Wednesday, July 3, 2019 PEANUTS COFFEE BREAK East Oregonian A7 DEAR ABBY BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ Lines are drawn in family feud over recovering addict FOR BETTER OR WORSE BY LYNN JOHNSTON B.C. BY JOHNNY HART PICKLES BY BRIAN CRANE BEETLE BAILEY BY MORT WALKER GARFIELD BLONDIE DILBERT THE WIZARD OF ID LUANN ZITS BY JIM DAVIS BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE BY SCOTT ADAMS BY BRANT PARKER AND JOHNNY HART BY GREG EVANS BY JERRY SCOTT AND JIM BORGMAN Dear Abby: My stepbrother because it appears to be manipula- tive and a means of punishing you “Pete” is a recovering addict who for sticking to your guns. did significant prison time for pos- session and gang affiliations. He Given the fact that Pete has has also had multiple DUI convic- tried to convince your husband to tions. He’s been out for two years share his scheduled medications and is holding a job and taking and has bragged about “acting care of his kids part time. good” when with family, you are doing the right thing. My parents think he’s com- J eanne pletely rehabilitated, but I think Dear Abby: My sister — age P hilliPs he’s using again, based on his 57 — has terrible table manners. ADVICE behavior. He has tried to get my We live three hours apart but get husband to give him some of a pre- together every two or three months scription medication he takes, and to enjoy each other’s company. Recently, we went to a nice restaurant, jokes about “acting good” when with fam- ily but not at home. and she let out a loud, obnoxious, disgust- ing burp. I was surprised and embarrassed. I decided I no longer want to be around She quickly apologized. I said, “Can’t Pete, particularly with my children, and you lower the volume and cover your I asked my parents not to have him over mouth?” She became defensive and said, “I while we are visiting. They said they apologized!” understood, but the last time we went for a Her burping happens often, but this one weekend, Pete was there with his son, and was beyond the pale. I don’t like it, never it was really uncomfortable. Now they say have. How do I communicate to her effec- they just want us to all get along and that tively to burp quietly and in a controlled I’m “snobby” for wanting to exclude Pete. manner? — Disgusted in New Jersey I have reached a point where I’m no lon- ger willing to visit them because I can’t Dear Disgusted: I think you have trust them. They won’t come to my house, already done that. Is it possible your sister but are mad at me for “withholding their suffers from a gastrointestinal disorder? If grandkids from them” (their words) and she hasn’t brought this to the attention of her doctor, she should. “breaking up the family.” What are my If, however, there is nothing physically obligations in this situation, and is it rea- sonable to insist we visit without Pete? I wrong with her, you may be happier having hate to make them choose, but I also feel your meals in a different kind of restaurant like this is a safety issue. — Uncomfort- — a loud, casual burger joint or a sports able in Minnesota bar where no one will notice her problem while rooting for the home team. Dear Uncomfortable: As a parent, you Dear Readers: Have a very happy and have to do what you think is best for your healthy Fourth of July, everyone. And children. I wish you had explained your please be safe! — Love, Abby parents’ reason for not visiting your home, TODAY IN HISTORY On July 4, 1826, 50 years to the day after the Decla- ration of Independence was adopted, former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died. In 1776, the Declara- tion of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Con- gress in Philadelphia. In 1802, the United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, New York. In 1817, ground was bro- ken for the Erie Canal in Rome, New York. The mid- dle section of the waterway took three years to complete; the entire canal was finished in 1825. In 1831, the fifth pres- ident of the United States, James Monroe, died in New York City at age 73. In 1872, the 30th pres- ident of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, was born in Plymouth, Vermont. In 1910, in what was billed as “The Fight of the Century,” black world heavyweight boxing cham- pion Jack Johnson defeated white former champ James J. Jeffries in Reno, Nevada. In 1939, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees deliv- ered his famous farewell speech in which he called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” In 1982, the space shut- tle Columbia concluded its fourth and final test flight with a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne mar- ried his manager, Sharon Arden, in Maui, Hawaii. In 1987, Klaus Barbie, the former Gestapo chief known as the “Butcher of Lyon,” was convicted by a French court of crimes against humanity and sen- tenced to life in prison (he died in September 1991). In 1997, NASA’s Path- finder spacecraft landed on Mars, inaugurating a new era in the search for life on the red planet. CBS news- man Charles Kuralt died in New York at age 62. In 2013, Egypt’s interim president, Adly Mansour, was sworn in following the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist leader over- thrown by the military after just one year in office. In 2017, the United States confirmed that North Korea had launched an intercon- tinental ballistic missile, as the North had boasted and the U.S. and South Korea had feared. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called it a “new escalation of the threat” to the U.S. Ten years ago: Former Tennessee Titans quarter- back Steve McNair was fatally shot in a Nash- ville condo by his mistress, Sahel Kazemi, who then killed herself. North Korea launched seven ballistic mis- siles into waters off its east coast. The Statue of Liber- ty’s crown was reopened to tourists for the first time since September 11, 2001. Serena Williams beat her big sister, Venus, 7-6 (3), 6-2 for her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam championship. Five years ago: Germany summoned the U.S. ambas- sador in Berlin after the arrest of a man reported to have spied for the United States, heightening friction between the two countries over alleged U.S. eavesdrop- ping in Germany. Richard Mellon Scaife, 82, the bil- lionaire heir to the Mellon banking and oil fortunes and a newspaper publisher who funded libertarian and con- servative causes and various projects aimed at discredit- ing President Bill Clinton, died in Pittsburgh. One year ago: British police said two Britons who fell critically ill in the town of Amesbury were exposed to nerve agent Novichok, the same material used to poi- son a former Russian spy in a nearby area months ear- lier. A protest against U.S. immigration policy forced the evacuation of the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July, with a group unfurl- ing a banner from the ped- estal and a woman holding police at bay for hours after she climbed the base. Today’s Birthdays: Actress Eva Marie Saint is 95. Actress Gina Lollo- brigida is 92. Singer Bill Withers is 81. Actress Kar- olyn Grimes is 79. Rhythm and blues singer Annette Beard (Martha and the Van- dellas) is 76. Broadcast jour- nalist Geraldo Rivera is 76. Vietnam War veteran and peace activist Ron Kovic is 73. Rhythm and blues musi- cian Ralph Johnson (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 68. Singer John Waite is 67. Rock musi- cian Kirk Pengilly (INXS) is 61. Country musician Teddy Carr is 59. Rock DJ Zonka is 57. International Tennis Hall of Famer Pam Shriver is 57. Rock musician Matt Malley is 56. Actor-play- wright-screenwriter Tracy Letts is 54. Actor Al Mad- rigal is 48. Actress Jen- ica Bergere is 45. Actor- singer John Lloyd Young is 44. Singer Stephen “Ste” McNally (BBMak) is 41. Actress Becki Newton is 41. Actor Mo McRae is 37. TV personality Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is 37. Rhythm and blues singer Melanie Fiona is 36. Malia Obama is 21. Thought for Today: “All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions.” — Adlai E. Ste- venson, American diplomat and politician (1900-1965). PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN BY DANA SIMPSON BIG NATE BY LINCOLN PEIRCE