Wanting to cry again

February 10, 2026 kanelis2012 Leave a comment

My sappiness is a personality trait I have displayed with pride and without apology on this blog for many years.

My eyes get wet when I see historical events over and over: Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame in 1996; Barack Obama declaring victory in the 2008 presidential election; the moon landing in July 1969.

I want to revisit briefly the final item I just listed. I watched a Netflix documentary titled “Apollo 11,” our nation’s first successful space mission that landed on the moon. Hey, I know how it turns out. But still, my eyes welled up when I heard Neil Armstrong declare, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”

Today I made a decision as I watched the documentary film. It is that I want to cry again at our nation’s scientific know-how. It will come eventually when we send men back to the moon aboard another rocket, the Artemis ship that is being prepared to launch from Florida. The first mission won’t end with a moon landing, but the program eventually send astronauts to the moon for lengthy stays.

A long time ago, my mother and I would watch the Mercury astronauts lift off as the nation began its first baby steps toward space exploration. We continued to watch the missions of the Gemini program that succeeded Mercury. Then came Apollo. I wasn’t able to watch all of the Apollo missions with Mom, as I was serving in the Army. But I still cried when they were completed successfully.

We walked away from the moon missions. Skylab came and went. Then we had the shuttle missions. I cried when the three astronauts burned to death on Apollo 1 in January 1967. And when Challenger blew up moments after liftoff in January 1986. And when Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry in February 2003.

Artemis represents another “giant leap for mankind” when it will soar toward the moon. NASA’s goal is to use the moon to prep for missions to Mars. Oh, man … I hope I live long enough to see the first Mars mission lift off.

I am sick and tired of being angry at world events. I want desperately to cheer for some seriously positive — and heroic — deeds from ordinary men and women.

I want to cry tears of joy again.

crime news, Donald Trump

ICE needs to lose the masks

February 9, 2026 kanelis2012 Leave a comment

I am going to make another run at a topic I raised a while ago, but it’s important enough to repeat.

What’s more, I have found some help in a high place to further the argument I want to make … which is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement thugs need to get rid of the masks and start enforcing immigration laws with humanity, not brutality.

Gordon Sondlund was U.S. ambassador to the European Union from 2008 to 2020. He supports Donald Trump’s view that immigration laws need to be enforced vigorously. Frankly — and don’t be surprised — so do I. However, the implementation of that policy has gone far into the weeds, off the rails. ICE agents have gone too damn far in enforcing the law.

They are hiding behind masks. “A confident nation does not hide its face when it enforces its laws,” Sondlund writes in an essay published today by the Dallas Morning News. “It does so openly and stands behind what it does.”

ICE goons are deployed in Democratically controlled cities by Trump to ferret out what Trump says are criminals who are here illegally, preying on innocent victims. They have beaten U.S. citizens, arrested them, separated children from their parents. They have shot at least two Americans to death. They are donning flak vests, camo outfits, all the equipment they need to restrain individuals. They are behaving like bullies.

Homeland security officials say the agents are covering their faces to protect them from reprisals. What an utter case of bullsh**!

Sondlund writes, “If officer safety is the concern, the solution is professionalism, not concealment. ICE agents should display their names or badge numbers clearly. All operations should include body cameras with audio, activated as a matter of policy. Local police … operate under these standards every day. Federal immigration enforcement should do no less.”

U.S. law enforcement operates in the open, Sondlund writes. “Authority is not hidden,” he states. An open approach to law enforcement “is not a concession to critics; it is a core feature of legitimate governance,” he declares.

He said, though, that “masks erode that legitimacy. They transform lawful enforcement into something that appears secretive and militarized. They invite comparisons the administration does not want and does not deserve.”

There you have it. Just lose the damn masks, ICE, and treat the people you serve with humanity. I could bet real American money such a change would bring far more cooperation than condemnation.

media news, national news

AI scares the bejeebers out of me

February 8, 2026 kanelis2012 Leave a comment

For as long as artificial intelligence has been on the worldwide radar, I have been reluctant to weigh in on its benefits or its burdens.

Until this moment. I am going to declare that AI scares the living crap out of me.

I worked in a profession for nearly four decades that relied on human beings reporting the truth as we understood it. Journalism places strict rules on accuracy and fairness. AI has managed, in my view, to scramble it all up and turn what we know to be real into something that could be made up.

I am sickened by the images I see and audio I hear depicting people commenting on matters that they cannot possibly know or understand. The images are products of AI-generated computers. For instance …

I recently watched a video of two American presidents — John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan — carrying on and joking about an issue that post-dates their deaths by decades. A friend of mine in Germany sent me a video of President Barack Obama declaring that Donald J. Trump screamed at a judge that he is “above the law!”an event that hasn’t been reported by any legitimate media anywhere on Earth.

I used to trade in truth-telling. It is the AI-produced nonsense that has me melting down at times at the thought that I could be listening to computer-generated fakery being passed off as the real thing.

I get that AI is used for entertainment purposes. Some top-of-the-line artists have used it to produce fabulous music videos.

The possibilities for abuse of this astonishing technology, however, is giving me the heeby-jeebys.

I am afraid of it. Very afraid.

Donald Trump

The insult list goes on and on and on …

February 6, 2026 kanelis2012 Leave a comment

Counting the top 50 or 100 lists of insults leveled by Donald John Trump would be an exercise in futility.

Hell, I cannot even come up with a top 5, 10 or 20 insults. Why the futility? Because Trump is surely to top any of them before the sun goes down on any given day.

Yeah, I have my “favorites,” although I use that word with an abundance of cynicism. I dare not mention any fof them here because they no doubt will not fall on everyone’s top list of Trump insults and epithets. He is almost certain to make an even more stupid statement.

As an observer of many things political, I am left to respond at times in the moment to insults that fly out of the shithead in chief’s mouth or watch him display his uncanny boorishness in front of the world that is too stunned to react.

I am declaring, therefore, an end to any effort to measure the level of depravity that Trump may sink. It’s beyond measure. The stick I would use to plumb its depths doesn’t have enough measuring units.

I am left to comment on his pronouncements as he declares them. I also seek to measure the damage they do to (a) our ability to govern and (b) our standing in a world community where we once stood as the “leader of the free world.”

At the moment, we can barely govern ourselves and only God knows what world leaders in their nations’ capitals are saying about Trump when his back is turned.

Whoever would have thought that we could measure our presidential leadership on levels of stupidity?

national news, political news

MAGA did it! Elections are work of demons!

February 4, 2026 kanelis2012 Leave a comment

If I were wearing a cap at this moment, I might be inclined to doff it in salute to the MAGA cult that comprises the bulk of what remains of the Republican Party.

Why the salute … even though it is a left-handed, fingers crossed tribute?

The MAGA morons seem to have successfully cast the American electoral process into enough doubt as to bring whole sale changes in the way many states conduct them. Texas is one of them. We’ve returned to paper ballots in Texas, tossing out the electronic ballots that used to streamline vote counting. We also have to provide photo ID when we go to the polls to vote.

It’s all been in the messaging and MAGA’s stern discipline in staying on message as it tells lie after lie after lie about the 2020 presidential election being “stolen” from Donald J. Trump. The MAGA cult is continuing the lies and they stick in the gullible minds of millions of Americans.

What saddens me endlessly is the damage that MAGA has done to the millions of hard working local and county officials across the nation who ensure that these elections are conducted freely, fairly and legally. I’ve worked some of the finest public officials in two states over the years covering elections and I have found them all to be men and women of good conscience. They did their jobs well and in accordance with state and federal laws.

MAGA is having none of it. Neither is their MAGA moron in chief, Trump, who just this week assailed the conduct the 2020 election. It is no coincidence, I should add, that the local jurisdictions Trump cited are those run by Black officials. Racism, anyone … anyone?

I believe the midterm election will be run legally. I place my faith in the men and women I know who are on the front line protecting our right to free and fair elections.

And the only election rigging I have seen has occurred in the Oval Office.

national news

ICE is making me very angry!

February 4, 2026 kanelis2012 Leave a comment

The more images I see of immigration thugs roughing up American citizens while searching for people to deport to Timbuktu, the angrier I become.

The testimony of Americans victimized by these goons is piling up. They have killed at least two Americans who were protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics. One of them, Alex Pretti, was shot at least 10 times by ICE goons while lying face down on the pavement. He was motionless.

These tales of horror are going on unabated. The president of the United States is saying nothing about the mistreatment being leveled against U.S. citizens. Donald Trump and his chief aides are condemning the protesters who, I should mention, are acting within the rights of free speech and expression guarenteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Yet this repression continues. ICE is kidnapping children, separating them from their parents. ICE agents dressed like hooded and masked goons are injuring Americans because they are operating with the full endorsement of the dipshit in chief.

I am not one to march in the street to protest. I prefer to make my protests known through this venue. I speak often and with considerable passion about what I perceive to be the wrong direction we are heading. If I see more ICE continue to harangue Americans in this horrific fashion, I just might be tempted to join a protest against ICE.

These goons have gone too far.

local news, medical news

Recalling the ‘worst day’

February 1, 2026 kanelis2012

It’s been a minute or two since I last wrote about the emotional journey I have undertaken since the worst day of my life came and went just shy of three years ago.

I believe my most recent post on High Plains Blogger mentioned that my journey was for all intents complete. That I had turned an important emotional corner since Feb. 3, 2023 when my bride, Kathy Anne, drew her final breath.

Indeed, my suffering is far less intense today than it was three years ago. I can smile, laugh at bawdy jokes and carry on as I used to do with my wife of 51 years. I have redefined “good” as it applies to my personal well-being and I am comfortable with saying I am “good” now. That’s an important thing for me.

I am also going to reveal on this blog a bit of news for you, which is that I am in a relationship with a woman who understands the journey I am still traveling. I won’t go into detail about her, other than to say we enjoy each other’s company.

My journey also has put me in touch with fellow brothers in grief. Many of them have lost their wives even more recently than I lost my bride to glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The question comes from them: I can’t stop crying when I think of her. When will it stop? My answer? It won’t ever stop. Do not try to make it stop, because human emotion can be like a runaway freight train. You can manage it. I know that to be true, because I am able to manage my own emotions.

I had a moment today at lunch with one of my sons. He and I were talking about the upcoming date of commemoration and he recalled having dinner with his Mom and me. During our time together, Kathy Anne announced to my sons, our daughter-in-law, our granddaughter and me that in five years we were going to throw a huge party to salute her being “cancer free.” She was recovering nicely from the brain surgery she had to remove part of the tumor. We weren’t able to have that party, as just a few days later, Kathy Anne suffered a grand mal seizure … from which she didn’t recover.

My son’s recalling that statement from his Mom, however, filled me with sadness. My eyes got wet. I wanted to cry out loud. I held back.

These are the kinds of events that continue to tug at my ticker. But I am able to manage my emotions.

I don’t know what will occur a couple of days from now. I don’t expect the day will overwhelm me. I’ll have to run a couple of errands that will take me away from the house for most of the morning. I’ll drive to Bonham to see the Veterans Administration medics who take good care of me.

Feb. 3 always will be a day I will never forget. Not ever! It comemmorates the worst day I hope to ever experience during my time on this good Earth.

I’ll just add this. Kathy Anne instructed me to be happy if that day ever arrived and like most dutiful husbands I know, I always do what I am told.

political news

Which version of Chip Roy is real?

February 1, 2026 kanelis2012

Texas Republicans appear to be suffering from acute political schizophrenia, given the nature of the campaign involving a GOP candidate for Texas attorney general.

One of the Republican hopefuls is current congressman Chip Roy, who’s been boasting in his campaign ads that he’s a Donald Trump Republican and will advance Trump’s agenda against illegal immigrants if he’s elected Texas attorney general.

OK, so we have that version of Chip Roy. But wait! There’s another version out there.

A GOP opponent of Roy says the congressman has stabbed Trump in the back. He calls Roy untrustworthy. Why, he voted to impeach Trump in his first two House impeachments in his first term as POTUS. There’s more. He spoke highly of former GOP U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the few Republicans to stand tall and foursquare against the corrupt president. We can’t have such a person serving as Texas AG, according to this candidate’s ads.

Texas Republican voters will face a dizzying array of contradictory statements about the AG candidate. Roy’s task is to decide which of versions of him is real. Is he the MAGA-loving Trump loyalist or is he one who stands on the principle that no one is above the law … which has been Liz Cheney’s mantra ever since Trump burst on the political scene more than a decade ago.

I don’t intend to vote on the Republican Party primary in March. If I were inclined to do so, I could be persuaded to vote for Chip Roy for AG. I mean, he was right to impeach Trump. He was correct to back Liz Cheney’s effort to knock sense into the skulls of MAGA-loving GOP voters.

I’ll sit on the sidelines, however, and wish Texas GOP voters good luck as they ponder which version of Chip Roy is for real and which one is a made-up creation.

Here is a sliver of good news from all of this confusion. Whoever gets elected in November will replace Republican Ken Paxton as Texas AG … as Paxton never has been able to shake loose the yoke of scandal since taking office.

media news

Not missing the TV noise

January 31, 2026 kanelis2012

A while ago I decided to keep the TV turned off during the day while I was home piddling and putzing around the house or playing with my puppies.

My concern at the time was whether I would miss what has become “white noise” associated with the chatter coming from what my Dad used to call the “boob tube.” I am happy to make this announcement.

I haven’t missed the noise. Not one teeny, tiny little bit.

I couldn’t have done this as a much younger man or a teenager. I was addicted to TV. I admit it freely and without reservation. That addiction has cured itself partly because I am much longer in the tooth these days and also because the programming bores me out of my pointy-headed skull.

The news? Hah! Fuhgetabout it!

The news might be the most boring element all the programming I formerly watched. Why does it bore me? Partly because it doesn’t tell me what I don’t already know. I am not being snobby. I merely am telling the truth. I follow issues of the day pretty closely through a variety of media forums. TV doesn’t provide much context or new info for me to digest.

Anyhow … the decision awaiting me now is whether I continue to keep the house quiet during the day. Hey, there’s no real decision to make. Of course I intend to keep doing what I’ve been doing.

The news? I’ll stay ready to weigh in when the time is right for it.

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience