Ex-POTUSes united in opposition to current guy

April 21, 2025 kanelis2012

We have four living former presidents of the United States, three Democrats and one Republican.

The Democrats all have spoken out loudly and clearly against the policies pitched by the incumbent, a Republican. The current GOP former president hasn’t spoken lately, but we all know that he cannot stomach Donald Trump.

Why is this important? It means that the ex-presidents are forgoing the custom of not speaking ill of their successor. They usually pretend to stand united behind the incumbent. The gloves are off. Presidents Clinton, Obama and Biden all have spoken of the destruction that Trump has brought to the economy, to our international alliances and to our national security. President Bush has made his feelings known over the years about Trump, particularly as Trump has criticized the “Thousand Points of Light” program pitched by Bush the Elder.

The former presidents, in my view, are on the right side of history, which I believe is going to provide ample evidence that Trump will stand at the end of his term as arguably the most unfit, unqualified, ill-equipped man ever to take the presidential oath of office.

The former presidents club is among the most exclusive such collections in the world. No one knows the struggles that presidents endure better than the men who have endured them.

They also know a buffoon when they see one. Trump’s buffoonery is in a class by itself.

local news

City council races turn partisan?

April 20, 2025 kanelis2012

I reported for work at the Amarillo Globe-News in January 1995, the same week that Mac Thornberry took office as the congressman from the 13th Congressional District.

I have teased Thornberry over the years that we “grew up together” taking on new roles in the sprawling environment known as the Texas Panhandle.

At no time during Thornberry’s tenure as the Republican member of Congress did he offer a public endorsement in the non-partisan races for Amarillo City Council. He stayed out of those tussles … publicly at least.

Thornberry’s no longer in office. His successor, the wacky doctor-turned-politician Ronny Jackson, has tossed his name into the brewing municipal kerfuffle by endorsing three candidates for City Council. Jackson did so two years ago as well, endorsing candidates for the council.

Why is this troubling? Well, for one thing Jackson has been an extremely vocal proponent of the policies put forth by Donald Trump. He has been an vehement critic of former President Joe Bden, contending that the 46th president conducted a “shadow presidency” while hiding what he said were “obvious” signs of mental decline.

Jackson is a MAGA Republican whose world view comports nicely with the far-right wing of his party, but which is at variance with the issues that decide municipal contests.

Jackson brings a fire-breathing partisan flare to a contest that should be decided solely on the basis of who is best qualified to set municipal tax rates, who has the best view of policing, fighting fires, providing water and other mundane — but vital — activities associated with running a city on the move.

Mac Thornberry, unlike his successor, always seemed to know his place. He served his constituents with decorum and class and understood he didn’t need to insert himself into a political battle that, to be blunt, he had no business taking part.

media news, national news

How did ‘woke’ become an epithet?

April 19, 2025 kanelis2012

I have many acquaintances, many of whom have hooked up with me via social media … and I have a precious few actual friends.

Some of the actual friendships have carried over from my years as a journalist, when I cultivated sources who would later become my friends. The deepest friendships, though, go back to my childhood. I have some of those, too … people I’ve known since I was a boy.

One of them is my oldest friend. We go back to the seventh grade together. We became friends in our junior high school home-room class and we have remained close over the course of 63 years.

Lately, though, he has taken a dramatic turn from the man I once knew as a fairly progressive fellow. Indeed, our shared world view drew us closer as we would comiserate over the state of the political world. Those days of shared angst are gone, possibly forever.

My friend — who I still love dearly — has gone on an anti-woke binge. His criticism of progressives is steeped in his loathing of their “woke” view of the world.

I had to look up the word “woke” to understand what it means. I found this: The term has its roots as a Black adjective meant to describe racism, but has since been broadened to call attention to sexism and gay rights. Those on the political right have used the term in recent years as an epithet to criticize those who champion progressive causes.

Wikipedia says this: Woke is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), originally meaning alertness to racial prejudice and discrimination. It is synonymous with the General American English word awake.

Sadly, the term has become a four-letter word.

Woke isn’t a dirty word. It’s not a corrupt philosophy. All it suggests to me is a desire to do right by everyone. Yet the 2024 Republican presidential field before it culled itself down to one clown, the nominee, kept hammering against “woke” policies. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis became the lead vocalist in the GOP amen choir blasting those damn woke-minded politicians.

I don’t get any of it.

I dislike the term woke because it sounds kinda foreign to me. However, if you’re going to call me “woke” because I oppose discriminating against people because of their skin color, their sexual orientation or their immigrant status, well, then fine.

Call me “woke.” I stand tall and proud … and I will always love my friend.

Uncategorized

You serve to protect rights you surrender

April 18, 2025 kanelis2012

Dakota Meyer is a Medal of Honor recipient who earned the medal in 2009 for saving his fellow warriors from Taliban fire in Afghanistan.

President Obama presented the medal to the U.S. Marine Corps sergeant in a White House ceremony. Meyer then left the Marine Corps for 15 years.

Now, though, he is returning to the Corps as a reservist. He had become highly critical of President Biden’s decision to withdraw our forces from Afghanistan. He was married for a time to the daughter of former Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin. He says now he will return to service, but plans to “stay out of politics.”

Good call. It’s also a prudent decision on his part. Why? Because even though he is serving to protect the rights of all Americans to speak their minds, men and women in uniform actually surrender that very right the moment they don the uniform.

The First Amendment guarantees the right of Americans to seek “redress of grievances.” Except that those on duty in the military cannot criticize the commander in chief, who is their commanding officer, so to speak. If the president issues a lawful order, then those under his command are obligated to follow those orders without bitching out loud about it.

There can be “redress of grievances” for those in the military, be they active duty, or reservists.

A member of my family retired from the Army not long ago after serving for 20 years on active duty. He served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also was highly critical of President Biden. He sought a promotion in rank, but was routinely passed over. My belief? His commanding officer knew of his social media rants aganst the commander in chief and nixed his promotion.

I am delighted Sgt. Meyer has decided to return to the Marine Corps. I am equally delighted he understands the folly of bellowing out loud his discontent over political matters made by those who serve far above his pay grade.

Donald Trump

Yes, I want POTUS to succeed

April 17, 2025 kanelis2012

Believe this or disbelieve it, but I want to clear the air on an issue that needs clearing.

It is the future of the presidency under the regime led by Donald J. Trump. In short, i actually want Trump to succeed. I don’t wish him success because he deserves high praise; he seeks it out even when he doesn’t deserve it.

I want the country to reap the benefit of whatever success Trump can bring forth.

I consider myself to be an American patriot, not a phony patriot who believes the lies that pour out of Trump’s mouth. I ain’t a MAGA American, as I believe the nation has retained its greatness even during the most difficult times imaginable.

What do I believe will happen with some of Trump’s policies? I believe the tariff tantrum he’s on only will worsen our daily lives by driving up the cost of damn near everything we consume. His deportation policy is heartless and inhumane. Trump’s meddling in higher education only weakens universities’ traditional independence.

The guy is a classic RINO, calling himself a “conservative” while unleashing the government to punish his political foes … to whom he refers as enemies.

I am a fair-minded fellow, regardless of what some critics of this blog might believe. I want Trump to succeed because continued failure only means more rough days ahead for the rest of us.

OK, maybe I’m self-serving in wishing the best for Trump’s policies. If he succeeds, we’ll all reap the reward.

national news, political news

Trump redefines conservatism

April 16, 2025 kanelis2012

Donald J. Trump, through the force of his enormous will, has managed over the past decade to reshape the political landscape into something few of us recognize.

Take the definition of the term “conservative.”

I came of age politically in a time when Barry Goldwater and later Ronald Reagan became the gold standards for political conservatism. Their view was the term meant minimal government influence in our lives. Goldwater later became known more as a libertarian, taking the view that government had no role to play in determining people’s sex lives or whether a woman could obtain an abortion.

Trump has taken the conservative movement in an entirely different direction. He wants to use government as a weapon to wield against his political enemies. He vows to sic the FBI and the Justice Department on those in the media who criticize him.

He wants the government to go after colleges and universities who teach certain subjects in class. He recently withheld a huge fund from Harvard University because the Ivy League school refused to knuckle under his demand to stop teaching about racism, slavery and other low points in our nation’s glorious history.

Trump wants the government to ban transgender athletes from competing, he wants transgendered patriots to be barred from serving in the military.

None of this is “conservative” as I grew up understanding the term. An activist government is more of a — dare I say it? — liberal effort. In the old days, liberals were seen as wanting to deploy government to bring meaningful change.

These days, it’s all been tossed into a cocked hat.

Which brings about a key question. Who in our modern political world stands out as a Republican In Name Only? The Republican Party used to be thought of as the conservative party, yes?

I’ll cast my vote for Donald Trump as the nation’s RINO in chief.

local news

Dogs are in fact ‘loved ones’

April 15, 2025 kanelis2012

I saw a social media post that declared, “Losing a dog is almost as bad as losing a loved one.”

Hah! “Almost as bad”? I beg to differ. Losing a dog is just like losing a loved one. At least that’s the case in my house.

I live in North Texas and am the parent of an energetic 6-year-old Chihuahua mix named Sabol, Sabol joined my family right after I returned from an overseas vacation in September 2024. We met at a park in Princeton and fell in love with each other immediately.

You see, Sabol was living with a woman who is in failing health and her daughter sought to find a new home for the puppy. That’s when I came along. Sabol took the place of another Chihuahua mix pooch I lost in December 2023 to cancer. I wrote extensively about Toby the Puppy over the nine years he brought joy to my household. I lost Toby the same year cancer claimed my bride of 51 years. Indeed, Toby’s passing provided a symbolic bookend to the worst year of my life. I said farewell to Kathy Anne near the beginning of 2023 and I said the same to Toby the Puppy near the end of that horrific year.

I won’t equate the losses. I won’t say that losing Toby was the same as losing Kathy Anne. I will say, though, that letting Toby go after his battle with cancer became too much for him hurt just like “losing a loved one.” I loved Toby very much.

And I love Sabol just as much.

I long ago ceased referring to myself as a “pet owner.” I am a proud “pet parent,.” And like any parent can fathom, losing a loving furry baby brings plenty of pain.

business news, economic news

Tariff tumult requires testing

April 14, 2025 kanelis2012

Donald Trump’s fixation with tariffs has the markets in an uproar. Hints of Trump blinking send the Dow Jones averages into outer space. Then the numbskull in chief says all the wheeling-and-dealing is a mirage … so the markets tank again.

I believe the Trump skeptics who contend that POTUS 45 & 47 doesn’t have a plan. He doesn’t understand the economics of a tariff, which makes me wonder out loud whether he evrer learned against the Wharton School of Economics, where he says he earned good grades.

I don’t what his grades were. I damn sure don’t care. He isn’t exhibiting a scintilla of knowledge about basic economics with this tariff nonsense.

President Reagan of all people called tariffs a “national sales tax” He was speaking in 1987 when he denigrated the notion of attaching tariffs on goods imported into the country. The Gipper was right then. Trump is wrong today in proclaiming that tariffs on imported goods will “make America great again.”

He is turning a national economy that was held up as the gold standard for the world to emulate into an international laughingstock.

national news

I want efficient government, too!

April 13, 2025 kanelis2012 1 Comment

Allow me this admission: I am all in on Donald Trump’s desire to make government more “efficient” and more “accountable” to the folks who pay for it … that means you and me.

We have heard tales for decades about wasteful spending in our federal government. Remember the stories about $600 toilet seats? Or airplanes that couildn’t fly?

Those were maddening tales to be sure. Trump got elected in 2024 partly on his promise to cut waste in our government. Hey, count me in!

What I — nor I doubt any other American — could foresee was the method Trump would use to slash government spending. Indiscrimiinate firings of inspectors general, or civil servants, of dedicated public employees, slashing of entire Cabinet departments all have become part of the modus operandi.

Then we have Elon Musk and that quasi-government agency called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The term DOGE has become part of the government vernacular like NASA. We refer to the acronym as if it’s a real word.

Musk has been unbridled in his public statements about cutting Social Security, which has called a Ponzi scheme when, in fact, it is an earned benefit paid for with our tax noney we old folks paid with our tax money. That doesn’t matter to the richest man on Earth, whose DOGE lackeys are running amok.

The Musk-Trump strategy — such as it is — only demonstrates to me that the president has no plan, no principle, no idea of what our so-called leaders want to do.

They have taken a noble cause — making government more efficient — and turned iit nto a clown show.

The product is far from efficient … and no one is laughing.

High Plains Blogger