On this past Saturday we laid to rest a life-long friend of mine, John Scott (Scotty) Reed. At the funeral I listened intently to numerous stories and testimonies about the goodness of Scotty, particularly as to how he touched many lives in a positive way throughout his lifetime on earth. This brought to my mind an old adage that used to be spoken more often than it is today: “Back in the Day when Men were Men and Women were Women”.

Over the last several months, the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked unprecedented havoc on the world. Indeed, no country has been spared from the ugly wrath inflicted by this mysterious and deadly invisible enemy. In response to this common adversary, the world’s best scientists and researchers, for the first time in decades, are all razor focused on solving the same problem: finding a cure and discovering a vaccine for COVID-19. Amid this race, the United States is rapidly covering ground and running lengths ahead of the rest of the world.

I am a former Army Ranger. After two tours ofVietnam, I can attest to all that we sacrificed. We lost friends and families. We lost limbs. We lost years of our carefree youth. In many cases, we lost the ability ever again to feel completely safe and whole. We lost our innocence.

As if things weren’t hard enough for Oklahoma’s small businesses, news comes that the Trump administration plans to claw back a chunk of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds legitimate businesses have used as a lifeline to keep their employees on the payroll.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Since March 1, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) has paid nearly $2.8 billion in weekly unemployment benefits and processed more than 800,000 claims. Additionally, the latest August unemployment numbers in Oklahoma indicate continued week over week decline — both the initial and continued four-week moving average is down for the eighth consecutive week.

(Oklahoma City, Okla., August 19, 2020)-In the spirit of World Humanitarian Day, honoring the work of life-saving humanitarian aid workers, the American Red Cross has established a youth education program designed to help raise awareness about what is commonly referred to as the rules of war.

Residents of the community of Barre, NY have a mystery on their hands, according to the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC]. It seems that one day recently there suddenly appeared a very large safe in a field belonging to farmer Kirk Mathes. No one seems to know how it got there; nor does anyone know who put it there. But attached to it was a note that read, “If you can open this, you can have what’s inside.” It caused quite stir as trespassers swarmed the Mathes farm trying to open the 500 pound strongbox. The police were called and farmer Mathes relocated the safe to an unknown location, telling WHAM-TV: “If you open it, the show RJis over. In these times, with the virus and the politics, it might get people a chance to set their problems or troubles aside and have a lot of fun talking about it.”

Amid the multitude of hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is very important to keep in mind that bad actors are out there looking to take advantage of vulnerable targets during this unprecedented crisis. While numerous schemes exist to scam personal and financial information, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has warned taxpayers to look out for fraudulent attempts related to coronavirus relief provided by the federal government.

August 10, 2020 Work continues at the Capitol, although, we spend much of the interim in our respective districts meeting with constituents. Interim studies will be getting underway soon.

John 3: 16 & 17 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world: but that the world through him might be saved.” Jesus is that “Sent One par excellence and He in turn sends His disciples. Being sent implies that the commission charge, and message are issued by the sender rather than originating with the ones sent. The messengers’ role is to fulfill their commission according to their sender’s will.