An “act of God”?

That’s what Gov. Rick Perry called the blowout and cataclysmic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Interesting. I’ve always thought acts of God constituted things such as tornadoes, hailstorms and droughts — events with which most Panhandle residents are acquainted. They also involve hurricanes and monsoon-like rain, which pummel our neighbors on the Gulf Coast. They also involve gorgeous sunrises and sunsets — once again events that are pleasing to our eyes here on the High Plains.

But the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf, killing 11 workers and which is still spilling oil into the water isn’t an act of God as most of us understand the term.

Gov. Perry, though, struggled to defend his remark, telling the Houston Chronicle that the phrase has been used “in legal terms for a long time in this state.” Huh?

Maybe the governor is suggesting that since the Almighty governs every activity in the universe, that human error is an act governed by His all-powerful hand.

I’ll stick with my own understanding of the phrase.

What happened in the Gulf is an act of humankind. And human beings are going to be held responsible.

Still, if you’re somebody who only reads the editorial page of The New York Times, try glancing at the page of The Wall Street Journal once in a while. If you’re a fan of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, try reading a few columns on the Huffington Post website. It may make your blood boil; your mind may not be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship…”-President Obama, U of Michigan, May 1,2010

The above is part of a comment replying to an earlier post I wrote about Rush Limbaugh and his expected criticism of the federal government’s arrest of the suspect in the failed bomb attempt at Times Square.

That the respondent, named “Anonymous,” would send this comment to me implies that I don’t read opinions with which I disagree. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I read them all the time.

I love reading well-written opinions, from thoughtful and responsible people who have something important to say. Whether I agree with their views is irrelevant in that context.

What infuriates me, though, are the audiences who tune in to these talk-show entertainers and then accept what they say as gospel.

And I actually agree with the president’s view that getting one’s blood to boil helps stimulate your thought processes. However, I’ll pass on the blowhards’ overheated rhetoric.

I am acutely aware aware that local government entities operate independently of each other.

But one of them, Amarillo College, is setting the standard for accountability in the selection of a key administrator. Three educators are taking part this week in what amounts to a public audition for the job of vice president of academic affairs. AC officials invited them to meet with faculty, students, college staff and the public. The college is letting the taxpaying public size up these folks.

West Texas A&M University usually follows this model, to its great credit as well.

Contrast that with the way local school districts do these searches. Too often, districts don’t tell anyone the identity of the finalists, contending that doing so would compromise the applicants’ standing with their current employers. Interesting. I guess that the three people seeking this key administrative post don’t have those worries. Why doesn’t it matter for these folks, when it seems to matter — a great deal — to those applying for positions with local school districts?

Cities and counties in the Texas Panhandle aren’t any better in this regard, either.

AC President Paul Matney, whose former job the school is seeking to fill, gets it.

Maybe he can persuade his fellow public institution CEOs — and the governing boards — to follow suit.

My wife and I drove this past weekend to Lubbock and noticed something we hadn’t seen in some time.

It’s tempting to turn the radio dial over to KGNC 710 AM to listen to Rush “Daddy Dittohead” Limbaugh as he bloviates against the Obama administration.

I’m going to resist the temptation, because I fear that Big Daddy is going to find some pretext to criticize the administration’s handling of the failed Times Square terror attack — and the arrest of the suspect who apparently is singing like a canary to his captors. If I were to hear such idiotic rantings from this clown, I just might go apoplectic — literally.

President Obama cannot buy a break with these right-wing blowhards. They find fault even where none exists.

Let’s see: Surveillance cameras catch grainy images two days ago of some guy acting nervously in front of his vehicle in NYC’s Times Square. He scurries away. Police swoop in and discover a bomb on the vehicle, which is loaded with physical evidence to help the authorities track down the suspect.

The Justice Department calls in its crack FBI terrorism unit. The good guys run all the traps quickly and then apprehend the suspect at JFK airport as he was preparing to fly to Dubai. He’s a newly minted U.S. citizen who was born in Pakistan; the would-be bomber’s motive is not yet determined.

Well, I give the administration extremely high marks for nabbing a suspect so quickly. Indeed, the president has made it clear since the beginning of his administration that he intends to pursue bad guys just as relentlessly as President Bush did. And yet, none of that seems to matter to his critics.

We have responsible critics, people with important public service jobs — such as Rep. Mac Thornberry. Then we have the entertainment yahoos, such as Daddy Dittohead.

I won’t listen to Limbaugh. Perhaps he’ll keep his trap shut on this issue, given that he might not have anything critical to say about Obama. Indeed, Limbaugh turns an old cliche on its ear by adhering to the notion that “If you can’t say anything bad about someone, don’t say anything at all.”

May he suffer in golden silence.

Texas transportation officials have a new fan: me.

I’m not a bettor, but I’ll wager this: We aren’t going to have a “heck of a job, Brownie” moment as President Obama looks for a way to stop that huge oil spill off the Louisiana coast.

Brownie, of course, is the former Federal Emergency Management Agency head, Michael Brown, who drew high praise from President Bush — while he was making a mess of the recovery in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s savage attack in August 2005 on the Gulf Coast.

The president’s comments have drawn widespread scorn ever since he uttered them. Brown quit his FEMA job and New Orleans — which suffered the brunt of Katrina’s fury — hasn’t recovered fully yet.

Now a new president is facing a mammoth manmade disaster off the Louisiana coast. Barack Obama generally is more careful with his language than his immediate predecessor. He’ll need to be more than just circumspect, however. He’ll need to pull together all the forces he can, along with the neighboring states and the oil company (British Petroleum) that owns the rig that exploded and collapsed, to stop this ecological catastrophe.

Events such as this make me absolutely certain that the 400 grand we pay the president each year isn’t nearly enough.

Picking the next 47th District judge well might be a pro forma procedure for three political leaders, the Republican chairmen of Randall, Potter and Armstrong counties.

It was explained to me this afternoon by one of them:

The party chairmen are going to interview all the candidates for the judge’s seat. They are seeking to replace the late Hal Miner, who died in March. The chairmen will choose one of the candidates, or they might recommend two or more of them. They’ll send the name or names to Gov. Rick Perry’s office. The governor then will have the final say on who gets picked.

OK, suppose the best candidate of all time also happens to have been a supporter of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who lost to Perry in the bitter GOP primary for governor. Well, that candidate — who could be the second coming of John Marshall — would be passed over. Why? This person did not support Perry in the primary.

So, the appointment of next 47th District judge will fall on the governor’s shoulders. The party chairmen have been hamstrung in their search for the best candidate possible for this critical job. They’re limiting their search only to Perry supporters, rather than being able to find the best possible candidate for the job.

I asked this chairman if the political realities create a litmus test for judicial candidates — you know, the kind of thing that politicians say they never apply. He didn’t deny it.

He also then said that a Hutchison supporter who doesn’t stand a chance of getting the appointment can run for the office in four years.

But until then, political loyalty matters more than judicial qualifications or philosophy in selecting someone for this critical state district judgeship.

What a shame.

Dusty McGuire is a force of nature.

And that description is intended precisely because of what is going to happen on Arbor Day, which falls on Friday. We note Arbor Day often by planting a tree. But this year we’ll honor it by dedicating a section of Ellwood Park for neighborhood residents to use for their recreation.

McGuire is a driving force behind the walking and jogging and exercise area near the retirement homes on the east end of Ellwood Park. The area also will include an Amarillo Police Department substation, which will be staffed by officers on the lookout for potential trouble.

Ellwood Senior Park will be dedicated at 10 a.m. Friday. It will include a welcome from Mayor Debra McCartt, who also will present an Arbor Day proclamation. State forester Brian Scott will present the city with a Tree City USA Award. The event will feature tours and demonstrations of the exercise equipment that’s been installed at the park.

All in all, this is a wonderful addition to Ellwood Park. And Dusty McGuire, who’s been working tirelessly for many years to Keep Amarillo Beautiful, deserves high praise for her effort.