Oklahoma Is Burning!

Wildfires have been burning across central Oklahoma all afternoon. The sun has just set and many major fires are still burning out of control. High winds have spread the flames faster than firefighters can stop them, and preventing Chinook helicopters from dropping water from above.

The fires range in size from major fires to huge fires burning acres-per-minute. They run all through central Oklahoma from south to north from Gainesville TX just north of Dallas on the OK/TX border, north to our area 40 miles from the Kansas border. I-35 near the Stillwater exit has been shut down since the afternoon, and I-35 has also been closed south of Oklahoma City.

Fires are showing up on satellite from TX to KS throughout central & western Oklahoma. The fires are affecting areas where many Indian families live, as well as ranchers & farmers. Sections of the state including Choctaw, Chickasaw, Kiowa and Cheyenne tribal lands are on fire, as well as other areas. There are so many areas on fire right now that we don't even know where are all them are located, but the news is reporting at least 22 MAJOR fires right now.

An unknown number of houses, estimated at 40-50 homes, have burned down in Midwest City since 6 pm. It appears hundreds of homes have been damaged. Midwest City is a large community on the eastern side of Oklahoma City around Tinker Air Force Base, near where we used to live. The Midwest City Fire Chief said the situation is worse than the May 3, '99 tornado (319 mph winds) as far as property damage. Luckily however, there is no known loss of life right now, unlike the May 3 tornado, which took many lives. That is likely to change as night falls, as firefighters battle in the dark. Several firefighters have already been reported injured, and residents treated for smoke inhalation.

People are being evacutated from homes, neighborhoods & entire towns throughout the fire zones. Fires have burned telephone & utility poles and presently at sundown some 6000+ people are without power.

Winds have been from 25 - 40 mph with gusts to nearly 70 mph all day. Winds have caused the fire west of Stillwater to jump a mile ahead at a time. A wind shift coming through the state is going to make the situation worse, as these winds shift the out-of-control fires to previously unburned areas with fresh fuel. A 4" natural gas line has broken & is flaring up at one fire.

Please keep these firefighters and families in your prayers. The situation becomes more dangerous as darkness falls and the winds are not dying down. Many people have lost everything they owned this afternoon and many Oklahoma families will be left homeless when the smoke clears. Red Cross has set up shelters in these areas and several are reported crowed already.

If you can afford to donate a few dollars to Red Cross to help the hundreds of victims, please specify your donations for the Oklahoma Wildfire victims.

NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL GENOCIDE

There was an "AMEND THE CPSIA" rally in Washington DC on Wednesday April 1 at the Capitol Visitor's Center. By all accounts, the rally was successful. There was plenty of media & plenty of attention in DC. Hopefully it got the attention of many in Congress, especially the fence-sitters.

Chairman Henry Waxman & Bobby Rush who sponsored the law still refuse to acknowledge the serious flaws in their law. Their DC office phone numbers are listed below. CALL THEIR OFFICES! TELL THEM TO AMEND THE LAW! REMIND THEM THAT THEY WORK FOR US!!

Amend The CPSIA Website - YouTube Videos, Information
http://www.amendthecpsia.com/

I couldn't attend the rally, with powwow season kicking off & our phone ringing day & night. This is our "holiday season" when I'm working 16 - 20 hrs a day 7 days a week. So I created this dress to send to the rally as an example of the products we create. The chart below shows the shocking disparity of retail price vs testing cost for one-of-a-kind items.

This dress would fit a 6 or 7 yr old girl, is made of powwow-friendly washable polyester gabardine with washable polyester satin used for the applique decoration. The neck binding is cotton bias tape, and the thread is cotton-covered polyester. The sleeve fringe is lightweight pigskin suede. Not a trace of lead or phthalates anywhere, but under the law we would still have to pay for testing (the testing requirement is on hold, but not compliance with the law).

I've listed the expected testing costs associated with this single dress that would be required to legally sell this child's dress in compliance with the current CPSIA law. This is a clear example of why we call this law Native American Cultural Genocide. Nobody in Indian Country can afford to spend $1820 for this six-year-old girl's cloth dress. Many children's regalia makers have already stopped making items, and many more will quit in August when ridiculous labeling & tracking requirements kick in. We would have to drop our fire insurance coverage to pay for recall insurance. Who do we even buy that from? Zurich? State Farm? Geico? Since we own part of AIG, maybe theyll give us a break on the recall insurance. Do ya think?

Retail Value: $ 130
Testing Cost: $ 1690

Testing Report $100
Red Polyester Base Fabric $ 75
Red Thread $ 75
Orange Polyester Satin $ 75
Orange Thread $ 75
Turquoise Polyester Satin $ 75
Turquoise Thread $ 75
Purple Polyester Satin $ 75
Purple Thread $ 75
Lime Polyester Satin $ 75
Lime Thread $ 75
Gold Polyester Satin $ 75
Gold Thread $ 75
Black Polyester Satin $ 75
Black Thread $ 75
Beige Polyester Satin $ 75
Beige Thread $ 75
Brown Polyester Satin $ 75
Brown Thread $ 75
Label $ 75
Cotton Bias Tape $75
Beige Pigskin Suede $ 75
Postage for testing $ 15

Total Testing Cost $1690

Congress Phone Number To Call - Demand They Amend the CPSIA

Here's the DC phone #'s for US Representatives & Senators who sit on the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Committee . CALL THEM & TELL THEM TO AMEND THE CPSIA!! STOP KILLING NATIVE CULTURE & SMALL BUSINESS! CALL THEM EVERY DAY!

Representatives
Henry Waxman, Chairman 202-225-3976
Bobby L. Rush, IL 202-225-4372
Jim Matheson, UT 202-225-3011
Jan Schakowsky, IL 202-225-2111
G. K. Butterfield, NC 202-225-3101
John P. Sarbanes, MD 202-225-4016
John Barrow, GA 202-225-2823
Betty Sutton, OH 202-225-3401
Doris O. Matsui, CA 202-225-7163
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ 202-225-4671
Kathy Castor, FL 202-225-3376
Bart Gordon, TN 202-225-4231
Zachary T. Space, OH 202-226-6265
Bart Stupak, MI 202-225-4735
Bruce L. Braley, IA 202-225-2911
Gene Green, TX 202-225-1688
Diana DeGette, CO 202-225-4431
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX 202-225-3236
John D. Dingell, MI 202-225-4071
Anthony D. Weiner, NY 202-225-6616

Senators

Mark Pryor, AR 202-224-2353
John D. Rockefeller, IV, WV 202-224-5141
Daniel K. Inouye, HI 202-224-3934
Bill Nelson, FL 202-224-5274
Maria Cantwell, WA 202-224-3441
Frank R. Lautenberg, NJ 202-224-3224
Claire McCaskill, MO 202-224-6154
Amy Klobuchar, MN 202-224-3244
Olympia Snowe, ME 202-224-5344
David Vitter, LA 202-224-4623
John Thune, SD 202-224-2321
Roger Wicker, MS 202-224-6253

Consumer Product Safety Commission Officers

Chairman Nancy Nord 301-504-7901
Commissioner Thomas Hill Moore 301-504-7902
Executive Director Patsy Semple 301-504-7907