Oklahoma state agencies seem to believe they’re on Santa’s nice list: They have requested an additional $815 million in funding for fiscal year 2023. This includes $660 million in appropriated funds.
This request for additional funding comes at a time when families across the state are dealing with ever-increasing prices. Inflation hit 6.8 percent in November.
There are many memories of past Christmases for each of us. Past holidays can trigger thoughts of great joy or tremendous sorrow. I’ve had a mixture of both.
The Christmas of 1989 stands out as the one that has more significance to me.
My parents gave me a perfect gift. This gift gave me a vocation as a freelance-writer. The gift was a word processor.
One of the feature stories I’m most proud of was about Michelangelo’s “Pieta.”
Crowds gathered outside of the Supreme Court last week as the Supreme Court prepared to hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the most consequential abortion case in a generation.
Pro-life groups rallied, holding signs to “Love them both” while chanting “We are the pro-life generation and we will abolish abortion.”
If you grew up in El Reno you probably have some memories of Sunset Drive.
What I remember when I was really young was a neighbor lady, Mrs. Anderson, taking me and my siblings to get ice cream. I also remember some bars that called themselves clubs, probably because of the liquor laws at the time.
There were some really good diners and several hamburger joints along Sunset as well.
As I got older, like many of the students at El Reno High School, we spent hours cruising up and down Sunset.
On Nov. 24, South Africa reported detection of a new variant of the COVID-19 virus to the World Health Organization.
On Nov. 26, WHO designated it a “variant of concern” and tagged it with the name “Omicron.”
At the same time, WHO advised against travel restrictions and other knee-jerk responses to Omicron, and in favor of a “risk-based and scientific” approach, noting that it is “not yet clear” whether Omicron is more transmissible than other variants or even causes severe disease.
Few modern topics have become as divisive as critical race theory, which is no surprise, given that CRT divides.
It divides people into groups pitted against one another, into categories of oppressed vs. oppressor. What’s worse, your group defines you.
This certainly flies in the face of the Judeo-Christian conception of all individuals as children of God made in the image of God.
What’s making CRT even worse are misunderstandings and misconceptions on both sides, from the left and the right.
The public safety crisis created by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma can be summed up by one anecdote included in recent court briefs.
Many criminals now assert tribal membership to deter arrest — including “a known member of the white-supremacist Universal Aryan Brotherhood, covered in swastika tattoos.”
McGirt was hailed as a victory for tribal citizens. Instead, it’s been a windfall for society’s dregs who now actively target American Indians.
To the Editor:
Thank you to the band and crew of Uncle Zep. You guys brought some normalcy back to El Reno.
We’re actually getting there after all this.
It was so good to see people Saturday evening that we had not seen in so long. Everyone appeared to be having a really good time and enjoyed sitting back in the old Centre Theatre and listening to some really good music.
Thanks for coming to El Reno. If you missed it, you missed a great evening.
I hope Uncle Zep will think an outdoor concert this spring or summer.
During this time of year, I usually take a little time to think about who and what I’m thankful for and express my appreciation. That seems to be the point, after all.
This year, for various reasons, my thoughts and appreciation turn toward journalists, newspapers and other news media. Sometimes the people and institutions we rely on to keep us informed get a bad rap, and sometimes they deserve it.
When the Washington Post and New York Times act more as stenographers for the political class than reporters of the facts, we all lose.
