Commentary
Scott J. Hamilton
On the evening of Aug. 1, the day of the Mike Huckabee/Sally Kern Chick-fil-A love fest, a young man walked into my office and sank into a chair. He rubbed his eyes and said he’d never felt as persecuted as a gay man as he did that day.

Features
Gazette staff
There must be a lot of perks to being Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick. You have scores of elves to do your bidding. Families across the globe lavish you with milk and cookies. With a magical sleigh, you never have to fly Southwest.

CFN
Gazette staff
“I want to know if you’re aware of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that has a book called ‘The Provider’s Introduction to Substance Abuse Treatment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Individuals.’ ...They are going around the nation — they just did this here in Oklahoma Dec. 7 — and having conferences about ... continuing education units on those things.

News
James Cooper
In an effort to prevent a controversial pipeline’s construction in Oklahoma, some metro residents have engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience, going to jail as a result.

CFN
Gazette staff
Who knew weather had, as Stephen Colbert might say, a well-known political bias? That seemed to be the case last week as the tornado that leveled Moore also reignited a long-running debate in Washington, D.C., over federal spending for emergencies. Republicans say Democrats dress up emergency spending bills with unneeded extras, while Dems counter that Repubs don’t want to spend money for victims of natural disasters.