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Daniel Murphy: role model for dads

The hubbub all over social media involving Daniel Murphy’s absence for two New York Mets major league baseball games continues.

I’ve said already my piece on the second baseman’s decision to skip those two games to be at his wife’s side as she gave birth to their first child. To sum up that earlier post: You go, boy!

But I have thought for a bit about how he can parlay his status now as every red-blooded American father’s role model into something constructive. Well, I think he just did. He has shown that at least one high-priced professional athlete — and I know there are many others — can place family above the sport he plays for lots of money.

Professional basketball hall of famer Charles Barkley once declared (in)famously, “I am not a role model.” Perhaps he didn’t see himself in that light, but others did, given his remarkable talent on the basketball court. He’s since backed off a bit from that comment made many years ago.

The late baseball hall of famer Mickey Mantle once said as he was dying of cancer that he considered himself a sort of role model, despite all the bad behavior — the drinking and carousing — that many believe resulted in the liver cancer that would kill him. “Don’t be like me,” he told young Americans as he was bidding farewell to this world.

The world cries out for fathers to do the right thing. It cries out for them to take pride in bringing children into this world. Too many of them — sadly, many of them are professional athletes — don’t do that. They produce children, all right, but those acts of conception too often are the result of one-night stands or “hookups” with young women. The kids are born and these men are nowhere to be seen or heard.

Daniel Murphy’s story is quite the opposite. So what if he missed a couple of games? He gets paid enough money to keep food on the table. He was there for his wife and he was there for his first-born child, a son.

Every father in the country ought to look to this young athlete as someone who has set a refreshing standard for all men to follow.

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Why hassle a guy for paternity leave?

Someone will have to explain why a professional baseball player is getting grief because he wanted to be present for the birth of his child.

New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy has been pounded by radio talk show hosts and, presumably, some fans because he chose to be with his family rather than playing a couple of early-season baseball games.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/10721495/daniel-murphy-new-york-mets-deflects-criticism-taking-paternity-leave

This criticism bothers me on a couple of levels.

First, professional athletes have families and to me it is the height of arrogance to suggest that someone is letting his team down because he wants to sit out a couple of games while his wife is giving birth — to the couple’s first child, by the way.

Second, baseball is a team sport, meaning that it comprises quite a number of capable athletes who can fill in while a starting infielder is taking time away from the game. If the Mets are depending solely on Daniel Murphy’s presence in the lineup, then the team has some major problems with which it must contend.

What’s more, the season is 162 games long. It’s a long season.

My take on this? Get off the guy’s back. Salute him for putting family first.

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Dewhurst is a goner?

Paul Burka thinks Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is dead meat, politically.

The Texas Monthly blogger and editor is reporting that at least two key Dewhurst staffers have jumped ship on the eve of the Texas Republican runoff for lieutenant governor. Dewhurst is facing state Sen. Dan Patrick, who finished first in the GOP primary on March 4, but didn’t get the 50 percent majority he needed for an outright primary victory.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/dewhurst-resignations

Burka said Dewhurst is having trouble connecting with voters. He can’t energize them, speak from his heart.

I know a bit about that. I’ve known Dewhurst since he broke on the Texas political scene by winning the race for land commissioner back in 1998.

You can say what you will about the guy, he is detail-oriented — in the extreme.

I recall interviewing him one time and asking a general question about some legislation under consideration. He launched into the most excruciatingly detailed explanation possible about every little tidbit known to humankind relating to that bill. I suspect that’s how he’s talking to Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Texan out there as he seeks to hold on to his office.

I do hate seeing his career end on such a downer, if that’s what is going to happen in the May 27 runoff. Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, sad to say, is looking like a goner.

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Still waiting for some breaking of ground

Downtown Amarillo’s renovation is proceeding at a snail’s pace.

A couple of things have happened in recent days that give me hope that something might be about to move the city forward.

The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation signed off on the relocation of the Coca-Cola distributing plant from downtown to the business park near Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport. That move had been stymied when it was learned that the place where the Coca-Cola center would relocate was structurally deficient. The repairs have been made and the deal is done.

Then came news this week that West Texas A&M University’s downtown “campus” is moving from the Chase Tower to the Commerce Building two blocks south on Tyler Street. WT will vacate two floors in the 31-story tower, which I’m sure will be gobbled up by someone seeking some prime office space downtown.

I don’t mean to sound impatient, though. I keep wondering when the big stuff is going to start taking shape. I’m talking about the planned parking garage, construction of a new downtown hotel and the building of that sports/activities venue, aka the baseball park.

Friends and acquaintances closely associated with the project tell me the city is being extra-careful, ensuring that all the hoops are cleared adequately and that no legal hurdles will stand in the way of the projects getting done.

Yes, the city has seen progress. The Potter County Courthouse complex is done, and the square looks fabulous. The city has rebuilt some pedestrian crossings, making them a lot more attractive. Some new businesses have opened up downtown. The district has a business hotel in the historic Fisk Building. All of that is positive news. However, the Barfield Building continues to rot, as does the location across the street from the Santa Fe Building, not to mention the Herring Hotel site.

The development firm the city hired to ramrod the project says private investment money will foot the entire bill of the first phase. No tax money is involved, which should please the anti-tax activists who had said they opposed any public funds being spent on what they consider to be a boondoggle.

Some of the rest of us, though, are waiting for something significant to start happening now that the fanfare has subsided.

Patience is important. It’s also a finite resource.

Well?

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Is it me or is the air getting dirtier?

My memory is pretty good on a number of levels. I remember phone numbers, physical addresses, people’s names (most of the time) and usually trivial numbers, such as family members’ Social Security numbers, my wife’s driver’s license number and, of course, my U.S. Army service ID number issued to me in August 1968.

I also am able to remember weather conditions over the long term.

Today’s latest wind/dirt storm that blew in over Amarillo reminded me of something: I do not remember in my more than 19 years living in the Texas Panhandle a spring that was so windy, dusty and downright unpleasant.

Am I imagining this or is it for real?

I’ll plead for help on this one.

Today was the third significant wind/dirt storm in the past three or four weeks. I was having lunch today on the 31st floor of the Chase Tower in downtown Amarillo when I looked out the window and saw the brown cloud rolling in. I looked away and then peeked back out the window a moment or two later; the view of the city was hidden by the dirt cloud.

My memory isn’t of the steel-trap variety, but it seems to be reliable almost all the time. I just don’t remember springs quite like this one. We’ve lived here since early 1995 and we’ve seen all kinds of weather: 20-inch snow deposit in a 24-hour span, 111-degree heat in the summer, frog-strangling downpours, sleet, heavy wind … you name it.

Is the climate changing on the High Plains, as it is reportedly doing in so many other parts of the world? OK, I won’t get into the cause of it here. Suffice to say that, to my eyes, it seems as if we’re windier than usual. We’re darn sure dustier than usual, which no doubt is the result of that crippling drought from which we have yet to emerge. A lot more moisture would dampen the dirt enough to prevent it from flying in the wind.

The local TV weather folks are telling us the precipitation forecast for the weekend is looking more promising all the time. I’ll believe it when I see it. When I do, I’m likely to strip off my shirt and stand out there, arms spread, a la Tim Robbins in “Shawshank Redemption.”

Enough of the wind … and the dirt. OK?

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Perry: We don't need your stinkin' rules

Texas Gov. Rick Perry takes great pleasure in sticking in the eyes of federal officials.

Take his latest rant against a rule handed down by the U.S. Department of Justice. Perry has informed Attorney General Eric Holder he has no intention of enforcing federal rules designed to prevent rape in prisons.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/01/rick-perry-orders-texas-prisons-not-to-follow-federal-rape-prevention-law/#.Uzv9lfNOU2M.facebook

President George W. Bush signed the Prison Rape Elimination Act in 2003. The rules apparently prevent “cross-gender viewing” of inmates. Gov. Perry said in his letter that the rule is impossible to enforce since 40 percent of all Texas Department of Criminal Justice security officers are female. How would the state prevent those officers from observing male inmates? Good question.

He goes on to say that the federal rules infringe on states’ responsibility to set their own security standards. What’s more, according to rawstory.com, “The governor also complained that the law ‘infringes on Texas’ right to establish the state’s own age of criminal responsibility’ by mandating that inmates 17 years old and younger be separated from adults. And he said ‘specific staffing ratios for juvenile detention facilities’ were unreasonably high.”

I’m not quite sure how to interpret the governor’s objection to the federal rule requiring children to be separated from adult prisoners. Haven’t the feds set a reasonable standard?

This is another of those state-vs.-the-feds arguments that crops up so often, especially where it regards Republican governors bucking mandates handed down by Democratic federal officials.

PREA’s creation came over the signature of a Republican president. However, this really isn’t — or should be — a political issue. It’s related instead to protecting prisoners who are brutalized by other prisoners. Since states take it upon themselves to incarcerate these individuals, they also take on the responsibility of protecting them against others who would harm them.

Isn’t it part of governing that enables federal authorities to enact rules aimed at encouraging states to do what’s right? Protecting prison inmates from rape is the right thing to do.

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Cruz asks trick question on ACA

Ted Cruz is a smart Texas lawyer and a U.S. senator who ought to know this basic tenet about the legal profession: Never ask a question without knowing the answer you’ll get.

Well, the junior Republican lawmaker from Texas posed this question March 24 on Facebook: “Quick poll: Obamacare was signed into law four years ago yesterday. Are you better off now than you were then? Comment with YES or NO!.”

The question received more than 55,000 responses and the respondents were — are you ready for this one? — quite positive in their comments on the Affordable Care Act.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/ted-cruz-obamacare-facebook-poll-105306.html?ml=tb

You’ll recall that Sen. Cruz staged that fake filibuster on the Senate floor as he sought to persuade his colleagues to join him in killing the ACA. It didn’t work.

Also, you might recall that the Cruz Missile said he’d do “whatever it takes” to eliminate the law, to wipe off the books a law that an earlier Congress approved and the president signed.

One of his tactics, apparently, was to gin up support on Facebook for his effort. That didn’t work out too well, either.

As Politico.com reports, of the 100 most recent comments on Cruz’s Facebook page, only two of them were negative. The rest of them were testimonials on how the ACA has helped people’s lives, provided them with affordable health insurance and actually reformed the nation’s health care system.

Cruz staff says the results were cooked up by liberal websites that had rallied their followers for responses among those who favor the law. The senator’s staff insists the law is wildly unpopular with Americans.

OK, if that’s the case, then where were their responses to this, um, survey?

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Now it might be Clinton vs. Bush 2.0

Get ready for another Clinton-Bush slugfest for the White House.

Or … maybe not.

Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and brother and son of two former presidents, has emerged as the Republican candidate of the moment. The Clinton in this matchup is Hillary Rodham Clinton, the wife of the former president sandwiched between the Bushes as well as a former U.S. senator and secretary of state.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/03/jeb_bush_2016_presidential_run_why_it_would_be_hard_on_the_gop.html

Ask yourself: Is the nation really up for a presidential campaign featuring these two political heirs?

I’m not yet convinced.

Clinton likely is going to run for the presidency. The smart money says she’s a sure-fire lock for the Democratic nomination, Vice President Joe Biden’s interest notwithstanding.

As for Bush, well, the GOP’s establishment candidate du jour once was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — before he got caught up in that bridge lane-closing matter. The lane-closing calamity well might blow over eventually. Christie’s brand as a hands-on, no-nonsense administrator may be damaged beyond repair — and that’s if he escapes the hounds looking for some culpability in the lane-closure or in its aftermath. If he’s dirty, he’s toast.

The GOP has a number of tea party types jockeying for our attention: Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Bobby Jindal all are among the tea party favorites being bandied about.

Jeb’s mother, the always-candid Barbara, once said she hoped her son wouldn’t run. The country is “tired” of the Bush name in politics, Mama Bush said famously.

And as John Dickerson notes in the link attached to this blog, the Bush brand itself might be poison to many elements within the Republican Party. Do you ever hear any of the supposedly potential candidates for 2016 sing George W.’s praises, calling for a return to the good old days of warfare and cataclysmic recession? What’s more, the right wing never will forgive George H.W.’s decision to renege on his “read my lips, no new taxes” pledge that in reality was the smart thing to do.

As for Clinton, she brings her own baggage. After all, she is married to the second president ever impeached and as irrelevant as that sordid saga is to her own public service record, the Republicans are sure to remind us that electing Hillary means Bill returns to the White House, where he did those naughty things with that young intern.

Just think: The next presidential election is still more than two years out. We’ve got plenty of time to get sick of it all.

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Fort Hood … again

Violence has erupted at Fort Hood yet again.

It’s early in the aftermath of the latest shooting rampage at the sprawling Army post in Central Texas.

Four people — including the gunman — are dead and many others are injured.

It was less than five years ago that Army Major Nadal Hasan opened fire on his fellow soldiers while protesting the Pentagon’s war policies in Afghanistan. Hasan, a psychiatrist and a devout Muslim, had been ordered to Afghanistan; he wouldn’t go, so he embarked on a senseless rampage. An Army court martial convicted him and sentenced him to death.

Now this event.

The nation’s heart breaks once again at this senseless shooting. President Obama vows to get to the bottom of what transpired. Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey said the Pentagon’s main focus right now is to support the families of those who were killed or wounded.

Meanwhile, the simplest of questions arises from this tragic act. Why?

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Money to speak even more loudly

You’ve heard the saying that “Money talks and bull—- walks.”

Hang on to your wallet and dial in your BS detector. Money is about to have a lot more say in who we elect to public office, thanks to the United States Supreme Court.

The court ruled 5-4 along ideological lines on a case that removes caps on all political donations. The five-member conservative wing of the court won the argument — of course.

The case involves McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, and it follows through on the landmark Citizens United case of 2010 that removed most limits on campaign donations by corporations. This latest ruling removes the rest of the restrictions involving caps on direct donations to candidates and political parties.

Is it a First Amendment issue, as Chief Justice John Roberts noted in his majority opinion? Sure … if you buy the argument that a billionaire’s monstrous bankroll has no more influence on political candidates than a middle-class blue-collar employee writing a $20 check to the candidate of his or her choice.

Billionaires, be they on the left or the right, have infinitely more influence on these matters than John Q. Citizen.

Justice Stephen Breyer’s dissent took note of the impact of today’s decision. “If the court in Citizens United opened a door,” he said, “today’s decision may well open a floodgate.”

And money is going to pour through that floodgate.

I make no apologies in my defense of the First Amendment’s clause dealing with political expression. Still, there’s something quite unseemly about the burgeoning influence of money on political campaigns. Billionaire George Soros’s efforts to elect Democrats is troublesome only in that his voice can be heard so much more clearly than someone with a lot less money. The same can be said for the Koch Brothers, who are involved up to their armpits in electing Republican office seekers.

The greater the influence of money in these campaigns, the lesser the influence you and I are going to have in getting these candidates to listen to our concerns.

This ruling marks a bad moment in American political history.