Opinion

Today is the 73rd day of 2024 and the 84th day of winter. T ODAY’S HISTORY: In 1781, German-born astronomer William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus.

Dear Annie: Sixteen years ago, I separated from my wife, as we were headed toward a divorce. Her father, “Bob,” just lost it; he was so angry over the divorce. He swore to me that he would do everything he could and spend his last dime to take my sons away from me. He did his best to ruin my career, to no avail. However, through paying for cruises (seven to date), much money spent and careful manipulation, he has been able to take my sons away from me.

Reading the “fact-checkers” in the press sometimes triggers memories of the comic book hero Plastic Man, who could contort into all sorts of shapes. Take the Associated Press, and immigration reporter Elliot Spagat in San Diego.

Every so often lawmakers decide to monkey around with the state’s open records laws and make changes that adversely affect the public’s right to know. So in honor of our nation’s Sunshine Week, this seems a fitting time to point out how one of the Legislature’s bright ideas to “improve” our Open Records Act has backfired spectacularly.

Dear Annie: I have a longtime friend who has serious trouble with gifts. It is very difficult to give her anything because she insists on “evening the score” by responding with a gift back to the giver. For instance, we comfortably exchanged token holiday gifts at my place, but my husband learned she liked a certain special candy we had on hand, so he gave her a box. She tried to turn down this gift and even checked on her phone to see what it had cost.

The headlines coming out of the Super Tuesday primaries have got it right. Barring cataclysmic changes, Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be the Republican and Democratic nominees for president in 2024.

Charlie Lynch’s Ordeal Is a Vivid Reminder of a Senseless Prohibition Policy That Persists Thanks to Political Inertia Seventeen years ago, the federal government raided Charlie Lynch’s medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay, California, and charged him with five drug felonies. Lynch, whose business complied with state and local regulations, has been fighting to stay out of prison ever since, and last month he finally won that battle.

I recently started to think about how many people the ministry at Burbank had influence in. I made a list of last names of families that currently attend church activities. My initial discovery was 20 families that have attended worship or children’s activities in the past year. When I started to extend that to the individuals who were involved in the 20 families, I was shocked. Well over 100 family members resulted from that family group. Then, I started to think about the number of people that live in the community that have never attended a church function but needed to contact a member of the church family to request prayer or assistance with an issue. That number increased an additional 100 people. You cannot judge the effectiveness of your church ministry by the number of people who attend worship services. Our church family is blessed with friendships that allow us to minister to many families regardless of their church affiliation. I have discovered over these past 15 1/2 years that Burbank, First has been blessed with many families who came and worshiped before moving on to different communities. Many have remained faithful in their support of the church ministry at Burbank, First. Besides assisting local families when the need arises, we contribute to other mission endeavors when we are made aware of them. We annually support Baptist Boys and Girls ministries in Edmond and Madill with a Christmas offering. We have recently sent monetary support to a new church plant in Utah. In the past, we have assisted Camp Crossway near Pawnee to help them with their Summer Youth Camps. It is a challenge for our church family to participate personally in mission projects, but we are thankful that we can provide financial support. Our church families want to continue to reach not only local endeavors. We support all of Oklahoma, the United States, and other counties throughout the world. Ministry should always be far reaching.