local news, media news, national news, political news

Paxton ‘debut’ awaits election result

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No matter the outcome of the Nov. 3 midterm election for the U.S. Senate seat from Texas, we’re going to get a good look at the type of man Democratic candidate James Talarico calls “the most corrupt politician in Texas.”

I refer, of course, to Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

I want to stipulate two key points. One is that I want Paxton to lose the contest to Talarico. I want there to be no doubt who wins this race. My hope is that Talarico wins by a healthy enough margin to forgo any sort of mandatory recount. The second point is that even though Paxton has been AG for more than a decade, I cannot ever recall hearing him make a speech in public.

It has been a brutal campaign for the seat now occupied by John Cornyn, whom Paxton defeated in the Republican Party primary. Paxton has been troubled by ethical and legal difficulty almost since the day he took office in January 2015.

I am wondering what kind of man emerges when the dust settles on Election Day. If lightning strikes and Paxton actually wins, will he give his opponent his due as a worthy foe? Or will he aim his rhetorical guns at the “liberal media” and the “communists and socialists” who despise him? I suppose I can wonder the same thing if Paxton comes up short on Election Day.

For his part, Talarico — a state legislator from Austin — has campaigned on his record as a Democratic man of faith. He refers frequently to New Testament scripture that instructs us to love our neighbor and, yes, our adversaries. Paxton, though, has been poisoned by the hate spewed by Donald Trump and other MAGA morons.

It’s not clear to me what kind of speechmaker Paxton is or can be. He’s been in the public eye for a long time, yet he remains a bit of a mystery.

We well could learn a whole lot about him … quite soon.

media news, military news

Good for POTUS to back off livestreaming execution

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I hereby give credit to Donald J. Trump for having the good sense to call of a planned livestreaming of a man condemned to die by firing squad in December.

Trump re-thought a decision to allow the public to witness the killing of former Army Major Nidal Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009. He backed away from that ghastly decision, proclaiming that the execution will go forward … just not in public view.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making a lot of hay about televising the execution, proclaiming that allowing the public to view it could deter future lunatics from doing what Hasan did. I don’t think so. I do believe that Hasan’s death at the hands of an Army firing squad will be sufficient deterrent, if it, indeed, does deter anyone from killing innocent victims.

Trump and Hegseth had gotten a lot of backlash from both sides of the political aisle over the decision livestream Hasan’s death. I am glad that the commander in chief thought better of it. I want him now to fire Hegseth, who is unfit to lead the Pentagon … period, full stop.

legal news, media news, national news

Back to the beginning with Trump

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One of my initial arguments against Donald Trump ever seeking, let alone winning, an election to the White House has proven to be true beyond measure.

I said prior to his ride down the escalator in Trump Tower in the summer of 2015 that the candidate-to-be lacked any exposure to public service. His entire professional life had been staked to his personal enrichment. His glorification. His desire to be recognized for every good deed that occurs on this planet.

As I look back on his nearly a decade in politics, I find that my assessment of the individual was correct. I don’t say this to brag about it. I wish I was wrong. I also wish Trump would prove me wrong and that he would have brought a level of success to the only public office he has ever sought.

I scan the immediate past of this guy’s record and I see his desire to put his name on the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; he wants to build a triumphant arch; he has torn down the East Wing to build a gold-encrusted ballroom; he keeps insisting he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize; he contends he was elected in 2024 in a landslide; he hired the world’s richest human to cut the daylights out of Medicare, Medicaid, USAID, CDC with no understanding of how it affects everyday humans’ lives.

The man has called military vets “suckers and losers” because they want to don the uniform of their country. Thanks a lot … Donald, you loser!

These examples only prove what many of us have said all along. Donald Trump has no business in the office he occupies.

local news, political news

This ‘tradition’ is a goner

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Doing something a certain way because you deem it a “tradition” does not lock you into doing it forever, as circumstance can compel you to make a change.

Early voting is an example. At least it is for me. I have spent my voting life casting ballots on Election Day. I consider voting a rite of passage steeped in tradition.

Times have changed and the threat of a political party performing dirty tricks to muck up the process has made me change my view of early voting. I am going to cast my ballot in the midterm election early … as in the first day it becomes available.

Texas Republicans are threatening to do something that could change the way we vote or could affect the number or voters taking part in the election. To avoid all of that I intend to cast my ballot in time to get it logged into the Collin County, Texas, system. Where it will stand forever as my statement of the way things are shaping up in Texas.

I have lived and worked in Texas for more than four decades. The election processes in three Texas counties I have called home — Jefferson, Randall and Collin counties — have all worked seamlessly. I got to know county clerks and I consider them all to be hardworking, conscientious public servants. The same can be said of two Oregon counties where I worked early in my career.

The pressure being applied by Donald Trump and his hooligans is scaring me enough to change the way I vote. Polling marshals, tossed-out ballots, constant rhetoric from Trump about how “corrupt” the system has become all are weighing on me as Election Day draws ever closer.

One way to secure my mind is to vote early then await the results.

media news, national news, political news, State news

What? No mention of policy?

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As many of you are experiencing the same thing that’s occurring at my home in North Texas, I want to share an observation I made after reading — from front to back — a campaign brochure sent by Donald J. Trump on behalf of GOP U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton.

In the piece, Trump offers his “complete and total endorsement” of Paxton, who is in the fight of his political life against Democratic candidate James Talarico.

The text covers four full pages. I want to share an observation of what I have determined to be an error of omission.

Not once does Trump mention a policy decision from the White House that Paxton allegedly endorses. Nothing on the tariffs that are a regressive tax on all Americans who purchase items that come to us from offshore sources. No mention of the Iran war that Trump launched; so far 20 Americans have died in this “forever war” that Trump vowed he never would start were he sent to the White House in 2024. Not a peep from POTUS on the Ukraine war that Russia launched three years ago.

Trump has experienced difficulty defending these policies all by himself. Every president since Republican Herbert Hoover has called tariffs a tax. This guy says foreign governments are paying them. That is utter crap. The wars both have gone badly for our side, although Ukraine might be on the verge of declaring victory against the marauding Russians.

The brochure is vintage Trump. It is short on substantive debate and long on invective. He and Paxton spend most of the space in the letter to voters like me denigrating Talarico, his background, even making fun of his name.

If the POTUS is going to proclaim his endorsement for a damaged candidate such as Ken Paxton, it would seem to make more sense to explain why the candidate’s apparent endorsement of Trump’s policies is a reason to vote for him.

Oh, wait! Never mind! Trump won’t go there because he knows what we all know … that his policies have stunk up the campaign trail.

Sports news

‘No’ on boys competing against girls

Of all the nuance and complexity related to this notion of transgenderism, one issue — in my humble view — doesn’t deserve a moment of debate.

Should girls who once were boys be allowed to compete against girls in athletic events? No! A thousand times no. Aww, hell, make it a million times no.

I do not object to people suffering from “non-binary” gender identity. I cannot relate to it personally. I have no particular interest in the matter, except for those who want to legislate against those who cannot come to grips with their gender identity.

But when it comes to children who were born male competing against those who’ve been female all their lives, that’s another matter.

Allow me to state a fact or two. Check every record logged in every athletic endeavor and one thing becomes obvious. Males jump higher and longer, run faster and lift greater weights than females. A male’s DNA is embedded in him. That’s why I find this discussion in some political races so maddening. Gina Hinajosa, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, said she sees “no problem” with boys competing against girls. Well, I do have a problem with it.

I see no need to relegate female athletes to automatic runner-up finishers to those who possess ability granted to them at birth by virtue of their gender.

medical news, military news

Bloom falls from VA

I have taken up space on High Plains Blogger singing the praises of the care I had received from the Department of Veterans Affairs and to be sure I don’t regret the bouquets I have tossed at the federal agency.

In recent weeks, though, I have learned a tough lesson about the VA’s medical policy. It works well … if you don’t have an injury or a serious illness. If you need actual help from the VA, well, you’d better strap in for a long haul.

I stumbled and fell on my right arm in the wee hours of Sept. 14. When I hit the deck, I thought I heard a snap in my right arm. I thought it might have broken my arm. I went to the emergency room that morning. I got it checked out. The ER doc told me the x-ray revealed no fracture, but said I needed an MRI to provide me with a definitive diagnosis. The doc said I might have a damaged muscle or tendon or possibly a rotator cuff issue that needs attention.

I have been battling day and night with the VA and with the office of an orthopedist to secure an MRI. It’s now Oct. 2. It’s been 18 days since I hurt my arm. The pain is still there. At times it is sharp. It hurts like hell. I have limited mobility in my right arm, which by the way is my “good arm.”

I still don’t know what in the name of serving our veterans has held up the MRI. I’ve been told I needed another x-ray. I got one. I’ve been told to talk to my primary care physician. I have spoken to her nurses.

There has been delay after delay after delay.

Then the ice-jam broke. I managed to secure an MRI appointment. It will occur in a few days.

My nightmare is almost over. I hope to learn that the detailed exam reveals. I further hope to get it treated. I want to be rid of the pain.

The lesson? The VA is OK, as long as it’s all routine. If you suffer an injury or get sick, then it’s every man for himself.

environmental news, local news

Oh, what glorious rain

Coming of age as I did in the Pacific Northwest, one rarely noticed any rainfall until it had fallen for a couple of days. The rain in Portland was part of one’s life.

I have lived now for most of my life away from where I was born and grew up, which means I have developed a new and better appreciation for rainfall when it arrives. We moved from Portland to Beaumont, Texas in 1984. We moved from Beaumont to Amarillo in 1995. My wife and then relocated to the D/FW area in 2018. I have called Texas home for 46 of my 76 years on this Earth.

Which is my way of telling you that the rain that arrived last night and then continued through the day today has been a Godsend. I have enjoyed watching every drop splash from the sky. It had been 60-something days since the last measurable rain fell.

I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as a teenager growing up in rain-soaked Portland. I would complain to my parents about the constant drizzle. Dad would respond, “Go talk to God. He’s the only one who can help you there.”

I just feel the need to express how my own outlook on such mundane matters has changed. The mundane can at times become the magnificent.

 

 

local news, political news

Not a partisan office, man

Ken Seligman is running for a spot on the Princeton City Council and he’s posted lawn signs around the city telling us of his desire.

They include his desire to bring a good Republican to the council.

And that, dear friends, stopped me in my tracks when I saw it.

Seligman is not seeking a partisan political job. Which makes me wonder what the hell is this guy thinking? Service on a local council, or school board, or college board of regents is devoid of partisan consideration.

I am reminded of a woman who once challenged then Amarillo Mayor Kel Seliger. Mary Alice Brittain called on “good Republicans” to vote against Seliger. I was editor of the opinion pages of the Amarillo Globe-News and I reminded Brittain of her error in conflating her race with that of county commissioner or state legislator. She lost to Seliger.

Seligman has long been involved in Princeton city government. I applaud his desire to seek improvements in the way City Hall does its business. But dammit, a candidate’s party affiliation has nothing to do with providing police protection, setting municipal taxes or fixing potholes.

national news

Now comes the wait … for the midterm blowout

Elections, they say, have consequences and on Nov. 3 Americans are going to find out whether the 2026 midterm election produces the kind of consequence that many of us desire.

Accordingly, I am going to keep my powder dry with regard to the expected outcome.

Damn near every political pundit this side of Sam Rayburn thinks Democrats are going to regain control of the U.S. House. Getting control of the Senate today looks more hopeful than ever.

Texas has an upstart who has been making a good bit of noise as he campaigns for the seat held by GOP Sen. John Cornyn … who, by the way, lost his GOP primary race to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. State Rep. James Talarico could defeat Paxton in 30-something days. If Paxton pulls this one out and becomes the senator from Texas, well … we’re in deeper trouble than any of us are thinking at this moment.

Donald Trump has made a hash out of our representative democracy. His “handiwork” has trickled down many states’ ballots. For reasons that boggle my noggin, Trump continues to draw support from the MAGA cabal who keep endorsing his cockamamie notion that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. I have heard more than one MAGA nitwit blame President Obama for the 9/11 terrorist attack. Hmm. You and I know that Obama was still eight years away from being elected president when 9/11 occurred. So … how do you reason with idiots such as that?

I am likely to lapse into relative solitude prior to the midterm election. I remain hopeful we can get the electoral result our nation deserves. This MAGA madness has flat worn me out!

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience