comprehensive legislative plan, and was willing to speak plainly about some ugly realities facing voters and legislators both in the coming years.

As Democrats, we wimped out this time around, as we do every time out. Frankly, Kerry is little better than our current Resident, with a single glaring exception - he isn't George W.

And that is the crux of it. and the sole reason I am casting a reluctant vote for Kerry in the November election.