national news

Biden set to go again?

Joe Biden doesn’t need any advice from little ol’ me out here in Flyover Country … but he’s going to get some anyway.

Mr. President, let me be among the millions of Americans who voted for you in 2020 to wish you well as you launch your re-election effort. We hear it’s this week and that you’ll do it via an online platform of some sort.

Go for it!

The president has plenty to sell a public that seems embittered by the politics of the past half-dozen years. It appears that Joe Biden cannot do anything totally right in the eyes of a public that seems unwilling or unable to recognize success when it slaps ’em in the puss.

President Biden has gotten damn little help from his Republican “friends” in Congress. Democrats have held together on Capitol Hill to approve a number of key laws: gun safety rules, the Inflation Reduction Act, infrastructure repair and rebuilding.

Biden has spoken glowingly of his history of working well with Republicans. I guess it goes only so far as his record in the Senate and his eight-year stint at vice president. As POTUS? The GOP has dug in, many of ’em still angry that he defeated their hero in the 2020 presidential election.

I don’t want the president to re-litigate the previous election, which is what his defeated foe in 2020 keeps doing. Joe Biden should look to the future and tell us what he intends to do in a second term.

President Biden might need some help in ensuring he carries through on his agenda. Voters appear to be getting lathered up over the GOP’s insistence on banning abortion nationally, its resistance to gun safety measures and its haggling over the debt limit increase … and the failure to pay our debts sending the world’s economy into the crapper.

I said prior to the 2020 primary campaign that Joe Biden wasn’t my first pick. He ended up winning the Democratic nomination and, therefore, became my guy along with 81 million other Americans.

He’s my guy going into the 2024 election.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

religious news

GOP set to impose religion in public schools

Pass the Pepto … because my gut is starting to churn over a highly contentious issue making its way out of the Texas Legislature.

The state Senate has approved a bill that would require public schools in Texas to display the Ten Commandments.

Oh, boy! Here we go.

It’s headed to the House, with its own Republican majority. Any bets on whether it ends up on GOP Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk and on whether Abbott will sign it into law? I didn’t think so.

Why is issue so troublesome for me? For starters, I need to stipulate that I have no particularly strong personal objection to the Ten Commandments being displayed in public schools. The commandments, let us remember, are chronicled in the Old Testament, which tells of the instruction Moses received from the Almighty.

That’s out of the way.

However … the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution stipulates several civil liberties. The first of them declares that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion … ” Hmm. What does that mean, precisely?

It means, as I read it, that Congress’ prohibition is exclusive to that body. Meaning that Congress can’t enact a law. Does that also preclude state legislatures? Maybe I’m splitting hairs. I also understand fully that the founders created a secular government that is supposed to be free from religion.

Does it preclude religious influence? No, not that I can tell.

The Ten Commandments clearly are a religious statement, given to us by God Almighty. Public schools are government entities, paid for with taxpayer funds, some of which come from individuals and families that might object to any element of religion being installed in public school system. Is it fair to them to expose them to a statement they could find objectionable? No, which is what the founders realized when they created a secular Constitution.

I am not going to mount a protest if the Legislature sends this bill to Abbott’s desk and Abbott signs it.

I just fear we are about to head down that proverbial slippery slope.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

environmental news

Happy Earth Day … Earth

Dear Earth … well, this is your day. We human inhabitants of the only planet we can call home celebrate you and presumably give thanks for being alive and well enough to wish you good health.

Agreed, your health ain’t great. We human beings are doing our best (or shall I say our worst) to mess you up. Your climate is changing. Our planet is getting hotter every year. I keep reading about how glaciers are melting at a quicker rate than expected. Yes, I know what happens to that glacial ice: It turns to water and the sea levels are rising, endangering our seaside communities around the world.

The debate has pretty much ended about whether human beings are responsible for it. We are. We keep wiping out forests and we keep pouring carbon-based pollutants into the air. On behalf of my fellow humans, I apologize for the mistreatment we have laid on you.

I want to boast just a bit, Mother Earth, about what we’re doing in our North Texas community to help you. I live in a community, Princeton, that recycles expendable items. The disposal company gives us bins into which we can toss our recyclable material: plastic, paper, metal. It all goes in there and I am told that it reduces landfill waste by about 40%. That’s not bad.

Mother Earth, I am sure you remember the era in which the U.S. government decided to honor you. It came in 1970, when a Republican served as president. Yes, it was President Nixon who thought enough of you to establish the Environmental Protection Agency. Ah, yes. Those were the days.

Imagine a MAGA Republican today endorsing such a thing. It won’t happen … but that’s another story for another day.

I just want to wish you well, Earth and I want to call on my neighbors and fellow Americans — along with my fellow terrestrial travelers — to honor you every single day we all are able.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

legal news

Electoral consequences are, um, lasting

As if anyone needs reminding of the consequences of electing certain individuals to public office …

Still, I am going to offer this brief reminder.

Donald Trump, in just a single term as president, was able to get three individuals seated on the U.S. Supreme Court; the court now comprises what they call a conservative “supermajority.” The justices who sit on the court are likely to outlive their political benefactor by many years.

Lower courts, too, will bear the impact of the recent POTUS’s appointment powers. Witness the decision handed down in Amarillo by Matthew Kacsmaryk , a U.S. district judge who tossed out the abortion pill based seemingly on his own personal opposition to abortion. Trump nominated this individual to the district court bench, and the Senate confirmed him. Still, elections have consequences, yes?

This is the kind of decision voters need to ponder when they prepare to cast their ballots, either for governor or president.

Trump is just the latest in a long line of politicians with appointment power who — in my view — abused that power by appointing men and women who provide the correct answers to what they call “litmus test” questions. Trump vowed to appoint anti-abortion judges and he made good on that pledge.

Thus, we see the most indelible effect of the consequence of any presidential election.

What is so maddening about the federal judicial appointment process is how political it has become, which to my viewing is counter to what the founders envisioned when they granted federal judges lifetime seats on the bench. Their effort was to de-politicize the federal judiciary; instead, it appears to have become more politicized today than ever in our nation’s history.

But then again, when we realize the consequences we face when certain politicians get elected president, this is what we get.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

science news

Strange boast of ‘success’

Elon Musk has a peculiar way of defining “success.” Let’s review the video, shall we?

The world’s largest-ever rocket blasted off from its launch pad in South Texas on Thursday. About four minutes into the flight and far from achieving Earth orbit, the rocket exploded. It burst into a zillion pieces.

What did the world’s richest individual call it? A success!

Which makes me wonder how Elon Musk defines the term. He said the ship cleared the launch pad, which was good enough for him to declare that the failed mission was, um, a successful one. And in the most euphemistic phrase possible, the Musk team described the explosion as an “unexpected disassembly.”

Go … figure.

The only thing that saved this even from being an unmitigated disaster was that there were no human beings aboard the rocket.

Musk’s rocket, the SpaceX, aims to ferry humans to the moon and he, and the rest of us hope, far beyond into the solar system.

The South Texas launch was not a success, no matter how much money SpaceX’s owner has at his disposal.

Scientists have plenty of work to do to make this ship suitable to carry priceless human cargo. Get to work … and fix the problem!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

State parks turn 100!

I want to get off my criticism bandwagon for a moment and toss a bouquet at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for celebrating a landmark anniversary.

Its state parks system is turning 100 years old. Texas Highways, the state travel magazine to which I subscribe, noted the anniversary in its latest issue.

My late wife was a huge fan of the state parks system. So am I. We once figured we visited about two-thirds of the state’s 90-plus state parks during the past four decades in Texas. We usually would haul our RV to a site and camp there for a few days, enjoying the varied hiking trails and wildlife that occasionally would visit our campsites.

I do not have a “favorite” state park, given that they all present unique charms. To single one out as a favorite would do an injustice to all the other parks I have visited.

I will say, though, that Mother Neff State Park near Waco — by far! — has the cleanest restrooms and public showers of any we have seen. That’s all I will say about that.

Lord knows I have been critical of Texas government during the nearly 40 years I have lived here. I will sing TP&W’s praises for the state park system it has developed and nurtured for as long as I am able.

Well done, TP&W.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

education news

Horrifying sign of the times

There can be no mistaking what is happening in school districts across Texas.

The Texas Senate has approved a bill that requires school districts to implement “active shooter” policies, or else face being taken over by the state education agency.

The legislation is in response to the Uvalde school massacre a year ago in which students and educators were gunned down by a madman.

This is a shocking and horrifying sign of the times in Texas … and everywhere else that has become victimized by the spasm of gun violence.

The Texas Tribune reports: Senate Bill 11, filed by Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, would create a safety and security department within the Texas Education Agency and give it the authority to compel school districts to establish active-shooter protocols. Those that fail to meet the agency’s standards could be put under the state’s supervision.

Texas Senate passes bill to strengthen school active-shooter plans | The Texas Tribune

I happen to believe this is a reasonable approach to helping reduce the casualties inflicted by shooters. I didn’t think it would be possible to support such a move, but given the alternatives, it makes sense.

One of the alternatives is to arm teachers, give them the authority and ability to open fire on shooters. Bad idea! I continue to oppose the notion of asking teachers — individuals whose calling is to “educate” children — to take up arms and start firing weapons at individuals … hoping they don’t hit innocent victims in the melee.

With so many incidents erupting around the country, I welcome the Texas effort to force public school systems to enact policies aimed at dealing with this existential threat to the safety of our children and educators.

I suppose you can call this the 21st-century version of the “duck and cover” drills many of us once did while the nation was frightened about a possible nuclear attack.

This threat, though, is frighteningly real.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

It’s all about accountability

The Fox Propaganda Channel did not have to apologize for fomenting The Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election.

Dominion Voting Systems, which sued Fox for $1.6 billion, got precisely what it wanted and needed when Fox surrendered and agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement.

It received accountability from Fox.

Through all the pre-trial filings Fox had been handed defeat after defeat. The judge hearing the case had, in effect, already delivered the goods against Fox. The judge had determined that Fox lied to the public about the 2020 election. Therefore, the network did not need to issue a public apology to Dominion.

As I look back just a couple of days to the settlement, it is clear why Fox tossed in the towel. The company’s ownership did not want to expose its on-air personalities to rugged questioning from Dominion’s legal team about what they knew and believed when they kept repeating The Big Lie on air.

We had heard already about emails and other correspondence from the likes of Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo about what they thought of Donald Trump and his assertions about “widespread voter fraud.”

Did Dominion deserve an apology? No. It would have been nice, I suppose, to get one from Fox. In the grand scheme, Dominion got all that it wanted: proof of accountability from the Fox Propaganda Network.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

GOP pursues backward strategy

It is with decidedly mixed feelings that I offer a commentary on the pursuit of Republican presidential candidates — some of whom are announced, others are presumed to be running — to win back the White House in 2024.

Their strategies are backfiring. Rather than reaching out to the middle class, to independents, to women appalled at the GOP’s assault on their reproductive rights, the party is shoring up its support with his shrinking — but still fanatic — political base.

Why the mixed feeling? Because as a good-government progressive, I want Democratic President Joe Biden to be re-elected next year. GOP candidates are playing right into Democrats’ wheelhouse with their rigid ideology.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of the presumed Republican candidates for POTUS, is going after the Disney Corporation, which makes me go … huh?

DeSantis is faithful to the “don’t say ‘gay'” doctrine that seeks to denigrate gay Americans. He wants to ban books from public schools that teach students about racism. DeSantis and other hard-core Republicans also resist any effort to seek solutions to the gun violence that continues to kill innocent Americans seemingly every day. And, of course, he wants to invoke a nationwide ban on abortion.

DeSantis and the 45th president of the United States are the presumed frontrunners for the GOP presidential nomination. The ex-POTUS still cannot stop harping about The Big Lie and the long-since-debunked notion that the 2020 election was pilfered from him. No! The dude lost the election!

He also has been indicted and faces the probability of more indictments to come.

There likely will be others who will seek the GOP nomination. Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are in. Ex-VP Mike Pence might run, too.

Who among them will break away from the MAGA base’s infatuation with the ex-POTUS? Whoever does will proceed at his or her risk, as the MAGA wing controls the flow of events within the party.

How does that make this voter feel? Let ’em fight among themselves.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

education news

Princeton ISD: proactive approach

Princeton’s bond issue proposal that goes to the voters on May 6 is going to ask for a lot of money: $797 million to be precise.

Part of the request contains something that deserves specific comment today. Princeton Independent School District wants to build another high school to cope with the explosive growth in student enrollment that is occurring.

Princeton ISD already has two campuses for high school students. Princeton High School is where upperclassmen and women attend; Lovelady High School next door is where freshmen attend school. The district wants to build a third campus, which it will name Philip Anthony High School after a recently retired superintendent.

The decision to build a high school seems to run counter to what I consider something of an urban myth about Texas public education, which is that Texans are reluctant to build such campuses in an effort to keep HS student bodies large, enabling the school system to attract blue-chip student-athletes.

I recently got into a discussion about this with family members. I would argue that some communities in Texas adhere to that philosophy. I can point to nearby Allen Independent School District, which is home to the state’s largest high school; roughly 6,000 students attend Allen High … which also is a perennial high school football power.

Princeton High does not possess such a reputation. Which I suppose might explain Princeton ISD’s eagerness to build another campus to cope with the growth that demographers believe isn’t about to stop any time soon.

Princeton’s philosophy also encourages more personal learning environments for educators and students, which appears to appeal to more traditional views on how kids are able to obtain a high-quality education. I should stipulate, though, that Allen High also produces high-performing students and it offers students a top-tier education as well.

Princeton ISD won’t turn dirt over right away on its new high school if voters approve the bond issue next month. Parents and students will have to wait. I do like the district’s proactive approach to handling the high demand that is sure to come its way.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

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