national news

Election over … get busy

I find no need to look back on the 2022 midterm election, which came to a wonderful end with the re-election this week of Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate.

Warnock’s victory extends by just a tiny bit Democrats’ majority in the Senate, enabling that body now to proceed with some important business on our behalf. I have said all I intend to say about the (lack of) quality in Sen. Warnock’s Republican opponent … except to speculate whether Herschel Walker will return to his mansion in Texas and consider running for politics here. God forbid …

What’s ahead for the Senate? Lots of business that Democrats can do — hopefully with Republican help. But with a 51-49 majority, Democrats now can lose one of their members to the other side and still have Vice President Harris waiting in the wings to break a tie. The good news for Democrats? It’s no longer as urgent a fallback position.

The Senate now can proceed with filling federal judicial vacancies. President Biden has nominated judges for these vacancies, but the Senate had been hamstrung by GOP obstructionists. They need to be filled. It is with great pleasure I acknowledge that the House of Representatives, with its slim GOP majority, has no voice on that matter.

To be sure, the Senate cannot act on its own without some assistance from the House. There needs to be legislation to codify women’s reproductive rights that the Supreme Court stripped away when it trashed the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Congress should seek legislation to make it even more difficult for lunatics to purchase firearms.

To be sure, the next Senate is going to have more election deniers among the ranks of senators. Two of them won election in Ohio and North Carolina. However, with Democrats’ position strengthened, the Big Lie believers can be silenced more readily.

The 2024 campaign for president is likely to commence soon. Joe Biden is sounding more like a candidate for re-election. Only heaven knows how many Republicans will step forward to seek their party’s nomination. That’s all well and good.

I am ready for a political breather.

Thus, I also am ready to watch the 118th Congress takes its oath and get to work.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news, military news

Yes! on this Person of Year

 

Time magazine gets pounded whenever it makes what many think is a dubious selection for its Person of the Year.

Not this time.

Indeed, the magazine hit it far out of the park by selecting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Spirit of the Ukrainians as its Person of the Year for 2022.

We know the story about Zelenskyy and about how he has stood up to the illegal, immoral and unjust invasion of his country by Russian military personnel under the command of the thug/goon/tyrant Vladimir Putin.

What many of us might not know has been the undying spirit of the people President Zelenskyy governs. Ukrainians across the country have rallied behind their leader. They have shown remarkable courage and resilience against the war crimes committed against them by Putin’s military machine.

We all considered the Russian army to be invincible. It damn sure isn’t! It has been routed on the battlefield by Ukrainian forces and by the Ukrainian civilians who have risen to resist the invaders.

The courage that Zelenskyy has shown will be written in history books as a shining example of statesmanship and unblinking courage.

Well done, Time. You chose wisely.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

military news

Day of Infamy … and pride

As a general rule I take every opportunity available to me to salute my favorite veteran, but sadly I fell short this past Veterans Day.

Thus, I will make up for it today by saluting my favorite vet — my dad — on Pearl Harbor Day. Yes, there is a clear connection between them.

President Roosevelt asked Congress the next day after the “date which will live in infamy” to declare war on “the Empire of Japan.”

Dad didn’t wait for the president’s message. Dad, my grandparents and his six brothers and sisters were listening to the news that Sunday after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I would learn much later what happened next.

Dad walked out of the house in Portland, Ore., ventured downtown and sought — on that very day — to enlist in the Marine Corps. The USMC office was closed. So, not to be deterred, Dad walked across the hall and joined the Navy.

Yes, on that very day that the nation was stunned into disbelief over what happened to our fighting men in Hawaii, Dad decided to get into the fight.

On that day, the Greatest Generation was born and my father was among the first of the 16 million Americans who suited up for battle.

The Navy would send Dad to Europe to fight the Nazis and the Italians, who also had declared war on the United States. He fought with valor aboard ship in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, enduring incessant bombardment from enemy aircraft.

It has been written that the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor only succeeded in “awakening a sleeping giant and filling him with a terrible resolve.” No truer words could have been put down in that moment.

A tiny fraction of the 16 million Americans who joined the fight are still with us. Dad died a long time ago, but I remember and honor his service to the nation with the deepest pride that a son can have.

It’s been 81 years since, in the words of President Roosevelt, “the dastardly attack” changed the world forever. May none of us ever forget the sacrifice of those who answered the call to arms.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Warnock wins! I can breathe now

1 Comment

OK. There will be plenty to say in the days to come about what the nation has just witnessed in Georgia.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has been re-elected to a new six-year term. It was a nail-biter. Frankly, I did not believe Sen. Warnock would have this kind of difficulty securing his victory over Republican Herschel Walker.

But … he did.

What I am going to try to assess over the immediate term is how in the world Walker held up as a serious candidate for the Senate.

I am shaking my head at the prospect that Walker actually could win this race. I am delighted, though, to know that Sen. Walker is returning to his post in the Senate. He is a good man who — as he pointed out during his campaign — actually “knows what he is doing.”

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news, national news

Now comes the 1/6 panel

Donald J. Trump’s business organization is guilty of tax fraud. That appears to be the prelim to the main event, which is ready for the bell-ringing any day now.

The House select 1/6 committee examining the insurrection and Trump’s role in inciting it is set to make its findings known to the public. Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson has spilled the beans, telling us that there will be “criminal referrals” contained in the report.

Hmm. Let’s see. Who might the committee “refer” for indictment? My hunch is that it will include Trump his own self.

Let us be clear. The committee cannot indict anyone. It must hand that duty over to the Justice Department, or the agent DOJ has chosen to represent it. That means the special counsel Jack Smith is likely to get the referral, given that Attorney General Merrick Garland has recused himself from any direct investigation into the insurrection or the document theft from the White House.

The only curiosity left to satisfy is learning whether fire-breathing Republican committee member Liz Cheney got her way in singling out Trump’s role. There reportedly has been something of a rift between Cheney and other panel members over how to focus its final report; others reportedly wanted to shy away from Trump’s role in the insurrection and focus instead on the systemic failures that led to it.

Whatever …

If the committee is going to make a criminal referral, it ought to go all the way to the top of the food chain. That would mean Donald John Trump.

I believe it has collected more than enough evidence to take this remarkable step toward seeking full accountability for that terrible day in our nation’s history.

Let ‘er rip, committee members.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

business news, crime news

Clean sweep: guilty on all counts!

Donald J. Trump’s life just got a whole lot messier than it was just a few days ago … if that is even possible.

A New York jury today delivered the news that the Trump Organization — Donald’s cherished business “empire” — is guilty on all 17 counts of various forms of tax fraud.

To be sure, Trump himself isn’t going to prison for the crimes committed by his organization. His former chief financial officer, Alan Weissenberg, already has pleaded guilty to some of the charges leveled against the Trump Organization.

This just spells trouble with a capital “T” for The Donald.

The trial that concluded only after a few days centered on how the TO monkeyed around with its assets to seek favorable loans and to avoid paying taxes. The company overpaid its top executives without paying taxes on their income. It lavished gifts on them in the form of luxury lodging and motor vehicles.

What is so very weird about all of this is how Trump himself has managed — so far — to stay above the fray. Why is weird? Because Trump is known to be a mega-micromanager of his business dealings. Nothing gets done, no transaction is completed, no money changes hands without Trump’s personal knowledge or even his imprimatur.

Trump is sure to denigrate the judge and the jurors. He is certain to lay waste to the prosecutors.

He will not be able to expunge the record of what the jury found, which is that the once-mighty business empire he commanded has been revealed to be run by cheaters.

Come to think of it, the Trump Organization is the mirror image of The Donald.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Pollyanna? No, an idealist

One of the harshest criticisms I have received over many decades offering commentary on issues of the day came from a colleague of mine.

He called me a “Pollyanna.” I cannot remember the specific issue that prompted the dig, but it likely had something to do with the political climate of the time and my wish for a return to a kinder time. I guess my critic/friend didn’t ascribe to the same ideals as I did then … and still do today.

I might invite the Pollyanna brickbat once again by declaring that no matter how desperate the current environment appears, I am going to rely on my faith in the U.S. Constitution … yeah, the same Constitution that Donald Trump said we should suspend.

For starters, the Constitution is far stronger and more durable than the insane rants of a disgraced politician. Moreover, we have been through many crises that rival or even exceed the current tempest brewing over efforts to reject election results, or return Trump to the White House.

We endured two world wars, and in the past 75 years two other wars — in Korea and Vietnam — that tore at our fabric. We went to war in the Middle East, prompting yet another crisis of confidence.

We have endured presidential assassinations dating back to President Lincoln’s murder in 1865, presidential scandals — one of which forced a president to resign — the Great Depression and a Civil War.

What has been the common denominator, the one political structure that survived? The U.S. Constitution. It has held the nation together, albeit while showing plenty of wear and tear around the edges.

It will continue to hold us together. No matter how hard the MAGA cultists/traitors seek to undermine it, the Constitution will endure. So will our democratic republic … and so will the electoral process that is taking its share of heavy hits from those who have declared war on our founding document.

This is not the feel-good wish of a Pollyanna. It is the assertion of an old man, a veteran who went to war for his country and a patriot who remains committed to the glorious idealism that our nation’s founders envisioned.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Those books … they’re all true!

I have been able to purchase and read several volumes Donald J. Trump’s political career and the term he served as president.

“Rage,” “Betrayal,” “Peril,” “Confidence Man,” “One Damn Thing After Another” all seem to harp on a single theme. They speak to Trump’s narcissism, his arrogance, his ignorance of the law and of government, his lies, his lack of compassion or empathy, his phony faith.

They all come from differing perspectives. Even the book by William Barr, the former attorney general in the Trump administration, touches on all of those “qualities” exhibited by Trump.

Here’s the amazing thing about it all. They’re all true! They speak accurately, as we all have watched this individual’s behavior before, during and after his single term as president.

Yes, that first draft of history is being written. It looks to me as though the final form is taking shape.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news, State news

Bipartisanship is best for Texas

Dade Phelan has survived a challenge to his role as speaker of the Texas House of Representatives … and for that I am glad he did.

Why? Because the challenge came from a fellow Republican who doesn’t much cotton to the way Phelan doles out House committee chairmanships. You see, Phelan — a Beaumont Republican — handed chairmanships to some of those dreaded Democrats with whom he serves in the Legislature.

The insurgency came from Rep. Tony Tinderholt, a Tarrant County Republican, who sought to replace Phelan as speaker. The final vote was 78 to 6.

Phelan’s bipartisan handling of the speakership is not unlike so many of the individuals who preceded him. Speakers Joe Straus, Dennis Bonnen and Tom Craddick all handed chairman’s gavels to Democrats. The most recent Democratic speaker, Pete Laney, also was generous in sharing power with Republicans.

According to the Texas Tribune: In response to the vote Saturday, Tinderholt said on Twitter he is “undeterred in my fight to ensure we have strong conservative leadership this session” and added that he will “look forward to the floor vote on the first day of session.” The 88th Texas Legislature begins meeting on Jan. 10.

Texas House Republican Caucus endorses Dade Phelan for speaker | The Texas Tribune

The endorsement by the Republican legislative caucus only strengthens Phelan’s hand as the entire Legislature will vote next month to select the next speaker. Phelan needs 76 votes and the GOP endorsement would seemingly ensure Phelan has them.

Phelan merely is following a tradition set long ago in a legislative body that works best when Democrats and Republicans can find common ground on legislation that works for all Texans. Sharing some of the power in the manner Phelan has chosen is a step toward achieving that legislative success.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Day of reckoning for GOP?

There should be no doubt about it, that the Republican Party’s hierarchy needs to stage a “come to Jesus” meeting on an issue involving the titular head of the party … the immediate past president of the United States.

Donald J. Trump has all but declared war on the Constitution, the document he once swore to defend and protect. He now believes that it is time to “suspend” the cherished governing document so that he can be reinstalled as POTUS.

So far —and it’s still early in this game of political chicken — too many Republican honchos have remained silent on this utterly frightening call from the former POTUS. There has been hardly any direct condemnation of this kind of rhetoric. Indeed, when pressed Sunday on the “This Week” TV news show, GOP Rep. Dave Joyce said he could support Trump if he is the party’s nominee for president in 2024. ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos pressed the congressman several times to disavow and condemn the language that came from Trump; he refused. Simply astonishing!

This is an unacceptable world view. To say out loud that it is time to suspend the Constitution is so beyond the pale it defies any sort of logic or reason.

Is there a chance on this good Earth that Trump will succeed? Not a chance! This idiocy, though, does fan the embers of those who continue to believe The Big Lie about the 2020 presidential election and it keeps alive the moronic view that Trump actually won an election that he lost.

Donald Trump needs to be chopped down and tossed into the political trash heap. The only viable means to ensure he is silenced is for the Republican Party leadership to condemn him — by name! — and turn its back on the trash he continues to sputter.

One obstacle stands in the way. It is the collective cowardice of those who purport to cherish the Constitution.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

 

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience