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No threat to freedom of speech

So … I’m watching a bit of news at work the other day when a colleague walks up and says of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, “I don’t think he should have to pay a damn thing for what he said. Whatever happened to freedom of speech?”

He wasn’t finished. Then he took off on the controversy over that New Hampshire police chief who called President Obama an “n-word,” and then said he wasn’t going to apologize for saying it. “He’s got a right to say what he wants,” my colleague said.

He said a bunch of other things. I chose not to engage him at that moment, as there were customers present.

I’ll answer him here.

Freedom of speech? He thinks it’s threatened by so-called “political correctness.” That’s what I got from him. If that’s the case, he’s wrong.

Donald Sterling has the right to say the things he did to his, uh, girlfriend. You know, the stuff about his disliking her hanging out with black athletes and bringing them to his basketball games. He can say those things.

The National Basketball Association to which he belongs as a team owner, however, has the right to impose certain codes of conduct upon team owners, players, coaches, ball boys and girls, and cheerleaders. Sterling broke the rules when he spouted off as he did with those reprehensible comments about African-Americans. His comments entered the public domain and the NBA has acted according to its bylaws.

It banned him for life, fined him $2.5 million and is pressuring other team owners to get him relieved of his team.

As for the n-word-spouting police chief, he also has the right to say what he said. He’s also a public official in a community that has the right to demand better of the people it pays with the taxpayer money.

The Constitution’s First Amendment isn’t in jeopardy here. It still stands. The Neanderthal cop and the sad-sack NBA team owner have just been caught saying things decent human beings shouldn’t say about other human beings.

Long live freedom of speech — and long live those who demand better of those who say disgraceful things.

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Bring on the Belmont!

How ’bout that California Chrome, winning the Preakness Stakes today?

My interest in horse racing has just increased manyfold. Why? Well, California Chrome has a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.

Affirmed was the latest horse to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.

Seattle Slew did it the year before. Secretariat won it in 1973 by smashing the Belmont field in that fantastic runaway 1,000-length victory … or at least it seemed that way.

Affirmed had to work real hard to win the Triple Crown, which in its way makes his victories even more memorial. Alydar, another great horse, raced Affirmed nose to nose every galloping step on the way only to come up short by, oh, that much.

Horse racing doesn’t never has piqued my interest much. It does, though, when a horse is in position to win the Triple Crown.

I know what I’ll be doing when they sound the bugle in Elmont, N.Y. I’ll be rooting for California Chrome.

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VA honcho quits

The health care scandal at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has claimed its first administrative victim.

Or has it?

Robert Petzel, the VA’s top health official, quit on Friday. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki accepted his resignation.

But wait.

Petzel had announced his intention to leave the department before news broke about the scandal in Phoenix, where veteran reportedly have died while awaiting health care.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/veterans-affairs-resign-robert-petzel-health-official-scandal-106772.html?hp=l13

The White House has dispatched its deputy chief of staff to conduct a top-to-bottom review of Veterans Affairs health practices in light of this unfolding scandal. Shinseki has said he’s “mad as hell,” as has President Obama.

At issue is the wait time for veterans, who were supposed to be on an expedited list to receive health care, but instead were delayed at times for weeks and months. What’s more, the VA concocted bogus data that purported to show the vets were experiencing “normal” wait times. Turns out they weren’t, not by a long shot.

House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., called Petzel’s resignation the “pinnacle of political doublespeak,” given that he had already planned to leave the department. He said his announcement “doesn’t pass the smell test.”

Someone needs to pass the air freshener.

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We owe our armed forces everything

You know, today would be a good day to offer a handshake and word of good wishes to someone you might see who happens to be wearing a military uniform.

It’s Armed Forces Day. Such public displays of respect and admiration would demonstrate just how far we’ve come as a nation and a people.

http://news.msn.com/us/surprise-military-homecomings#image=18

It wasn’t always this way.

Those of us who have served in the military in an earlier time remember how it used to be. Thank heavens the nation now displays openly its admiration for those who don the uniform and who thrust themselves into harm’s way — voluntarily, I should add — to protect and defend the nation they love.

The nation’s emotional attachment to our men and women in uniform turned dramatically during the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91. It was a brief, but decisive action. It came just 15 years after the Vietnam War, which didn’t end quite so well for the United States. Americans looked for a reason — as if it wasn’t there all along — to show support openly for the men and women who answered the call to liberate a nation from the grip of a dictator.

One of the elements of that rebirth that hasn’t gotten enough attention is that in many communities, the primary cheerleaders were Vietnam War veterans, many of whom had been had been slighted and scorned when they returned home from war. We were living in Beaumont during the Gulf War and we watched a stunning and lively parade of returning service personnel who had been activated. It did my heart proud to salute those young Americans as they rode by.

Moreover, it did my heart even prouder to salute a flatbed trailer full of Vietnam War vets as they soaked up the long-awaited affection they had deserved all along.

It’s Armed Forces Day. I hope to see someone in uniform today to tell them how proud I am of them and their service.

***

Indeed, while I’m at it, I want to give a shout-out to two members of my family — a cousin in the Army and a nephew in the Air Force — for their on-going service to this great and proud nation.

Thank you, Shani and Andrew.

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Medical history becomes slime target

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst just might have established himself as the worst attack politician in modern Texas political history.

Exhibit A? The slimy release of Republican runoff opponent Dan Patrick’s medical records.

What has this campaign for lieutenant governor come to?

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/05/16/possible-dewhurst-involvement-patrick-revelations/

The actual deed was done by Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who’s now backing Dewhurst after finishing last in the four-man race for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor. Dewhurst is trying to put distance between himself and Patterson over the release of the records. Whatever, it’s got Dewhurst’s fingerprints on it, too. The tactic stinks to high heaven.

Patrick, for whom I have little positive regard, is understandably outraged.

He checked into a hospital in the 1980s suffering from exhaustion and depression. He was being treated for depression with medication. The drugs apparently got to him, so he sought psychiatric care. He got it and was cured of what ailed him.

This is what Patrick, a fiery state senator from Houston, said in a news release: “I voluntarily entered the hospital twice in the 1980’s for exhaustion and to seek treatment for depression. Some of prescribed medications exacerbated my condition and created more serious problems. Through prayer and with the help of my family and physician, like millions of other American, I was able to defeat depression. I have not seen a doctor or taken any medication to treat depression in nearly 30 years. Two weeks ago I released a medical report indicating I am in excellent physical and mental health; I am ready to serve.”

Dewhurst appears to be fading in the race to keep his office. The revelations about the records release — even if it was done by a surrogate — reflect badly on a once-respected statewide officeholder.

Dewhurst said this in a statement Friday: “Commissioner Jerry Patterson operates completely independently of my Campaign, and over my objections he chose to release information from (former Houston Post reporter) Mr. Paul Harasim’s files, which are all part of the public domain.”

Nice try, governor.

I kind of like Dallas Morning News blogger Rudolph Bush’s take on this matter.

http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/05/there-are-plenty-of-reasons-to-oppose-dan-patrick-for-lt-gov-seeking-medical-help-isnt-one-of-them.html/

The end of this Republican runoff campaign cannot get here soon enough.

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Grand jury has much to ponder in animal abuse case

Randall County grand jurors have met this week.

They won’t meet again for another two weeks. They have a big case on their plate. It involves allegations of abuse of animals kept at the Amarillo Animal Control Shelter and whether they were euthanized properly.

Two senior animal control officials — director Mike McGee and deputy Shannon Barlow — are on “administrative leave.” The city has enacted changes in its euthanasia policy to correct what it acknowledges went wrong at the shelter. My own view is that McGee and Barlow already are deemed culpable in this matter and should be terminated.

Someone — maybe more — might be facing criminal charges if he grand jury decides to issue indictments.

I had thought there might be a decision this week. It won’t happen for at least another two weeks, given that the grand jury meets every other Wednesday.

That’s all right. The panel needs to consider lots of evidence. The district attorney’s office is presenting witnesses, documents and is trotting at least one prosecutor who will talk to the grand jury about the case.

I’m prepared to wait for as long as it takes for the grand jury to make its decision.

Having once served on a Randall County grand jury, I understand fully the stakes. Our grand jury didn’t get a case that has drawn this much attention, but we had our share of heartbreaking cases to ponder.

This one, though, has everyone watching.

Take your time, grand jurors, and be sure you get it done correctly.

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Rice has it right on Benghazi hearings

Susan Rice said a lot of wrong things in the hours and days right after the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

At the time she was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and was thrust into the Sunday news talk-show limelight without knowing all the facts that led to the uprising that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

She blew it, got it wrong — and helped ignite a firestorm that still raging to this day.

Rice is now the national security adviser to President Obama and she said something quite correct about the upcoming congressional hearings on the Benghazi tragedy.

“You know, House and Senate committees have pronounced on this repeatedly. So it’s hard to imagine what further will come of yet another committee,” she said.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/susan-rice-benghazi-panel-106710.html?hp=l7

House Speaker John Boehner recently named a select House committee chaired by tea party back bencher Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., to examine the Benghazi matter.

We’ve already had hearings. We’ve heard testimony from key players, such as then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Members of Congress have had their say; Republican critics have been loud in their condemnation of Clinton, as have Democratic supporters of the administration.

What is to be gained from what well could shape up as another partisan circus?

Rice’s answer? “Dang if I know.”

She’s not alone in wondering what a select committee is going to learn that other congressional panels haven’t already uncovered.

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'W' should have been there

OK, kids. At the risk of incurring the wrath of those who think I’m a member of the “Always Blame Bush” crowd, I’m going to weigh in on what some might perceive to be a sensitive subject.

Former President George W. Bush should have been among those attending today’s dedication of the 9/11 National Memorial and Museum.

He wasn’t there because of what a spokesperson for the former president said was a scheduling conflict.

President Bush had been invited. He couldn’t rearrange his schedule to make room for an event that surely had been on his radar for weeks, if not months.

President Obama was there, as was former President Clinton. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on hand, as was former Mayor Rudy Guiliani, on whose watch the terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo took part, along with former New York Gov. George Pataki and the current NYC mayor, Bill De Blasio.

Lots of dignitaries were on hand.

Not the 43rd president of the United States.

President Bush’s most stellar moments in office likely came in the hours and days after that horrific event, which occurred not quite nine months after he had taken office. The strength of character he exhibited in rallying a grief-stricken nation will be remembered forever. I admired then — and I do to this day — the way he stood in the rubble and declared through the bullhorn that “the people who knocked these buildings down will hear from all of us soon.”

The world today should have heard from the president on whose watch this nation was battered and scarred.

Scheduling conflict? It just doesn’t wash.

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Time for UT regent Hall to go

It’s reached a boiling point at the University of Texas System Board of Regents meeting room.

UT Regent Wallace Hall is facing almost certain impeachment, thanks to a legislative panel’s assertion that there are grounds to impeach the regent. The chairman of the UT board, Paul Foster, has said Hall should quit.

The Texas Tribune reported: “We spend a huge percentage of time dealing with him rather than dealing with the issues of the system,” Foster said. He also directly addressed Hall, saying his resignation “would be the most beneficial action you can take at this time.”

I have to agree with Chairman Foster’s assertion.

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/05/15/ut-board-chairman-calls-regent-hall-resign/

I’ll stipulate something off the top: I didn’t attend college in Texas. I don’t even know the UT fight song. However, my family and I have lived in Texas for 30 years and we’ve watched one of the state’s signature university systems from afar for all of that time.

Wallace Hall has created a mess, apparently, at the Austin-based institution.

He is alleged to have interfered in the administrative functions of the University of Texas-Austin campus. UT-Austin President Bill Powers has been dragged through the PR sausage grinder as a result.

An impeachment would be devastating for the system’s brand. The Legislature, which has been investigating this situation for months, well might be inclined to toss out one of those who is charged with setting policy at the system level.

The damage would be terrible, to the university and even to Hall himself if he were convicted of the abuse of power accusation that’s been leveled at him.

Hall, therefore, should just cut his losses and quit.

He’ll recover from the damage done to his emotional well-being. More importantly, so will the University of Texas System.

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Show me some bias, too

Critics of my work over the years have accused me of many things, called me many bad names.

I’ve been called inaccurate, misinformed, misguided, lazy, arrogant, elitist … all kinds of pejorative terms. I take that criticism seriously.

The one label I refuse to take seriously is “biased.” Yes, I’ve been called that as well.

Since leaving the world of daily print journalism in August 2012, I’ve continued to spew my thoughts into the blogosphere with this blog. I tell friends, acquaintances and family members the same thing: I am having so much fun that if I were any better I’d be twins.

Some of the recipients of my blog have deigned to accuse me of bias.

Such an interesting word, don’t you think? The dictionary describes it this way: “a preference or inclination that inhibits impartiality; prejudice.”

Why is that a non-serious criticism? Because we all have it.

The problem with bias is that we don’t see it in ourselves as readily as we see it in others, particularly those who espouse views at odds with our own.

“Oh, you’re so damn biased,” people will tell me. Oh, really? How do you know that? “Because you’ve got it all wrong on this particular issue.” And you’ve got it right? Does that make your view, well, unbiased?

We have it all contained within ourselves. The bias we see in others infects us as well. We might have precisely same type of bias, but we have.

I have it. I’ve been known to admit freely. I recognize it in commentators I watch on TV or hear on the radio. Yes, even those with whom I agree. It’s just that when I hear bias from sources with whom I share a particular view it doesn’t seem as grating as it does when I read or hear something from those with whom I disagree.

I continue to subscribe to the notion put forth many years ago by the late, great David Brinkley, who once said objectivity in journalism is an impossible goal. The best a journalist can hope to be, he said, is “fair.” That means you give credence to what all sides are saying in a debate or discussion. Opinion journalists then can draw their own conclusions, but only after they’ve given fair consideration to what the folks on the other side have to say.

When someone throws out the “you’re biased” canard, think of what Jesus said in John’s Gospel to those who wanted to stone an adulteress: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone …”

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