International news

Barack-Bibi feud ratchets up seriously

Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanhayu have been anything but BFFs ever since they became leaders of the United States and Israel, respectively.

President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu have had a final falling out that seems a bit difficult to understand. I want to share my own perspective on what I believe lies at the core of antipathy.

Obama reportedly instructed the U.S. United Nations delegation to abstain from a resolution condemning Israel over its construction of settlements in what often is called “occupied territory” that Israel took from Palestinians who call that land their own.

The abstention has enraged Netanyahu, who I believe has a point.

It is this: During the entire existence of the Israeli state, the nation has gone to war against its neighbors. None of the conflicts has been of Israel’s choosing. It has responded to attacks from its Arab neighboring nations: in 1956, 1967 and 1973. While the Israeli armed forces weren’t being mobilized for battlefield combat, they have been summoned time and again to put down insurrections in places like Gaza and the Golan Heights.

The Israelis feel a direct threat from their neighbors every day. Yes, they have peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt; Syria, of course, presents an existential threat with the presence of Islamic State fighters doing battle with government forces that answer to a dictator who’s also a sworn enemy of Israel.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has vowed to exterminate Israel; the Hamas terrorists who run the government in Gaza also have vowed to destroy Israel. Hezbollah runs wild in Lebanon along the northern border of Israel.

Is there any reason to doubt why the Israelis view their situation with a great deal more alarm than any other state leader can fully appreciate? I’ve been able to peer into Gaza from just outside its border; I’ve been allowed to see damage in Israeli cities such as Sderot by rockets launched from Gaza; I’ve seen the heavily secured border fences along the Israel-Lebanon border; I’ve had the pleasure of obtaining passage through the heavily guarded wall separating Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Thus, in my view the Israelis have ample reason to feel a sense of betrayal by their allies in Washington who over many years have used their U.N. Security Council veto power to quash these resolutions.

The Israelis have never provoked armed conflict with their neighbors, but they certainly have finished it.

Thus, our most reliable Middle East ally is asking itself: Will the United States of America stand with us if the shooting ever starts again? The question, if it’s being asked, is not an unreasonable one.

local news

How would Jesus celebrate Christmas?

I think it’s worth asking — today of all days — whether Jesus Christ would approve of the way many of us celebrate the day of his birth.

We cannot know for certain. We only are left to our own faith, our own belief in whether he would approve.

My own sense is that Jesus Christ would be just fine with the secular celebrations we enjoy — as long as we also honor his arrival in this world.

Many biblical purists, of course, object to the Santa Claus-ification of the holiday. One of them here in Amarillo, for example, decided one day recently to make a spectacle of himself by berating children and their parents waiting in line for the kids to sit on Santa’s lap. The holiday, he said, should be reserved entirely and exclusively to honor Jesus’s birth.

My reading of the Bible I have read my entire life, though, suggests to me that Jesus wouldn’t object to the giving of gifts, Christmas trees, the sharing of love, the hugs and cheer that we spread among our friends and loved ones.

All of that, according to my understanding of the gospels, would be Christ-like to the max. Jesus was all about love and, yes, tolerance.

There’s been all this talk over the years about a fabricated “war on Christmas.” I suppose there’s been a war, all right. It’s been fought at shopping malls and department stores by parents and other so-called adults who get angry when someone else grabs the last toy du jour off the shelf.

I’m guessing Jesus wouldn’t like that kind of behavior. Remember, though, none of us around today walked when Jesus lived with mere mortals. We are left only to our own belief in what he would say or do.

Thus, I believe the man/God we honor today would join us in spreading love and goodwill.

Merry Christmas!

local news

Wrong again … for the right reasons

I am not too proud to admit being mistaken and heaven knows I’ve had plenty of opportunities during the recent election season to acknowledge as much.

For instance, Donald J. Trump is going to become president of the United States over my intense belief that he didn’t have a prayer of defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton.

What do I know?

Accordingly, I was mistaken in fearing that Amarillo’s City Hall turmoil would make it next to impossible for the city to attract top-drawer candidates for the job of city manager. One critic of my blog sought to put words in my mouth by asserting I said the city would fail miserably in that effort. I actually didn’t make that prediction.

My fear was aimed at the potential for failure.

https://highplainsblogger.com/2016/11/atkinson-lands-on-his-feet-amarillo-still-on-the-deck/

This is a case — unlike the presidential election example — where I am glad to have been wrong in my speculation.

Amarillo had drawn a candidate pool of around 30 applicants. The City Council then culled that pool down to five finalists, whose names were announced this week.

I’ve had a chance to pore through the resumes that were posted at Amarillo.gov and I find these individuals to be — to a man — seemingly qualified to become Amarillo’s chief administrator.

The council has been debating among its members about how it will decide on a salary for whomever council members select. Do they offer a salary or do they negotiate with the individual chosen based on the person’s experience? I’ll wait for another day to possibly offer a comment.

Today, though, I want to offer an ever-so-humble mea culpa.

My optimism is being restored a little bit at a time that the council will find someone who can do the tough job of shepherding the city through its myriad changes and challenges.

I don’t like being wrong about the city’s ability to find a good crop of candidates. Liking it is far different from acknowledging it — and I acknowledge my error with a healthy dose of hope that Amarillo can continue its journey toward a brighter future.

International news

Obama, Netanyahu part company with bitterness

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu occasionally used to say kind things about each other, despite their differences over how to find peace with the Palestinians.

I am guessing the niceties are finished.

The United States has broken with decades of diplomatic tradition by declining to veto a United Nations resolution condemning Israel over the settlements it is building in occupied territory that once belonged to Palestinians.

Netanyahu is furious and has said so openly and has condemned the U.N. and the United States over what he perceives is a slap at Israel.

This is tough for me to say, given my longstanding support of our president, but Netanyahu has reason to be angry.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/netanyahu-blasts-un-obama-over-west-bank-settlements-resolution/ar-BBxvBpL?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

The settlements are part of Israel’s effort to strengthen the buffer between its territory and that which it took during the Six-Day War of 1967, a brief conflict that was started by its Arab neighbors. Israel managed to finish it quickly by dispatching forces from Jordan, Egypt and Syria. In the process, it took over land known as the West Bank, which cuts through Jerusalem.

I have had the high honor to see that part of the world up close and I totally understand the Israelis’ concern about future violent outbreaks.

Netanyahu took particular umbrage at the language within the resolution. As the Washington Post reported: “’The resolution is distorted. It states that the Jewish quarter and the Western Wall are occupied, which is absurd,’ said Netanyahu, referring to holy Jewish sites that sit within the Old City in East Jerusalem.”

The Jewish quarter sits within the walled city inside Jerusalem. To suggest that it, along with the Western Wall, are “occupied” is ridiculous on its face.

As an aside, I sought for weeks to obtain an interview with Netanyahu before embarking on a month-long tour of Israel in May-June 2009. I wasn’t able to get one with the prime minister. Had I been able to sit down with him, I would have asked him about the settlements and sought to get a deeper look at the Israeli perspective into why they feel the need to build them in the first place.

Netanyahu now looks forward to working with Donald J. Trump, who will succeed Obama as president in January. My hope is that Trump can find a way to persuade Netanyahu that there must be a pathway toward a permanent peace with the Palestinians, even with the settlements.

I continue to support the so-called “two-state solution,” which would allow a sovereign Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel. The Palestinians, though, need to do a lot more to put down the militant objections within their own ranks to Israel’s own existence.

Perhaps the most ironic aspect of this serious breach between the United States and Israel is that it is happening as Christians prepare to celebrate Christmas. Think of it: Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, is walled off from the rest of Jerusalem and the prospects for that wall ever coming down appear dimmer than ever.

It is my belief that President Obama has made the bigger mistake in declining to object to this U.N. resolution. In doing so, he has alienated our nation’s most trusted ally in a region where we need all the alliances we can muster.

local news, political news, State news

‘SECEDE’ has been replaced with …

I once had this neighbor who had plastered on the rear bumper of his pickup a sticker I found a bit amusing.

It said “SECEDE.” Yes, the letters were in all caps.

He also had another sticker on the bumper that said he had served “proudly” in the U.S. armed forces.

Do you see the dichotomy here? I wrote about it once before, just before Christmas in 2012.

https://highplainsblogger.com/2012/12/love-it-or-secede-from-it/

The “SECEDE” bumper sticker has been replaced by another one.

It says “God Bless Texas.” I noticed it right after the 2016 presidential election. My strongest hunch is that the election turned out the way he wanted it.

There’s another bit of irony, though. The fellow who coined the “God Bless Texas” slogan was a proud Democrat. He was crusty ol’ Bob Bullock, a former Texas lieutenant governor and state comptroller who died some years ago.

I cannot help but wonder if Bullock would be as glad as my neighbor is with the election outcome.

local news

City manager slate looks solid, competent

Amarillo City Council members might have delivered their constituents an early Christmas present.

It comes in the form of a slate of five finalists for city manager, each of whom appears qualified, competent and able to lead the administration of a city on the move.

To be totally candid, the on-paper quality of the finalists surprises me, given the tempest, turmoil and tumult that’s been City Hall’s curse for the past year. Councilman Mark Nair believes the quality of the finalists is a testament to the perception beyond the city limits that Amarillo is a fine place to work and do business.

One of the finalists, interestingly, is Bob Cowell, the current interim city manager. It’s interesting to me because Cowell didn’t apply for the permanent job when it came open after City Manager Jarrett Atkinson quit shortly after the City Council — with its three new members — took office in the summer of 2015. He thinks City Hall has achieved a level of stability that makes the manager’s job more attractive.

The finalists comprise a number of individuals — all of whom are white males, by the way — with many years of municipal government experience. Some have been city managers; others have county government exposure. Four of the finalists have extensive experience in Texas local government, which in itself is a positive element to bring to this job.

Who’s the favorite? I haven’t a clue. I won’t go there, given my abysmal track record of predicting such things.

Check out the link below. It contains the resumes of all five finalists.

http://amarillo.com/local-news/2016-12-23/amarillo-city-council-selects-city-manager-finalists

I do, though, want to restate an earlier comment about who should make this selection. I believe the current council needs to move on this; it need not wait for the May 2017 election and hand this task off to the next City Council. The city charter gives the council the authority to make this hiring decision, which is the only one the council makes under our strong-manager form of government.

I get that the city has gone too long as it is without a permanent chief administrator. The former interim city manager, Terry Childers, was supposed to stay on the job until after the next election. Then he exhibited some profoundly bad form by mouthing off with a profane epithet to a constituent during a City Council meeting.

Childers submitted his letter of resignation, cleared out his office and hit the road.

He’s a goner.

Amarillo’s future — with a big downtown redevelopment project already underway, along with initiatives throughout the city — awaits the next city manager, whoever he is.

Merry Christmas, y’all.

Sports news

What in the world is ‘fantasy football’?

I guess I need to get out more.

I had been listening to the commentators on ESPN2 for the past hour or so and I’m trying to figure out what in the world they’re talking about.

They’re explaining “fantasy football.” For the ever-lovin’ life of me I don’t get it. They talk about “fantasy points” and how certain quarterbacks rank higher than others in this category.

What’s more, the commentators are chatting back and forth as if this stuff really matters, as if they’re talking about actual games involving actual opponents.

I turned the channel off to watch a cable news network tell me about things such as worldwide arrests of terror suspects, the upcoming inauguration of Donald J. Trump and whether he’s going to have any A-list entertainers performing.

Fantasy football has a big following. One of my sons takes part with some of his buddies in assembling fantasy teams and then he follows the athletes on his fantasy teams throughout some sort of “fantasy season.”

I think I’ll have to ask him to explain it to me. He’ll just need to keep it simple.

military news, national news, political news

To salute or not to salute?

I’ve wondered about previous presidents and whether they would adhere to a particular protocol, so I’ll ask it once again about the next president: Will the new commander in chief return military salutes given by the men and women in uniform who are required to salute him?

I’ll presume that Donald J. Trump knows how to snap a salute. He attended a military high school, which he once said was virtually the same as serving in the military. I’m betting young Donald’s instructors taught him how to salute.

Believe me when I tell you this: It’s something one never forgets how to do. It’s kind of like riding a bicycle … you know?

Of all the presidents in my lifetime — I was born during the Truman administration — I can recall only four commanders in chief who would return the salute: Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Of those men, only two — Presidents Reagan and Bush — had actual military experience; Reagan, I regret to say, would snap what a friend of mine (a retired Army major) would call a “Hollywood salute.”

All the rest of the presidents during my lifetime, didn’t return the salute, not even President Eisenhower, the former general of the Army and supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe during World War II. Nor did President Kennedy, a Navy officer who saw intense combat in the Pacific Theater. Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Bush 41 all served on active duty. They didn’t salute, either.

And so the question will persist as we await a new commander in chief. There’s no rule that requires a president to return the military salute.

It is my own personal belief that the commander chief, despite his civilian status, should return the salute as a matter of courtesy to those who are fulfilling their obligation as military personnel.

Still, I’ll await the next president to see how he treats the servicemen and women who serve under his command.

national news, political news

No ‘racist intent’? Is this guy joking?

OK, I cannot let this one go.

Donald J. Trump says he wants to bind the wounds that divided the nation during a heated presidential campaign.

Fine. Then the president-elect needs to put maximum distance between himself and individuals such as Carl Paladino,  a fellow who ran his campaign in New York.

Paladino, a one-time Republican nominee for New York governor, has said some hideous and hateful things about President and Michelle Obama. He told an alternative publication he wants the president to “die from mad cow disease” in 2017; then it got even worse. Paladino said this about the first lady: “Michelle Obama. I’d like her to return to being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortable in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.”

The president-elect’s transition team has issued a statement calling Palidino’s statements “reprehensible.” Yes they are, to the max.

What is utterly flabbergasting in the extreme is that Paladino said he didn’t intend any “racist” overtone in his statements.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/311686-trump-ny-co-chair-wishes-death-on-obama

According to The Hill: “Paladino on Friday verified to The Buffalo News that his comments were real, attacking the newspaper for inquiring about them. “’Of course I did,’ he said when asked if he had uttered the remarks. ‘Tell them all to go f*** themselves.

“’Tell that Rod Wilson I made that comment just for him,’ Paladino added, referring to one of the newspaper’s black columnists and editors.”

No racist intent? Paladino said he is “not politically correct.”

He is much worse than that.

media news, national news, political news

There might be another Jimmy Carter out there

A recent poll commissioned by USA Today and Suffolk University delivered a dire warning for Democrats still stung by the election of Donald J. Trump as president of the United States.

The clear “frontrunner” for the 2020 presidential race is someone new. Anyone new. A fresh face.

A friend of mine wondered on social media who the Democrats could come up with. I didn’t answer him directly, but I’ll do so here: If we could come up with a name, it wouldn’t be a new face.

The political parties historically have fallen back to the tried and true practitioners of the politics. They tend to look for established figures.

Then again, we have one example of a new face rising up from out of nowhere. Jimmy Carter did that in 1976.

He was a former one-term governor of Georgia. He didn’t have a particularly noteworthy term as governor. Indeed, his views evolved over time. He had run for political office before as a segregationist. His term as governor featured a radical departure from his former view.

Carter would introduce himself at political parties by saying, “My name is Jimmy Carter and I’m running for president.” He strode to the podium at the 1976 Democratic National Convention and began his presidential nominating acceptance speech with that signature line.

Is there another Jimmy Carter out there? Hello?

Come out, come out … wherever you are.

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience