Opinion

The very thought of one unelected judge with a stroke of a pen nullifying law is unconscionable to most Americans but this has become common against the Donald Trump administration blocking the executive function of the government at least 37 times. Before him it was 20 times against Barack Obama. When this happens it is called an injunction, most are delayed for a time and overturned by a higher court.  Consequently, Trump has had to ask for 20 emergency stays from the Supreme Court while these were resolved. No president has had to deal with such unconstitutional judicial overreach.

“American intelligence officials have concluded that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan,” claims the New York Times.

More controversially, the authors write that U.S. President Donald Trump was briefed on the assessment (he denies it) and the piece’s tag line says that his administration “has been deliberating for months” on how to respond (he says the U.S. intelligence community didn't find the claims credible).

The current worldwide protests against racial injustice and inequality spurred by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 have prompted attacks on individuals who sold and owned slaves and defended the abominable practice of slavery.

It has led to the toppling of statues of Christopher Columbus, English slave trader Edward Colston (1636-1721), and Confederacy president Jefferson Davis, and to efforts to remove the 60-foot-tall statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Va. It has also included assaults on proponents of imperialism, most notably Winston Churchill.

To the Editor:

My heart is heavy for the mainstream media and people everywhere who didn't get President Donald Trump’s message at the close of his march.

“Take your Bible and go to your church and pray.”

Let us all, every day, pray for all people and our country.

Louise Wallace

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

As Americans, we have all recited the Pledge of Allegiance thousands of times throughout our lives.

In the morning at school, at the start of community meetings and even before members begin their daily session in Congress, we look toward our flag, place our right hand over our heart and recite those words.

In July 1969, three American astronauts landed on the moon. It wasn’t just a great technical triumph, it was a much-needed respite amid social and political chaos.     America was already beset by Vietnam and civil rights struggles. That summer of 1969, things got worse. The nation was shocked by news of a riot after a confrontation between gay rights activists and police outside the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village on June 28. Then came news of the drowning of Mary Jo Kopechne in a fatal vehicle accident by an intoxicated Sen.

“It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” — Hubert H. Humphrey, Vice President of the United States

To the Editor:

Recently, El Reno Professional Firefighters reached an agreement with city officials that will provide significant financial relief to support the looming revenue deficit caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our firefighters’ number one priority is the safety of El Reno citizens. We are used to providing assistance in difficult situations, although this is a different kind of assistance. We are happy to be able to help.

The terms of the agreement will mandate that firefighters use unpaid leave when normally scheduled to work.

Editor’s Note: This column was created by the American Legion National Headquarters. It pays tribute to those men and women who have given of themselves, both during times of war as well as during national emergencies.

Every crisis has new heroes. During the 9/11 attacks, they were the first responders running into burning and crumbling buildings as others ran out.