All posts by kanelis2012

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Sanity prevails in SE Texas

Here’s a glimmer of good political news for those who care about such things: Sanity won the day Tuesday in a highly contentious race for a Texas House of Representatives seat in the Golden Triangle region.

State Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, fended off a challenge by a MAGA candidate, David Covey, and won the Republican Party nomination. OK, this isn’t just a House seat that was at stake.

Phelan happens to be speaker of the Texas House. He wields tremendous power and authority over the legislative flow in the chamber. He had drawn the ire of Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who endorsed Covey. So had the 45th POTUS.

Phelan had the temerity to let the will of the House prevail during Paxton’s impeachment and trial in the Senate.

Consequently, Covey entered the race at Paxton’s insistence and proceeded to launch a terribly negative, smear-laden campaign against Phelan.

Here’s the question of the day: Will the sanity prevail in January 2025 when House members choose the speaker? That’s far from a done deal, as the MAGA-dominated House well could oust Phelan in favor of someone more to the liking of the far-right-wingers who occupy so many House seats.

I’m glad Phelan survived this challenge. It’s not so much that I am a fan of Phelan. I just am glad to see Paxton, Patrick and POTUS 45 come up short in this latest Republican Party rebellion.

Joe Biden, national news

Yes, he will ‘leave’

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Robert DeNiro kinda got ahead of himself today when he launched into a highly emotional rant about the presumed Republican Party presidential nominee.

The two-time Oscar-winning actor said that POTUS No. 45 “will never leave” if he’s elected president in 2024. He said it repeatedly.

Oops. Yeah, he will leave.

Here’s the deal that DeNiro has declined to acknowledge. POTUS 45 is 77 years of age, just a bit younger than President Joe Biden. No human being is immortal. No one! We all meet the same fate, which is that none of us gets out of here alive.

Sooner or later, the former Liar in Chief is going to croak. He’ll be gone. We won’t have this old man to kick around any longer. Eventually, it’ll happen. Eventually!

Do I wish that moment will arrive sooner rather than later? Hah! As my dear Mom used to say: I’ll give you three guesses … and the first two don’t count.

local news

How to enact moratorium

The city I call home has emerged near the top of an astonishing list of communities.

Princeton, Texas, is among the fastest-growing cities in all of America that have populations greater than 20,000 residents.

The Census Bureau released the figures recently. Princeton logged a population of 17,027 after the 2020 Census was taken, which nearly triple the size of the city in 2010. In 2023, though, the city grew by another 11,000 residents, pegging its population at an estimated 28,017.

Collin County’s growth has been equally staggering, standing at more than 1.2 million residents, according to Census Bureau estimates.

I look around my neighborhood and notice more lots being developed, with housing units being framed and utility lines being connected. I cannot estimate how many I see in my ‘hood; I’ll just suggest that there are possibly hundreds more units under construction.

Which brings me to my point. Mayor Brianna Chacon is tossing the idea around about enacting a single-family and apartment construction moratorium. I don’t know the particulars of what Chacon envisions, but I want to endorse — in principle — what she might want to do.

I have thought a little bit about the courage it has taken for Chacon to pitch this idea. She is a Realtor when she isn’t helping shape municipal policy, which suggests to me she is willing to take an income reduction if it results in a new public policy.

Chacon’s reason for favoring a stoppage in this construction is clearly defined: We don’t have the infrastructure to handle the flood of new residents. Our streets need repair; we have water needs that need improvement; we will need more first responders on the job.

Chacon said a while ago that Princeton has grown too rapidly, that it needs to play catch-up with the infrastructure it must provide the new residents who are coming here.

I cannot disagree with that. Oh, we also have that mammoth apartment complex on US 380 that has been stalled. It is partially built and only God knows when work will resume on it. My suggestion would be for the city to pull the plug on that boondoggle, knock it down and turn the site into more green space. But that’s just me.

I like living in a city that is attractive for others who want to live here. However, enough is enough … or so it seems, as Princeton continues to lead the way in urban growth.

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‘Storied’ Walton passes on

The world of college and pro basketball is filled today and for the future with stories about Bill Walton, the legendary center who died of cancer today at age 71.

Teammates at UCLA, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Boston Celtics all are saddened to hear the news. The NBA staff, along with Walton’s former colleagues at ESPN and ABC Sports all have fond memories of their years with the Big Red Head.

As long as we’re sharing stories about Walton, here’s mine.

Sometime around 1975, I happened to be at Portland International Airport. The pre-9/11 era meant anyone could go to the departure gates to send someone off. I did so that day. I can’t remember who I was delivering to the gate, but I did and then began the walk back to my car.

I heard a commotion down the hall and around the corner of terminal. I kept walking, then I made the turn down the next ramp.

That’s when I literally ran into Bill Walton, all 6-foot 11-inches of him. He was packing a guitar. He and his Trail Blazer teammates were walking to their chartered plane to fly to their next game date.

I don’t recall precisely what Walton said when my head bumped into his chest. Maybe it was “excuse me,” or “hey,” or “watch where you’re going.” Whatever. He didn’t seem angry at that moment.

He would go on to lead the Blazers to their first and (so far) only NBA title a couple of seasons later. Injuries took their toll on the big guy. He was sent to the San Diego Clippers after the 1979 season and then to the Boston Celtics where he teamed up with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish to win another NBA title; he also won Sixth Man of the Year honors during that title season.

But … that was my brush with a fellow who came to my hometown with high hopes and a big promise. For a brief moment, he was able to make our NBA title dream come true.

Rest in peace, Bill Walton.

Sports news

Does he belong in the Hall?

One more brief word about Bill Walton, the college and pro basketball legend who died today of cancer at the age of 71.

I once doubted whether Walton deserved to be in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Not any longer.

My doubt stemmed from his professional career stat line, which wasn’t great. He was injured for much of his career, suffering an assortment of foot and ankle injuries. His first two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers — my hometown NBA franchise — were an exercise in futility and frustration for us fans.

Season No. 3, though, was a breakout year. The Blazers won the NBA championship, defeating the favored Philly 76ers in six games. The Sixers had Julius Erving and George McGinnis, Darryl Dawkins and Bobby Jones on their roster. The Blazers had Walton, Maurice Lucas and a bunch of other guys few NBA fans remember.

No. 4 figured to be even better. The Blazers rocketed off to a 50-10 start; then Walton went down with an injury. He was voted MVP that year, but the Blazers failed to repeat as NBA champs. Then he was gone. Walton sued the Blazers for medical malpractice and ended up in Boston playing for the legendary Celtics team. He won another championship with Boston before retiring.

Prior to joining the NBA, though, Walton was a stellar standout at UCLA. He won two NCAA titles in college.

It dawned on my a while ago that the Naismith hall of fame honors college players as well as pros.

Ok, so Walton’s pro career fluttered a bit before soaring to great heights. He did, however, stand out as the nation’s pre-eminent collegiate player at UCLA. Taken together, I will declare that Bill Walton’s legacy as a basketball player deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.

military news

Do you really support this moron?

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Memo to my MAGA friends, acquaintances and those I see with bumper stickers on their pickups ….

Do you really and truly want to support an individual who has labeled those of us who have worn our country’s military uniform “suckers” and “losers”?

The former POTUS launched an unhinged, incompetent rant against judges, legal foes, jurors and the very judicial system as his way of paying tribute to those who died in service to the country. Memorial Day is a special day for the former Moron in Chief.

He denigrated the late Sen. John McCain’s service during the Vietnam War because he “got caught” and spent all those years as a POW. He has smeared the character of a Gold Star Family whose son died an Army hero in the Iraq War. He once told his former fixer/lawyer Michael Cohen that those who went to war in Vietnam were “stupid.”

Here he is. He is competing for the presidency yet again. How does the MAGA movement, comprising individuals I will presume support those who fight for our country, react to their hero’s rants? They give him an unfettered pass.

I have to ask: Does he speak for you, or does he speak only for himself?

I know the answer. He speaks for the cult followers. The good news as I interpret it is that the cult base isn’t growing. It well could be shrinking. Distressing, though, is that their volume remains full-throated.

I will go to my grave wondering how in the world the MAGA movement can possibly support an individual who is incapable of paying appropriate tribute to those who serve our great country.

I mean, to “make America great” requires a faithful commitment to public service.

Uncategorized

Nothing ‘happy’ about this holiday

A good friend of mine this week posted a message that resonates loudly with me, as it should with all Americans.

Don’t wish David Norris a “happy Memorial Day,” he admonishes us. It is a holiday of commemoration, of honoring those who gave their lives in service to this country.

Norris told the story of a fellow Marine who died while serving the rest of us. They were good friends and every Memorial Day, he remembers his friend’s sacrifice.

We should remember and honor all who paid the ultimate price in service to the great nation.

I served a tour of duty in Vietnam while employed by the U.S. Army for a couple of years in the late 1960s. Every Memorial Day I recall the sacrifice of a young man who was slated to go home after he had extended his ‘Nam tour a couple of times. Jose de La Torre served in the same aviation battalion that I did; he was assigned to a Huey helicopter company and I served in a Mohawk company.

He took off one day on a mission to drop sone troops off in a landing zone. It was “routine,” or so they thought. The LZ was hot and the enemy was waiting for our ships, De La Torre died that day.

I’ve seen his name on The Wall. It still fills me with sadness to recall the exuberance of the then-young man who was going home.

So … let us honor all the men and women who paid the steepest of prices.

And as my buddy David Norris said, don’t wish anyone a happy Memorial Day.

local news, media news

So many acquaintances

Blogging is my newest form of self-expression, although it certainly isn’t all that new, as I have been at it full time since 2012.

That makes a dozen years since I commenced this latest endeavor to put my thoughts on some form of cyber “paper” and distribute it throughout our known world.

Where am I going with this? I want to explain one of the phenomena associated with blogging that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as I believe it should. This form of commentary has introduced me to many acquaintances with whom I have no other personal connection.

They read these musings and are moved, either out of total agreement or the exact opposite, to be notified every time I post something that flies into cyberspace.

Am I moved at times to get to know these individuals? It depends on whether we agree politically. Occasionally, I hear from one of them whenever I write something positive about President Joe Biden. He will respond usually with a snarky comment aimed at his dislike of Biden’s policies.

The other stuff that flies into space from my laptop? All I get are the proverbial crickets.

Hey, no worries. I always await his reaction when I bellow something good about Biden or something negative about the moron who wants to run against him this fall.

He is far from alone among those lying in wait. The good news is that many critics of High Plains Blogger express themselves with a form of gentleness. I am casually acquainted with some of them. They might know members of my family. I might have actually met them. Then again, maybe not. I will engage them in some repartee, but only if I’m in the mood.

I tend to let my views stand as my final word on a subject once they are posted and sent rocketing into space. I am advised to engage more frequently than not, though. Debating readers who respond is supposed to “connect” me with the audience. Well, maybe so. Then again, it might widen the divide.

I continue to enjoy this avocation. It doesn’t pay me much money, but I ain’t in it for the cash. I do this because I just like writing and I like putting my stamp on this ever-changing world of ours.

Plus, it builds my sphere of acquaintances.

national news

Head vs. heart

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My head and my heart have declared all-out war against each other and today I got a chance to verbalize my concern over that inner struggle with a good friend of mine.

Tom asked me today about how I think the current political struggle is going to play out. He meant the presidential election … even though he didn’t say it. He didn’t have to say it.

My ticker is pulling hard for Joe Biden’s re-election as president of the United States. He remains on top of his game. Do I worry about the occasional gaffes, misstatements? Hell no! I make many of the same mistakes as he does. I happen to believe I am still bringing my “A game” to this business of blogging.

My noggin, though, suggests a different outcome could be on tap this November. The man President Biden defeated in 2020 wants his old job back. What he intends to do with it simply scares the living sh** out of me!

He vows to sic the Justice Department on the media and on his political “enemies.” He said he might pardon those accused of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6; he calls them “political hostages,” and not the criminals they have been accused of being and in some cases convicted of being.

POTUS 45 pledged to bring in the “best people” to serve with him when he was elected in 2016. The “best people” turned out to be a gang of bumbling nimrods who didn’t know whether to sh** or wind their watches. The next batch would be a gang of blind loyalists who will swear an oath to be loyal only to the man who selects them and not the Constitution they all should swear to support and defend.

I told Tom that my heart hopes for all its worth that this country is smarter than to allow this moron anywhere near the Oval Office. I also said my head tells me I might be overselling out nation’s collective intelligence.

God help us if my noggin wins this war!

Donald Trump

Some issues defy reason

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Some issues in this world of ours simply defy the human brain’s ability to process certain facts.

For example: How does one justify supporting an admitted sexual assailant, a serial philanderer, an individual who never has sought forgiveness, and someone who denigrates prisoners of war, people with handicaps and a Gold Star family whose son died a hero?

I will go to my grave never understanding how POTUS No. 45 continues to generate the kind of support he gets from the MAGA cult base that latches onto his every lying pronouncement.

It does, though. And throughout all of this weird presidential campaign, the former dipsh** in chief is continuing to cling to a small, and statistically insignificant lead over the current president who in actuality has accomplished more in his first term than any other POTUS in US history.

I am done making political predictions. I have told friends and loved ones far and wide that the former liar in chief cannot possibly be elected POTUS again. I might be wrong. I am holding out, though, for some truth-telling to finally crack this numbskull’s veneer.

I will admit that my hope is beginning to take on an air of desperation. The puzzle, though, remains as to precisely how this moron continues gin up the support he has out here in Voterland.