Category Archives: Uncategorized

Taking the big leap toward retirement

December 6, 2015 kanelis2012

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on upcoming retirement.

I am a happy man today.

Perhaps you’re asking, “Why?” Well, I’ll tell you.

This morning I took the huge — or, as Donald Trump would say, “Yuuuuuge!” — leap toward retirement by applying for my Social Security benefits.

My 66th birthday is right around the corner. That’s when I become eligible to draw full retirement benefit from the Social Security Administration. That means I can draw the benefit and keep working part-time — which I intend to do.

On the advice of three women I trust implicitly — starting with my wife — I made the decision to go ahead and not wait any longer.

The other two are our tax accountant and the manager of our retirement investment portfolio. They both have concluded that it’s best to go now. Don’t wait any longer, they say, even though the longer I would have waited the more I could get monthly once I got approved.

Part of my Social Security income will be subject to income taxation if I earn more than a certain amount annually. But it’s a small enough portion, with the tax liability being minimal, I figure, “Why not go now?”

I should stipulate as well that I’ve never minded paying taxes. Unlike some of my fellow Americans out there who rant, rave and rebel against paying taxes, I never have harbored that kind of anti-tax sentiment.

I made the application this morning and ever since submitting the information online I’ve feeling strangely satisfied that I’ve done the right thing.

I want to add another good word. Many of us bitch constantly about the government and its sometimes-complicated machinery. I was amazed today at the ease of applying for this benefit online. The questions were clear; the government website provided “help” links if I stumbled — and yes, I checked with two of them to make sure I was answering the questions correctly.

It was easy, man.

It’s a big step. I had been looking forward to taking it for a good while. Now that I’ve taken it, I’m feeling even better about the decision my wife and I have made.

local news, Sports news, Uncategorized

Hey, maybe Amarillo really is a baseball town

December 5, 2015 kanelis2012

Paul Matney seems to be a serious expert on baseball and its potential interest in his hometown.

The retired Amarillo College president hit the stump this fall to campaign for approval of a multipurpose event venue in downtown Amarillo. Part of Matney’s pitch was that Amarillo “is a baseball town.”

The MPEV received voters’ endorsement on Nov. 3 in a non-binding municipal referendum. The Amarillo City Council then ratified the results and voted unanimously to proceed with development of the MPEV.

Then, what do you think was revealed just this week?

Melissa Dailey, head of Downtown Amarillo Inc., told the Local Government Corporation that, by golly, she’s had some informal contact with a Class AA minor-league baseball franchise that might be interested in setting up an operation in Amarillo.

Dailey said she is not at liberty — yet! — to disclose the name of the franchise. She said the city is on a “short list” of communities being considered.

Hey, didn’t Paul Matney predict this might happen if voters approved the MPEV?

Yes, I believe he did.

The LGC is moving forward, per the City Council’s advice. It will report to the council regularly as it continues its work toward developing the $32 million MPEV.

And now the conversation might include a minor-league baseball outfit, with major-league connections, that could move into the MPEV once it’s built.

Who knew?

Oh yeah. Paul Matney seemed to be ahead of the curve.

national news, Uncategorized

When is it not ‘domestic terrorism’?

November 28, 2015 kanelis2012 2 Comments

As I write this brief blog post, a shooter has just been arrested by police in Colorado Springs, Colo.

He had been holed up in a Planned Parenthood clinic where he reportedly fired at clients fleeing the clinic once he opened fire.

The question now is this: Are we witnessing an act of “domestic terrorism”?

How about another query: Suppose this was occurring at a shopping mall, or an automobile lube shop, or at a convenience store. Would that be domestic terrorism as well?

My guess is that all those scenarios would constitute an act of domestic terrorism.

That it is occurring at a Planned Parenthood clinic, though, gives this situation the feel of added scrutiny, given that Planned Parenthood has been in the news of late and has become the object of considerable criticism for many years over its role in providing abortions for women.

I am glad to hear that the cops have arrested this shooter, taken him into custody. He now will be charged with whatever crime is applicable. I had feared it wouldn’t end that way.

Let’s hope for the best, which means the police can get some answers from the individual responsible for this frightening event.

He needs to answer the question: Why do this at a Planned Parenthood clinic?

International news, Uncategorized

Lapel pins, anyone?

November 25, 2015 kanelis2012

Let’s talk for a moment about lapel pins.

They’ve become something of a political statement for politicians. Have been since 9/11. Why bring it up today?

Well, a friend of mine posted something earlier today on Facebook that spoke to a ban on lapel pins by ABC News. The friend of mine who shared the post, I presume, was aghast at the decision.

I think it was an old post. I had heard years ago about broadcast and cable news networks banning the display. The new executives’ view is that journalists shouldn’t advertise their bias in favor of any cause — even if it speaks to their own country. It’s not a big deal. I get what the news execs mean.

But back to the point.

Lapel pins have become part of politicians’ uniform of the day. We see them wearing these little pins depicting U.S. flags. They’re intended to demonstrate the pols’ love of country. They began showing up on politicians’ clothing days after the terrorist attacks.

Journalists aren’t politicians, quite obviously. So, when an employer mandates that journalists — whether they’re print or broadcast journalists — shouldn’t wear the patriotic symbols, they’re trying to walk the straight-and-narrow line right down the middle.

Politicians, though, wear them because they seem to suggest that wearing a lapel pin makes them look more patriotic than those who don’t.

Frankly, the flag symbols on a politician’s jacket doesn’t mean diddly-squat in terms of their patriotism.

When the terrorists flew the airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, politicians all across the land rose up to declare their love of country by wearing the flags on their jacket. Republicans do it. So do Democrats. I like wearing them, too, but not because I have a statement to make. I think they look nice on a jacket.

Let us not get all worked up, though, when we see these social media posts about media policies regarding how journalists should present themselves to the public. The absence of a patriotic lapel pin should not be construed as a lack of love of country.

Uncategorized

City still needs water expertise

November 24, 2015 kanelis2012

Jarrett Atkinson brought some rare knowledge to his job as Amarillo city manager.

He’s no longer in that spot, but the need for that knowledge remains.

Atkinson is a highly regarded expert on water management and acquisition. Prior to taking over as city manager he served as an assistant to the then-manager Alan Taylor; and prior to that he served as the chief water-planning guru for the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission.

In a six-minute interview with my friend Karen Welch at Panhandle PBS, one gets a sniff of Atkinson’s expertise on water issues as he and Welch talk about some of the challenges facing city government.

Take a look.

Atkinson was essentially forced out of his job by a dramatic change at the top of City Hall’s governance. Three new City Council members were elected in May and they brought a brand new approach to governing. Atkinson is too much of a gentleman to have said it out loud and directly when he tendered his resignation, but it’s fairly clear he couldn’t work with the new council majority.

The city’s downtown revival is going to proceed. Where it will end up remains anyone’s guess at the moment.

It’s that water issue that also must remain at the top of the city’s agenda. Without water, Amarillo cannot function. Atkinson speaks with easy eloquence about the technical issues relating to drilling for the water, pulling it out of the ground and quenching the city’s thirst for well past the foreseeable future.

The city’s near- and long-term water needs will be met through the purchase of water rights, Atkinson assures Panhandle PBS viewers.

That’s fine. The city will miss his knowledge, though, on managing that priceless resource.

My hope is that the next city manager — whether it’s the current interim boss, Terry Childers or someone else — brings water management knowledge to the job, even though Atkinson’s depth of expertise on the subject will be difficult to duplicate.

State news, Uncategorized

Boy, family seek $15 million … for what?

November 24, 2015 kanelis2012

Ahmed Mohamed once was in the news.

He was doing a science project for his school in Irving, a Dallas suburb. Ahmed brought a homemade clock to school. But the clock was confiscated, Ahmed was detained, questioned intently by school officials and police who thought he had made a bomb. He then was suspended.

The incident brought a lot of attention because Ahmed and his family are Muslim.

Mr. and Mrs. Mohamed were so upset — and rightfully so — that they took their son out of school and moved to Qatar.

That should have been the end of the story. It isn’t.

The family is now seeking reparations from the school district totaling $15 million.

That’s right. Fifteen million bucks! They also want a written apology from the school district.

Ahmed’s reputation, they family says, has been damaged beyond repair. They want the Irving district to pay them.

I’m generally in favor of allowing plaintiffs the right to sue for as much as they can get … within reason, of course.

However, not for something like this.

Ahmed’s detention and the publicity he got over the bogus bomb scare brought him a great deal of positive attention. President Obama invited him and other science students to the White House for an astronomy demonstration project.

Ahmed’s damages, such as they are, pale in comparison to what his parents’ reputation will endure by making such an unreasonable demand for reparations.

political news, Uncategorized

Time to suspend politics

November 23, 2015 kanelis2012

The business card I have been handing out for some time now talks about High Plains Blogger’s intent, which is to comment on “politics, current events and life experience.”

Well, dear reader, I’ve made a command decision regarding this blog.

I am suspending the “politics” part of this blog’s mission effective on Thanksgiving Day. My intention is to stay out of the political dialogue through Christmas. Heck, I might be inclined to wait until New Year’s Day before re-entering the fray.

Why the change?

I am weary of the anger and the nonsense that’s coming out of the mouths of all the presidential candidates … in both major political parties. What’s more — and this is even more to the point — I am weary of the back-and-forth that has ensued, not just among the candidates but also among their legions of supporters and opponents.

I’ve at times entered the fray with my own commentary, only to be sniped at by those who disagree with me. I don’t mind the disagreement. I’ve merely had it up to here with the anger that such commentary — not just from me — has engendered in partisans on both side of the aisle.

So, High Plains Blogger is going to take a breather from all of that.

Will this blog comment on current events as they occur? Certainly. It will not, though, engage in the political discourse that emanates from those events. And by all means the blog will comment on life experience, both personal and of things the author — that would be me — observes on his journey.

Rest assured on this point: I am not giving up totally on politics cold turkey. I will continue to comment on politics through my Twitter and Facebook feeds.

I do not intend to use this blog as a forum to state my own political bias. The way I figure it, Twitter only gives me 140 characters to make a statement. That’s efficient and doesn’t require too much emotional energy on my part; plus, my tweets are posted automatically to my Facebook feed, so — pow! just like that — I’m able to perform a two-fer.

But I’m also thinking of scaling back significantly the political commentary on those two social media outlets. Nor am I going to argue any point.

So, those of you who spend a lot of time engaging others in political debate and name-calling on social media are welcome to knock yourselves out; I will not join you in that exercise in futility.

Here’s my final thought on all of this.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for all that we have. I am grateful beyond measure for the many blessings in my life. Christmas? Well, that is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. What more can I say about that?

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, I hereby refuse to be dragged into the emotional gutter by politicians whose mission is to distort the other guys’ world view.

Thanksgiving is almost here. High Plains Blogger will stay in the game for a little while longer.

After that? I’ll see you on the other side.

International news, Uncategorized

G.W. Bush would be laughed at … by GOP base

November 22, 2015 kanelis2012

President George W. Bush sounded like the voice of reason in the days immediately after 9/11.

We aren’t fighting Islam, the president said. We are fighting those who have perverted a great religion, he added. “Islam means ‘peace,'” he cautioned.

The response today among some of the individuals seeking the Republican nomination for president? Let’s keep eyes on all Muslims. Kids. Moms and dads. Old folks. All of ’em!

Let’s mount an aggressive “surveillance” campaign against them, says Donald Trump.

OK, so let’s all live in abject fear, shall we?

To do that we’ll need to stay away from schools, churches, movie theaters, shopping malls … places where violence has erupted in this country already. As near as I can tell, none of those incidents involved foreign terrorists. They all were done by home-grown, corn-fed good old American terrorists, who sought to exact revenge on innocent people.

Would those who comprise today’s Republican base believe the rational views — about the identity of the enemy we are fighting — expressed by the president who took us to war in the first place?

My gut tells me “no.”

local news, Uncategorized

Puppy Tales, Part 15

November 20, 2015 kanelis2012 2 Comments

Toby the Dog understands English.

He understands complete sentences. I’m thinking: Is there a TV series in this puppy’s future?

Toby is now about 19 months of age. He’s as frisky as they come. He loves to fetch toys that my wife and I toss around the house. He is relentless in his desire to keep doing it. We stop when he’s ready to stop.

Just a little while ago, he indicated a desire to go outside. We let him out, into the backyard. He traipsed out there with one of his toys in his mouth. He did his business and returned to the back door.

His toy was missing.

We opened the door and then I instructed him, “Puppy, go back outside and bring in your toy.”

Toby ran back out, scooted around the bush next to our patio and then returned — with the toy in his mouth!

Do you get the picture?

Lassie might have been the smartest dog on television. How many times did we hear him bark at Mommy and Daddy, who then would respond, “You mean Timmy’s fallen into the well? Thanks, girl. We’ll go save him!”

How about when Timmy needed Lassie to go find someone and he would issue detailed instructions, such as, “Go down the street, Lassie, and bark and the third house on the left hand side of the street.” Lassie would follow Timmy’s instructions to the letter.

OK, I exaggerate, but you get my point.

I’m pretty sure if the broadcast and/or cable networks are going to reintroduce TV shows such as “Lassie” or “Flipper,” that Toby would be a prime candidate for a starring if not a title role.

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience