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Opinions

Our View: We’re Doing Our Job

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“The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.”

Those words were expressed by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in relation to a case brought before the highest court of the United States (New York Times Co. v. United States, 1971).

Musings By Marilou: My Dad, the Fire Chief

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As the Seminole Fire Department visits preschools and elementary schools throughout the area this week, I can’t help but think about my dad. Black rubber boots stationed at the back

Analysis: When the Texas House and Senate Fight, Legislative Agencies Squirm

We already knew the Legislature was going to start its January session without a House Appropriations Committee; naming a new budget-writing panel will follow the election of a new speaker of the House. 

Now there’s a new kink in the preparation of the state’s next two-year budget: Ursula Parks, the beleaguered director of the obscure but critical Legislative Budget Board, is retiring at the end of the month. 

Thinking Out Loud: An Uncivil Union

I’ve heard it said many times recently, and even more during the last weeks, seeing the lengths that people will go to in their hunger for power. 

“We’re headed for a civil war.”

A chilling thought, but exactly what does a “civil war” in 21st century America look like?

Because if it’s possible, and something doesn’t change to bring a severely divided country back together, things can get worse than that.

Leo’s Lance: Welding Friendships

 With a name like Duke you knew he had to be a good guy and he was. I don’t think it was hero worship that made me feel that way. I was a grown man twenty three years old when I went to work for Pioneer Natural Gas Company. Duke was a truck foreman and I was a helper.

There were several Truck foremen, but Duke was the one all the helpers wanted to work with, even though we always had to buy the coffee on coffee breaks. We will explain that in a moment.

Musings By Marilou: Finally Grown Up

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I made a startling discovery the other night.  I am no longer that pesky little runt of a girl who tormented those who lived around her. I, as well as a former neighbor, have finally grown up.

Wright's Words: I Dislike the Aging Process

Over the past several weeks, I had been sporting a beard.

On a whim Sunday evening, I decided I was tired of the beard. I got up out of the recliner, made my way to the bathroom and began trimming the beard down to a goatee.

Mindlessly, I opened the mirrored cabinet door, reached in to grab the trimmer, and closed the door. I removed the guard from the trimmer to begin the process of removing the beard and I gazed into the mirror.

Mirror Ministries

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You hear this sometimes... when a tragedy has happened, or something is unexplainable: “Well, you know God has a reason... He’s in control of everything that happens...” Is He? If

Thinking Out Loud: Truth Amid the Noise

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"Truth has a sound."

So saith a liberal friend from Austin with whom I was having a friendly debate about due process, and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's credibility in the lead-up to the Kavanaugh hearings. 

And I could not agree more. 

Frantically sharing messages with my daughter in the Dallas County D.A.'s office during Thursday's proceedings, she told me, "I think she (Ford) comes across as extremely credible. Kavanaugh is going to have to bring his A-game."

Leo's Lance: Our 'Dream' Vacation

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Some time back, I had received an invitation to speak at a youth meeting sponsored by several churches on the west coast. 

For several years I had preached every Sunday morning and evening, as well as on Wednesday evenings at my local congregation, a small group of working class people who loved the Lord, but saw no need for offering the preacher a raise, or a vacation. 

I considered it was my place to preach and theirs to take care of the needs of me and my family. But I also knew they were not wealthy so they allowed me to work at other part time jobs for extra finances.