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Dreamliner in trouble … again

I’m beginning to feel like one of the few, the proud who’ve gotten to fly on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner – before it gets grounded for keeps.

Another Dreamliner experienced problems today, this time at London Heathrow Airport. The Ethiopian Airlines jetliner caught fire, forcing the airport to close for an hour.

http://thehill.com/video/in-the-news/310719-boeing-dreamliner-airplane-catches-fire-in-london

My own history – brief as it is – with the Dreamliner is kind of interesting. I was flying to Portland from Amarillo in June, via Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Weather – along with some human error – forced me to spend the night in Houston. I woke up the next morning and boarded a Dreamliner for a flight to Denver – but the plane wouldn’t start. We all got off the plane and boarded another Dreamliner and made the trip to Denver.

I must say the Dreamliner is a nice bird on which to fly. It has all kinds of leg room even for those of us in the cheap seats, which are a bit wider than they are on other aircraft.

But it keeps having all these issues. Electrical problems grounded the fleet worldwide for months. They keep catching fire. The plane cannot seem to operate safely over an extended period of time.

I hope this doesn’t doom the aircraft. It’s supposed to be the latest and greatest air travel innovation since, well, perhaps the 747 Jumbo Jet.

As it stands at the moment, I’m feeling somewhat privileged to say I’ve flown on one of these birds – and actually enjoyed the ride.

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Ariel Castro will lead some kind of life

Ariel Castro, who held three girls captive for as long as 10 years, has accepted a plea deal that spares him the death chamber in Ohio.

He’s heading to the slammer for the rest of his life.

Some of my friends have chimed in on social media in the past few hours about the deal and what it means for Castro. They’ve invoked the name of another monster, one Jeffrey Dahmer, suggesting Castro could meet the same fate as the late Wisconsin Cannibal.

Dahmer was thrown into prison in the 1990s after it was revealed he had killed and actually eaten many of his victims, some of whom were children. Wisconsin hasn’t had the death penalty since 1853. So, when Dahmer was sent away to serve a life sentence in prison, the state’s prison authorities threw him to the wolves, so to speak.

Dahmer was sent into the general population. He was attacked twice by inmates. The second time took him out. He was beaten to death in November 1994.

This is one of those things no one has yet been able to prove, but I’ve long believed that Wisconsin officials knew Dahmer’s life would end that way when they sent him to live among the rest of the bad guys. Absent a death penalty, what the state got — if you’ll pardon the expression — was the next best thing.

Ariel Castro would have faced a death sentence had he been convicted of murdering his victims’ unborn children, which he had been accused of doing. The state would sought the death penalty and likely would have succeeded had Castro taken his case to court.

Now, though, he’s spared himself a one-way trip to the Ohio death chamber with a guilty plea. He’ll spend his the rest of his days in prison.

Will he meet the same fate as Jeffrey Dahmer? That will depend on whether Ohio prison authorities separate him from the rest of his new “friends.” 

If he’s forced to live among ’em, well, as the saying goes: Karma’s a bitch.

 

 

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GOP troubles with Hispanics keep growing

Two words — one syllable each — can describe just why the Republican Party cannot make inroads with the nation’s fastest-growing demographic group.

Steve King.

The Iowa GOP congressman has planted both feet inside his very large mouth and has drawn criticism from none other than the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2013/07/25/2355631/boehner-condemns-steve-king-comment/

King said recently that for every young illegal immigrant living the United States, 100 more of them are drug mules who pack illegal drugs across the border. Then he said they may be small in stature but they “have calves the size of cantaloupes.”

Boehner, also a Republican, has called King’s remarks “hateful” and mean. Do you think, Mr. Speaker?

King is among a minority of House Republicans who oppose immigration reform. He prefers to round all them illegals up and ship ’em back to wherever they came from. King fervently opposes the Dream Act pushed by President Obama, which would in effect grant amnesty to young U.S. residents who were brought here illegally as children but who have made this country their home.

As for Boehner, he is invoking a House rule that says a measure should be voted on only when a majority of the party in power — that means Republicans — favor it. The House is deciding what to do with the immigration reform bill approved by the Senate in a sweeping bipartisan vote in June. Most House Democrats favor it as does a significant number of Republicans. It has the support of the full House, but it won’t come to a vote unless most GOP members sign on.

Steve King’s big mouth and utter callousness ought to persuade Boehner that the majority-of-a-majority rule — named after former Speaker Dennis Hastert — needs some serious rethinking.

 

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Dear Judge Ware: Please explain this firing

Texas is an “at will” state, meaning that employers can fire employees for any reason, or for no reason. They concoct reasons for terminating employees.

That appears to be the case involving a long-standing Potter County administrative assistant and her boss, the county judge.

The judge is Arthur Ware. The administrative assistant is Nancy Tanner. Ware suffered a serious stroke in 2010. He’s been unable to communicate effectively ever since. Technically, he’s been on the job but much of the work that entails actually talking to constituents – such as probate hearings – has been farmed out to other county officials.

Nancy Tanner has indicated a desire to succeed Ware as county judge in 2014. She has announced her intention to consider running for the office. Tanner sent a letter to friends and supporters throughout the community recently expressing that desire. In the letter, she said that because of his physical condition, Ware “probably” won’t seek re-election next year. Tanner’s letter, though, mostly extolled her own qualifications, of which there are plenty. She knows the probate process inside and out; she’s been handling court administration for more than two decades. What’s more, she’s been a loyal aide to Judge Ware and professes to this day that she maintains great respect and affection for him.

The letter went out. And then, quite suddenly about two weeks ago, Ware informed Tanner that he is firing her. Hit the road, he said in effect.

OK, so what’s going on here? Tanner believes politics played a part in her dismissal. Ware isn’t saying anything about it. Some of his Commissioners Court colleagues are asking for a clarification – which they are correct to do.

State law doesn’t require Arthur Ware to give a single reason for making a personnel-related decision. So it appears he’s going to rest on that law, go about his business and perhaps hope the tempest subsides.

I don’t think it should until Ware explains why he dismissed his trusted administrative assistant who has declared her desire to succeed him.

The county has been roiled by controversy before. This won’t be the last time. But the man at the center of this story needs to tell his constituents of his plans. Will he seek re-election or not? Was Tanner’s summary firing related to the letter she sent out? Did it have anything to do with the presumption she made about whether he would run again? A full and detailed accounting of what happened is in order.

Nancy Tanner deserved better than what she got. What is done is done. Just because the law protects an elected official from having to explain himself doesn’t make it right for him to stonewall the public.

Talk to your bosses, Judge Ware – the people you serve as county judge.

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Weiner poll numbers numbers take a dive

This is what I’m talking about.

Anthony Weiner – aka Carlos Danger – is taking a serious hit in public standing as revelations about his latest “sexting” escapade start to sink in with New York City voters.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/25/poll-anthony-weiner_n_3653422.html

Weiner revealed this week that he engaged in lewd communications via the Internet after he resigned his congressional seat in 2011. He called a press conference with his wife, Huma Abedin, standing with him. The New York mayoral candidate vowed to “move forward” and will stay in the race until the end.

Good for him, and that’s not because I want him to win.

The former frontrunner is now running second behind fellow Democrat Christine Quinn, who’s about 9 percentage points ahead of Weiner.

Many pols and pundits have called for Weiner to drop out of the race. I maintain he should stay in and let the voters have their say. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a majority of New York Democrats will nominate him. If they do, that’s to their discredit – but they have to live with the result. Thus, it’s their call to make. Not mine. Not anyone else’s.

My guess is that Weiner’s polling will continue to slide as primary day approaches. If he loses, then we’ll be done with the tasteless jokes. Let’s hope, too, the nation will be done with Anthony Weiner.

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What is to know about Japan?

Caroline Kennedy’s appointment as the next U.S. ambassador to Japan has raised some interesting – but altogether pointless – questions about her qualifications.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/25/world/asia/caroline-kennedy-picked-to-be-ambassador-to-japan.html?_r=1&

Some observers are wondering aloud about just what the late President Kennedy’s daughter knows about Japan. Still others have responded rhetorically by wondering what most ambassadors know about these plum assignments when they come from the president. What did former Vice President and U.S. Sen. Walter Mondale know about Japan when he became ambassador? How about former Sen. Howard Baker, or former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield? Was the former U.S. House Speaker Tom Foley a Japan expert when he took the job? Hardly.

These prime ambassadorial appointments are political in nature. They generally go to big fundraisers, political heavy hitters – such as Mondale, Foley Baker or Mansfield – or individuals who’ve worked hard to elect the president.

If we’re going to ask about Caroline Kennedy’s knowledge of the intricacies of Japanese culture, we could ask the same thing about the late Teel Bivins, the Amarillo state senator who served for a time as U.S. ambassador to Sweden. What did the Republican senator know about that country when he took the post offered by President George W. Bush? My guess is “not much.” But Bivins was a smart man, well-educated and could bone up quickly on almost any challenge presented to him.

We can’t ask him now, given that Bivins is no longer with us. But he got that appointment because he raised a lot of money for Bush and worked hard in contested states to get him elected in 2000.

Ambassadors – particularly those who are posted in important countries – are meant to be the face and voice of the U.S. government. The embassies where they work are staffed by many career foreign service officers who’ve made it their mission to learn about the countries where they serve. These foreign service officers, if they’re faithful to the ambassador and to our government, will make the ambassador look good.

Caroline Kennedy is a fine choice to be our next ambassador to Japan. She is just as qualified as any of the individuals who’ve taken that post.

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What? Cruz, Cornyn and Obama on same side?

I believe hell has just frozen over.

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, two stalwart Texas Republicans, have locked arms with the Democratic president of the United States, Barack Obama, in support of a student loan bill that rolls back a plan to double interest rates for students who have to pay back their college loans.

I’m pinching myself. I’m still here, yes?

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-on-the-potomac/2013/07/cornyn-cruz-side-with-obama-on-bipartisan-student-loan-deal/

The bill sailed through the Senate with an 81-18 vote. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was the lone GOP vote against it; Democrat Claire McCaskill of Missouri did not vote.

And get a load of this: The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to approve the legislation in about a month, enabling the president to sign quickly into law.

The bill essentially ties student loan interest rates to the market, which effectively kills the plan that would have doubled the interest rates students would be charged. The effect of that would have a serious impact on non-scholarship students’ ability to pay for college.

We all want our young people to get as much education as possible, yes?

As the San Antonio Express-News reported, the bill would have an impact on approximately 650,000 Texas college students.

I’m glad — no, delighted — to see this demonstration of bipartisanship, especially when it involves two fire-breathing Republican senators from Texas.

I do not, though, expect it continue. Politics is politics, you know, and that means the two sides are going to look for reasons to sink their teeth into each other’s throat. 

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MLB needs to drop hammer some more

There once was a time when I was addicted to big-league baseball.

I’d wake every morning from April through September, get the morning paper and scan the box scores for my favorite players. My actual favorite was Mickey Mantle. I’d look to see how Mick did the night before. I’d grimace if he went 0-for-4; I was joyous when he had a good night at the plate.

Those days are gone. Free agency took care of much of it for me, as players moved from team to team when their contracts were up.

Now comes the Age of Cheating, the use of performance enhancing drugs. Barry Bonds will never be the home run king. In my book, that honor belongs — still — to Henry Aaron.

When Major League Baseball suspended 2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun for the rest of the season, I was delighted to see the league taking action — finally — against the cheaters. This suspension likely will preclude Braun’s induction into the Hall of Fame.

More suspensions need to follow. I heard today that Alex Rodriguez might face a lifetime ban in the case that ensnared Braun. That’s all right, too.

MLB needs to set an example. It needs to make an example of these players who have cheated their way into the record books.

I am shedding no tears today over this development. Keep dropping the hammer.

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Video of shrinking lake is mind-blowing

Lake Meredith used to be a substantial body of water.

It now needs to be renamed to, say, Puddle Meredith.

http://amarillo.com/news/texas-news/2013-07-24/drought-keeping-lake-levels-down-time-lapse-video-lake-meredith-decline

The time-lapse video of the lake shows what the punishing drought has done to this once-magnificent body of water about an hour’s drive north of Amarillo.

The feds opened Sanford Dam in 1965 along the Canadian River. It filled up with river water, reaching a maximum depth of 103 feet in the early 1970s. It’s been downhill, so to speak, ever since.

The water levels got so low in 2011 that the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority stopped pumping water from the lake and shipping it to cities served by CRMWA. Marinas have closed. The lake level now stands — last I saw it — at around 27 feet.

The Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, which was created as a place for people to take their boats for a little water-related recreation now is a place for folks to camp, hike and do other things on dry land. I reckon some folks can still take their boats onto the water, what’s left of it.

I’m still waiting for an answer to this question: Did anyone foresee this immense water depletion occurring when they built the dam in the first place?

And was it all a wasted effort?

Amazing. Simply amazing.

 

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GOP future growth requires immigration reform

I disagree more with Sen. John McCain than I agree with him.

But he’s right to declare that the Republican Party is doomed if the House of Representatives kills immigration reform.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-on-the-potomac/2013/07/john-mccain-predicts-terrible-consequences-for-gop-if-house-kills-immigration-reform/

McCain, R-Ariz., represents a border state and has a keen knowledge of the need to reform our immigration system. He voted to approve the Senate bill that passed 68-32 in a rare show of bipartisanship earlier this year. It’s gone to the House of Reps, where Speaker John Boehner has said it will need a majority of Republican House members to support it before it even goes to a vote of the full chamber.

Frankly, I don’t really give a damn about the Republican Party’s future as it relates to immigration reform. I do care that we fix the system that has put 11 million or so U.S. residents in hiding. The Senate bill would give those folks a “path to citizenship”; it also strengthens border security by completing construction of a hundreds-mile-long fence and hiring of many more border patrol agents.

It contains elements that conservatives and liberals both like.

Whether it helps the Republicans’ future is of little interest to me. The GOP has taken it on the chin from Latino voters who keep voting Democratic because, frankly, Republican lawmakers keep saying strange things — such as calling for the deportation of those 11 million residents who are here illegally.

Never mind all of those who have made positive contributions to our society, or those whose children have become de facto Americans by virtue of growing up in the only country they’ve ever known as “home.”

Republicans need to listen to McCain. This GOP elder statesman knows a good bit about the compelling need to reform the immigration system.