Down Syndrome Girl Wins Homecoming Queen

At first I thought this was a cruel joke, but actually it's really cool what happened at this high school. It's people who are putting away any kind of self-interest and doing what is right and honorable.

Sam Bradford

I think it can go without saying that I am a huge OU fan. Sam Bradford is the quarterback, and he's a Heisman contender as a sophomore. He's awesome. I read this article and thought I would pass it on, because it was really cool how a kid this young is stepping up to be the right kind of role model, not just for kids, but for Native Americans everywhere. Even if you hate OU (which, if you ask me, is like hating Mother Teresea) you should still read this article.

Oklahoma's Bradford serving as role model

Olin Buchanan
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer

VIDEO: Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford completes a lot of passes. And with each one, he further entrenches himself as the most revered player in the nation.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford realizes he has become a role model for many.

Actually, he's most revered in several nations – the Choctaw, the Caddo, the Cherokee and many other Native American tribes in Oklahoma and around the country.

The great, great grandson of Susie Walkingstick, a full-blooded Cherokee on his father's side, Bradford, one of two Native Americans on the OU roster (long snapper Derek Shaw is the other), might give Oklahoma its fifth Heisman Trophy. He gives the Sooners a shot at another national championship. And he also gives Native Americans much more than Saturday afternoon glory: He represents hope and possibilities for tribal communities in dire need of both.

"I am aware of that and it's a great opportunity for me," Bradford says. "If I am a positive role model for younger kids, then I think that's great. But it is a little bit (overwhelming) to know so many kids look up to me."

It's not just kids. Dr. Delores Subia BigFoot, director of Indian Country Child Trauma Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in Oklahoma City, doesn't know Bradford personally, but she is among his biggest fans in a state full of them. She holds up Bradford as an example to Native Americans of what can be accomplished with proper support in a positive environment.

"We work in communities where Native youth have a lot of challenges, so seeing someone like Sam excel is incredible," says BigFoot, an enrolled member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. "He's such a great role model for other Native youth. He is steady, he performs well under pressure, he's reliable, he's consistent and he's competitive. He's a great leader, and that's what our youth need."

Bradford is by no means the first Native American college football star. Jim Thorpe, perhaps the greatest college football player ever, was an Oklahoma native from the Sauk tribe. He was an All-America in 1911 and 1912 playing for Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.

Bradford might be the best player with Native American heritage since Washington quarterback Sonny Sixkiller, who led the nation in passing in 1970 and helped revive a Huskies program that struggled in the '60s.

"I can't tell you how many people have come up to me and said, 'I couldn't get my wife to go to a football game until you played,' " Sixkiller told Rivals.com in 2006.

Bradford surely will gain a similar following. He has been a tremendous leader for the top-ranked and unbeaten Sooners. He has thrown for 1,665 yards and 18 touchdowns, with three interceptions. He's second in the nation in passing efficiency and fifth in passing yards per game.

That's a long list of impressive statistics. But BigFoot also has a list of statistics; hers are sad and depressing.

"There are a lot of things that are going on within our troubled communities that make it difficult for children to be as successful as they could be," she says.

• About 40 percent of Native American children live in poverty.

• Native American children live in single-parent families at the highest rate in the United States.

• Despite making up only 2 percent of the population in the United States, Native Americans make up an estimated 8 percent of the homeless.

• The suicide rate for Native American youths is three times greater than that of Caucasians of similar age.

• Native American children are twice as likely to become victims of child abuse than non-Hispanic Caucasian children.

• Native American youth have higher rates of mental-health and substance-abuse problems than any other ethnic group.

BigFoot says the source of the problems can be traced back more than a century to the loss of land, language and culture that created an environment of despair and cultural genocide. That started destructive cycles, which have been repeated from generation to generation.

Attempting to end that cycle, she makes presentations and provides training sessions across the country. And in those presentations and sessions, she often talks about Bradford, a business major who has a 4.0 grade-point average.

"I promote him all the time," BigFoot says. "Most of the time I'm talking to adults, and I say it would be wonderful if all our children could benefit from the same kind of concern and care that Sam Bradford had. I don't think he was raised in what you would say is a 'traditional' Native environment."

Bradford grew up in an upper-middle class part of Oklahoma City with both of his parents – Kent, a former offensive lineman at Oklahoma, and Martha. He never faced many of the obstacles and issues other Native American youth deal with on a daily basis.

He acknowledges that while growing up he rarely – if ever – thought about his Cherokee heritage.

"It was never really a huge part of my life growing up," Bradford says. "My parents didn't talk to me a lot about it when I was younger. When I got to OU, I heard it was inspirational. But I probably haven't embraced it as much as I'd like to."

That hasn't stopped Native American youth from embracing him. Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, Okla., is a boarding school owned by the Cherokee nation that serves students in grades 7-12 who are members of Native American tribes.

Even Native Americans who don't consider themselves football fans are keeping a close eye on Bradford.

Brent Scott has been the football coach there for five years. In that time, he has witnessed first-hand many students facing the trials and tribulations BigFoot referenced.

"Everyone in our locker room has an issue, whether it's poverty, a broken home, divorce or whatever it may be," Scott says. "They all have a problem. It's amazing to sit down and listen to some of their stories. I didn't have to go through those things when I was 15 or 16."

Scott said he has 58 players on his roster and that only six have both parents in their homes. Some players' parents are in prison. Some parents are illiterate. Some abuse drugs and alcohol.

"I had a kid score a game-winning touchdown, and his mom and dad weren't there," Scott says. "After the game he told me, 'Coach, I don't know where I can stay tonight.' And you wonder why they have a hard time in school. But we don't let it be a crutch for them. We tell them there are better opportunities, and if they want better opportunities, they can change their situation."

Seeing Bradford excel has made that seem more believable.

"Regardless of whether they're athletes or non-athletes, Sam Bradford gives them something to identify with," Scott says. "They look on television at the NFL or NBA, and some of those things they can't identify with. When it became public that Sam was Cherokee, you could see it in the students that they could identify with him as a role model.

"He gave them an opportunity to see themselves and say, 'I can go to college.' "

Scott says he would like to invite Bradford to speak to the students at Sequoyah because he means so much to them and other Native Americans across Oklahoma. Until then, others such as BigFoot will be talking about him.

"A lot of Indian people, who not necessarily are involved with football, are watching him more and wanting to know more about his performance," BigFoot says. "Even the ones marginally interested in football are highly enthusiastic and ecstatic.

"There is a lot of pride."

Child Turns Mom in for Driving Drunk

This is a very sad video about kids having to turn their parents in for driving drunk. It makes me sad that some kids have to be responsible for their parents' actions. I put this video up because I think it is interesting, and I pray that something happens that will help their parents see that they need to take care of their children.

Pastor Breaks wrist during Sunday Service

I thought this was a funny little article from Yahoo! today. It's about a pastor who brought out a motorcycle to illustrate a point during a sermon and ended up crashing it into the front row. I bet that was hilarious. I also bet this guy is never going to live it down.

Here's the article:

KOKOMO, Ind. - A pastor brought out a dirt bike during a church service to demonstrate the concept of unity. Now he's demonstrating the concept of healing.

Jeff Harlow, the senior pastor at Crossroads Community Church, broke his wrist when he lost control of the motorcycle at the start of Sunday's second service, driving off a 5-foot platform and into the vacant first row of seats. He underwent surgery on the wrist Monday.

"Jeff has already laughed a lot, so he's OK. I think his pride was bruised," said his wife, Becky.

Becky Harlow said her husband had recently attended a motorcycle race in Buchanan, Mich.

"He had this idea that he would bring this bike out onstage and show people how the rider would become one with the bike," she told the Kokomo Tribune. "He was going to just sit on it and drive it out. He was just walking the dirt bike out onstage and somehow it got away from him. It was not intended."

No one else was hurt.

Jeff Harlow had performed the demonstration at earlier services Saturday night and Sunday morning without incident.

Odd News

I really like reading the "Odd News" section on Yahoo! Today there was a really odd one, that had the headline, "Nude Maid Accused of Really Cleaning Up." It's short so I'll just post the whole thing here:

TAMPA, Fla. - A nude maid is accused of really cleaning up at a Florida man's home. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said a 50-year-old man hired the maid from the Internet on Friday to clean his Tampa home.

Authorities said the woman arrived at the home in a one-piece, light colored dress. She took off the dress and cleaned the house for $100-per-hour. Sheriff's office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said the man told deputies he left the maid alone in the bedroom to clean.

When the man's wife came home from vacation, she discovered $40,000 in jewelry missing from their bedroom.

Police are investigating.

This is weird. First of all, who freakin' wants to work as a nude maid. Who comes up with these ideas? Second of all, why did this man decide to hire a naked maid when his wife was on vacation? (Well, I guess that's pretty self-explanatory). I but he had some heavy explaining to do. This is just weird. I guess he didn't really expect her to steal anything, because, really, where could she hide it without having to walk funny.

But it just goes to show, guys are idiots. If you read this blog, I hope that you will please never consider hiring or becoming a naked maid. I mean that's just degrading.

Burma

Last week, a cyclone hit Burma. So far, over 60,000 people have died. A lot more are missing. The UN thinks the death toll is going to surpass 100,000. That's a pretty good size city that is going to be dead. The Burmese government is run by the military, and they are awful. They treat their people worse than Sadaam treated his. And now, that the cyclone has hit, and people are stranded, and disease is rampant, the government is letting in outside aid, and if they do, it's limited and restricted.
I just read an article on yahoo. that said the food that is being sent to Burma is being taken by the government, and then they are distributing lower quality and even rotten food. To me, this is horrible. I know our government is trying to help the people, which is great. However, I feel they aren't doing as much as they can. I'm wondering if it's because Burma doesn't have any oil. If they did, would we have stepped in already.
Anyways, my friend Jay Pratt is in Burma now helping with some relief. He has been living out there for about 5 years, and he absolutely loves the Burmese people. As soon as the cyclone hit, he started trying to make plans to get there to help. (He's been in the States because he is getting married in June). He's trying to negotiate with the Burmese to allow Christian organizations the opportunity to send in relief. He said they have 90 tons of supplies they want to bring in, but the government won't let them bring it in. So, this blog is asking for prayer for Jay, but most importantly for the people of Burma who have been affected by this cyclone. Also, pray that this oppressive government is taken out of control in Burma.

San Antonio News

Tonight, a bunch of the shows that Suzy watches were cancelled because apparently there was a building that was on fire somewhere in San Antonio. It was on all the main stations tonight and they did continuous live coverage of the fire. It was at a college that nobody's ever heard of unless you live in San Antonio called Our Lady of The Lake, or something. I just think it's weird how they have all these channels covering this fire on such a place that is only significant to people who grew up in San Antonio and those who went there. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. So, why was the Simpsons not shown. Next time something like this happens, I hope it's during a Spurs game. Then people around here will get really upset.

It's a Riot

Look at all of the chaos that was caused by a bad call...and a punch in the nose by a coach. I think it's hilarious how intense a game can get. But then again, you should see me when OU doesn't do so well.

Watch the video here:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/256.0/popup/index.php?cl=6903580

Mr. Rogers Tribute Week

When I was a kid, I use to watch Mr. Rogers all the time. I liked the show, but the puppets use to scare me. But, Fred Rogers was a presbyterian minister who used his show to promote good values. Yeah, it was bit cheesy, but when you were a kid that was ok. I don't know if he was ever cool, but people always seemed to like him. Anyways, here is an article about his tribute. On March 20, which would have been his 80th birthday, everybody is supposed to wear a sweater. I think I'll have to go out and buy one.

Do you think this marriage is going to end in divorce

This was a cool video about a couple who has been married for 83 years. I think this is pretty awesome, and amazing that 2 people could live that long together. They still seem to be in love, even though the man kinda looks like he's in a coma.
Watch it here.

Cool Youth Videos in the News

I saw these 2 news article videos on yahoo yesterday that have to do with youth doing some amazing stuff. The first one is a contest for students to make a movie about things they care about. Some of the videos have to do with rights for disabled, people living with Aids, to helping the poor. It's cool to see that young people can make a difference, and can use their talents, such as making movies, to make that impact.

Contest Encourages Youth to Film their issues
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.7/popup/index.php?cl=6312295

The second video is a weekly segment called "Youth who Rock." It has to do with a young person who is doing big things. This one is about an 18 year old senior who has started a business that has 300 employees already. It's a website that has college reporters all across the country who report on things that young people are interested about. Right now their big thing is the election, because it can have a lot of impact on the young people in their future. It's amazing the kind of things that kids can do when they are allowed to.

Youth who Rock
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.7/popup/index.php?cl=6308716

I wish there were more news stories like this

I read this article off of Marko's page, and thought I'd pass it along. It always seems that the News is so full of bad and terrible stuff, but this article is great. It's one that makes my heart happy.

Where it's not easy Being a Christian

This is an article about Christianity in Europe and a phenomenon called "Christianophobia." I don't think America is that far away from this either, and I saw a lot of it in San Francisco. It breaks my heart that people are so hostile towards Believers. But looking how a lot of Christians have behaved and treated people through history, I see where some are coming from. I think we need to continue to love Jesus radically, and love others radically. Maybe, people will begin to see a difference in Christians, and the fear and hostility will go away.