local news, media news

Social media has its benefits

Social media has its place in modern life … such as helping long-ago friends and acquaintances get to know each other better than they did back in the day.

I am experiencing that positive social media element right now, as I am getting to know a gentleman with whom I worked back in the 1980s when we first moved to Texas. I took a job as an editorial writer for the Beaumont Enterprise, stayed there for a bit less than 11 years before moving up yonder to take a similar job with the Amarillo Globe-News.

Social media have put me in touch with a fellow I knew in Beaumont. We didn’t know each other well at the time, but I surely knew of him and he knew of me. We parted company many years ago. I believe he went to Houston before I departed for the High Plains of the Panhandle.

We hooked up recently on Facebook and for the past few days I have had the pleasure of filling him in where my life has taken me. I have informed him of the tragedy I experienced in 2023 with the passing of my bride, Kathy Anne, to glioblastoma. I have been able to tell him I am recovering nicely from the grief and have rebuilt much of my life here in North Texas, where we moved eight years ago.

I have been duped along the way by individuals who weren’t who they said they were. This reacquaintance, though, is the real thing. It has demonstrated the immense power for good that social media can bring.

entertainment news

Dolly: legend in her own time

Few entertainers ever reach legendary status, even after they have passed from the scene.

Dolly Parton was the rare individual who attained that exalted place even as she continued to enthrall us with her music. Parton died Tuesday at age 80, leaving a legacy that well could be unmatched by her peers.

And I say this as someone who isn’t a huge country music fan, but one who recognizes talent and, yes, legendary status when I see it. Dolly was the real deal, man.

She carried herself with an air of flamboyance that no one would dare copy. She would gussy herself up and then speak to her fans through that unmistakable Southern drawl that only could come from the back of her throat.

Dolly Parton, though, was far from being a mere glamorous star who merely looked the part of a legend. She delivered the goods through her timeless music, delivered with one of the sweetest voices God ever created. That divinely inspired voice sang lyrics that came from her very own heart.

This world has lost another huge talent. She lived a full and rich life and has left behind a treasure trove of music that we can enjoy for the rest of our eternity.

Rest in eternal peace, Dolly Parton … and thank you for sharing your enormous gifts with the rest of us.

economic news, International news, national news

So very tired of ‘winning’

Why is that, why would “winning” wear me out, bring me down, make me wish for the real thing?

Because not a damn thing Donald J. Trump describes as “winning” is anything of the sort. Trump is the loser in chief.

Think about this for just a brief moment. He says we’ve already “won” the war with Iran, but he won’t stop bombing the Iranians. His tariffs are punishing Americans, the people he was elected to protect. In a related matter, Trump has leveled a 50% tariff on Canadian goods. Yes, goods produced and brought into this country by our most reliable (until now) trading partner and worldwide ally.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Trump has declared war on Canada. He vows to fight back. Will Trump be able to declare he is “winning” this latest trade war with the nation with which we share the world’s longest unsecured border? Hah! Hardly.

We have no allies in the Iranian war. Oh, wait. We have one. Israel has joined us in the bombing campaign.

Even North Korea is on the Iranians’ side. Trump, though, has this lovey-dovey relationship with North Korean killer/despot/thug Kim Jong Un.

Yep, that’s “winning” in Trump’s perverted world.

local news, political news, State news

Here is a sure-fire political prediction

A while ago I gave up trying to predict political tides … particularly in Texas, a place I have called home for the past 42 years.

I’m going to veer off that wagon for just a moment and offer this tidbit for you to ponder, which is that James Talarico doesn’t beat the stuffing out Ken Paxton their race for the U.S. Senate seat, the Texas Democratic Party might as well pack it in forever.

Talarico is the Democratic nominee; Paxton is running under the Republican banner. What is going to get plenty of play in the weeks to come is that Paxton well could be the weakest GOP candidate for statewide office in memory. I can think only of the late Clayton Williams, the GOP candidate for governor in 1990 as someone whose weakness rivals Paxton.

Let’s look for a moment at Paxton’s record. He served in the Legislature as a state representative from Collin County. Then he got elected AG in 2014. Almost immediately he got indicted by a Collin County grand jury on an allegation of securities fraud. Then several of his top lawyers resigned and then lodged a corruption complaint against Paxton. After that the GOP-dominated Texas House impeached Paxton on charges that he took bribes and cheated on his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton; Sen. Paxton then filed for divorce from her husband, citing “Biblical grounds.” He then gained amazing wealth on an AG’s salary and recently has been frolicking with a married woman.

Kind of a head-spinning record, ya know?

Talarico is campaigning as a goody two-shoes. He’s a former school teacher, a Presbyterian seminarian, a man of deep Christian faith. He leans heavily on his faith but understands that the Constitution of the U.S.A. is a secular document and that our founders were consciously keeping religion out of government’s nuts and bolts.

I just want this young man to take his message across the finish line ahead of the other guy. If he doesn’t, then we’re in deeper trouble than I ever imagined.

political news

Five Democrats surge to the front

So … if you’re going to point a loaded pistol at my noggin and demand that I pick the Democratic frontrunner for the 2028 presidential nomination, you would have to settle on hearing me recite five names.

I rate them all equally, but understand that it remains far too early to single any of them out.

Here goes: Former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. I haven’t ranked them. The is a random one. There might be a sleeper or two, maybe three, out there hiding in the tall grass. I’ll stick for now with the obvious choices.

Harris was the 2024 Democratic nominee. She should have won that race. But she ran out of steam down the stretch. Newsom is “telegenic” in the extreme, but I hear from my California family members and friends that he has a mixed record out there. Buttigieg is brilliant but it pains me to say this … he’s also gay. Say what you will about strides we have made in this country, I don’t believe we are going to just yet elect a gay candidate as president. Kelly keeps harping on how he’s “not afraid” of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He needs to develop a forward-looking message. Ossoff has scored huge in his dressing down of the GOP and the POTUS. Plus, he has a certain “swag” that a candidate seems to need these days.

Who might the GOP offer? Vice President J.D. Vance. That’s it.

Do I have a favorite? Not really, although I believe Ossoff has the widest path to the top of the heap.

Polls at this stage of an election season mean nothing. Zero. They only speak to who’s leading in the moment. An hour is a lifetime, right?

political news

Most important election in history?

Many of us have heard this refrain before, that the “next election is the most important in our nation’s history.”

Indeed, I recently watched a video that revealed a lengthy string of important politicians — dating back to President Truman — make that declaration of an upcoming election. Politicians from both major parties sang off the same sheet. Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan, both Bushes, Obama, Clinton, Biden, Eisenhower all warned Americans of the consequences if they don’t vote.

Well … I got news for you. The election coming up in fewer than 80 days might just be the most important ever in U.S. political history. How can this be more vital than all the previous “most important” elections? Because we have a maniac in the White House who is hellbent on dismantling our democratic form of government and replacing it with a form of autocracy.

I am in no position to tell you that despite the stakes of this election, that the 2028 presidential. election or the 2030 midterm election won’t be heralded as the most vital election in history. Although there exists in many people’s minds that if the Republican Party holds onto control of Congress that there might not be a next election — if you get my drift.

I remain resolute in my faith in the U.S. Constitution being able to withstand the immense challenges that confront it … and us.

A word of caution is in order. The Constitution’s strength rests in the hands of citizens committed to exercising their rights as Americans. If we do not take part in this midterm election, then we well might write the final chapter in the system of government we all say we cherish. It will fall on our shoulders to demonstrate our devotion to the government we want to keep.

Yep, this election could well be the most critical of ’em all!

military news

Trump wants to do … what?

What in the name of betrayal has invaded Donald Trump’s vacuous skull? I heard this today and I cannot to this very moment actually believe it.

I understand that Trump, following the advice of his morally unfit defense secretary, is considering taking back a decision to name a battle carrier after a Black enlisted man who performed acts of heroism during the attack by Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941.

The hero’s name was Doris Miller, born in Waco, Texas, in 1919. He died in combat in 1943.

When the attack at Pearl occurred, Miller was stationed aboard the USS West Virginia, where he served as a mess attendant. During the bombardment, the captain of Miller’s ship was mortally wounded. Miller rushed to the aid of his skipper, evacuated him to safety, then manned an anti-aircraft gun — on which he had zero training — and fired at the aircraft until he ran out of ammo.

For his action, Miller was honored posthumously with his name being attached to a newly commissioned carrier.

Now comes the despicable part of this brief tale. Trump is considering taking Miller’s name off the ship and putting his own name on the new warship. Imagine the gall, the unmitigated hubris of a sitting POTUS — who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War — acting in such a disgraceful manner.

I should note that a fellow Texan, Admiral of the Navy Chester Nimitz, awarded Miller the Navy Cross in May 1942, making him the first Black sailor ever to receive such an honor. Miller, by the way, was credited with shooting down one of the Japanese planes, but eyewitness accounts say he may have shot down four to six enemy planes.

Miller might not get the honor of a ship carrying his name, if Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has his way. Hegseth already has shown astonishing contempt for Black service personnel by firing Black flag officers and denying women their rightful promotions up the ranks.

I swear to Almighty God in heaven that Donald Trump’s needs to be impeached a third time by the House of Repesentatives and then given the boot by the U.S. Senate if he follows through with this disgraceful act.

military news

Sappiness to get stern test

A word comes to you from little ol’ me, who I have described as arguably one of the world’s biggest saps.

It’s my sappiness that I want to bring to your attention. In a sort of perverse way, I am rather proud of the tendency to let my emotions show to all the world to see.

It will occur on Sept. 11. I will board jetliner at Love Field in Dallas and will fly with 40-something military veterans to Washington, D.C. We will attend an Honor Flight, which is a lightning visit to D.C. We will arrive around noon on Sept. 11 and will return to North Texas the next day. Twenty-fours in and out, there and back. It’s going to be action-packed.

We’re going to visit several memorials in D.C. dedicated to veterans. We’re going to have volunteer companions who will act as our go-to men and women. They will be there to tend to our every need, request or whatever.

Where will the sappiness occur? What might bring it to the fore? We are likely to be given thanks, high praise and many of us will be reminded that during our time in service the nation didn’t respond to vets’ service in the same manner that many of our veterans are receiving today.

I served briefly in Vietnam while war was still raging. I didn’t serve in a combat unit. Indeed, I have spent nearly 60 years telling anyone who cares to know that I did damn little during my time there. None of that will matter to the folks who will show us around in quick-step fashion during our visit to the nation’s capital.

So, I suppose I could predict that I’ll be caught up in the good wishes and expressions of thanks and pride I rarely got when I came home for keeps in the summer of 1970.

I’ll be sure to have a hanky handy … just in case I need it. My history of sappiness tells me I will need it.

Sports news

Hating what college football has become

Some of you might recall an item I posted in which I decried what I believe is happening to intercollegiate athletics … however, I am going to restate it once more with extreme emphasis.

It’s the damn transfer portal that is driving me just this side of the nut house.

It is becoming hard for me to root, for example, for my favorite college football team: the University of Oregon Ducks.

I grew up in Oregon. I didn’t attend the UofO, but I have rooted for the Ducks even when they stunk to high heaven. This era of the transfer portal has created a new environment in college sports. For the purposes of this blog, I am going to concentrate on tackle football.

The Ducks hired Dan Lanning four seasons ago. His head coaching record stands at 48-8 at Oregon. Pretty good, right? Yeah, it’s damn good! Lanning has been able to work the transfer portal to his liking in Eugene. I don’t begrudge Lanning for taking advantage of this notion of recruiting top-tier athletes to compete an extra year in college. He’s doing it legally … or so I reckon.

It’s just that these kids wind up in Eugene after playing full college careers in other locations. They arrive for a season — or maybe two — and then they’re gone. Some of them turn pro. Some of those pro athletes then launch stellar careers. I just wish I could root for them as if they were locally grown and fed. Instead, I find myself cheering for mercenaries. Which is what they are.

The Ducks have taken maximum advantage of the transfer portal. So have many other college programs. I suspect I am not alone in feeling stranded by the huge talent pool that coaches are recruiting to play for their teams. I hesitate to call them “their schools,” because the coaches aren’t exactly loyal to the colleges that hire them.

Another season is about to unfold. I’ll cheer for the Ducks and hope they can win a national championship. If they do, I won’t feel necessarily proud for the university or for the state where I came of age.

business news, local news

Hang on to your highway patience

Well, kids, we have entered that phase of construction along US Highway 380 between Princeton and McKinney that is going to test everyone’s patience.

I am going to remind myself — and others who read this blog — that the time has come to draw heavily on our cache of patience. We also must remind ourselves constantly that this work has an end. It will be done eventually. When it’s finished, I suspect this well-traveled thoroughfare will be significantly more pleasant to motor along than it has been for some years.

The Texas Department of Transportation has launched an ambitious right-of-way improvement project that will take years to complete. It will widen US 380 from four lanes to six. As I drive west of Princeton along the highway, I notice several areas where concrete has been been poured and has dried. It’s intermittent. That means the sections that are done cannot be used.

No biggie, man.

The work along 380 is just part of TxDOT’s plans for the highway. Soon (at least I hope it’s soon), the agency will begin work on freeway loops around several cities along the highway. Princeton is one of them.

I have one fear to give me worry while the work trudges on. It’s the fear that we could lose some businesses along the right-of-way. I noticed, for example, that two burger joints have shuttered, a Dairy Queen along the south side of the highway and a Wendy’s along the north side.

What do we do about any of this? Hah! Not much can be done. I am looking for alternative routes to travel. I’d feel OK about that except if I’m looking for Plan B routes, so are thousands of other North Texans. The message, then, for all of us is as clear as it can get.

Just be patient.

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience