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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. 

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

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

Leo’s Lance: Beautiful, But Banned for Growing

Back in 1907, my grandfather stood out in his yard chatting with his children discussing many of the mysteries oflife.Suddenlythey heard a honking noise which they recognized as the sound of a flock of geese.

The children began looking around theyard for wherethe sound was coming from. They had no geese on their little farm, but the sound was surely that of the honking of geese. The observant father told them to look up.

Thinking Out Loud: Return to Civilization

When last we visited the Cirque du Folle that is known as the Kavanaugh hearings two weeks ago, I thought we could wash our hands of the whole mess, let the opposition throw out their mindless little mudballs -- and miss, and let what appears to be an infinitely qualified jurist take his place on the High Court. Maybe Sen. Cory Booker would return for another entertaining "I am Spartacus" moment, and a "secret" e-mail that everybody had already read. And we could all laugh, and laugh.

An Adventure on Brady Creek

Leo’s Lance

Wright's Words: Kaepernick and Nike

On Monday, the Nike Corp. made waves across the globe in announcing that NFL quarterback-in-purgatory Collin Kaepernick would be among several athletes who will campaign the company’s 30th anniversary of their famous “Just Do It” slogan. According to global news agencies, the Beaverton, Oregon-based athletic shoe and apparel giant fell more than 2-percent after Kaepernick posted a black-and-white close-up of himself on Instagram Monday featuring the Nike logo and “Just do it” slogan, along with the quote: “Believe in something.

Musings By Marilou: ‘Grandma’

Even though it may be tiring and constantly demanding, being a mother is a great experience. Even better, however, is having the opportunity to be called “Grandma.” Going to Louisiana for the funeral was rough last week, but it did give me the opportunity to spend time with the four little ones who are nearest and dearest to my heart. Haley, who is now a freshman in high school, would despise being called a “little one” but she was my first grandchild and I have had a difficult time allowing her to grow up.