State news

Consensus? Abbott is wrong about the masks!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

There seems to be a consensus building across Texas about the pronouncement made by Gov. Greg Abbott on how the state should handle the coronavirus pandemic.

It is that he has made a mistake in rescinding the mask mandate order he issued this past summer to fight the virus.

Most of us seem to understand his desire to open the state’s businesses back up. The mask mandate, though, needs to remain … if I am reading the state’s collective pulse correctly. Maybe I am correct, or maybe I am all wet.

I’ll presume that I am right, or at least in presuming  that the most vocal folks out there are those who oppose lifting the mask mandate.

It well might be that those who support lifting the mask order are too embarrassed to say so publicly. If that’s the case, well, I’d be embarrassed too. You know already that my wife and I intend to keep wearing our masks when we enter restaurants, the grocery store or stop for a cappuccino at the neighborhood Allsup’s.

I reckon million of other Texans will do the same.

This presumption I am drawing would seem to put the lie to the caricature so many Americans have of those who live in Texas. That we’re a state full of swaggering know-it-alls who distrust government telling us to do anything, let alone take measures to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

From what I am hearing, seeing and sensing among those of us who call Texas home, we aren’t too crazy about Gov. Abbott’s decision to lift an order he issued to protect the folks he governs.

I am totally fine with what he ordered. In fact, I intend to keep following it.

medical news, State news

What did Abbott’s medical advisers say?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Texas media are abuzz with comment and reaction to Gov. Greg Abbott’s big announcement Tuesday that he was declaring the state open “100 percent” for business and is rescinding the mask-wearing order in light of the pandemic.

I am dubious of the governor’s action. I am not going to change a single thing in my house; my wife and I intend to do precisely what we have been doing to avoid getting infected by the COVID virus. It has worked so far.

This inquiring mind, though, wants to know something that hasn’t been reported: What did Gov. Abbott’s medical advisers tell him prior to making the announcement?

I ask the question because I have read comments from all over the state from educators, doctors and other scientists who have expressed concern that Abbott’s decision, at the very least, is premature. Too many Texans are getting sick and too many of us are still dying from the coronavirus.

I want to know what Abbott’s medical team told him. How do they justify this reopening notion from the governor? There might be a plausible rationale. If there is, then let’s hear it!

Oh, but then again there might be another notion, which is that Abbott didn’t listen to his medical team’s advice and decided it was more, um, “politically expedient” to open the state’s business community for everyone. Or, perhaps the governor sought to change the subject and yank our attention away from the clusterfu** response to the terrible winter storm that paralyzed the state and damn near caused a total collapse of our electrical grid.

Is any of that possible? Hmmm?

I’m all ears, Gov. Abbott.

local news, medical news, State news

Mask-wearers unite!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

It’s clear that I cannot possibly know whether what I am seeing on my social media network connotes a national trend.

Still, I am heartened to see the reaction to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement today that he is rescinding the mask mandate he ordered in 2020 to fight the COVID pandemic and that he is allowing businesses to open “100 percent.”

I am hearing from across the state that folks are going to continue wearing their masks, that they are going to keep their “social distance” from strangers and do not plan to frequent restaurants and bars.

Abbott sounded strangely victorious today when he made his announcement in Lubbock. Sure, he said we shouldn’t let up. Then he touted immediately the declining infection and death rates in Texas. I am not sure which part of Abbott’s announcement drew the most attention.

I am going to join my many social media contacts in declaring my own intention to keep wearing a mask; Lord knows I have enough of them. I also intend to keep my distance. I will slather sanitizer on my hands with abandon; I will wash ’em with soap and water at home with annoying frequency.

School district officials are talking, too, about resisting the governor’s call to reopen fully. They will continue to require students and teachers to mask up in classrooms; I am presuming the Allen Independent School District, where my granddaughter and her older brother attend school, will be among them.

I just am going to say a prayer that Gov. Abbott hasn’t acted too hastily in his effort to put Texas back to work.

local news, Sports news, State news

Fans at games, too?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Greg Abbott’s big announcement today wasn’t as specific as perhaps it could have been.

The Texas governor declared that Texas businesses were “100 percent open,” meaning they could serve at full capacity. He implored us all to continue to observe social distancing, wash our hands and all that kind of thing.

The governor did not make specific mention of sporting events. Will sports fans be able to sit next to each other at venues to cheer on their favorite teams? That question has surfaced, for instance, among fans of the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the Double A baseball team that is set to open its second-ever season in early May.

Therein lies a dilemma, ladies and gentlemen. What about the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers, the Major Leagues’ two franchises? Or the other minor-league franchises scattered throughout Texas?

If I were King of the World, I wouldn’t have made the declaration that Gov. Abbott made today. I would have kept the mask mandate in effect and I would have required that sports venues limit seating to a certain percentage significantly less than full. That ain’t my call. It falls to the governor, I guess, to determine whether it is safe to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers in sports venues.

I suppose the final answer to whether Sod Poodles fans will be able to fill all of Hodgetown’s seats when the season opens there in mid-May falls on the team ownership, or perhaps Amarillo City Hall.

I don’t have a suggestion on how the team should go with this one. You know already what I think of Gov. Abbott’s decision to open business back up to full capacity; I think it’s a potentially disastrous mistake. The pandemic is still raging, albeit at a bit calmer pace than it was a few weeks ago.

Perhaps the governor ought to provide some further guidance on what sports fans all over the state should do, keeping in mind that Priority No. 1 must be everyone’s health and well-being.

national news

FBI boss: They were domestic terrorists

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By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

FBI Director Christopher Wray today said what many millions of Americans have thought — or known — since we saw it occur.

The mob that stormed Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 comprised “domestic terrorists,” Wray told a congressional committee.

I do not intend here to denigrate the FBI boss … but duh!

Look, I respect this man a great deal. He has the toughest job imaginable, which includes investigating the crimes committed on the day the terrorist mob stormed into the Capitol Building while committing an undeniable act of insurrection against the U.S. government.

The fact that the FBI director has made this statement aloud and in public gives the discussion the kind of impetus it needs. Wray gives the domestic terror element an element of gravitas. 

Indeed, I am not at all surprised to hear Wray hang this label on the riotous mob. He has stated already that domestic terror presents the greatest existential threat to our national security. It poses a greater threat than any foreign terrorist organization; that includes ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, the Taliban … you name it.

What happens now with the investigation of criminal suspects? My hope, and I am can speak only for myself, is that the FBI is able to ratchet up the charges against those it arrests, that they are able to prosecute the suspects on suspicion of committing terrorist acts.

They were whipped into a frenzy on Jan. 6 by a president who was two weeks from leaving office. Donald Trump told them repeatedly on the Ellipse that the election he lost was “stolen” from him and he urged the crowd to take back the government from some nefarious forces he said were committing electoral thievery.

Yes, he got impeached for it and yes he avoid conviction in the Senate. The imprint left behind by the terrorists is indelible and the scars will take years, maybe decades to heal — if they ever do heal.

The terrorists wanted to execute Vice President Mike Pence; you can hear them shouting their intent as they stormed into the Capitol Building where the VP was doing his constitutional duty, which was to preside over the counting and certification of the Electoral College votes that elected President Joe Biden.

Man, if that ain’t terrorism, then it doesn’t exist anywhere.

I am relieved to hear that the FBI director has called it what we have known all along.

It well might be time to declare a new “war on terrorism.” 

medical news, science news, State news

Abbott invites danger

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

OK, I listened to most of Gov. Greg Abbott’s talk at the Lubbock restaurant.

The Texas governor has rescinded a statewide mask mandate and told all business owners who cater to all clientele that they are now free to open “100 percent,” despite the presence of COVID-19 virus that is still infecting Texans and other Americans.

I have decided to ignore Abbott’s recommendation. I am going instead to heed the call of President Biden who is asking us to wear masks at least for the first 100 days of his administration.

Biden is making the more prudent decision. As for the business reopening, most of ’em will have to make that trip back without me, and likely without my bride as well.

I’m staying the course in mitigating the effects of the killer virus. It could have claimed a member of my immediate family and the memory of that frightening experience is too damn fresh in my mind to ignore.

Be careful.

State news

No thanks, Gov. Abbott; I’ll keep wearing the mask

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Gov. Greg Abbott has declared that business will be 100 percent open and is ending the statewide mask mandate.

Fine. You go ahead with that call, governor. Me? I’m going to keep wearing my mask when I venture outside. I plan to keep wearing the mask probably for the entire year and — who knows? — maybe the next year, too. I also plan to minimize my appearance in local businesses while the pandemic is still raging around the world.

Abbott wants Texas businesses to resume “normal” activity. I do, too. I don’t like wearing a mask. I don’t like keeping my distance from everyone out there. I don’t like having to slater sanitizer on my hands every time I roll out a shopping cart or pump fuel into my truck. I just do all of it to stay safe from the COVID virus.

I do worry about whether Abbott’s declaration opens the door to yet another spike in coronavirus infection, hospitalization … or worse!

He went to Lubbock to make the announcement at a restaurant. I guess he wanted to show us all that it’s OK to go out and spend money to support local businesses. Hey, I am all in with that, too!

In due time. In due course. Not just yet.

My bride and I have been vaccinated. We are happy about that and we feel a good bit of relief knowing our systems contain the Pfizer medicine that we hope will fend off the virus. We are only about 10 percent of the entire U.S. population that has been granted that immunity. We need tens of millions more Americans to join us so we can meld into that “herd immunity” crowd that strengthens our chances of staying free of infection.

So, thanks for declaration, Gov. Abbott. I am going to say a prayer for all of us that we can avoid what I fear might be a consequence of yet another rush to returning to normal.

national news

Gov. Cuomo … you’ve messed up

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Andrew Cuomo isn’t your run-of-the-mill governor of one of our 50 states. He has a famous political name; he once was married to a member of the Kennedy clan; he became a national media star with his COVID pandemic press briefings.

However, he appears to have messed up big time.

Three women have accused him of sexual harassment. The New York Democrat is under fire from his fellow Democrats to resign in the face of the accusations that appear to be credible.

What gives them credibility is his non-apology. Cuomo has declared that he didn’t intend his actions to be “flirtatious,” that he was trying to be “funny,” and that he apologizes for any “misinterpretation” that was derived from the way he talked to these women.

Oh, brother.

The 60-something governor has had a very rough couple of weeks. It started with reports of how he undercounted the deaths at nursing homes of COVID victims. It then got worse with the accusations of sexual harassment.

Gov. Cuomo is known in New York as someone who treats others badly. He reportedly can be downright mean and belittling in his confrontations with those who disagree with him.

So, as I watch this drama play out I am inclined to give the accusers the benefit of the doubt. As for that ridiculous, phony “apology” that Cuomo offered, well … it only worsens matters.

Were he to ask for my advice, I would say Gov. Cuomo needs to find something else to do.

International news

Open borders? Bullsh**!

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By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Demagogues make a handsome political killing by throwing out key words and phrases that have little to do with any sort of reality.

Let’s look at the term “open borders.”

Right-wing demagogues are fond of accusing those who oppose their policies of favoring “open borders.” They suggest that any view that opposes construction of walls means by definition that one favors just throwing the borders of this nation open to anyone who wants to enter the United States of America.

These demagogues should be ashamed of themselves.

I dislike building a wall along our border, namely our southern border, which has gotten all the attention during the past four years. I also dislike the notion of throwing our borders open to everyone. I happen to believe in border enforcement. I believe we must insist on legal entry for those who want to live in the United States.

What’s more, I am not going to tolerate any notion that those of us who oppose the build-the-wall fanatics favor “open borders.”

The term is a canard. It seeks to drive wedges between Americans. “Open borders” implies favoring lawlessness. My goodness, let’s not go there.

The demagogues among us are going to keep throwing that inflammatory term out there just to gin up support for a policy that seeks to wall this country off from the rest of the world comprising individuals who believe the United States should stand for opportunity.

Do we need comprehensive and total immigration reform? Absolutely. President Biden has brought back the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program enacted by President Obama but rescinded by Donald Trump. Biden wants to streamline the legalization process for undocumented immigrants to obtain citizenship or permanent resident status.

I do not hear Joe Biden espousing an open-border policy that allows anyone into this country. Demagogues need to be called out when they suggest their foes favor a lawless border policy.

medical news

Getting a vaccine … is a secret?

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By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

How does one process this bit of news?

Donald and Melania Trump, the nation’s former president and first lady, received a COVID-19 vaccine in January, being among the first Americans to get the shot. But they kept it secret! They did it under the cover of secrecy!

Compare that with the public display by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the current POTUS and VPOTUS, who along with their spouses got their shots in front of cameras.

President Biden and Vice President Harris wanted to make a public show of them getting vaccinated against the killer virus. They chose to lead by example, as opposed to the modus operandi followed by Trump, who continued to give the notion of vaccination the short shrift.

I am scratching my head. Not in disbelief, mind you. I am baffled by the idiocy of the protocol followed by the former administration.

This is how you politicize an action that in a more perfect world should be utterly free of politics. Getting a vaccine against a disease that has killed 500,000-plus Americans ought to be something to be hailed, for government leaders to pronounce loudly.

The news about Donald and Melania Trump, along with Mike and Karen Pence, getting the vaccine in January has just been made public. I am wondering whether the ex-president and ex-VP ever intended to say whether they got the vaccine.

The politics of this news tracks the same way as MAGA followers and others on the far right have sought to denigrate mask-wearing as a deterrent against the virus. They disparage those who wear masks, preferring to congregate closely among themselves, shouting loudly and proudly their approval of rhetoric they endorse.

This past week’s meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., could provide some evidence of the folly of those who continue to disrespect the notion of masks and social distancing. The crowds that gathered in the meeting hall comprised individuals who shunned the masks. Will there then be an uptick, or even a serious spike, in infection rates among those who attended the CPAC gabfest?

Time well could reveal much about the wisdom of politicizing vaccinations and taking measures to prevent illness or even death.

Donald Trump’s secret is now known. He got the vaccine. How might that bit of news play among those who (a) follow Trump’s rhetoric over the cliff and (b) denigrate the very action their hero took to keep himself safe.

Hmm …

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