State news

Frenship teacher pops off, loses job

It just had to be a teacher from a school in West Texas to spout off about the incident in McKinney.

The teacher was fired from the Frenship Independent School District for suggesting in a social media post that perhaps we ought to re-segregate our public schools to avoid future melees like the one that erupted in McKinney, the one that got the police officer into so much trouble after he roughed up a bikini-clad 14-year-old girl.

http://www.everythinglubbock.com/story/d/story/frenship-teacher-fired-over-imnotracist-post-on-fa/34216/f-pcZK7edkG8vHHlyFVANg

That didn’t set well with Karen Fitzgibbons, a teacher at Bennett Elementary School, who said the officer, Eric Casebolt, shouldn’t have quit. “The blacks are the ones causing the problems and this ‘racial tension,” Fitzgibbons wrote on Facebook.

Alrighty.

But there’s more. “I’m almost to the point of wanting them all segregated on one side of town so they can hurt each other and leave the innocent people alone,” Fitzgibbons also said. Her posts included the hashtag #imnotracist.

You got that last part? She says she’s not a racist. You know, my experience suggests that when people have to say they aren’t racist, well, that suggests something else.

The story is well-known. Casebolt responded to a pool party fracas that got out of hand. He wrestled the girl in the bikini to the ground, then pulled his service pistol on some boys who had come close to the action; the boys weren’t armed.

And, oh yes, the kids are mostly black; Casebolt is white.

Here we go … again.

Then a teacher from out here among us in West Texas shoots off her proverbial mouth.

Nice going, Ms. Fitzgibbons.

 

International news

Welcome aboard, Palestinians

This just in …

High Plains Blogger just recorded two hits from the Palestinian Territories.

That makes 122 countries/sovereign governments that have responded to commentary on this blog.

There might be more from Palestine, given that I like writing about the dispute between the Palestinians and the Israelis. That, and the fact that I’ve actually been to the West Bank, which is governed by the Palestinian Authority.

A little more than 190 countries belong to the United Nations. I’m hoping to hear from all of them. Only about 70 more to go and then we’ll have a worldwide sweep.

Keep reading. Pass it on. Share with your friends.

national news

It’s the lying, Rachel, that causes problems

Rachel Dolezal’s secret is out.

She’s not black. She’s white. Yet she heads the Spokane, Wash., chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The question of her race/ethnicity has prompted a tempest in the Pacific Northwest.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/naacp-leader-rachel-dolezal-lied-about-being-black-parents/ar-BBl19nt

My view? It’s not that she’s white that ought to be so troublesome. It’s the lying.

She’s contended she’s black. Both of her parents are white. Her childhood pictures show her, as described in the link, as a “pasty blonde” girl. Her appearance today looks much different.

This story might even be weirder than, say, the Dennis Hastert alleged cover-up about hush money.

One question keeps gnawing at me: Do the NAACP membership requirements stipulate someone has to be a “colored person”?

The very title of the organization doesn’t say categorically that NAACP members must be African-American. It says it works toward “the advancement” of “colored people.” White people can do that, too, correct?

The saddest part of the story perhaps is that Dolezal’s parents are revealing the lies as well. The NAACP stands behind her — so far.

As for the question posed to her recently about whether she’s African-American, she offered a sly answer, which is that all humans hail from Africa.

My head is spinning over this one.

local news

Happy birthday, Mr. President

On the occasion of former President George H.W. Bush’s 91st birthday, I feel moved to tell you my George Bush Story.

It’s not all that grand, but it kind of speaks to the issue of: What does one say to someone who’s done so much in his life?

The former president came to Amarillo in 2007 to speak at a symposium about leadership. The event occurred at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts. As editor of the editorial page for the Amarillo Globe-News, I received an invitation to “have lunch with President Bush.” Yes, I know that sounds high-falutin’. I use that phrase to make a little fun of myself, as I was one of about 200 or so “special guests” who broke bread with the 41st president.

He said a few words, thanked all the right people and we all concluded our lunch.

Then came another special moment. I was among some in the lunch crowd who got invited to a picture-taking session with president.

So, the president left the room to prepare for what’s known in the newspaper business as the classic “grip-and-grin” session. We followed him out of the room and then stood in line.

Here’s where a bit of trauma set in: trying to decide what to say to someone who’s done what this man has done over the course of lengthy and incredibly varied public service career.

Think about it. He was a naval aviator during World War II, and was shot down on a combat mission in the Pacific; he served in Congress for two terms, representing the Houston area; he served as chairman of the Republican National Committee; U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; head of the CIA; special envoy to China; vice president of the United States; then was elected president of the United States.

Not a bad dossier, correct. Indeed, I’ve said for years that George H.W. Bush arguably was the most qualified man ever to serve as president and commander in chief.

So, what does one way when you shake this man’s hand?

I settled on nothing at all original, witty or memorable.

I merely said, “Mr. President, thank you so much for the service you gave to this country.”

The more interesting element of that 45-second encounter, though, was his response. He bowed his head as he thanked me for the expression of gratitude. He asked me for my name and what I did for a living.

I truly hope he understood I was sincere in saying what I said.

Then it was over. I received a framed picture of “George Bush and me” a couple of weeks later. It’s on my bedroom dresser. I’m proud of it.

Happy birthday, Mr. President.

 

local news

Oh, the stress of deciding how to vote

Amarillo is going to the polls one more time Saturday.

I’m still undecided on how I should vote in the runoff for Place 4 on our City Council.

It appears that downtown’s revival future might be at stake. Both of the candidates seem like good men. They’re thoughtful and insightful.

Mark Nair finished first in the May 9 election; Steve Rogers finished second. Nair didn’t get to the 50 percent-plus one vote majority he needed to win the seat outright. Thus, we have the runoff.

Some controversy has swirled in this race. It involves the Commerce Building downtown and Rogers’s involvement in the appraisal of the building that will become the site of West Texas A&M University’s downtown Amarillo campus.

We’ve now learned that Rogers — a real estate investment guy — provided the correct assessment of the property’s value, even though some had alleged that it was severely overvalued. The FBI is now involved. It’s looking, however, that the deal was on the up-and-up.

Rogers is known to be friends with Mayor Paul Harpole and is thought to be an ally of the mayor, who wants to push forward aggressively with downtown revival efforts.

Then we have Nair. I’ve met him once — which is one more time than I’ve met Rogers. He seems like an earnest and honest young man. One of his key supporters is someone I know pretty well and she believes Nair asks “all the right questions” about any issue relating to public city policy.  He asks questions about the process that produced the downtown redevelopment effort, sounding a bit doubtful about its legitimacy.

This election provides ample support for my belief in waiting until the last day to cast a vote. I don’t like voting early, particularly if I’m having trouble making up my mind.

I’ve read the comments by both men. I’ve read some of their statements in the media. I have a good idea where they both stand on this downtown matter, which appears to be the driving issue of this runoff campaign.

Readers of this blog know where I stand on downtown development. That might give you a clue as to how I’m leaning; do not presume anything, however. I know many of both men’s key supporters quite well. I trust and respect their judgment in the choices each of them has made in declaring their support either for Rogers or Nair.

Therefore, I remain somewhat torn.

I’d better make up my mind in a hurry.

Just don’t ask me how I’m going to vote. We cast “secret ballots” for a reason.

 

media news

Williams is likely gone, but at what cost?

Brian Williams’s future as NBC News’s anchor seems to have been settled.

He’s gone.

Williams embellished his wartime experiences during the Iraq War, contending his helicopter was shot down when it wasn’t. There were some other fabrications, but that’s the one that got him in trouble. NBC suspended him without pay for six months.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/rieder/2015/06/10/the-brian-williams-endgame/71009594/

Williams has become the object of jokes around the world. His credibility is blown to smithereens.

What escapes me, though, is how someone could — in effect — be terminated for cause, but still get all kind of big money to “settle.” Williams holds a huge contract with NBC. But then he squandered the trust he had cultivated, that his bosses at NBC News had cultivated.

So, as USA Today reports, the network is going to replace him in the anchor’s chair with Lester Holt and then pay him millions of dollars to leave quietly.

I don’t understand a lot of things in the business world. This is one of them.

 

media news, national news, political news

Rubio takes heat, gives some of it back

Welcome to the national spotlight, young man.

Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican presidential candidate, is finding out first hand how tough it is to keep some aspects of one’s personal life out of the glare of public view.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/marco-rubio-hits-back-at-new-york-times/ar-BBkXhm9

It really cannot be done.

The New York Times has published a couple of stories about the senator from Florida. One of them details the number of traffic tickets he and his wife (mostly his wife) have run up in the past 18 years. The other examines the couple’s spending habits.

The stories aren’t exactly flattering. In fact, they’re quite unflattering. Rubio has hit back at the Times over the personal finances story. He wrote an email: “It’s true, I didn’t make over $11 million last year giving speeches to special interests,” Rubio said. “And we don’t have a family foundation that has raised $2 billion from Wall Street and foreign interests.” Those examples appear to be shots at Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton, who’s come under scrutiny herself for the money she has earned since she and her husband, President Bill Clinton, left the White House in 2001.

Personally, I think the traffic-ticket story is overblown. Indeed, if he is elected president in 2016, neither he or his wife will be sitting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle on public streets for at least the next four years. So, what’s the point, right?

As for the financial story, the Rubios reportedly have thrown a good bit of money that Sen. Rubio seem to indicate they don’t have. According to U.S. News & World report: “The Times also said Rubio has handled his personal finances in a manner that ‘experts called imprudent,’ with a low saving rate, substantial debt, buying an $80,000 boat and leasing a $50,000 2015 Audi Q7.” Rubio is going to insist on prudent spending by the government as he campaigns for president. Do as I say and not as I do? Is that it, senator?

Here’s a thought for the Times’s editors to consider: If you’re going to examine the personal spending habits and the portfolios of the candidates, be sure to look at Sen. Bernie Sanders’s account statements carefully. He is the “Democratic socialist” who’s campaigning for the Democratic Party nomination on a platform that seeks to redistribute wealth throughout the country because of what he calls the “obscene” wealth of too few Americans.

As for Rubio and the treatment he’s gotten from the media, there’s much more scrutiny to come.

It goes with the territory.

 

media news, political news

Where has Rush been hiding?

Out of ideas

Maybe I’m a bit slow on the uptake — which I admit to readily — but I’m not hearing much lately from Daddy Dittohead, Rush Limbaugh.

I know he’s still on the air here in Amarillo. How do I know that? The gentleman who delivers our mail each day tunes his radio to the station that broadcasts Rush’s bilge, er, commentary.

It’s just that Limbaugh’s thoughts on this or that used to be quoted by mainstream media quite regularly. I haven’t seen much from or about the gasbag.

The only news I’ve seen lately involving Limbaugh has related to stations dropping him because of advertisers bailing out. I don’t expect that to happen in the Texas Panhandle, where Limbaugh is considered by many to be the voice of all that is wise and correct.

As one who thinks quite differently of this guy, my hope is that he remains in the background, blathering only to the Dittoheads who don’t quite grasp the irony of being labeled as such.

Uncategorized

About to declare war on misuse of word ‘hero’

1 Comment

I’ve just about had it up to here with those who keep using the “h-word” improperly.

I saw a tweet this afternoon about the death of pro wrestler Dusty Rhodes. It referred to him as a “blue-collar hero.”

Blue-collar hero? Yep. That’s what it said.

I’m on the verge of declaring war on the misuse of that word.

My war declaration, though, requires me to come up with an alternative word.

In the Dusty Rhodes case, what could we use to replace the term “hero” as it was used in that tweet? Blue-collar celebrity? Blue-collar icon? Blue-collar star?

The words “icon” and “star” perhaps overstate Rhodes’s status. But what the heck, this isn’t about Dusty Rhodes. It’s about the constant misuse of a term that should be used sparingly — and only to describe individuals deserving of the term.

A friend of mine noted that Caitlyn Jenner — the woman formerly known as Bruce Jenner — is being touted as a hero. I haven’t heard that term attached to Caitlyn Jenner, although it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

Heroes are fighting men and women who put themselves in harm’s way in defense of the country; they are firefighters who rush into burning buildings to save people’s lives; they are police officers who risk their lives arresting violent criminals.

They aren’t athletes. Or entertainers. Or reality-TV celebrities.

Can we stop misusing that word? Please?

national news, political news

‘A bro with no ho’?

This item made me chuckle, although I am somewhat ashamed of myself for it.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has just announced he’s running for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2016. He’s single. Never been married.

One of his Senate colleagues, fellow Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois, joked upon hearing that Graham said he would have a “rotating first lady” if he’s elected president, that his colleague is “A bro with no ho.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/mark-kirk-lindsey-graham-bro-118882.html?hp=l2_4

Kirk’s crack came during a Senate Appropriations Committee legislative markup session. He made the crack into an open microphone, which means it wasn’t meant to enter the, um, public domain.

But … it did.

Now it’s out there.

Honest to goodness, I actually think Kirk’s comment is funny.

My hunch also is that Graham has enough of a sense of humor to think so, too.

Still, the twinge of political correctness that continues to cling to my conscience makes me slightly embarrassed for admitting that Kirk’s quip made me chuckle.

Aw, what the heck. It’s funny. I’ll leave it at that.

 

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