By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
If Joe Biden and Donald Trump are going to “debate” each other next week, I want to stipulate two things that I believe must occur.
One is that the presidential candidates and the medical teams have to assure us that everyone within any distance at all will be safe from the COVID virus that has afflicted the POTUS. Nothing short of that will suffice. I mean, the virus is still infecting and killing thousands of Americans every day.
Second, if the next encounter resembles the first one, I want no part of it. A second shout fest — with Trump doing almost all of the interrupting and badgering — will do nothing to advance the cause of civil debate. It would be a waste of my time. I don’t know about you but I didn’t hear anything new during that first so-called “debate.”
Trump is resisting calls to change the format. Fine. Let him resist and then let the public see what a fool we have seeking re-election to a second term as president of the United States.
By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
If anyone were to ask for my opinion, I would tell Joe Biden’s team to presume he is losing the contest against Donald Trump.
That means he should campaign full out, full throttle as he heads down the home stretch of the 2020 campaign for president.
The Donald keeps making mistakes that send polling numbers in Biden’s direction. That shouldn’t count.
I want Biden to win. I do not want another home stretch surprise such as what happened when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016.
So, to avoid such a reprise, Biden needs to act as if he is behind.
Is anyone listening to me?
By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
Wait just a doggone, cotton-pickin’ minute.
Donald Trump is hospitalized with a highly infectious, potentially fatal virus — which has kept millions of Americans away from their loved ones as they struggle though isolation — and he does … what?
He piles into an airtight armored vehicle with Secret Service agents and takes a joyride around the hospital to wave at supporters. Then he goes back to his room at Walter Reed Medical Center as if to say “No harm, no foul.”
What the f***?
This happened today. Trump is supposed to be in isolation. He is supposed to be kept away from other human beings. Trump is supposed to be recovering quietly in his hospital room from a virus that could kill him.
But … no-o-o-o! This guy has to put on a show for his supporters. To what end? That he’s tougher than your average COVID-19 patient?
How do you suppose that is going to play with the loved ones of COVID-19 patients who have died from the disease? How might those who had to stay away while Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, husband, wife, brother and sister, children all passed without being near those who love them the most respond to Donald Trump’s show?
This display accomplished not a single constructive thing. Indeed, Donald Trump well might have exposed Secret Service agents riding with him in that hermetically sealed vehicle to the coronavirus that is supposed to keep Trump in isolation.
This is not how you “lead by example.” It is the antithesis of it. Donald Trump said he would now take the coronavirus more seriously than he has until now. Really? This is how he shows it?
Absolutely disgraceful!
By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had been in some serious trouble already, with a pending trial awaiting him over allegations of securities fraud.
Now comes a new set of concerns raised by senior AG office staffers, including Paxton’s top assistant, who are demanding a federal investigation into whether Paxton has abused the power of his office.
The hits just keep on comin’, as the saying goes.
Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, two of Paxton’s fellow Republicans, are being strangely reticent about the allegations. Patrick says they are “very concerning” and Abbott said they raise “serious questions.” The two men of course are withholding judgment until they know all the facts.
As the Texas Tribune has reported: “We have a good faith belief that the attorney general is violating federal and/or state law including prohibitions related to improper influence, abuse of office, bribery and other potential criminal offenses,” seven agency leaders wrote in a one-page letter obtained by the (Austin American-) Statesman.
Among the seven officials who signed the letter is Jeff Mateer, Paxton’s top aide, who quit the AG’s office this past week.
Good heavens. The state’s top law enforcement officer cannot possibly function well with these kinds of clouds hanging directly over him. He already is awaiting trial on securities fraud stemming from a Collin County indictment in 2015 alleging that he failed to notify investors of his involvement with certain fund management outfits. Now we have this matter.
I would hope the federal government would get involved promptly and reach an independent finding of whether the admittedly unspecified allegations have any merit.
If not, then let Paxton stand trial on the securities matter. If they are legitimate, then let’s allow the system to take care of AG Paxton.
By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
The dissembling, prevarication, obfuscation and outright lying just doesn’t stop within the White House even when it involves the health of the president of the United States.
Donald Trump’s recovery from the COVID-19 virus is being turned into a carnival of half-truths and outright fiction. Holy crap, man! We’re dealing here with the head of state, our commander in chief, the guy with the nuclear launch codes.
It’s bad enough that all of that happens to reside in the body of Donald John Trump. Now, though, we are faced with not knowing whether the president is truly on the road back to recovery or whether he could take a turn for the worse.
This back/forth about whether Trump received oxygen upon being admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center is a case in point. I get that hooking a 74-year-old male hospital patient up to an oxygen tank is a fairly normal procedure. Why not just say so? Why dance around the issue as if reporters are asking the docs to give us a live-or-die prognosis?
I probably shouldn’t be surprised at any of this. Donald Trump long ago assumed the title of Liar in Chief, even though he is a terrible liar. The lack of truth-telling has filtered through the ranks, even through the medical staff that should be immune (no pun intended) from such an affliction.
I want the president and first lady to recover from this illness. In the meantime, I also want to know the full truth in real time about what is happening to the leader of our country.
Tell us the truth!
By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
When I heard the news that Bob Gibson had died of cancer at the age of 84 I thought immediately of a radio interview I heard that mentioned Gibson’s name.
Bob Gibson was a first-ballot Major League Baseball Hall of Famer. He played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He won 251 games with the Cardinals and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1981.
He was a throwback to a time when pitchers controlled the field, controlled the game. One did not mess with Bob Gibson. Not ever!
Years ago, I was listening to a sports radio talk show. The host had former Philadelphia Phillies third baseman (and Hall of Famer) Mike Schmidt on the air. Schmidt was talking about how too many hitters like to stand in the batter’s box and watch their home runs fly into the stands, at which point they prance their way around the base paths.
Schmidt said in his day, pitchers wouldn’t stand for it. He mentioned a pitcher specifically who he said would take matters into his own hands: Bob Gibson. The next time the batter would come to the plate to face Gibson, Schmidt said, he would be greeted by a 95-mph fastball thrown at his head that Gibson would hurl at him.
Yeah, Bob Gibson was one tough dude. He also was a champion.
By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
If there is an issue that demands continuity in a government response it must include the health and well-being of our head of state and commander in chief.
Are we getting now from the White House as Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, battle the coronavirus? Hardly.
We are getting more of the chaotic mixed messaging that has afflicted the White House since, oh, when Trump became president.
Donald Trump is a patient at Walter Reed Medical Center. The doctors tell us that Trump’s condition is progressing; then we hear from others close to the situation that Trump’s vital signs are “worrisome” and that the next 48 hours will be critical.
Which is it?
Americans cannot get a clear reading of whether the doctors administered oxygen to Trump. White House doctors tell us that he doesn’t have oxygen “right now,” or “today.” No mention of whether he ever has received it.
We don’t know when Trump might have tested positive for the virus and whether he continued his activities for another full day after getting the diagnosis.
So many questions. The White House seems unable or unwilling to deliver a clear, unambiguous message. What’s at stake? The health of the president. Not only that, we have our national security apparatus in potential jeopardy when the public does not have a clear understanding of the president’s health.
Donald Trump, lest we forget, happens to be part of a major at-risk group: elderly, overweight males are among those most vulnerable to serious symptoms if they test positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Therefore, we need a crystal clear message that tells us the whole truth about the physical condition of president.
Stop the chaos!
By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
My friends and former neighbors in Amarillo have a big decision to make on Nov. 3.
They will have to decide whether to improve the Civic Center. From what I understand, plans call for a serious expansion of the convention space, the Cal Farley Coliseum, along with lots of cosmetic improvements throughout the complex.
What I am still trying to understand, though, is the supposed “relocation” of City Hall. I have not yet determined whether the city has found a site to relocate its government operations center, which at one time was supposed to be part of the entire bond issue. I do hope it does have a site. The city council recently agreed on a contract in the nearby warehouse district that could produce a location for City Hall. The city reportedly has decided to delay a decision on relocation until after the election. From what I have seen on a couple of news sites the council hasn’t yet made a firm decision on where it intends to place its government office.
As KFDA NewsChannel 10 has reported: Mayor Ginger Nelson says the continuous repairs to the current building and cost efficiency drove this decision. “Just seeing what our options were there, it was important to us to take an existing building,” said Nelson “We thought that was a better use of taxpayer dollars and there were some cost efficiency to be gained by refurbishing an existing building vs buying a brand-new building.”
The city is hoping to invest a couple hundred million dollars-plus of public money on the Civic Center. Getting it approved in this Pandemic Era well could be a tough sell.
A big part of me wishes the city well. The Civic Center needs work. Amarillo isn’t getting a lot of top-drawer entertainment acts, which end up venturing down the interstate to Lubbock where the spacious United Center awaits.
How would I vote? Probably “yes.” As for the City Hall relocation, the city should proceed with tremendous caution and care. That project all by itself is a huge deal.