Category Archives: political news

political news, State news

Amend the amendment process

Texans well might awaken Wednesday morning living in a state governed by a constitution that was amended 17 times at the ballot box the previous day.

Yep, the Texas Constitution could have 17 more amendments tacked onto it, making it a governing document that has been changed, well, countless times. The Legislature calls this “the will of the people at work.” I call it something different. It is government by ignorance and apathy … meaning that most Texans don’t care about the amendments they’re voting on and have no intention of learning about them.

This is a lousy way to run a state government.

I have written about this before, back when I was working for a living writing opinion pieces for the Beaumont Enterprise and the Amarillo Globe-News. I have called for a constitutional convention in Austin to change the manner in which we amend our state constitution.

We’ve tried this before. The Legislature convened a convention in the 1970s to change our system of constitutional government. The effort fell short.

The constitutional amendment process of governing occurs every legislative year, meaning every odd-numbered year when the Legislature meets ostensibly for 140 days in Austin. Issues they cannot resolve are sent to the ballot in the fall. This year we got 17 proposed amendments.

It sorta reminds me of the number of counties Texas has on the books. Not a chance of reducing the number of counties, as it would reduce the number of elected officials who set policy. I have to remind myself that the smallest of counties enjoys a seat at the power table in Texas. Those who created the state in 1845 wanted to diffuse as much power as possible from Austin. Which also explains the enormous number of counties scattered throughout the state. We’ve got 254 of them, some with tiny populations, such as Loving and Roberts counties, both of which are home to more livestock than human beings.

The federal way of governing is preferable to me. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Except for right now when we have nimrods shutting down the government because compromise isn’t in their legislative DNA.

I don’t expect the state to convene a constitutional convention anytime soon … if ever. I just felt like venting because the founders who created the national constitution gave me the right to seek “a redress of grievances.”

political news, State news

Is this young man the one?

For a good while I have been yammering about the need for the major political parties to rally around an unknown politician, someone who emerges suddenly with a fresh voice, spoken from a fresh perspective.

I believe the Texas Democratic Party has a chance to bring such a young man to the foreftont of the political stage.

If you haven’t heard the name James Talarico, my hunch is that you will quite soon. Talarico brings a perspective to Democratic politics one likely didn’t see coming. He’s a deeply devoted and faithful Christian. He leans heavily on New Testament Scripture to illustrate his policy stances. Talarico taught school in San Antonio. He now serves in the Texas House of Representatives and is standing for general Democratic principles while waging fights with his Republican colleagues.

I like this young man’s approach to problem solving. I like it a lot!

My former favorite for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate race in 2026 is former congressman Colin Allred, who boasted continually in 2024 about his strong polling against Sen. Ted Cruz … only to lose by double digits on Election Day. Allred is making another run at the U.S. Senate. I wish him well, but I am leaning heavily toward James Talarico.

I am not naive. It is going to take a monstrous effort by Talarico to overturn decades of GOP dominance in statewide elective public office. It seems to be his best course toward victory would be if Republicans nominate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a man with more political wounds than any politician I have ever seen. He’s been attacked by his own AG staff, impeached by the Texas House, divorced by his wife because he cheated on her. This guy is seriously damaged.

I cannot find that kind of blemish on Talarico’s record. I do see a young man who is unafraid to proclaim his religious faith … but he doesn’t support the Christian nationalist agenda of melding religion into government policy. He wants to keep religion where it belongs, in houses of worship, and away from public schools, county courthouses and city halls.

He has jumped out of the tall grass and will seek to do the seemingly impossible in a state where Republicans stand tall over the political landscape. I am going to do what I can to help James Talarico advance his message.

political news

Trump is POTUS for all of us … yes?

One of the many lessons that Donald J. Trump cannot — or will not — grasp is the notion that as the nation’s highest elected official he serves as leader for the entire country and those who occupy every square mile of it.

Therefore, when Trump denigrates great American cities as “hellholes,” or “war-ravaged,” or communities ravaged by “drugs, sex traffickers, killers and gang members,” he is condemning the leadership coming from what is left of the White House.

I need to remind Trump that he was elected in 2024 by a tiny plurality of Americans. He won the Electoral College vote by a slim, but decisive margin. It was not the “landslide” he keeps calling it. However, he took office as president of the entire nation. He owes it to the people who live in our great cities to give them the attention and tender loving care he keeps heaping onto the laps of those who reside in deep-red states and counties. It’s not happening.

What is happening is that he is sending soldiers into cities to rid them of crime that doesn’t exist. I laughed out loud when I read that Trump had referred to my hometown of Portland as a city “at war,” that it is being swallowed whole by criminals who are living there illegally. What a load of bull dookey … you know?

The only thing that Portland residents have in common with residents of other great cities is that most of them voted for Kamala Harris for president in 2024.

Talk about politicization …

local news, political news

‘A proud husband and father … ‘

Here we go … again, with political candidates bragging to voters that they are faithful to the sacred vows they took when they married their wives.

We’re going to the polls soon in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area and one of the candidates for a Texas Senate seat is offering that boast on his TV ads across the market. Former Southlake Mayor John Huffman talks about his budget-balancing record, his ability to keep taxes low … and, yes, that he’s faithful to his wife and devoted to their children.

It’s the last item that draws my attention with this brief rejoinder.

Since when does a man’s faithfulness to his family become grist for selling a political candidate? Look, I know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to hold up his moral example as a selling point, which he sees as important given the propensity for men in public life to stray away from their vow to honor their spouse “for as long as they both shall live.” To my ears, it is an empty form of bravado. Do you recall how former Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards professed his love for his late wife, only to be revealed that he was having an affair that produced a baby? The sleaze bag …

I won’t cast a vote in that Texas Senate race. For all I know, John Huffman is a good guy. He won the endorsement of the Dallas Morning News this past Sunday. It’s interesting that the DMN never mentioned his fidelity to his wife as a reason the paper is backing his candidacy.

Hmmm. I wonder why. Maybe it’s because the Morning News realizes what I have believed all along. Which is that candidates who brag about such matters are wasting their time on an issue that is far from being a big … deal.

media news, national news, political news, Uncategorized

MAGA’S message works

Every so often I get a criticism on this blog that rings true, that the critic makes a good point.

I am going to acknowledge one of those critics right now.

He challenged a blog post that suggested that voters can reject the MAGA movement simply by voting the MAGA dipshits out of office. My critic pointed out that parthy shift from Democrat to Republican is the most significant he has seen in his lifetime. I can’t challenge that, so I’ll accept it.

But I believe the underlying message of his critique is correct. The MAGA movement has perfect its messaging, its content and its delivery of it to Americans. The anti-MAGA gang is floundering. They cannot seem to speak with a limited number of voices, let alone with a single voice.

Think about this. I’ve used the term “MAGA” as an actual word. It’s in reality an acronym for Make America Great Again. Right there is a victory for the MAGA movement. It has established its identity to such a level that the acronym now doubles as a word, kinda like SCUBA diver and TEA party.

I disagree that we need to “make Ameria great again.” We have been a great country for my entire life. Even longer than that. We continue to lead the world in research and development, in Nobel laureates, we are the strongest military machine in human history. We remain the sole indispensable nation on Earth. The MAGA cult has persuaded enough of us to believe that none of that is true.

How did they do it? I believe it is from MAGA’s lack of ambiguity. It has a clear message and it delivers it with passion and the belief that they are right and the rest of us have grown a second head or a third eye.

The anti-MAGA crowd must develop its own message technique in a hurry. The result will be catastrophic for our nation as the MAGA goons continue to make mincemeat of the rest of the world’s greatest nation.

 

national news, political news

Meanwhile, a shutdown looms … again!

As the political world frets and ponders the fate of the Epstein files, a James Comey indictment over a frivolous perjury allegation, Congress and the so-called president are locking horns over whether to allow the federal government to shut down … again!

No one is governing. Not on Capitol Hill. Not in the White House. Congress is grappling with yet another continuing resolution and whether to enact it and fund the government for a few more weeks. If not, then we shut the government down — or much of it, anyway — while Congress and the so-called POTUS argue among themselves.

This is a shitty way to run the world’s greatest democratic republic. I say that with caution, because our greatness is being whittled away by Donald Trump’s efforts to usurp power from Congress and grant himself power the founders never envisioned.

I continue to be utterly flabbergasted that this Congress allows a president to strip the legislative branch of the authority granted it by the founding fathers. The founders created a presidency with limited power. They limited the legislative branch’s power, too. A president proposes legislation, but Congress disposes it. That’s how it’s supposed to go. Presidents are asked to work hand-in-hand with Congress, including with members of the opposing party, to fund the government. Is any of that occurring? Hah!

The federal court system, meanwhile, is juggling issues that have nothing to do with governance, but everything to do with presidential conduct.

Our government is broken. I won’t say it’s destroyed, but man … the damage is piling up.

I know this sounds a little like a “both sides at fault” argument, but in the case of the budget shutdown, I have to lay blame at the two governing branches’ feet. It would be up to the courts to determine if either sides does something in violation of the US Constitution.

However, I am sickened by Trump’s ongoing petulance and the revenge he continues to seek against his political foes. It is Trump’s vengeance that is driving Democrats away. As the only politician elected by the entire nation, it falls, therefore, on the president to step up and do what is right.

Find a solution to this ongoing budget crisis!

local news, political news

Making a personal plea

I did something today I don’t normally do, which isn’t a big deal per se, but it’s big enough of a deal for me to post a brief item on my blog.

U.S. Rep. Keith Self, a Collin County Republican, is going to get a letter from me. It’s not a long tome. I am asking him to rethink his rock-solid support for Donald J. Trump. Self is my congressman. He is a Republican. He also is a good guy who I happen to like personally. He and I are acquainted. We have shared some things we have in common, such as the fact that we both lived in Amarillo. Self grew up there; I got there in January 1995 to advance my career in journalism.

Self, though, stands behind a man who I believe is trampling on the founding fathers’ graves by seeking to seize more power for the presidency than the founders envisioned. The Justice Department indictment of James Comey, the former FBI director, was the final straw for me.

I want Self to rethink his loyalty to Trump. The president is a menace. He poses a dire threat to our very form of government.

Keith Self fought for this country. He is an Army infantry officer, a Ranger and a man with high honor. He is a devoted patriot. Trump has never served his country. Even now he occupies an office that he aims to serve his needs. I am baffled beyond belief that Keith Self, with his background and history of serving the United States of America, would stand so firmly behind a politiician who spits on the memory of those who have served with valor.

I harbor no illusion about whether a single letter from a single constituent is going to do the trick. I’m hoping that others out there will take a moment to let Keith Self know this indisputable fact: He works for you and me … and not for the president of the United States.

national news, political news

Trump keeps promises, breaks a few others

Donald J. Trump fancies himself as being an atypical politician, but he’s just like all the others in this key aspect: He makes promises while campaigning for office and keeps a few and breaks others.

He ran for president in 2024 vowing to end the Ukraine-Russia war on Day One; he vowed to lower prices on goods. Trump fell short on those promises.

He also vowed to be voters’ “retribution” and said he would seek to punish his political foes. Bingo! He has kept those pledges.

It’s the pledges kept that cause me the most concern. Trump has launched probes in search of a crime. He has the targets, he just needs to find something to plaster onto them. Former FBI director James Comey today was indicted for perjury for testimony he gave to a Senate committee. Trump and Comey hate each other, but the evidence for an indictment doesn’t appear to stack up. That doesn’t matter to Trump. He’s going after Comey anyway.

Across the board, Trump is weaponizing federal law enforcement for the purpose of getting even with his foes.

Dang! He told us he would do it and yet a slim plurality Americans elected him POTUS anyway!

As for the other stuff, the policy matters that affect how much money we have to spend on food, transportation and housing, Trump is falling short. Oh, and the Ukraine war. Mr. Mind Changer now sings the praises of Ukraine’s effort at defending itself against the Russian invaders.

The charlatan in chief has gone bonkers.

political news, State news

Texas primaries to take center stage in 2026

You read that headline correctly … it says “primaries” because both major parties appear set to field two utterly fascinating primary contests for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican John Cornyn.

Cornyn is running for his umpteenth term after serving as Texas attorney general and a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. His GOP challenger appears to be Attorney General Ken Paxton, the nimrod who was impeached by the Texas House and has been the subject of ethics complaints and investigations since he took office in 2015.

Cornyn already is going after Paxton hammer and tong. His campaign allies point out that Paxton has been sued by former senior staff lawyers at the AG’s office, his wife — state Sen. Angela Paxton — is divorcing him on “Biblical grounds” (translation: she accuses the AG of cheating on her) and that he has become an embarrassment to the party, to the state and to Texans in general. Cornyn’s own campaign touts his closeness to Donald Trump, saying he has supported Trump’s agenda more than 99% of the time.

Paxton is a MAGA favorite; Cornyn, not so much. Paxton jumped out to an early lead, but Cornyn appears to be chipping away at Paxton’s advantage.

This one, ladies and gentleman, is going to be a barn burner.

Then we have the Democratic primary for the Senate.

Colin Allred, the former Dallas congressman and former college and pro football player, lost to Ted Cruz in 2024. He’s back in the game. I like this young man. He is earnest and forthright.

But he has a mystery challenger who well could provide the most excitement of either primary campaign. He is state Sen. James Talarico, who is running a faith-based campaign that touts his Christian beliefs. Let’s see, the last Democrat of any note I can recall running such a campaign was, hmm, the late Jimmy Carter, who in 1976 emerged from nowhere to win the Democratic presidential nomination and then defeat President Gerald Ford’s bid for election.

Talarico points out Jesus Christ’s teachings of loving one’s foes, of giving shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry and how Christians who adhere to Christ’s word should carry that belief into the realm of public policy.

Of the four men I have singled out, only one of them deserves my scorn: Paxton. The other three all understand government, its limitations and appreciate the nobility of public service. However, I am going to watch with great interest as both of these primary contests take shape.

political news

You go now, Charlie Kirk

I am one American patriot — and I don’t believe I am the only one — who wants Charlie Kirk to disappear into the realm of political figures who somehow achieved more notoriety dead than he ever did when he was living.

Kirk was gunned down recently at Utah Valley University. He was leading a political rally. A gunman took aim and fired a single rifle shot, hitting Kirk in the neck. It was a gruesome moment.. He died in a local hospital.

Both sides — left and right — keep carrying on about this guy’s death as if he was someone who was actually important. As if he held a public office. Or served in an executive capacity in some level of govenment. Or was a paid political staffer. He was a guy who had strong opinions on issues of the day and as they say about those with opinions: Everyone has them; they are like certain body orafices.

He was a 31-year-old political hack who earned his spurs telling us that Black people were inferior to everyone else. He said President Biden should die for all the crimes he committed against the nation.

I mourn along with Kirk’s wife and young children over his death. The dude has gotten far more than his 15 minutes of fame. Can we just say farewell to this clown and get on with the rest of our lives?