local news, State news

Texans answer the call

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Texas started voting for president of the United States today.

How are we doing? How is the state responding to the mostly Democratic call to vote early? First indications suggest that we answered the call.

My wife and I became statistics in that effort. We voted early today. Indeed, we voted before noon today. We didn’t see a huge crowd, although voter traffic in our Princeton precinct appeared brisk.

Reporting statewide suggest that the larger counties experienced gigantic turnouts at polling places. Travis County? Big. Same with Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar counties.

I have long been a bit suspicious about early voting turnout and whether it indicates larger turnouts overall. In the past, we have seen only that larger early voter turnout means only that more voters cast their ballots prior to Election Day; the total number has remained static. In Texas, that overall turnout has remained among the worst in the nation.

That might be changing this time, given the panic that Donald Trump is trying to instill in voting Americans; he keeps yapping about “rampant fraud” in the election. There’s no such thing as “rampant” fraud anywhere.

The conventional wisdom suggests that large turnout helps Democrats, which is why Republicans are trying to suppress that turnout — with help from Russia.

Let’s see how his plays out until Oct. 30, the final day Texans can vote early. My ol’ trick knee is beginning to throb and it’s telling me we might see the dawn of a new political day in Texas.

national news

Litmus test, anyone?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I must have been dreaming it, but I always used to believe that politicians never admitted to requiring judges or judicial nominees to pass a “litmus test” to determine their fitness for a particular judgeship.

I suppose we can toss that truism out the window.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett is being grilled by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee over Donald Trump’s decision to nominate her to a spot on the Supreme Court.

She is known to be an avid anti-abortionist and a strong critic of the Affordable Care Act.

Trump has made it clear that he intended to nominate justices who were of that mind on both issues. He is now anti-choice on abortion after being pro-choice and he just cannot stomach having the ACA on the books because it comes from the president he detests with a passion, Barack Obama.

I am left now to ponder whether Trump asked Barrett — or two previous SCOTUS appointees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — questions related directly to those issues. I just wish I could have been a fly on the proverbial wall when he met with all three of them.

Trump’s lack of political savvy is well-known and well-chronicled at this point. A significant portion of me believes he likely asked them all directly: Will you rule against Roe v. Wade and against Obamacare? Just say “yes” and I’ll nominate you to the Supreme Court. Got it? Good!

It sickens me to believe this is possible. I fear that we’re now living in an era when the nation’s leading politician doesn’t give a damn about the appearance of litmus tests … other than to insist on applying them when they suit his political agenda.

 

local news

Deed is done!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

It’s done! We voted today … on the first day of early voting in Texas.

I am proud of myself and of my wife for tossing aside our long-held objection to early voting and casting our ballots for president/vice president and on down through the various contests.

We had thought about traveling to the Allen Event Center, a spacious venue where we could be assured of maintaining proper social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Then we thought differently. We voted instead in Princeton, where the poll workers had set up an efficient procedure at First Baptist Church to guarantee social distancing and to protect us in various ways from getting infected by the COVID-19 virus.

The parking lot across the street from the polling place was full of folks, some of them candidates. We were approached by two of them, a Princeton mayoral candidate and a candidate for the Princeton school board of trustees. We walked by a table manned by Democrats who offered us a sheet showing the “Democratic slate” of candidates. No thanks, we said; we got ya covered.

We didn’t wait in line. However, my sense is that the traffic had been brisk all morning and that it would remain that way at least for the first few days of early voting.

This is a good thing for those of us who are concerned about the scare tactics being blurted by Donald Trump and his GOP minions who keep citing something called “rampant voter fraud.” In truth, there is no such thing as “rampant” fraud. It’s, um, shall we say — “fake news.”

So, our votes are now logged into the system.

We did our patriotic duty. I am a proud American today.

State news

Texas could determine this election

1 Comment

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I won’t predict this, given that my political predicting skills are quite suspect, but I want to offer a possible scenario to ponder as Texas prepares to commence early voting for the presidency.

If the state decides to grant its 38 electoral votes to Joe Biden when the ballots are counted, it will be “game over” for Donald Trump.

We keep hearing about astonishing early-voting turnouts in states where it has begun. The clarion call for early voting has come mostly from Democrats who encourage Americans to cast their ballots early to ensure they get counted. Five million-plus have done so, reportedly a huge increase over the early votes cast at this time in 2016.

Is Texas going to join the early-vote parade? I hope so.

Thus, it might be a harbinger of a major surprise for the Trumpkin Corps that believes — and they have some reason to hold onto that belief — that Texas will remain in the Republican column. The latest Texas Tribune poll puts Trump ahead by 5 percentage points; the Trump lead has been teetering a bit during the campaign, but that’s what it is at the moment, according to the Tribune.

Trump carried Texas by 9 percentage points over Hillary Clinton. A nice margin, to be sure, but far less than what Mitt Romney rolled up in 2012 against President Obama and even less than John McCain’s total in 2008 against Sen. Obama.

My point, I guess, is that Trump’s hold on Texans’ vote might not be as secure as he and the Trumpkins believe.

If Biden even cuts deeply into the Trump margin in 2016, then we still might be in store for a Biden blowout.

Please … don’t hold me to this. I’m just thinking out loud, man.

local news, political news

Don’t leave this matter up to someone else

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

There once was a time when I worked for a living … and during that time of my life I would write newspaper editorials urging people at election time to be sure to vote.

My argument was simple. I tried to rejigger it to avoid repeating myself. It would go something like this:

If you do not vote, then you are going to leave this critical decision to someone else, someone who might not share your world view. Do you really want to cede that responsibility when you can take control of it in your own hands?

That argument is never more relevant than it is today.

I refer to the presidential election that’s coming up on Nov. 3. My wife and I intend to vote Tuesday morning on the first day of early voting in Texas. I once was adamantly opposed to early voting. I sought to hedge my bet, guarding against someone who gets my vote from messing up after I vote for him/her but before Election Day.

That rationale is no longer in play this time. I am concerned about what Donald Trump might do to muck up the election result. He is going to challenge the result, possibly, if Joe Biden gets more votes for president than he does. That’s why I intend to vote early. My wife, too.

We intend to get our votes recorded and logged into the system.

I also want to encourage everyone who can to vote early. If we do not vote ourselves for the presidency, then we are going to leave that decision to someone else who might want to (gulp!) keep Donald Trump in office for another four years.

The person you see at the other end of the church pew might be a Trumpkin. So might your next-door neighbor. Or the crowds you see at the grocery store.

Me? I am a die-heard Bidenista. I intend to cast my vote early. I don’t want to be the only person at our Princeton, Texas polling place. I want there to be a crowd of folks. I am prepared to wait in line.

I’ll be damned if I am going to leave this decision to someone who doesn’t agree with my world view.

legal news, national news

Merrick Garland haunts this hearing

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Merrick Garland is very much alive and well but his “ghost” floated throughout the hearing room today as a congressional hearing commenced on an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee welcomed another federal judge, Amy Coney Barrett, as she began her confirmation hearing to the U.S. Supreme Court. She would take the seat occupied by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September.

Garland’s role in this drama? Well, he once got nominated to the high court by President Barack Obama. Another justice, Antonin Scalia, died in February 2016 while on vacation in Texas. President Obama wanted to nominate a successor. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wasted no time in declaring his intention to block that effort. Why? Because the voters had a right to be heard before a SCOTUS nomination would be considered by the Senate.

We had a presidential election in 2016. Obama couldn’t run again. It turned out that Donald Trump would win the election. So, Trump got to select someone to succeed Scalia; he chose Neil Gorsuch.

The hypocrisy between then and now is stunning in its scope.

We were 10 months away from the previous election when a vacancy occurred. Now, we’re just 22 days before the next election. Don’t Americans have a right to have their voices heard before the Senate considers a nominee to succeed Ginsburg? Of course we do.

Except that Republicans who at the moment hold the majority of Senate seats are pushing full speed with the Barrett hearing.

Most astonishing of all is the comment that Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham made in 2018. He said then that if an opening occurs during Donald Trump’s term as president and the “primary season has begun,” the Senate should hold off until after the election before considering a possible replacement.

Graham said we could hold his words against him. Fine. Many of us are doing that, Mr. Chairman.

Amy Coney Barrett wouldn’t be my choice to join the court. I much prefer a jurist in the Merrick Garland mold: moderate, center-left in philosophical judicial outlook. Garland, though, never got the courtesy of a hearing, let alone a Senate vote, that appears to be in store for Judge Barrett.

It’s all because the Senate GOP majority played politics with the judicial nomination process in 2016 … and is doing so once again right now.

Shameful.

national news

Anxious to vote!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I cannot even begin to believe how my attitude about early voting has changed, given the context of the time.

That said, I am waiting anxiously to cast my vote on Tuesday. My wife and I will trek to a local church to cast our ballots. We want to get them recorded into the electronic system. We will insist that our votes count … as if we don’t always insist on it.

Donald Trump has sought to cast doubt on the integrity of our electoral system. I don’t believe a word he says about “rampant voter fraud” as a result of mail-in balloting. Still, I want to ensure my vote gets logged into the massive system in Collin County, then counted among the millions of Texas ballots that will be cast.

Yes, Joe Biden has our support. We want to ensure he gets it. We need him to win this election. We need former Vice President Biden to restore the presidency to a level of respect, dignity and decorum that Donald Trump has plowed asunder.

We also need him to exhibit actual leadership in this fight against the pandemic that has killed more than 215,000 Americans.

I once would have held out until Election Day to cast my ballot. The tenor of our times prompts me to rethink that dedication to Election Day voting.

We’ll be standing in line if there is a line forming at the church where we intend to vote. We’ll be masked up, standing a “social distance” from our fellow Americans and we’ll observe all the instructions the poll workers will provide to keep us safe and healthy.

Bring it!

local news, media news

Blogging expands one’s audience

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Every now and then someone asks me this question about High Plains Blogger: How can you put these views out there living as you do in the middle of Trump Country?

OK, the question is paraphrased, but the message I get is the same. Someone such as me who tilts to the left must be nuts writing while sitting in a home built in the middle of a neighborhood full of Donald Trump fans.

Well, that leads me to tell the questioner that my blog goes far beyond the folks who live on our Collin County, Texas, street.

I am able to check the worldwide reach of this blog. At last count, I has been read by folks in more than 100 nations around the world. I recently had a first-time reader look at the blog in Moldova. So, I hope the Moldovan reader shares the blog with his or her neighbors.

This is one of the cooler aspects of writing this blog. The vast majority of page views and visitors to the blog reside in the United States. Ireland provides the second-most number; it’s a distant second, to be sure, but those Irish are reading the blog.

The scope of cyberspace gives folks like me to express my views openly, candidly and freely. There once was a time when I worked full-time for newspapers when I had to dial back my own bias and write editorials that spoke for the newspaper. I worked for conservative publications in Oregon and in Texas. So, while I was able to express my own views somewhat freely in my signed columns, the editorials I wrote were another matter altogether.

Those days are behind me now. I am writing this blog totally unencumbered by corporate considerations. It’s all mine. It also enables me to speak far beyond my neighborhood or even far beyond the borders of the state where my family and I have lived for the past 36 years.

Our planet is big — and small — all at once.

national news

Trump ‘cured’? Uh, huh

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Donald J. Trump says he is “cured” of the coronavirus that felled him and the first lady.

Do you believe him? Do you take anything that comes from Trump’s mouth at face value? Nope. Neither do I.

The doctors, though, do say he is no longer contagious, which I suppose Trump has interpreted as meaning he is “cured.”

Donald Trump has called his positive test for the virus that has killed more than 215,000 Americans as  “blessing.” Yet he continues to downplay it. He declares the disease will disappear. I have this flash for The Donald: More than 50,000 Americans are still getting sick daily from the virus, which is a trend that has spanned several days in a row. From my perch out here in Flyover Country, it doesn’t look like the disease is anywhere near disappearing.

This brings me to another key point. If Trump was “blessed” to have been stricken by the virus, one might hope he would have learned to keep his mouth shut and let the scientists, the medical doctors and the assortment of experts who comprise his White House COVID response team explain to us in detail what is going on with the disease.

I only can surmise that Trump’s blessing doesn’t extend to acquiring any wisdom about speaking out of turn and spewing lies that put Americans at risk.

He went so far as to declare himself “immune” from future positivity because he has caught the disease once. Not so fast, say the experts. COVID doesn’t respect previous afflictions, they tell us.

So now we’re back to where we were when Donald Trump tested positive for a serious disease. I am glad he appears to be on the mend. I only wish he would have learned something from it. He didn’t learn a damn thing.

national news

Leave the country?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

This item showed up on my Facebook feed today. It makes me chuckle.

It reminded me of previous zealots who “threatened to leave” the country if a certain candidate was elected to high political office. Alec Baldwin said as much in advance of Donald Trump’s election in 2016; I believe Whoopi Goldberg did, too. Other celebrities pop off prior to election, threatening to do things they have no intention of doing.

To be honest, I have not heard any Trumpkins make such a pledge. It doesn’t bother me in the least were they to stay. I welcome them, actually.

In fact, I consider these statements about bailing on the country to be just so much nonsense from those who like to make idle threats.

Understand this: There likely was no one in America who was more adamantly anti-Donald Trump than I was during the 2016 presidential campaign. It never occurred to me — at least in any serious way — to pack up everything I own and move to some faraway land were he to actually be elected president.

I say that while acknowledging that my wife and I have friends in Germany who have offered to help us find a place to live there. If only the European Union would lift the travel ban on Americans because we have done such a sh**ty job handling the coronavirus pandemic. But that’s another story.

Yeah, these threats to leave the country make me laugh, and I do mean laugh. They aren’t to be taken seriously, even when high-profile celebrities make them.

So, let’s just chill out. Let us also allow the political system to run its course. If it turns out the right way, we can all rejoice in the return to sanity in our federal government. If it turns out badly, well, we can keep raising all the hell we want. Our beloved Constitution grants us that right.

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