Category Archives: State news

State news

Uvalde to be theme of 2022 Texas midterm campaign

Hey, this is just a hunch, but I’ll toss it out there to see if sticks to any walls, but I believe that the Uvalde massacre this week might become the central campaign issue in the Texas midterm election campaign.

It’ll dominate the races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, perhaps for the Legislature. Heck it might even play in some county commissioners court campaigns somewhere in Texas.

You know the story about the lunatic who entered Robb Elementary School and massacred 19 children and two teachers. About how Border Patrol tactical squad officers shot him to death. Now come the questions about how the gunman entered the building with relative ease — while packing an AR-15 rifle, the kind used to kill soldiers on the battlefield!

Beto O’Rourke crashed a press conference held by Gov Greg Abbott on Wednesday and said Abbott deserves blame for the deaths in Uvalde. O’Rourke is running against Abbott this year. Hold on with both hands, folks. Because this ride is going to get mighty rough.

Many millions of Americans are enraged at what happened in Uvalde. They damn sure should be. The question now becomes whether there can be a solution found to stem the violence. O’Rourke is correct to suggest that those in power should be held accountable for their inaction.

Thus, we have the campaign theme taking shape as we grieve the deaths in Uvalde.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Thank you, Beto

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Beto O’Rourke stood up and spoke for millions of Americans who are heartbroken, shattered and grief-stricken over the latest eruption of violence in one of our public schools.

The Democratic Party nominee for Texas governor stood before the man he hopes to defeat. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, and accused his foe of “doing nothing” to stop the violence. He was shouted down by others on the dais with Abbott and escorted out of the room.

But was it uncalled for? Did O”Rourke say anything inappropriate? No. He spoke from the heart and spoke for many Texans and other Americans.

Twenty-one people died Tuesday morning in Uvalde’s Ross Elementary School; 19 of the victims were third- and fourth-grade students. Children! The two adults were teachers who fought to protect them against the madman who opened fire.

Uvalde police officers and Border Patrol officers were able to kill the shooter.

This debate has exploded yet again. Beto O’Rourke correctly called Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and other legislative leaders for their abject failure to confront the issue of gun violence. Indeed, Abbott has actually boasted about legislation he signed this past year that allows people to carry firearms openly without so much as a certificate attesting their proficiency in handling a deadly weapon.

Abbott spoke about the need for greater “mental health” care for Texans, as if suggesting that residents of this state are somehow nuttier than anyone else.

We need tougher restrictions on gun ownership. We need common-sense legislation that honors the Constitution but seeks to prevent nut cases like the loon who stormed into Robb Elementary School to do the dastardly deed he carried out.

We need to find common ground among legislators of both political parties.

Why in the name of all that is sacred is that so hard to find?

Thank you, Beto O’Rourke, for standing up to the do-nothings whose inaction allows this carnage to continue.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Uvalde = tragedy

Make no mistake about this bit of tragic reality: a beautiful South Texas community is going to be tagged with an identifier that links it to tragedy.

It burst onto our national consciousness Tuesday with the shooting deaths at Robb Elementary School of 19 children and two educators who sought to shield the kids from the lunatic who burst into the school brandishing an AR-15 rifle.

Police killed the shooter. But not before the gunman killed all those children and the teachers who fought to protect them.

My question now is whether Uvalde will be associated forever with tragedy. Or will the town of about 15,000 people be known as the place that stirred legislators, governors, members of Congress to act — finally! — in the interests of protecting other children in other communities?

My heart and my head are conflicting with each other on this one. My heart requires me to hope that Uvalde becomes synonymous with actual reform to stop gun violence, particularly the kind of hideous violence that has thrown the nation into this spasm of grief. My head, though, yanks me back into reality, in that we have traveled down this path too many times already only to be saddened at the lack of reform.

I won’t give up on my hope for the former.

Still, we have a lot of grieving and mourning to complete as we seek to grasp the ghastly reality of what has just unfolded.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Cancel meeting, NRA!

If the men and women who run the National Rifle Association had anything resembling a beating heart, they would cancel their planned annual convention, set to convene in Houston.

Why cancel? Oh, because of the massacre that occurred today Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School in which 19 children and two educators were slaughtered.

The NRA keeps yammering against any form of additional laws to prevent this recurring madness. The pro-gun crowd will gather in Houston and well might proclaim to the world that we have enough laws on the books, even in the wake of the latest violent spasm.

Disgraceful.

The NRA should cancel its meeting.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Texas GOP set to nominate seriously damaged AG

If we are to believe the public opinion polls — which I tend to do — then Texas Republican voters are going to nominate for a third term a state attorney general who is under criminal indictment and who is the subject of an FBI investigation into reports of criminal activity.

AG Ken Paxton is (allegedly) as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. Yet he is poised to survive an intraparty challenge from Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

Eeek!

I do not get it. Really. I just cannot fathom how this clown can be nominated for a third term as attorney general while facing a trial that could result in a lengthy prison term is he’s convicted.

A Collin County grand jury indicted Paxton in 2015 on securities fraud charges. His trial has been postponed and kicked around, from Collin County, to Harris County and now back to Collin County.

It’s been seven years since the indictment came down.

Then came the resignation of seven top AG’s office lawyers. The whistleblowers allege that Paxton has been playing favorites and have accused him of accepting a bribe. In comes the FBI.

Can’t Texas Republicans do better than that?

I guess not! Shame on them.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

political news, State news

Character no longer matters

This much is abundantly clear about today’s Republican Party: Character no longer matters, that party fanatics do not care whether the individuals who hold public office might be criminals, or that they are serial philanderers and admitted sexual assailants.

A Texas Tribune story published this week talks, for instance, about how Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is well-positioned to defeat challenger George P. Bush in next week’s GOP runoff for the attorney general’s office.

Why is that a big deal? Because Paxton has been under criminal indictment almost his entire time in office. Paxton has shamelessly challenged President Biden’s election in 2020. The FBI is investigating complaints filed by several top Paxton legal assistants, who allege criminal activity within the office.

Hey, no problem! The GOP is set to renominate Paxton for yet another term.

It’s all part of the pattern followed by the GOP cultists in this Donald Trump Era. Conservatives used to get their underwear tied into knots when liberal politicians got caught misbehaving.

Why Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s backers are unfazed by his scandals | The Texas Tribune

Character mattered to them in the days of Bill Clinton. Do you recall those days? I damn sure do. These days, one of their own pols — Donald J. Trump — actually boasted that he could “shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes.” The line drew laughter and gasps when he said it. It’s not so preposterous these days.

This is a large part of what troubles me about the demise of a once-great political party. It no longer stands for character. The only aim of GOP pols ought to be their ability to stick it to their liberal foes.

Ken Paxton has done so in Texas and he likely will win the GOP runoff next week, to the ever-lasting shame of the GOP faithful.

As for Trump … aww, hell! I have nothing to say about the former Sexual Assailant in Chief.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

More than ’embarrassment’

John Cornyn is embarrassed by the pile of scandals that have stained the reputation of the Texas attorney general’s office.

How about that? The statement, which isn’t exactly a condemnation of the incumbent AG, does speak well to the quality of leadership Texas has gotten from its chief law enforcement, Republican Ken Paxton.

Cornyn, also a Republican, is the state’s senior U.S. senator. He told the Texas Tribune: “I will tell you that I remain very disturbed by the fact that the incumbent has had an indictment hanging over his head, for now, I don’t know, what has it been, six years? This is the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Texas. And it’s a source of embarrassment to me that that has been unresolved,” Cornyn said on a Thursday call with reporters, noting that he tries “very hard” not to get involved in primary politics. Cornyn has not endorsed in the primary.

A Collin County grand jury indicted Paxton on securities fraud charges in 2015, the first year of his time as AG. Then came complaints from fellow lawyers in his office alleging criminality at the top. The FBI has been investigating those charges. The Texas State Bar has filed complaints against the attorney general, who faces Land Commissioner George P. Bush in a runoff set for May 24.

Paxton denies any wrongdoing.

He also fired back at Sen. Cornyn, who he said is too willing to work with “radical Senate Democrats.” Good grief. That’s how you legislate … Ken!

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn calls Ken Paxton scandals an “embarrassment” | The Texas Tribune

My own view is that Paxton is more than an “embarrassment” to the state. His time as AG has been reprehensible. He has launched specious challenges to the 2020 election and has continued to behave like the shameful partisan he has been throughout his entire political career.

I’ll conclude with remarks from Sen. Cornyn. “Obviously, the voters will have access to that information,” Cornyn said. “They’ll make their own decision. I can’t predict what the outcome will be, but I do, as a former attorney general myself, I’m embarrassed by what we’re having to deal with.”

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Cruz goes from hero to zero

Ted Cruz once was considered a hot-shot legal eagle, a former Texas solicitor general who has argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, which for a lawyer is a big deal.

Well, the junior U.S. senator from Texas — a Republican (naturally) — now finds himself the target of an ethics complaint filed by Texas lawyers alleging he went too far in seeking to block the certification of President Biden’s election in November 2020.

The Texas Tribune reports: Lawyers with the 65 Project, an organization aiming to hold attorneys accountable for trying to keep former President Donald Trump in power despite his reelection loss, filed an ethics complaint with the association Wednesday. It cites Cruz’s role in a lawsuit seeking to void absentee ballots, numerous claims he made about voter fraud, plus an attempt to stop four states from using 2020 election results to appoint electors — all of which failed.

“Mr. Cruz knew that the allegations he was echoing had already been reviewed and rejected by courts. And he knew that claims of voter fraud or the election being stolen were false,” the complaint says.

Sheesh! The hits just never stop coming as they regard the Cruz Missile.

The guy who once called Donald Trump a “sniveling coward” has become his most ardent Senate sycophant. He has shrouded his effort to block Biden’s election victory as a search for answers into allegations of widespread voter fraud, that they deserve a complete airing.

Read my lips … Ted: The allegations have been proven time and again to be false. 

Ted Cruz target of bar complaint for role in undermining 2020 results | The Texas Tribune

As the Tribune reported: “The 65 Project is a far-left dark money smear machine run by a who’s who of shameless Democrat hacks,” a Cruz spokesperson said in an email. “They’re not a credible organization and their complaint won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on.”

We’ll just have to see about that. I am one Texan who wants some answers into whether this former legal hotshot has shot himself in both feet.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news, State news

Paxton not using his name? How come?

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the indicted statewide elected official seeking re-election to a third term, has decided to go after his Republican Party primary runoff opponent using what I consider to be an odd tactic.

Land Commissioner George P. Bush is too “liberal” to be elected AG, the pro-Paxton TV ad says. A Texas pol named “Bush” — the nephew and grandson of two presidents of the United States — is too liberal? What a joke!

What’s curious is that the ad doesn’t mention Ken Paxton’s name. The ad is paid for by some political action committee that is supporting Paxton. But one doesn’t know the AG’s name if one relies only on the ad to make a determination on to whom to vote in the GOP runoff.

Hmm. It spurred my thought process. Why won’t the group divulge the name of the guy it is supporting?

I figure it’s because Ken Paxton’s “brand” is so sullied by the indictment, handed down in 2015 right after Paxton took office that it doesn’t want to remind Texas Republicans that they have an alleged crook running the state’s AG office.

A Collin County grand jury indicted Paxton on a charge of securities fraud. Through a series of delays and legal mumbo-jumbo the case still hasn’t gone to trial. Last I heard Paxton’s now supposed to stand trial in Collin County. The case has been tossed back and forth between Harris and Collin counties. What’s more, the FBI is investigation allegations of illegal activity in his office.

The guy actually should resign from the AG’s office. Now that he’s still running for re-election, I am left to wonder why the stern ad blasting George P.  Bush makes no mention of the guy the buyers of the ad are supporting.

I believe something is seriously wrong the Paxton brand.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Political toxicity spreads

Political toxicity can be contagious, in that when one government body becomes infected by it the ailment spreads to other government bodies.

Case in point: The Texas Legislature — in its not-too-distant past — was hailed as a place where Democrats and Republicans found common ground frequently. Our Legislature could craft laws with wide support on both sides of the aisle.

We once had a governor, George W. Bush, who made bipartisanship a sort of political art form. The Republican governor worked hand-in-glove with two key Democratic legislative leaders: Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and House Speaker Pete Laney.

There was little toxicity in the mid- to late 1990s in Austin.

These days? Not so serene, folks. Congress has become a den of vipers, with Democrats and Republicans hating each other’s guts. The Texas Legislature isn’t much of an improvement. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick squabbles with fellow Republicans in the state Senate and House members look for ways to undermine the work of Speaker Dade Phelan.

There isn’t a lot of bipartisan fellowship to be found in Austin any more than we can find it in Washington. The toxic environment we have come to scorn in D.C. has spread, sadly, to the halls of the Texas State Capitol.

It makes me so sad.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com