Opinion

Two impressive events last week in El Reno.

The opening and dedication of the new Rock Island overpass was something that will serve motorists for years and gives El Reno a really nice entrance into the downtown core.

The ceremony was a very cool tribute to the community as well as the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the contractors who built the $10 million structure.

While the inconveniences to the businesses along South Rock Island were easy to see during construction, the project was completed sooner than expected.

To the Editor:

The photo on the front page of the El Reno Tribune on Sept. 25 was absolutely outstanding. The photo of the Fort Reno Cavalry Competition is truly the picture of the year.

Glen Miller did such a beautiful job of capturing the story of joy, excitement, pride and freedom found at the competition, not only with that photo, but with all the photos of the troopers in the 2021 Cavalry Competition.

Mr. Miller, thank you for sharing your God-given photography skills with us. And thank you to the troopers in the photos for their service.

Oklahomans don’t like the government telling them what to do. No matter what it is.

I’ve talked to countless Oklahomans who were as shocked as I was when Joe Biden said in a recent speech that he had “lost patience” with the American people and demanded that Americans get a COVID-19 shot.

China and Russia lay down demands on their citizens. In America, we have personal responsibility and freedom. The president can advise and encourage, but not demand.

“Working class Bronx native” served U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) well as “elect me” schtick in 2018.

It wasn’t true - Ocasio-Cortez is an architect’s daughter who grew up in the tony suburb of Yorktown Heights (median family income of $137,580 versus the U.S. median family income of $68,703), attended Boston University, and interned for U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) before putting together her “just your average waitress” PR package - but it got the political job done.

On July 26, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order under which the U.S. government’s Medicare Part D program would have negotiated lower prescription drug prices based on an “International Price Index.”

Implementation of the order was delayed pending counter-proposals from Big Pharma, but the Democratic response was swift.

“Instead of meaningfully lowering drug prices, President Trump’s executive orders would hand billions of dollars to Big Pharma,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) complained, without explaining why or how.

To the Editor:

On Wednesday, Sept. 1, I had respiratory failure and could not breathe. When trying to find the correct door to enter the Emergency Room at the new SSM St. Anthony Healthplex, one would think you would go to the large red ER letters on the building. Guess what? That entrance is for ambulance drivers.

Thankfully I did not die there on the driveway.

Now, which door?

We pulled up to the Urgent Care, but that was not what we needed.

Last week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi called members of the U.S. House of Representatives back from their August district work for an emergency session.

However, instead of considering truly pressing matters affecting the safety and security of our nation and allies, she focused debate and votes on ensuring passage of a “budget” in order to usher in $3.5 trillion in new spending on socialist-style policies and programs through the reconciliation process.

If you were paid $218,250 for a relatively light workload compared to your peers, how would you respond?

University of Oklahoma Professor Suzette Grillot opted for insubordination and filing lawsuits filled with inflammatory allegations against her employer.

That Grillot has been demoted by the university and now rebuffed by a federal judge is a rare glimmer of sanity in Oklahoma academia.

With news channels on 24/7, we can all be overwhelmed.

This is true, especially when those channels focus on one or two items, repeating the same headlines every few minutes.

The channel’s commentators all see the events in the same way. In essence, they could all seem to be talking heads, without an original thought of their own.

Too often the news media wants sensationalism, dramatizing everything, even stretching the truth or creating it without checking facts. Why let facts get in the way of a good story?

To the Editor:

Lori Merhib, your letter to the editor was so well-written and covered every issue that America is now experiencing.

We live in Oklahoma City and take the El Reno paper as well of what’s left of the Daily Oklahoman. It is very doubtful your letter would be printed in that paper.