All posts by kanelis2012

national news, political news

Bizarre season awaits

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friend and foe we all are standing on the doorstep of the craziest, most bizarre and unexplainable political season in history.

That is no hyperbole. It is for real. It is a sickening reality of the state of the American political system and how it has transformed from a process that selects only the very best men and women among us to run for president to one that perverts the rule of law and allows for a major-party POTUS candidate to challenge the very integrity of the system he could take an oath to defend and protect.

Oh, my. Pass the Pepto.

Donald Trump will face a sentencing hearing on July 11 after being convicted on 34 felony counts of paying a porn actress illegally to keep her quiet about a sexual encounter she said the two of them had in 2006. The 45th POTUS denies it took place. The actress, Stephanie Clifford — aka Stormy Daniels — said it did. The jury believed her account and handed down the 34-count guilty verdict.

Less than a week after the hearing, Republicans will gather in Milwaukee to nominate their next candidate for president. It will be — yes, that’s right — the aforementioned convicted criminal.

Is this utterly bizarre, or what?

I was thinking recently of a long-ago time when a vice-presidential candidate was forced to withdraw because of reports he had electro-shock therapy to treat him for depression. The VP nominee was Thomas Eagleton, whom the 1972 presidential nominee George McGovern had selected to run on the Democratic ticket with him. I remember at the time that the media went ballistic over the revelation of treatment; it was successful, by the way. The party, though, got the nervous nellies over it and forced Eagleton to step away. McGovern and the new VP nominee, Sargent Shriver, lost to President Nixon in a historic 49-state landslide.

Now we have this prospect awaiting the next major-party candidate. The POTUS candidate is now convicted of a felony. He is awaiting trial on two federal charges and a third charge in another state court. He has been accused of inciting the assault on our government on Jan. 6, 2021; of hiding classified documents taken illegally from the White House; and of pressuring Georgia officials to “find” enough votes for him to declare victory in that state in 2020.

Are these the kinds of things we now should expect in our presidential candidate? Are we now set to elect this convicted criminal to another term as POTUS?

What in the name of Almighty God have we become if that is the case?

Let us all hold on, gang, for the roughest political ride we’ve ever seen … or likely will ever see.

International news

Bibi is getting ‘fickle’?

No one ever should ascribe the term “fickle” to Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, the fiery and ferocious prime minister of Israel.

He declared war on Hamas, the terrorists who on Oct. 7, 2023 launched the hideous rocket attack from Gaza into Israel. They killed more than 1,000 Israelis. Israel responded with a massive show of force that has killed many times more Gazans. Netanyahu’s stated aim is to “destroy Hamas.”

OK. But now the Israelis have a serious proposal to end the violence on the table. Bibi said it’s a non-starter, even though President Biden said late this past week that Israel had worked out the framework of a permanent peace deal with the United States and Hamas.

What gives?

I get that Netanyahu wants to destroy Hamas. I am with him fully. Hamas is a bloodthirsty terrorist organization whose sole intent is to destroy Israel. At what cost is Israel willing to go before declaring Hamas to be dead and buried?

The bloodbath cannot continue. My hope from afar is that Netanyahu can find it within himself to negotiate an end to this warfare and start cleaning up the damage that his country’s vaunted military has inflicted.

environmental news, local news

Drive home: not for the timid

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I want to offer a serious shout-out to my fellow North Texans who today demonstrated that smart people do exist and they do occupy motor vehicles wisely through some seriously inclement weather.

My day began inauspiciously enough with a drive from McKinney to Fort Worth, where a friend of mine and I went to see a movie. We enjoyed the new release, “Ezra.” We had lunch and then I headed back to my house in Princeton. My GPS said it would take a little more than hour to make the trip. Bwahahaha!

I was heading for the Sam Rayburn Tollway when I saw it get very dark, very quickly. It was about 4 p.m. Then the rain came. With a vengeance!

Lightning flashes lit up the sky. The rain came down in seemingly Biblical amounts. The wind started to howl.

I turned on my four-way flashers and slowed my Ranger pickup way to down to around 35 or 40 mph.

This is where I want to offer a bouquet to the hundreds of other motorists I noticed. They did the same thing. Flashers and a major slow-down.

I noticed one serious wreck on the tollway median; a young couple had crashed through a utility pole and their car was parked rear-end first on the embankment, suffering heavy damage. The couple appeared to be OK. I said a quiet prayer that they would get emergency personnel attention soon.

I don’t normally take time on this blog to bitch about bad drivers. I do want to offer a good word about those I saw driving with an abundance of caution in some highly inclement conditions.

Oh, I am sure there were some wannabe-Mario Andrettis out there who thought they could power through the rough stuff no matter what. I am just grateful beyond measure they did so out of my field of vision.

We have been getting a lot of this kind meteorological violence in recent weeks. It could be that we are wising up to Mother Nature’s unspeakable power.

Whatever. May we never lose sight of the value of those lessons.

national news, political news, religious news

Give this man his due … and some grace

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He became the butt of jokes and misdirected criticism back in the day … not so much now that the man you see in this picture is so frail and is grieving the loss of his wife of more than 70 years.

You know him as James Earl Carter, the nation’s 39th president. He served one term in the White House before losing to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Republicans running for POTUS too often paint President Carter’s term as a failure. It wasn’t. His term, though, was damaged grievously by inflationary pressure and by the capture and prolonged imprisonment of those 55 American hostages held by Islamic militants in Iran.

Let’s understand something about this good man. He lived his deep Christian faith. He didn’t just talk about it or pose in awkward and phony photo ops to call attention to it. He rolled up his sleeves and went to work with his wife in building homes for those who needed one.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter helped make Habitat for Humanity a household word.

Beyond that, though, President Carter taught us to live life to its fullest and to avoid taking credit for the good work he does. One does not hear this man boast about the work he has done, or how he spreads the teachings of Jesus Christ, to whom he is deeply faithful.

I have seen this social media meme proclaiming that “this is how a true Christian” demonstrates his faith. It shows Jimmy Carter working to build a home and it makes a direct comparison to the phony brand of faith preached by the likes of Republican former POTUS Donald Trump.

The meme is meant to illustrate how this topsy-turvy world has been turned on its ear with political operatives hijacking Americans’ deep religious faith and perverting it for political purposes.

It is utterly anathema to the life that President Jimmy Carter continues to live.

crime news

Mooch: Trump will ‘implode’

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Anthony Scaramucci served briefly as communications director during Donald Truomp’s term as POTUS … so he professes, I presume, to have some sort of inside knowledge on the state of what passes for the former Liar in Chief’s mind.

The Mooch said this weekend that the former Philanderer in Chief is going to “implode” before the Nov., 5 election.

Someone will have to explain what occurs when someone implodes. I don’t know that Scaramucci, a lawyer by profession, can answer that medical/psychological question.

However, it does present an interesting scenario to ponder while the legal system continues to do its work on the former POTUS.

The 45th POTUS is playing the tough-guy card, telling us he’ll appeal the conviction handed down this week in the hush money case. Jurors deliberated about nine hours and then return a verdict that convicted the defendant on all 34 felony counts.

The ex-POTUS is entitled to appeal. I certainly don’t begrudge him from exercising his constitutional right to appeal this duly constituted decision by a jury of his peers.

But what does an implosion look like? He might begin spouting nonsense. He could physically attack a reporter who dares question him about how he feels being the only ex-president ever convicted of a crime, let alone multiple felonies.

The one-time big man seems considerably smaller now that he joins other convicted felons facing the prospect of jail time.

Does that cause an implosion? I’m willing to wait for it.

crime news

Conviction changes the game

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A 34-count felony conviction of a former president of the USA enables us now to take a fresh look at the political depths to which this nation has sunk.

Donald Trump was found guilty this week — unanimously, by a jury in New York City — of illegally paying an adult film actress hush money to keep quiet about a tumble the two of them took in 2006. He said the event didn’t occur; she said it did. The district attorney’s office provided proof of a payment to the Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels.

So, the man seeking the Republican Party presidential nomination for the third election cycle in a row will seek that nod as a convicted felon. The party is likely to do little more than blink, wink and shrug at the prospect before anointing him as the party’s 2024 nominee.

The former moron in chief called the verdict “rigged.” He called the judge corrupt. He said he did nothing wrong but did “everything right.”

His supporters call the trial a “sham.” Let us remember one critical point: The jury of seven men and five women was cleared to hear the case by legal counsel on both sides. Yes, Trump’s team OK’d the 12 jurors selected for this historic task. That it delivered a decision not to their liking, though, gives them zero license to challenge the criminal justice system’s integrity.

Republican convention delegates will gather soon in Milwaukee to nominate their next presidential candidate. He’s the same individual who has denigrated a Vietnam War hero, a Gold Star family. a reporter with a physical handicap, who has admitted to committing sexual assault, who was impeached twice by the House and now is a convicted felon.

GOP delegates don’t give a damn about their candidate’s (lack of) character. If this idiot returns to the Oval Office, we are in far greater danger than many of us ever imagined.

crime news

More on conviction …

Fascinating, yes, how some folks are reacting to the New York jury ‘s unanimous decision to convict the former POTUS for illegally paying hush money to an adult film actress regarding a tryst the two of them had before he sought the presidency.

One reaction came to me in the form of a question, followed by a commentary. It reads: At any rate, I was wondering if Trump wins in November, will you accept that outcome? On an interesting note, it seems the sham conviction is giving Trump quite the boost.

Well …

OK, my first reaction is to not engage anyone who calls the verdict a “sham.” It was nothing of the sort. Jurors reached their decision in accordance with the rule of law. Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts and faces a possible prison sentence. He has the right to appeal, which he said he will do.

Would I accept a Trump victory in November? I’ll just say: Yes, I would if it comes cleanly and without any hint of “rigging.” I accept Trump’s 2016 victory. He achieved it according to the rules laid out in the Constitution. He garnered fewer popular votes than Hillary Clinton but won enough Electoral College votes to take the oath of office.

This particular critic of High Plains Blogger, though, tosses aside any notion of dialogue with me if he insists that the verdict is a “sham.”

Get a grip, dude.

crime news

Run, felon, run!

Two dates are staring the next Republican Party presidential nominee in his orange-hued face.

July 11, 2024 is the first date. New York District Juan Merchan has set that date as the start of a sentencing hearing for the former POTUS, who on Thursday was convicted on all 34 felony counts related to the hush money payment he made to an adult film actress.

Then it gets even hairier for the former Philanderer in Chief. On July 15, 2024, Republicans are likely to nominate the felon as their party’s next presidential candidate.

It has come down to this. Republicans now are relying on a man convicted of 34 felony counts to carry their party banner in the next election against an incumbent who defeated him four years ago. The defeated GOP nominee never had the good grace to accept defeat and to pledge cooperation with the new president … which Barack Obama did in 2016 when the ex-Liar in Chief won the election.

Do we live in a topsy-turvy world … or what?

I suggest we all hang on with both hands, because the ride is going to get seriously wild.

legal news

Alito’s wife is the boss?

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has acknowledged that he flies an upside-down Old Glory at his home. It’s an international symbol of distress.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t mind one little bit about the flag. However, and this is important: Alito sits on the nation’s highest court that might have to decide whether POTUS No. 45 is immune from prosecution or whether he broke the law by pilfering classified documents away from the White House.

What we have here is a perception problem.

Alito said he and his wife co-own the house they share and that he cannot dictate to her whether she can fly the flag in that manner. He said he told her to take it down, but she refused. Really?

Why in the name of good husbandship doesn’t he just take the damn thing down himself? I guess the rules in the Alito household prohibit such ballsy behavior.

To be fair, I have to hand it to Justice Alito at least for recognizing there could be a perception problem, given that he asked his wife to remove the flag. What astounds me to no end, though, is why he didn’t act on it in a more, um forceful manner.

As for Mrs. Alito, she is making a political statement that has a direct impact on how her husband might be asked to do his job.

Chief Justice John Roberts has refused to meet with congressional Democrats to discuss the matter. Alito says he won’t recuse himself from any future action involving POTUS No. 45.

And as a friend of mine said in a social media meme earlier today, it’s more than a little weird that a man who cannot control what his wife does in his house feels compelled to dictate to millions of women how they must handle reproductive rights.

We live in a bizarre political environment.

crime news, legal news

Verdict is in: guilty!

Before we dance too far into the weeds of what Donald Trump’s conviction on all 34 felony counts of illegal campaign funding, I want to share a quick thought or two.

I accept the jury’s verdict. Second of all, the 45th POTUS — as predicted — called the trial a sham, a farce and said the fight is “far from over.”

Third, and this is most critical, the seven men and five women who today delivered their decision were all approved by the prosecutors and by Trump’s legal team. They were vetted carefully in accordance with New York state law,

For the 45th POTUS to suggest the trial was rigged against him means he doesn’t accept what I have just laid out … which is that his legal team approved the jurors right along with the prosecution.

So, there you have it. We have a convicted felon running for president of the United States.

Well done, jurors.