SHARE
Various #oklaed stakeholders convened Sunday evening at Bleu Garten to participate in their weekly Twitter chat. (Josh McBee)

You’ve probably heard of live tweeting, but have you ever heard of tweeting live?

That’s what about 20 various stakeholders in Oklahoma’s education sphere did Sunday night at Bleu Garten, an outdoor bar and food truck hub in Midtown OKC. The #oklaed contingent has been holding virtual conversations on the social media network at 8 p.m. every Sunday for about three years.

Sunday night, under the aegis of self-described “passionate educator” Kimberly Boldgett and with a little promotional help from talk-radio host Scott Mitchell, a cross section of those involved with the grassroots movement to improve Oklahoma’s educational landscape showed up at the beer garden to tweet and also chat IRL about best practices during especially tumultuous times.

Amber England, executive director for the Oklahoma division of the education advocacy group Stand for Children, has been a long-time follower of these Twitter chats and was on hand for the event. She praised the participating faculty and administrators for their ability to soldier through a difficult period.

“Despite everything they have working against them, they have the desire and will to try to do better,” England said. “They use the hashtag ‘oklaed,’ and they’ve really been able to organize online and turn that into activism.”

She cited the number of educators who filed for office this campaign season as an example.

Medical marijuana advocate Joe Dorman was also on hand, having been a follower (“sporadically,” he said) of the tweet chats since his 2014 Oklahoma gubernatorial run. He said he enjoys posting inflammatory articles from various sources in the hopes of mobilizing the contingent to be more politically active.

“The whole thing is going to be getting them motivated to vote in November,” Dorman said.

Things we saw (and heard)

Is Trump speechwriter Meredith McIver a real person?  — GOOD

A children’s treasury of misogyny at the Republican National Convention — Slate

When treason becomes patriotism — The Atlantic

Tim Kaine is Hillary Clinton’s VP running mate — Mic

Judge’s order: Elliott Williams’ jail cell became ‘burial crypt’  — The Frontier

Evict Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill — Forbes

Milo Yiannopoulos and the gay fascist sophisticate — New York Magazine

Anthem-Cigna deal: seeking merger approval, Anthem makes major donations to state political groups  — International Business Times

Police kill family dog at child’s birthday party — FOX 25

Why Kevin Durant stayed in bed after big decision — ESPN

Amelia Molitor: ‘I’m not a quitter’ — The Oklahoman

Quotes to note

“i am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father.”

— Texas senator Ted Cruz explaining why he did not endorse Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, 7/21/16

“they are looking for a reason to kill a black man.”

— Cincinnati police officer Freddie Vincent in a now-deleted Facebook post about his white coworkers, 7/22/16

“just another way to play the victim. it definitely got her a lot of attention the first time.”

— Kim Kardashian West in Keeping Up With the Kardashians, on why she released footage showing Taylor Swift approving her husband’s controversial song lyrics, 7/18/16

Vine Time

 

RECENT

Isaeli soldier

‘Nice Jewish kid from New York’ now an Israeli soldier
by Josh McBee

RECENT

writers' fund

New addition to NonDoc heading up Writers’ Fund
by NonDoc Staff

RECENT

OKCPD body cameras

August agreement possible for OKCPD body cameras
by William W. Savage III