local news

Sixty-four years … and counting

Word recently got to me that the man I’ve known longer than any human being on this Earth is moving a good bit closer.

He”ll settle soon in Phoenix, Ariz., which is a damn sight closer to my digs than Portland, Ore., where we first got acquainted in the seventh grade. Yep. That’s 64 years of uninterrupted friendship.

I want to hail this relationship in a brief tribute to the value of real friendships, not the fake friends one meets on our life journey, only to forget about them.

His name is Dennis. My parents moved us from Portland to the suburbs in the spring of 1962. My sisters and I thought our new house in the burbs was akin to Buckingham Palace. It was a modest split-level home that looked much like others on the street. Then the time came to enroll in our new school. It was in the middle of a school year, so I went from an elementary school to a junior high school.

Dennis and I met in our home room class on that first day. We’ve been best friends ever since.

Dennis and I have what one could call the real deal as friends. We’ve been through a lot together. We’ve had our ups and downs. The ups far outnumber the downs. We’ve always been there for each other. We went into the military the same year, 1968. I was inducted into the Army. D enlisted in the Coast Guard. I went to Vietnam to serve. So did he! Our paths came tantalizingly close to crossing in Da Nang. His ship docked there for a few hours, but he couldn’t get ashore long enough to look me up.

Dennis is a fellow whose friendship I cherish more with each passing year. We’re both long in the tooth these days. We’ve been throught tragedy, grief and mourning. Yet we’ve managed to come out clean.

Dennis provides me with the kind of friendship worthy of boasting about it. I believe I have done the same for him.

It’s the wee hours as I write this item. I’ll sign off by acknowledging what men our age should tell each other without flinching. I love this man.

legal news, media news

Trump lacks knowledge of the truth

These videos keep cropping up showing Donald Trump trying to justify his order banning certain news organizations from the White House, as if that’s going to stop them from reporting “fake news.”

It won’t. Indeed, what CNN, MSNow and Politico have been reporting has been the truth. It’s just that the truth hurts the individual who’s being pilloried — justifiably — for the impact that the truth is having on Americans.

The news outlets being targeted are not peddling lies. They are reporting the news. Its favorability in Trump’s eyes depends solely on the content they contain.

Is it “fake news” to report the Iran war’s impact on goods we buy and the inflation all Americans are feeling? Or what about the collapsing morale aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln? Or the confusion in the Pentagon under the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth? How about the existence of a presidential aide with no high-level security clearance?

Trump wants to keep these items from being reported to the public that has a right to know how its government is functioning. He wants to shield the administration from the scrutiny that a free press can provide.

Every man who has preceded Trump in office has recognized the value of free press to the representative form of government it is covering.

Donald Trump is simply unwilling to accept the media’s role it performs in building a “more perfect” government. He lacks the intellect required to let the media do its job … which is protected specifically by the First Amendment.

 

legal news, media news

Wow! Trump tells the truth!

While ranting about the dangers of a free press, Donald Trump actually told the truth … he uttered a statement that holds up to scrutiny.

“We live in a country that allows people to report things that are negative,” Trump said while invoking a ban on certain news agencies from the White House.

So help me, I didn’t think I could report on this blog an actual truthful statement from the POTUS. But there it is. Holy smokes! Stop the presses!

Trump, of course, issued what is looking like a patently unconstitutional order by banning CNN, MSNow and Politico from the White House. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares that the government cannot “abridge the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The president, therefore, cannot prohibit the media from doing its constitutionally protected job.

Trump will get his comeuppance once the courts get hold of this case and his banning of news organizations will be send to the scrap heap, where it belongs.

As for the ability to “report things that are negative,” what in the world is the alternative? The way I see it, the alternative lies in a totalitarian state where the media are banned by law from reporting negatively on government decisions. Violations of such a law would result in imprisonment or worse.

Thank goodness we live in a country that allows the press to function independently without fear of punishment.

media news

Trump has gone insane!

It’s official … my mind is blown. To smithereens. Into teeny-tiny pieces. Shards of brain matter are scattered all over creation. Donald Trump has become certifiably nuttier than a Payday bar.

The prevaricator in chief has just banned CNN, MS Now and Politico from the White House. No more access for these news outlets. I swear to Almighty God in Heaven, I cannot fathom what I am reading about this idiot.

He calls them merchants of “fake news,” and says that effective immediately, they will have no more access to White House sources. At this moment, not a sound from the right-wingers out there who have been giving Trump a pass on every single idiotic step he has taken since his first day in office in January 2017.

Just imagine Presidents Obama or Biden banning Fox News from the White House. It didn’t happen in the 12 years these men served as president. What do you suppose would be the right wing’s reaction to such a travesty? The MAGA morons would go ape-dookey in an instant. And they would be justified!

Therefore, I am going out-of-my-noggin nuts over this news from the White House that Donald has taken this course of action.

Just remember, this is the dipshit who has the nuclear codes at his disposal.

Donald Trump, national news

A new day is coming … honest!

One day, and this is an immutable fact, Donald J. Trump no longer will dominate the headlines, he no longer will be a presence on our TV screens and he longer will be filling cyberspace with his social media idiocy.

I’ve been thinking about when that day arrives and to be honest, I am stuck in a sort of limbo over how I might react when there’s no Trump around to get my blood boiling. It might come sooner than we think. Don’t misunderstand me on this point: I do not want Trump to perish. He does have a family and I am going to presume they love him, so I don’t really want them to suffer the agony of his passing.

He might resign the presidency, which is getting some legs in recent weeks as pundits, politicos and prognosticators calculate how much more of this constant battering even Donald can withstand.

This much is as ironclad as I can possibly get. On Jan. 20, 2029, Trump will hand the keys to the Oval Office to someone else. I have no clear favorite lined up who will get my vote. We have a number of fine individuals who should run for the office. I just want someone — anyone! — who knows how government works. Who knows his or her limitations. Who won’t seek to usurp power he or she doesn’t have per the Constitution.

I mean, the very idea that we could elect and then re-elect someone as ignorant as Trump to the nation’s highest office simply blows my noggin to smithereens.

The man is going to play out the string … eventually.

It is that knowledge that enables me to wake up every single morning with a smile on my puss. We’re getting a day closer with each sunrise to a day of liberation.

local news

Once more about the Honor Flight

I want to take one more — and final — pass at explaining why the recent Honor Flight I joined meant so much to me. Here goes, then I’m done with telling this tale.

Upon our return from a two-day whirlwind swing through Washington, D.C., our group of 45 military veterans and our guardians received the greeting to end all greetings. Honor Flights are intended to enable citizens to express their gratitude for the service that veterans perform on behalf of our great nation. I was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1968 and served exactly two years before separating in 1970 from the military.

My service was nothing worthy of boasting. In a sense, the gratitude I received personally seemed a bit overdone. That’s beside the point.

The point I seek to make here is the greeting we got when we arrived at Love Field. We heard a Scottish bagpipe band, we walked from the plane to a greeting from about 1,000 folks. We had a lengthy rank of high school ROTC cadets standing at attention, frozen in a hand salute.

Then there were the signs. They said, “Welcome home!” For those of us who served in Vietnam, seeing a sign welcoming us home is far more impactful than a “Thank you for your service.” When I hear that latter greeting these days, to be honest, it sounds a bit like a cliche.

Every now and then, if I am wearing a ‘Nam vet gimme cap, I’ll get a “Welcome home, brother” from a fellow who is as old as I am. Those greetings mean more to many of us, I feel confident in expressing, than a “thanks for your service.”

We didn’t come home back in the day to marching bands and flag-waving crowds. I didn’t get abused by some Americans who heaped verbal scorn on vets returning from the war. However, the difference between what we saw just the other evening at Love Field reminded many of us of the cold shoulder we once received from a public that simply shrugged and looked the other way.

entertainment news

It’s true, ‘Hey Jude’ tops the list

For years I have been braying out this mantra … that “Hey Jude” is the greatest song ever recorded. Ever, in music history.

Now comes a company, Collider, that has analyzed the entire Beatles catalogue of great music and has determined what I have already known, although it does limit its analysis to Beatles music. It says “Hey Jude,” written primarily by Paul McCartney, is the top Beatles hit of them all.

An article I saw online states: “Choosing a single “perfect’ Beatles song is ultimately a matter of opinion, especially given the extraordinary quality of the band’s catalog. Yet ‘Hey Jude’ possesses many of the qualities fans and critics value most: memorable songwriting, emotional depth, musical ambition, and universal appeal.

“More than fifty years after it first topped the charts, the song continues to inspire singalongs, spark discussions, and remind listeners why The Beatles remain one of the greatest bands of all time.”

The piece I saw attributes this ranking to a “respected music publication.” I want to suggest that the author is so correct about “Hey Jude.” If I’m driving my vehicle somewhere, I’ve been known to park it when “Hey Jude” plays on the radio. I want to listen to all 7 minutes and 11 seconds of it … including the end that seems to never end.

Many of us know the back story behind the song. Paul began writing as a comforting tune for young Julian Lennon, who’s dad — John Lennon — was divorcing his first wife, and Julian’s mother, Cynthia. The lyrics seek to comfort those in emotional trouble. That was McCartney’s aim in writing the lyrics that Julian heard.

I won’t try to persuade anyone here that “Hey Jude” indeed is the greatest song in music history. I am just flabbergasted that some folks in the know have rated it at the top of the Beatles catalogue. Naming the greatest piece of music ever performed by anyone, well … no doubt that’s too steep a hill for anyone to climb.

military news, national news

Donald, think of us out here … eh?

Donald … and no, I won’t refer to as Mr. Anything, but I have a message for you.

Stop messing with my income, my retirement savings, the nest egg I want to leave my family. I am sickened by your ridiculous war that you pledged never to start. I am tired of watching my investment account shrink because of you, your idiotic advisers and that dimwit you have serving as defense secretary.

The price of oil keeps skyrocketing. Same with the price of everyday grocery items. You’ve imposed an illegal tariff on everything this country imports. And stop with the lies about all that money you say is pouring into the Treasury from those tariffs. Those tariffs are, Donald, a regressive tax that everyone in this country pays.

I have been sick of this crap that has flowed from your pie hole from the very first day you launched your 2016 campaign. My sickness only has worsened the longer you have been in office.

You are a lying piece of mule dookey, and the sound of your voice only worsens my condition.

The Iran war must end. We have to assist Ukraine in their effort to defeat the Russian invaders. And you must end this tariff BS.

There. Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I think I’ll try to figure out how to pay my bills.

military news, national news

Combat ineffective? My ass … !

Next time our idiot Defense Secretary declares that Iran’s military has been reduced to “ineffective in combat,” or has been rendered “defenseless,” remind Pete Hegseth that his lies have been exposed with every report on Iran’s attack on U.S. and other regional targets.

Iranian drones today struck a Saudia Arabian oil pipeline, rendering it useless “for the time being.”

U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have rendered Iran’s military to being ineffective?

My … ass!

 

local news, media news, military news

Recalling quick trip through history

I have spent a good chunk of today recalling the tremendous, emotion-packed weekend I just spent touring the nation’s capital with friends … and acquaintances who have become my friends.

I took part in an Honor Flight to D.C. to receive a pat on my back for the service I delivered to my country as a snot-nosed teenager, who ended up serving the Army in Da Nang, South Vietnam. Words are inadequate to describe the feelings that overwhelmed me at times during our quick-as-hell visit to Washington.

There were 45 Honor Flight participants on this trip. Many of them served in ‘Nam; others served nearby in places like Thailand and the Philippines. Others still didn’t serve in a war zone, but they too were eligible to take part in an Honor Flight. They came and received the love that Honor Flight organizers give everyone who dons a uniform and choose to serve.

Three events caused me to show my sappy side. The first was the Love Field Fire Department firing water hoses into the air in an arch to celebrate our flight as it departed the airport in Dallas; the fire department salute came after being applauded by onlookers as we entered the ticket area to prepare for boarding. We received countless expressions of thanks from those who clapped at us we walked through the airport. We each had “guardians,” volunteers who served as our helpers. If we needed wheelchair aid, someone to carry gifts, or just be there to serve as our companions, the guardians were there. My guy was a former Air Force airman who lives in Tyler. He’s now a dear friend.

No. 2 occurred on our arrival at Reagan National Airport in D.C. Staffers and onlookers began applauding us as we deplaned. So help me, I thought of The Gipper — and wondered if he would have been there to applaud us as well.

We scurried from memorial to memorial the first day. It was a busy time, but we got through it. Our hotel accommodations were first class.

The next day was much like the first day. Breakfast was served. We chatted with each other, had plenty of laughs over our remembrances.

Then we departed for Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Our return from BWI was set and we took off for Love Field, where event No. 3 awaited me.

We landed and were instructed to let the non-Honor Flight passengers depart first. We did. Then we exited the aircraft. I had told the jetliner captain to “have a good flight” when we boarded and thanked when we got by saying, “Good job, Skipper. The flight was great.”

While waiting at the gate we were instructed — again! — to stay put until we got the signal to head for the front door.

We got the “high sign” and headed out of the airport … where we were greeted by a huge throng of folks, chanting to the sound of a Scottish bagpipe band playing that Scottish anthem you always hear at these events.

They were cheering, clapping, thanking us for our service. My family was there. My sons, my daughter-in-law and my granddaughter were there to tell me of their love for me and thanked all of us for serving our nation.

It was an unbelievable experience that I will take with me to the moment my time is up.

I am thrilled to have taken part in this wonderful moment.

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