local news, State news

Another Democratic sleeper emerges

Just as Texas Democrats seem to pin their hopes on Beto O’Rourke breaking the Republican vise-grip on statewide elected office, another Democrat emerges to, um, quite possibly become the one who does the deed.

Rochelle Garza is the Democratic Party nominee for Texas attorney general, the high-profile contest featuring a Republican who, by all rights, should be in jail by now.

Garza is a former lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union — the bogeyman of the right, but in fact the organization dedicated to protecting our Bill of Rights. She is facing Ken Paxton, the GOP incumbent AG who has been under felony indictment almost since he took office in 2015; he is awaiting trial on securities fraud and could spend a hefty amount of time in the slammer if a jury convicts him.

A recent Dallas Morning News/University of Texas-Tyler poll shows Garza surging against Paxton, trailing the AG by two percentage points. Which makes the race a virtual dead heat.

Can this so-called “upstart” defeat the soiled and sullied AG, the guy who saw a lawsuit he filed against states that had seated electors in support of President Biden tossed out because he lacked any standing in the matter? You see, Paxton is a lousy lawyer to boot, in addition to being an alleged crook and a cheat.

A Collin County grand jury indicted Paxton on a charge that he failed to inform securities investors of his connections to an investment company. The case has been kicked around from court to court. By all rights, it should have been adjudicated long ago, but it hasn’t.

Just when many of us thought the key to returning Texas to a two-party-state status rested with Beto O’Rourke’s bid to defeat Gov. Greg Abbott, it well might occur if Rochelle Garza can keep surging and give Ken Paxton a stiff shove out the door.

I am eternally hopeful.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Wyoming = cult playground

Who would have thought Wyoming — one of the most Republican-leaning of our 50 states — would serve as a petri dish to examine what has become of a once-great political party.

Its sole member of the House, Liz Cheney, got hammered in the GOP primary, losing to Harriet Hageman by more than 30 percentage points. Hageman had earned the endorsement of the Cult Leader in Chief, Donald Trump. Why would the former POTUS go against a House member — Liz Cheney — who voted with him more than 93% of the time? Because Cheney voted to impeach Trump after he incited the 1/6 insurrection.

Let’s look briefly at Cheney’s electoral history in Wyoming.

  • She was elected in 2016 with more than 60% of the vote.
  • Cheney won re-election in 2018 by an even greater margin and then was named House Republican Conference chair, putting her third in line in power behind GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and GOP whip Steve Scalise.
  • Cheney won the GOP nomination in 2020 with 73% of the vote and the general election with a 69% margin.
  • Then came the 2022 Hageman/Trump cult buzzsaw.

Now she’s out … or will be by the end of the year.

The only thing Cheney did “wrong” was to turn against Trump, who has captured the hearts, minds and what passes for the “soul” of the Republican Party, which he has transformed into a cult cabal.

Wyoming has served up the perfect test case for what is wrong with the Grand Old Party.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Don’t walk away, Liz Cheney

Right-wing media commentators have been roughing up one of their own recently and it isn’t a pretty sight.

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican and Donald Trump’s No. 1 political enemy, got thrashed in this week’s GOP primary. What has been the reaction from some in the conservative media?

They are calling on her to resign from the House now, step away from her role on the House select 1/6 committee and, in effect, keep her mouth shut.

She should do none of that. Cheney’s term in office expires at the end of this year, which means this good-government progressive wants her stay on her watch and continue to hold Trump accountable for the crimes he committed while inciting the 1/6 insurrection.

To be sure, I believe Cheney inflated the significance of her primary defeat by comparing her fate to what happened to the father of the Republican Party, America’s greatest president Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln lost two congressional contests before being elected president in 1860, Cheney reminded us, as if to suggest that her own congressional loss might signal her ascent to the White House in the future.

She is getting way ahead of herself.

However, I do not for one instant believe she should step away. Cheney is providing a valuable voice of reason where few of them exist within her GOP.  Moreover, she is performing valuable service as vice chair of the committee led by Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson.

My advice to Rep. Cheney? Stay the course. Wyoming voters elected her to serve until the end of 2022. She has more work to do on behalf of the effort to preserve, protect and defend our precious democratic process.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

legal news, national news

‘Law and order’ gives way to chaos

A truly astonishing metamorphosis is occurring within what we used to call a great American political party.

The Republican Party used to believe in law and order, in the sanctity of the badge that men and women wore while enforcing the law, in their belief that a strong police force was the best deterrent against runaway crime and chaos.

What’s happened to the GOP?

The FBI secured a legally acquired search warrant to allow agents into the home of a former Republican president of the U.S.A. and suddenly the FBI has become the enemy.

Now we find political progressives — whom conservatives once denigrated as being “soft on crime” — rushing to defend the FBI against the attacks coming … from the right!

The metamorphosis is unbecoming in the extreme. For instance, it features physical threats against FBI agents, with threats of “civil war” coming from the very individuals who in another era would never utter such nonsense out loud.

The world has gone nuts!

It seems the change is the direct result of the cult that has formed around a former president of the United States. The cult places idolatry of the former POTUS ahead of all else, even time-tested policies and philosophies that once formed the basis of the once-great political party.

For as long as the cult dictates how Americans shall behave, there will be no making sense of what is occurring. It does require those of us who oppose the cult to remain vigilant and alert to the dangers the cult followers present.

Indeed, any “talk” of civil war must not devolve into the real thing. We did that once in this country. It nearly destroyed us.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

One for two in midterms?

Handicapping political races is among the more dicey endeavors I ever have tried, which is why I am shying away from handicapping the 2022 midterm contests.

Specifically, it is dangerous to predict how the midterm elections will turn out, which party will control Congress’s two legislative chambers.

I do have an idea based on trends I keep hearing about.

The U.S. Senate might not flip from Democratic to Republican control. What’s happening? It appears the GOP is shooting itself in both feet by fielding certifiable nut cases in key races they had hoped to keep or flip into GOP control.

Mehmet Oz is running for the Senate in Pennsylvania. One problem: He doesn’t live there; he hangs his hat in New Jersey. His opponent, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, appears to be pulling away. GOP Sen. Pat Toomey is retiring, so that one might flip from R to D.

Ohio might go from red to blue also. Republican Sen. Rob Portman is retiring. Rep. Tim Ryan is the Democrat running to succeed him. The GOP challenger is J.D. Vance, another nut job. Ryan is leading and he, too, could pull away. Another state might go from R to D.

Democrats appear set to hold onto two seats formerly thought to be ripe for the picking. Sen. Mark Kelly is looking strong against his GOP challenger. My favorite contest this year could be Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock vs. GOP dumbass Herchel Walker. The Rs thought Walker could pilfer this one. They are wrong. Walker’s only claim to any sort of fame is his stellar college and pro football career. Beyond that? This man might be the most unfit candidate ever to suit up for a political office.

One more: GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin might get tossed out by Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes. Oh, how I would love to see that occur.

The Senate stands at 50-50. When the ballots are counted in November, it could be a 53-47 Democratic majority.

The House? That one looks more problematic for Democrats, although I keep seeing that the projections for a “Red Wave” are diminishing from a tsunami to a pebble in a puddle.

It is going to be an invigorating and likely angst-ridden election season coming up. The spirit of our democratic process — despite Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert it — appears to be alive and well.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

legal news

Judge to unseal part of affidavit?

Call me surprised that the magistrate judge who issued the search warrant to allow FBI agents to look for evidence in Donald Trump’s home has indicated he will unseal part of the affidavit the feds produced to persuade him to act.

I thought he should keep the affidavit secret, that it would jeopardize the investigation into whether Trump broke any laws when he squirreled classified documents away from the White House.

Right wingers, along with Trump, argued that the judge, Bruce Reinhart, unseal all of it in the name of total transparency.

He appears to be splitting the difference.

Trump’s legal woes enter yet another protracted phase – POLITICO

My hope going forward is that the Justice Department will be able to continue in its pursuit of the truth behind the 1/ 6 insurrection; so will the House select committee examining that assault on our democracy … at Trump’s behest.

This is a hyper-sensitive case that needs, in my view, hyper-sensitive eyes and ears that protect the evidence against those who could use it against the government’s pursuit of the truth.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Truck keeps me alert … seriously!

I want to tell you a quick story about a motor vehicle my bride and I just purchased. It’s a story about how technology is being deployed to protect human life. I never knew such technology existed.

We purchased a 2022 Ford Ranger pickup from a dealer in McKinney. We ordered it from the factory in Dearborn, Mich. We added a couple of bells and whistles that weren’t part of the truck “package.”

What we did not know existed in the list of the truck’s on-board doo-dads was a system that alerted us that we might need to pull over and rest up before proceeding.

We haven’t taken our truck on too many long-haul trips just yet, but we found out en route to Amarillo recently that when we get too close to the lane on either side of our vehicle that it flashes a message that “suggests” we should pull over. If we keep swerving, then the “suggestion” turns into a direct order. And, yes, our Ranger has a display that shows us whether we are crossing the lane.

Perhaps I need to study these things more carefully or be more alert to what others may know already. I did not know about this technology!

What do I think of this alert system? I like it very much. Because if I am swerving because of fatigue, it tells my wife and me that I need to turn the wheel over to her. She also is smart enough to follow the advice given by our new truck.

Will this technology prevent the macho men among us on the road to do the smart thing, to pull over and to rest up before proceeding? No. It likely won’t. However, since I don’t consider myself to be a macho man, then the warning likely will work wonders for me.

It might prolong my life and enable my much better half and me to continue on this marvelous retirement journey.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Quibbling over concession?

It’s come down now to this: We’re now left to wonder whether a defeated candidate for Congress called an opponent to offer “congratulations” on the victory.

Let’s see. What have we heard?

Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming lost the Republican Party primary election this week to Harriet Hageman. Cheney is an avid foe of Donald Trump; Hageman received Trump’s endorsement because of Cheney’s stand on the rule of law.

Hageman thumped Cheney, who then stood before the nation and told us she called Hageman because the challenger got more votes than Cheney did. There was no mention of good wishes, an atta girl, statement of support from Cheney.

Then Hageman’s staff leaked something about Cheney reportedly calling the victorious candidate. The call reportedly lasted five seconds, with Cheney actually congratulating Hageman.

Cheney reportedly left a voice mail message.

Right-wing media, naturally, are all over this snippet. They contend that Cheney should issue a public statement congratulating Hageman and even offer to support her as she prepares — as expected — to take her seat in Congress next January.

Cheney has been vilified, demonized and otherwise termed into a GOP pariah simply because she remains faithful to the oath she took to protect the Constitution and our democratic process.

To be honest, she doesn’t owe Hageman anything more than a concession call. She delivered it. The story is over.

However, I do not expect it to be over. I fully expect right-wing media to continue harping on what should be a non-starter. Cheney deserves to be torqued over the treatment she has gotten from those who accuse her of being a “traitor” to a president who — dare I say — has broken multiple laws.

Then again, I need to remind everyone reading this message that Donald Trump himself lowered the standard for electoral decency by refusing to concede his own defeat in 2020 to Joe Biden, who whipped his sorry, overfed backside.

Therefore, we are witnessing more of this nonsense playing out in Liz Cheney’s valiant attempt to win re-election to her congressional office.

Our political process has gone bonkers!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news, legal news

Keep it secret, feds

Now comes word that Donald J. Trump and his dwindling ranks of allies want the federal government to unseal the affidavit that prompted the judge to approve a request by the FBI to search Trump’s south Florida home for criminal evidence.

I’ll join those who suggest that releasing that document would be a mistake, that it could compromise the probe and that Attorney General Merrick Garland acted in good faith when he sought permission to send in the agents.

The FBI has collected a substantial amount of paperwork that Trump took from the White House when he left office in January 2021. Some of it appears to be, um, highly classified. That’s a no-no. There could be violations of the Espionage Act and the Presidential Records Act that the Justice Department will consider as it ponders whether to indict the former POTUS.

The affidavit, though, is another matter. I am all in favor of transparency. However, if it compromises a criminal investigation, then there ought to be limits on how much we see.

As I have noted before, I trust the AG implicitly to be a man of high honor and integrity. He said he will “follow the law” wherever it leads. I believe he is doing that. He also is arguing that the affidavit need not be revealed for all the world to see.

Let the man and our Justice Department do their job.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Uncategorized

Ga. probe looms as major Trump threat

If I was a betting man — and I have to stipulate that I am nothing of the sort — I would wager that Donald J. Trump’s gravest threat to his future looms in the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney’s office.

The former president is under investigation in many venues: Congress, the Justice Department, Manhattan (N.Y.) and Fulton County.

It’s the Georgia matter that, to my way of thinking, presents Trump with his most serious threat. Why? Because the whole world has heard Trump’s own voice demand that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger “find” enough votes to swing the state from Joe Biden’s column to Trump’s.

Where I come from, I believe that amounts to a clear-cut, no-questions-need-asking, tried-and-true case of election tampering.

Oh, and there’s more to that recorded conversation. You might recall that Trump actually threatened Raffensberger with criminal prosecution if he didn’t do what the president wanted him to do.

I have been wondering ever since I heard about this: If this doesn’t constitute a crime, then what in the world qualifies?

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is pursuing this probe with all appropriate vigor. Indeed, I have thought all along that this case presented Trump with his most daunting set of allegations. What’s more — thanks to Raffensberger, who thought to record the phone conversation — we can hear the POTUS in his own voice pressuring the election official to, shall we say, “steal the 2020 presidential election.”

The House select committee that is pursuing the insurrection also is piling up a mountain of evidence that suggests criminality within the White House. The Manhattan probe, though, appears to be losing steam. The Justice Department probe? Well, Attorney General Merrick Garland has made it abundantly clear that “no one is above the law” and by “no one,” the AG means, well … no one.

If I were Donald Trump — and I am so glad that I ain’t — I would be sweatin’ bullets over what might be coming his way from Deep in the Heart of Dixie.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience