national news, political news

Meanwhile, a shutdown looms … again!

As the political world frets and ponders the fate of the Epstein files, a James Comey indictment over a frivolous perjury allegation, Congress and the so-called president are locking horns over whether to allow the federal government to shut down … again!

No one is governing. Not on Capitol Hill. Not in the White House. Congress is grappling with yet another continuing resolution and whether to enact it and fund the government for a few more weeks. If not, then we shut the government down — or much of it, anyway — while Congress and the so-called POTUS argue among themselves.

This is a shitty way to run the world’s greatest democratic republic. I say that with caution, because our greatness is being whittled away by Donald Trump’s efforts to usurp power from Congress and grant himself power the founders never envisioned.

I continue to be utterly flabbergasted that this Congress allows a president to strip the legislative branch of the authority granted it by the founding fathers. The founders created a presidency with limited power. They limited the legislative branch’s power, too. A president proposes legislation, but Congress disposes it. That’s how it’s supposed to go. Presidents are asked to work hand-in-hand with Congress, including with members of the opposing party, to fund the government. Is any of that occurring? Hah!

The federal court system, meanwhile, is juggling issues that have nothing to do with governance, but everything to do with presidential conduct.

Our government is broken. I won’t say it’s destroyed, but man … the damage is piling up.

I know this sounds a little like a “both sides at fault” argument, but in the case of the budget shutdown, I have to lay blame at the two governing branches’ feet. It would be up to the courts to determine if either sides does something in violation of the US Constitution.

However, I am sickened by Trump’s ongoing petulance and the revenge he continues to seek against his political foes. It is Trump’s vengeance that is driving Democrats away. As the only politician elected by the entire nation, it falls, therefore, on the president to step up and do what is right.

Find a solution to this ongoing budget crisis!

local news, political news

Making a personal plea

I did something today I don’t normally do, which isn’t a big deal per se, but it’s big enough of a deal for me to post a brief item on my blog.

U.S. Rep. Keith Self, a Collin County Republican, is going to get a letter from me. It’s not a long tome. I am asking him to rethink his rock-solid support for Donald J. Trump. Self is my congressman. He is a Republican. He also is a good guy who I happen to like personally. He and I are acquainted. We have shared some things we have in common, such as the fact that we both lived in Amarillo. Self grew up there; I got there in January 1995 to advance my career in journalism.

Self, though, stands behind a man who I believe is trampling on the founding fathers’ graves by seeking to seize more power for the presidency than the founders envisioned. The Justice Department indictment of James Comey, the former FBI director, was the final straw for me.

I want Self to rethink his loyalty to Trump. The president is a menace. He poses a dire threat to our very form of government.

Keith Self fought for this country. He is an Army infantry officer, a Ranger and a man with high honor. He is a devoted patriot. Trump has never served his country. Even now he occupies an office that he aims to serve his needs. I am baffled beyond belief that Keith Self, with his background and history of serving the United States of America, would stand so firmly behind a politiician who spits on the memory of those who have served with valor.

I harbor no illusion about whether a single letter from a single constituent is going to do the trick. I’m hoping that others out there will take a moment to let Keith Self know this indisputable fact: He works for you and me … and not for the president of the United States.

national news, political news

Trump keeps promises, breaks a few others

Donald J. Trump fancies himself as being an atypical politician, but he’s just like all the others in this key aspect: He makes promises while campaigning for office and keeps a few and breaks others.

He ran for president in 2024 vowing to end the Ukraine-Russia war on Day One; he vowed to lower prices on goods. Trump fell short on those promises.

He also vowed to be voters’ “retribution” and said he would seek to punish his political foes. Bingo! He has kept those pledges.

It’s the pledges kept that cause me the most concern. Trump has launched probes in search of a crime. He has the targets, he just needs to find something to plaster onto them. Former FBI director James Comey today was indicted for perjury for testimony he gave to a Senate committee. Trump and Comey hate each other, but the evidence for an indictment doesn’t appear to stack up. That doesn’t matter to Trump. He’s going after Comey anyway.

Across the board, Trump is weaponizing federal law enforcement for the purpose of getting even with his foes.

Dang! He told us he would do it and yet a slim plurality Americans elected him POTUS anyway!

As for the other stuff, the policy matters that affect how much money we have to spend on food, transportation and housing, Trump is falling short. Oh, and the Ukraine war. Mr. Mind Changer now sings the praises of Ukraine’s effort at defending itself against the Russian invaders.

The charlatan in chief has gone bonkers.

local news, media news, national news

Sorry for not engaging

Here it comes … a qualified apology to the occasional critic of this blog who challenges me to engage them in debate, only to be rebuffed by me.

High Plains Blogger used to consume a lot more of my time than it does these days. As I grow older — and as I continue to rebuild my life after my bride’s passing from brain cancer more than two years ago — the blog has become less a part of my life. That’s by design. It’s my design.

I have my share of supporters who tell me they like what I have to say on issues of the day. I also have a number of folks who I know oppose my point of view. On occasion they will challenge me. They demand that I explain myself. If they present data they believe proves me wrong, they insist I say so publicly, or at the very least engage them in debate.

I once posted an item on this blog that declared that I see my posted opinion as my last word on a subject. Therefore, I have no particular need or desire to engage someone in a debate that will result only in boosting my blood pressure. Maybe even theirs, too.

Now that I am well into this next phase of my life, I have even less reason to go toe-to-toe with a political foe. There is no point. I choose only to let my critics have the last word, as I am not afflicted by what I call “last word-itis.”

I have asked on occasion if my foe and I could just “agree to disagree.” Some of them say yes. Some of them want to keep the rhetorical brass knucks handy.

Look, the loss of my dear Kathy Anne taught me a valuable life lesson. It is that life is too damn short to waste time on matters that won’t ever change. I never expect to change anyone’s mind with the posts I deliver on High Plains Blogger. They might think they can change mine.

They would be horribly mistaken. To those who wish I would engage them, I merely want to apologize … but only for staying away from the rough-and-tumble. I won’t apologize for whatever I say.

media news

On same track as the Cruz Missile? Who knew?

Hell has frozen over, which is the only explanation I can find to explain how Sen. Ted Cruz and I are on the same page regarding the First Amendment.

Trifling with the very first civil liberty written into the U.S. Constitution is a “dangerous” exercise, Cruz said this week. He was speaking of the efforts to silence people who are critical of Donald Trump. People such as late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel.

Allow me this loud and full-throated cheer for Cruz, a dedicated Trumpkin to be sure, but also someone who understands what the First Amendment means, what it says and how it must be honored. Cruz served as Texas solicitor general before being elected to the Senate in 2012. He holds a law degree from Harvard University. I’ve never doubted his smarts. I just disagree with his policy views and detest the self-serving nature in which he carries himself.

On this matter, Cruz is right. He lamented the Trump administration’s thin skin regarding something Kimmel said that got ABC to suspend him “indefinitely.” Kimmel didn’t even criticize the Trump administration, which always seems to stand front and center in anything involving Trump’s criticism of the media and fellow politicians. Kimmel made some un-funny crack about provocateur Charlie Kirk’s killer possibly being a MAGA moron. That crossed some blurry line, ABC said.

Kimmel’s indefinite suspension lasted about three days. He’s back on the air tonight. I’ll be watching. I might even stand and applaud in my North Texas living room when he opens his show.

I just want to welcome the Cruz Missile into my world of protecting the nation’s governing document … even the part that gives us the freedom to criticize our government.

media news

Kimmel is back to stick it deeper

As a rule I don’t plan my day around what’s appearing on TV … but Tuesday night I am making an exception.

I am going to be sure to watch Jimmy Kimmel’s return to his 10:35 pm (Central Time) slot on ABC’s “Late Night” show. This is a big … deal, man!

Why? Because the network that suspended Kimmel indefinitely from his talk show made an egregious error in judgment. Its decision to fire Kimmel flew directly into the teeth of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the amendment that guarantees free speech.

Kimmel had made a crack on the air that Charlie Kirk’s murder the other day well could have been a MAGA-inspired event and not a deed done by a lunatic who disagreed with the right-wing influencer’s point of view. ABC determined Kimmel was out of bounds.

Wait a second! Kimmel didn’t offer an original thought. Almost at the moment Kirk was mortally wounded, some lefties sought to argue that the MAGA crowd was looking for way to tear our attention away from those Jeffrey Epstein files that allegedly contain Donald Trump’s name and suggest that the president and the convicted sex trafficker and pedophile were friends.

Look, ABC overreacted. Kimmel did not need to be punished in this manner. I am glad Kimmel is coming back.

To be clear, on the rare occasion that I stay up late enough to watch one of the after-hours comedians, i prefer Stephen Colbert on CBS-TV. He’s funnier — and more biting — than Kimmel. But that’s just me.

On Tuesday night, I will dial in to watch Jimmy Kimmel march triumpantly on stage and listen to what he has to say about what the network did to shame him. Without a shred of doubt, I will not be the only American who does so.

political news, State news

Texas primaries to take center stage in 2026

You read that headline correctly … it says “primaries” because both major parties appear set to field two utterly fascinating primary contests for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican John Cornyn.

Cornyn is running for his umpteenth term after serving as Texas attorney general and a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. His GOP challenger appears to be Attorney General Ken Paxton, the nimrod who was impeached by the Texas House and has been the subject of ethics complaints and investigations since he took office in 2015.

Cornyn already is going after Paxton hammer and tong. His campaign allies point out that Paxton has been sued by former senior staff lawyers at the AG’s office, his wife — state Sen. Angela Paxton — is divorcing him on “Biblical grounds” (translation: she accuses the AG of cheating on her) and that he has become an embarrassment to the party, to the state and to Texans in general. Cornyn’s own campaign touts his closeness to Donald Trump, saying he has supported Trump’s agenda more than 99% of the time.

Paxton is a MAGA favorite; Cornyn, not so much. Paxton jumped out to an early lead, but Cornyn appears to be chipping away at Paxton’s advantage.

This one, ladies and gentleman, is going to be a barn burner.

Then we have the Democratic primary for the Senate.

Colin Allred, the former Dallas congressman and former college and pro football player, lost to Ted Cruz in 2024. He’s back in the game. I like this young man. He is earnest and forthright.

But he has a mystery challenger who well could provide the most excitement of either primary campaign. He is state Sen. James Talarico, who is running a faith-based campaign that touts his Christian beliefs. Let’s see, the last Democrat of any note I can recall running such a campaign was, hmm, the late Jimmy Carter, who in 1976 emerged from nowhere to win the Democratic presidential nomination and then defeat President Gerald Ford’s bid for election.

Talarico points out Jesus Christ’s teachings of loving one’s foes, of giving shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry and how Christians who adhere to Christ’s word should carry that belief into the realm of public policy.

Of the four men I have singled out, only one of them deserves my scorn: Paxton. The other three all understand government, its limitations and appreciate the nobility of public service. However, I am going to watch with great interest as both of these primary contests take shape.

political news

You go now, Charlie Kirk

I am one American patriot — and I don’t believe I am the only one — who wants Charlie Kirk to disappear into the realm of political figures who somehow achieved more notoriety dead than he ever did when he was living.

Kirk was gunned down recently at Utah Valley University. He was leading a political rally. A gunman took aim and fired a single rifle shot, hitting Kirk in the neck. It was a gruesome moment.. He died in a local hospital.

Both sides — left and right — keep carrying on about this guy’s death as if he was someone who was actually important. As if he held a public office. Or served in an executive capacity in some level of govenment. Or was a paid political staffer. He was a guy who had strong opinions on issues of the day and as they say about those with opinions: Everyone has them; they are like certain body orafices.

He was a 31-year-old political hack who earned his spurs telling us that Black people were inferior to everyone else. He said President Biden should die for all the crimes he committed against the nation.

I mourn along with Kirk’s wife and young children over his death. The dude has gotten far more than his 15 minutes of fame. Can we just say farewell to this clown and get on with the rest of our lives?

Sports news

Covering pro sports requires an MBA

This blog post is a rant, but not the kind of rant that High Plains Blogger readers have come to expect … and some of whom actually like to read from little ol’ me.

This one deals with sports writing and the special expertise that has become evident in the facts that reporters have to possess. They need master’s degrees in business administration to report accurately on the comings and goings of pro athletes, on the decisions made on where they pursue their craft … and the huge amount of money they earn while hitting a baseball, shooting a basketball or tossing a football and tackling those who do.

I must restrict this blog to just men’s sports, because that is where the money issue is spiraling into outer space.

I was reading recently about the Dallas Cowboys’ decision to trade defensive lineman Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. I cannot even begin to recite the terms of the trade, because it soared way over my pointed noggin. I saw terms like “salary cap,” and “franchise tag” and assorted other rhetoric that made the facts of the trade totally foreign to me. I don’t even know the sticking points that made the Cowboys dicker for the trade, other than I presume Parsons wanted more money than the Cowboys were willing to pay.

Whatever …

This is just the latest such story that goes way over my head.

I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s when it was a huge deal to read about a pro baseball athlete earning 100 grand a year. Stan Musial was the first, I think, to crack that barrier. Then came Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron. Who else? I remember when quarterback Joe Namath signed with the AFL’s New York Jets for $400,000. You would’ve thought the planet had just spun off its axis.

It’s all chump change these days when we talk about that bygone era.

As for sports writers who have cover these issues for anyone with an interest in the amount of money that goes to these people, they now must bring financial expertise to be able to boil it all down to the lowest possible level. They used to tell us to write our stories so that a fifth grader can understand it.

Does a child actually understand the wealth that pro athletes command?

national news

What about Trump library?

Admit it boys and girls … we’re getting closer to the first year of Donald Trump’s second term in office, which puts us a little closer to his permanent exit from the Oval Office. Thus, I know you’ve been thinking the same thought that has crossed my mind: What will Trump’s library contain?

Or will he even have a presidential library and museum?

The first such exhibit I ever saw was in 1973 in West Branch, Iowa, home of the Herbert Hoover presidential library. I thought of President Hoover only in one context, that the Great Depression began on his watch with the collapse of the stock market and he lost his re-election bid in a landslide to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I learned, though, that Hoover also was a world-class humanitarian and he parlayed his compassion for the needy into legendary acts of good for humankind.

Fast-forward to the present day and we have Donald Trump. He’s been impeached twice. He has been vilified by world leaders for a variety of missteps. He now is trying to dismantle our democratic republic while seeking to form an autocracy. He has boasted of grabbing women in their private areas, has denigrated immigrants, the media, his political foes (who he calls “the enemy”) and has been caught telling outright lies by the tens of thousands.

You get the idea, I presume. How does he define his time in office? What will be the signature act of good he will have performed while serving as president?

This past weekend, I toured the George W. Bush library and museum in Dallas. I didn’t vote for President Bush in 2000 or 2004, but I do admire his commitment to the Constitution and his years of public service. I admire the president’s steadfast courage after 9/11 and I admire the investment his administration made in education reform and in fighting HIV/AIDS.

Believe it or not, I do wish for a signature moment that could define Donald Trump’s time in office in a positive light. So far, he’s coming up empty.

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience