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Dowd obsession nothing new

Maureen Dowd apparently has it in for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The New York Times columnist been pounded by critics over her blog post in which she used a tribute to the late comic genius Robin Williams as a jumping-off point to blast the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/08/13/maureen-dowd-reaches-self-parody-links-robin-wi/200415

I guess that’s what happens when zealots latch onto an issue, or a personality, and cannot let either of them go.

To be blunt, I’ve seen my share of them during my own career in print journalism. One of them stands out.

He lives in Amarillo. His name is David Grisham, who purports to be a preacher. I guess he is, given that anyone can preach his or her version of the Bible to anyone willing to listen.

Grisham also is an avid anti-abortionist. And I do mean avid. Maybe fervent is a better word.

He’s submit letters to the editor on this subject or that, but somehow would find a way to insert his view of abortion into the discussion.

I can’t recall precisely how he did it, but he might be prone to use such references while discussing, let’s say, downtown Amarillo redevelopment. He might say something like this: “I oppose downtown Amarillo’s planned redevelopment because I don’t want to see my tax money paying for an abortion clinic that could be built within the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone.”

Dowd’s connection between Hillary Clinton and Robin Williams does seem like a stretch. These things do present themselves, sadly, when one cannot hide his or her zeal.

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Cadillac Ranch popularity is evident

Having just returned from visiting Cadillac Ranch, a curious thought popped into my skull.

I took my great-niece who’s here for a visit to the late Stanley Marsh 3’s iconic roadside attraction. That’s when it hit me: Interstate 40 has zero signs in either direction telling motorists that the Ranch is just ahead.

Why not?

While we were at Cadillac Ranch — the internationally known art exhibit featuring 10 vintage Cadillacs planted nose-down in the High Plains dirt — we noticed cars from Alabama, New Jersey, California and an unknown location, as it was too far away for me to read.

We walked among the Cadillacs for a few moments, snapped a few pictures, turned to walk back to our vehicle and noticed an even larger gathering of vehicles. Visitors were streaming through the rickety gate. I heard a couple of foreign languages spoken; the visitors speaking the languages likely are European.

Cadillac Ranch is one of the more unique attractions in the U.S. of A. It’s even identified in red letters on the official Texas state highway map, the one with a picture of the governor and the state’s first lady on it.

The state, though, doesn’t put any signage on I-40 to let motorists know they’re approaching the Cadillacs. I didn’t think to ask the motorists if they saw the cars in the field and turned their vehicles around to take a closer look or if they knew the Cadillacs were there all along and made a planned stop alongside the freeway.

I’m wondering about whether the state should give motorists a heads-up on Cadillac Ranch or whether the site’s popularity and notoriety is so evident that signage is unnecessary. Suppose the state did publicize the Ranch. What would SM3 think of the state, Potter County or Amarillo reaping some financial windfall?

Anyone have thoughts on that?

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Should Obama counter-sue Congress?

This isn’t going to happen, but a political author thinks President Obama should sue Congress, given that Congress has sued him.

Thomas Geoghegan’s reason? Gerrymandering.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/obama-should-sue-right-back-109990.html?ml=m_t1_2h#.U-ybRVJ0yt-

What a concept.

House Speaker John Boehner has been given authority to sue Obama over the president’s use of executive authority as it relates to the Affordable Care Act. The president has chided Boehner over his threatened lawsuit. Some polling indicates the public is on Obama’s side, that the GOP is engaging in a purely partisan exercise to fire up its base in advance of the mid-term election.

Geoghegan thinks Obama should take it a step further. The gerrymandering of House congressional districts to favor Republicans has disenfranchised voters who cannot elect candidates of their choosing. The deck is stacked in favor of the GOP, thanks to legislatures’ redrawing of the lines to give Republicans a built-in advantage.

He writes: “In Ohio, for example, about half the votes in the House races of 2012 went to Democrats, but the GOP took 12 of the 16 seats. In Pennsylvania, it was more than half, but the GOP grabbed 13 of the 18 House seats.”

There’s more: “Does Obama have such a right to sue? You bet he does. The United States has standing to sue any state that interferes with any attribute of its sovereignty. And when state legislatures try to interfere with the right of the people under Article I of the Constitution to elect House members of their own choosing, they are interfering with such an attribute of U.S. sovereignty—indeed, disrupting a relationship that runs from the people to their national government. So, yes: If Obama chose to fire back, the administration would have standing to say: ‘State legislatures that engage in gerrymandering are interfering with a constitutional scheme that gives the states no role at all in influencing who does or does not go to the U.S. House.’”

Interesting, don’t you think? I do.

Will the president do it? I doubt it. He’s probably wise to let Boehner and the House Republican majority stew in their own juices, while continuing to chide them at campaign fundraisers across the country.

Besides, if he’s going to join the chorus that gripes about Boehner’s “frivolous” lawsuit, it hardly seems right to engage in yet another exercise in frivolity.

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On second thought …

Second thoughts usually are more reasonable and rational than first thoughts.

With that, I am having second thoughts about something that burst forth from my keyboard the other day about John Hinckley, the assailant who nearly killed President Reagan and gravely wounded White House press secretary James Brady.

I suggested it might be worthwhile to try Hinckley for murder, given that Brady died this past week from complications related to the brain injury he suffered when Hinckley shot at the presidential party in March 1981.

The earlier post is attached here:

R.I.P., James Brady

Medical authorities have ruled Brady’s death a homicide. Hinckley was acquitted of the attempted assassination by reason of insanity.

Thus, the question: Should we try Hinckley for a crime after he’s been judged to have been insane when he committed it?

A Washington, D.C. jury rendered that verdict after the assassination attempt. I’m wondering now how another jury could rule differently were he charged and tried for murder in connection with James Brady’s death.

It’s tempting, I suppose, to try Hinckley for murder. Given that he’s been acquitted already for the very same act, it’s reasonable to ask: To what end?

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No booze at gun shows

Texas is known as a place that loves gun ownership.

It shouldn’t be known as a place that allows gun buyers to get sauced up on booze before purchasing a firearm at a gun show.

Yet that’s an idea the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is considering.

Say it ain’t so, TABC.

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/opinions/editorials/article/EDITORIAL-Alcohol-at-gun-shows-is-simply-a-bad-5682196.php

The newspaper where I used to work has it exactly right. Say “no” to this nutty idea.

It comes from a Dallas-Fort Worth gun club that wants the TABC to end its ban on alcohol at gun shows. The request is for the club to sell alcoholic beverages to those attending gun shows.

There’s something just inherently wrong with this idea. I cannot quite put my finger on the precise reason why it’s so wrong. It must have something to do with the idea of allowing someone who perhaps has had too much to drink to purchase a firearm, then buy ammunition, then load the ammo into the firearm and then, well …

You get the idea, yes?

I have no problem with gun ownership. I own a couple of firearms myself. They’re hidden. I rarely ever touch them. I honor and support the constitutional right to “keep and bear arms.”

I do not, however, believe the Constitution prohibits reasonable rules that guard against foolish or tragic behavior involving firearms.

That’s why the TABC should nix the gun club’s request to allow the uncomfortable mixing of alcohol and gun shows.

The idea should give all Texans the creeps.

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Obama vacations … so what?

Here we go again.

The media are trying to assess the meaning of President Obama’s vacation.

This is a farce.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-s-vacations-and-golf-outings–by-the-numbers-211532262.html

The worst part of it from my standpoint comes from the critics who lampoon the president for daring to take a vacation while the world is exploding all over creation.

Give me a bleeping break.

As the link attached here notes, presidents always have taken vacations. They need time away from the Oval Office. It compares the number and length of vacations taken by Obama and his immediate predecessor, George W. Bush.

Bush comes out on top in both categories. Yes, he had his liberal critics who dinged him for vacationing while he was prosecuting a war in Iraq. The president didn’t help himself much with that (in)famous quote inviting reporters to “now watch my drive” while commenting on a crisis as he was playing a round of golf.

But hey, all is forgiven.

For my money, I’d prefer the president — whoever he is — take time away. Get refreshed. Clear your head. Hug the wife and kids. Exchange in a little banter with friends.

And oh yes. Receive those daily national security and domestic policy briefings — which every president always gets, even while he is on “vacation.”

So let’s stop this petty second-guessing. Let the president of the United States enjoy some time with his family.

Remember, too, he ain’t off the clock. Not ever.

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AMA going to seed

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At the risk of sounding like a negative Nelly, I’m going to weigh in on yet another problem that needs fixing.

I’ve griped in recent days about the shabby appearance of Amarillo’ highway interchanges, and about TxDOT’s unfriendly motor vehicle access to the “Welcome to Texas” sign.

Next up? Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.

I just picked up one of my sons at AMA tonight and noticed something I hadn’t seen before: seedy grounds around the short-term parking lot.

What gives with the airport?

Weeds are popping up all over the place. The entrance where you pick up your parking ticket looks as if it hasn’t been weeded in weeks. The greenery around the parking structure needs manicuring — badly.

Weeds, weeds, weeds everywhere.

Has the city run out of landscape custodial money for AMA?

I mention this only because airports often are the only thing people remember about the cities they visit.

I’m just wondering if the city has dropped the ball on the airport grounds maintenance.

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How about vehicle-friendly access to welcome sign?

Memo to the Texas Department of Transportation:

Hey, TxDOT, you’ve got some work to do to make at least one entry into our state friendlier to motorists.

I now will explain.

My wife and I were returning to Texas this afternoon from a lengthy vacation out of state. In the back seat of our car sat our great-niece, who’s spending a few days with us before returning home. I thought, “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if we could take her picture at the ‘Welcome to Texas: Drive Friendly’ sign on U.S. 87 at Texline?” I mentioned it to my wife.

Sure thing, she said.

So we pulled off the highway to take the picture.

Then our little Toyota Prius bottomed out as the car left the highway and slammed belly-first onto the gravel shoulder.

“Holy s***!” I exclaimed.

Now the good news. The car suffered zero damage.

The bad news? Well, only this: We weren’t the only motorists pulling off the highway this afternoon to take their picture at the “Drive Friendly” sign. A young family also sought the memorialize its entry into the Lone Star State. I hope their vehicle didn’t belly-flop onto the gravel, too.

TxDOT asks motorists to “drive friendly.” My advice to the good folks at the state’s highway department would be for them to construct some friendlier access to these signs — in case someone wants to take their picture as they enter our great state.

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Depression takes center stage

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When an iconic artist and performer takes his own life at a time when he ought to be on top of the world, well, then you start examining the demons that drove him to that tragic end.

Robin Williams’s apparent suicide Monday has brought depression to the public fore.

As it should.

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=881808

Williams was one of the world’s most dynamic entertainers. His talent was seemingly without limits. His comic genius sprang from a mind with an incalculable amount of material rolling around in it, which he unleashed with hysterical fury almost without warning.

He made people laugh to the point of crying.

Williams had his demons. They involved alcoholism and drug abuse. They cost him at least one marriage, maybe more.

Internationally acclaimed entertainers, superstars and assorted celebrities have left us from all manner of illness: AIDS, Alzheimer’s, various forms of cancer.

Yes, depression is a killer, too.

Robin Williams’s tragic end will bring this disease to our national attention.

Let’s have this discussion as we mourn our national loss.

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Beware of motorcyclists?

Texas and Wyoming have at least one thing in common.

Both states want to protect motorcyclists.

Texas has its “Share the Road” road signs with the profile of a motorcycle. We’ve discovered Wyoming’s more dramatic message. It flashes on electronic signs straddling interstate highways: “Motorcycles are everywhere; look twice, drive safely.”

All right, already. I get it.

The Wyoming signs are even more ubiquitous than the “Share the Road” signs in Texas.

Look, I understand the need to look out for motorcyclists. I appreciate the hazards of riding those crotch rockets in traffic. Hey, some of my best friends own and ride motorcycles. Why, at least two of my cousins ride them, apparently quite well and safely.

However, not all motorcyclists are as conscientious as those I know who ride them. Some of them are quite careless — even reckless.

Perhaps there ought to be some signage posted that warns cyclists to (a) avoid weaving in and out of traffic, (b) obey speed limits and (c) suit up with body armor to protect themselves against catastrophic injury.

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