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Brazilians show class in defeat

Just when I thought the world had spun off its axis and that a great Latin American country had suffered from collective apoplexy over the defeat of its national soccer team, I came across this story on CNN.com.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/09/opinion/bass-brazil-germany-rout/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

It turns out the Brazilian soccer fans — stunned beyond their ability to comprehend — cheered the German team that beat their beloved men in the World Cup semifinal match.

The Germans won that game 7-1 in what’s being described as the most astonishing performance in the World Cup … ever! That they beat the host team in that fashion gives extra punch to the Germans now as they get ready to play the winner of The Netherlands-Argentina match for the World Cup championship.

I’ve also been wondering about this passionate love of the sport that seems to transcend anything with which I’m familiar in the U.S. of A. When the Denver Broncos lost the Super Bowl this year to the Seattle Seahawks, did the Mile High City’s fans go into the kind of collective funk that has fallen over Brazil. What happened in Miami when the Heat got blown out by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals? I think folks in South Florida went about their business.

Granted, the U.S. doesn’t have a national soccer team that’s able to compete — at least not yet — on a consistent level with Brazil or Germany.

But the craziness is beyond anything I can quite grasp.

Still, I was heartened to know that despite their grief, the Brazilians had it within them to pay proper tribute to the young men who gave their guys a good, old-fashioned whuppin’.

And yes, the sun rose this morning over Brazil.

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The Texas/Mexico border awaits, Mr. President

One more thought about the president’s upcoming visit to Texas … and then I hope to move on.

The White House says President Obama has no plans to visit the southern Texas border when he comes to the state today to raise money for Democratic candidates.

White House staffers believe it wouldn’t produce anything positive for the president. They are wrong.

Recall the time Obama went to New Jersey near the end of the 2012 campaign to view the damage brought by Hurricane/Super Storm Sandy. He won high praise from Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for showing up.

Also, recall what happened when President George W. Bush was photographed flying over New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He was pilloried for failing to put his own boots on the soggy ground to view the damage.

Was Obama more caring about New Jersey than Bush was about New Orleans? No.

There is value, however, in seeing these crises up close.

The Texas border is being inundated with illegal immigrants coming into this country from Central America. Most of them appear to be unaccompanied children sent here by those notorious “coyotes” who prey on illegal immigrants. We have a refugee crisis on the border.

The president needs to see what’s happening so he can assess better how to deal directly with it.

He’ll meet with Gov. Rick Perry. The two men likely will have a “frank” discussion — which, in diplomatic language means they might cuss at each other. That’s fine. The meeting is a good idea, too.

The visit to Texas will be complete, though, with a tour of the crisis on our state’s southern border. Take a look, Mr. President.

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Dynasties not that rare

Hillary Clinton says the nation has had more than one Adams sitting in the White House.

She defends the Bushes as well, contending that the nation has had dynasties during its entire life.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/hillary-clinton-political-dynasty-der-spiegel-interview-108652.html?hp=r3

There’s more.

We’ve had two Harrisons — William Henry and grandson Benjamin.

We’ve elected two Roosevelts — cousins Teddy and Franklin Delano.

Of course, fathers and sons John and John Quincy Adams, and George H.W. and George W. Bush.

If Hillary Clinton runs in two years and wins, she’ll be the first spouse of a president to win the office. So that changes the equation a good bit.

Let’s not get too worked up over this dynasty business. We’ve had ’em before.

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Is Kel Seliger in the wrong party?

State Sen. Kel Seliger won’t like these next few words, but I feel this need to get something off my chest.

I’m beginning to wonder if the Amarillo Republican is in the wrong political party. In Texas. At this time.

The lawmaker from Amarillo has served in the Texas Senate since 2004. He’s been a reliable Republican vote among the GOP senators who comprise the upper chamber’s majority. However, looking ahead to what might transpire in the mid-term elections this fall, I’m starting to wonder about Seliger’s place in an increasingly partisan and bitter legislative body.

For one thing, Seliger was effectively re-elected this spring when he beat back a challenge from former Midland Mayor Mike Canon. Canon is a nice enough guy. He’s actually quite intelligent. But when you turned on the microphone and asked him to speak about the issues of the day, he spoke almost exclusively in tea party clichés, sound bites and talking points.

Canon came within a couple of percentage points of knocking Seliger off in the GOP primary in March. Seliger has no Democratic opponent this fall, so he’ll take his seat next year.

Now comes the lieutenant governor’s race featuring Republican state Sen. Dan Patrick and Democratic Sen. Leticia Van de Putte. Patrick isn’t quite a shoo-in to win the race, but he’s a heavy favorite in this Republican state.

Seliger makes no attempt to hide his disdain for Patrick or the people who are backing him. So if Patrick wins the election, he’ll preside over a Senate that contains at least one lawmaker from his own party — Seliger — who can’t stand him.

What’s more, there well might be other right-wing demagogues like Patrick who’ll win their races this fall, which tells you plenty about where the Texas Republican Party has gone in the Era of Rick Perry.

That two-thirds rule — which requires at least 21 Senate votes to bring a bill to a vote on the floor — would be trashed by a Lt. Gov. Patrick. Seliger long has supported that rule. Patrick also has made it known that he dislikes giving committee chairmanships to Democrats, something Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has done over the years. Some of Seliger’s better friends in the Senate happen to be Democrats.

What do you suppose will happen when Patrick ventures to the Panhandle to campaign for the office he seeks? Will he ask Seliger to join him? Would the Amarillo lawmaker accept the invitation to introduce Patrick to an adoring crowd? Would the senator even be welcome at such an event?

The state Republican Party is being overrun by individuals who do not fit the Seliger model of good-government Republicanism, in my humble view.

No, I don’t believe Seliger is a closet Democrat. I know him to be one of those “establishment Republicans” who believes the key to legislating successfully is joining hands with Democrats whenever possible. The folks who are now running his Republican Party — and that includes Dan Patrick — think quite differently.

As former state Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa said when he left the Democratic Party to become a Republican many years ago, Kel Seliger never left his party — the party has left him.

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Obama, Perry to meet after all

It appears saner heads are beginning to prevail in the Texas governor’s office and at the White House.

President Obama has asked Congress for $4 billion in emergency aid to help combat the flow of illegal immigrants into Texas and other border states.

And …

Gov. Rick Perry has accepted the president’s invitation to a private meeting between the men to discuss ways to solve the crisis on the border.

Is this a sign of progress? Could be.

Perry had refused to take part in an airport tarmac symbolic handshake when Obama arrives in Austin later this week. He wanted a private meeting and said so publicly. The White House agreed this morning.

A meeting between the president and the governor won’t solve the crisis by itself. It is good political symbolism, and provides good “optics” for both men. One more such positive optic would be for the president to visit the border to see up close what’s causing all the ruckus.

As for the 4 billion bucks the president is asking, the ball is now in Congress’s court.

Congressional Republicans — to no one’s surprise — have been bashing the White House over its response to the border crisis that has produced more than 50,000 illegal immigrants coming to Texas in recent weeks. They’re mostly unaccompanied children and young adults.

The president would use the money to beef up security on the border, which as I understand it, is what the GOP is demanding.

So here you go, GOP leaders of Congress. Will you approve the money or will you drag your feet to preserve the political talking points?

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Has Gov. Perry gone petulant?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry won’t be on hand to greet President Obama on Thursday when the president arrives in Austin for a Democratic Party fundraiser.

Imagine my surprise … not!

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/politics/article/Perry-will-shun-Obama-handshake-at-Texas-airport-5605592.php

Perry wants a “substantive” meeting with Obama to discuss the crisis along the Texas border with Mexico. Thousands of illegal immigrants have entered the state from Central America. Perry wants Obama to do something about it. The president says he’s weighing his options.

Meantime, the president is coming here to raise money for Democrats. Perry, the lame-duck Republican governor, will forgo the customary greeting at the airport when Obama arrives.

While I agree with Perry’s call for a meeting with Obama to talk about the border crisis, I disagree with his refusal to greet the elected leader of the country, the commander in chief and the leader of the Free World at the airport.

For his part, the president needs to rework his schedule to fit the governor in for a serious discussion about the border matter. He still has time and I hope he reconsiders his decision to skip the meeting.

However, common courtesy is common courtesy — even in a highly partisan atmosphere.

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State missing road-building opportunity

Perhaps you’ve noticed over a period of time that I like referring to Paul Burka’s blog on Texas Monthly’s website. It provides grist for my own commentary.

His latest item refers to Texas road construction and maintenance.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/road-nowhere

I believe Burka, who’s a smart guy and well-versed in all things relating to Texas government, has glossed over an essential point in extolling the need for the state to pump more money into its highway fund.

It is this: Texas’s economy is built significantly on fossil fuel exploration and development. Therefore, it is in the state’s economic interest — at this time and likely for the foreseeable future — to enable motorists to travel safely on its roads, highways and bridges. Why? Because the vast majority of motor vehicles traveling through the state are powered by gasoline, which comes from those fossil fuels pulled from the ground in Texas.

Burka notes that the state hasn’t raised its gas tax since 1991. He adds correctly that given the mood of the state political leadership, it seems unlikely the Legislature would increase the tax. It’s a matter of politics interfering with good policy.

Do I want to pay more for gasoline when the need arises? No. However, if the revenue were to bolster the state highway fund and create a safer driving environment for my family and me, then I’m all for it.

It’s not that the state is doing nothing. As Burka writes: “The Legislature has proposed a constitutional amendment, to be voted on by the public in November, to provide $1.3 billion for highway projects. Even so, the dollars provided by the amendment will be a drop in the bucket for roadbuilding.”

Texans comprise a mobile society. Those of us who live out here in the vast expanse of West Texas understand that you have to drive some distance to get anywhere.

Road construction and maintenance ought to be a no-brainer for a state as vast as ours — and a state that still relies heavily on fossil fuels to power its economy.

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More than a handshake, please, Mr. President

This is making my head hurt, but Texas Gov. Rick Perry is, umm, correct in asking for more than an airport tarmac handshake with Barack Obama when the president arrives in Austin this week.

Perry wants more than handshake with Obama during Texas visit

Perry wants to meet privately with Obama to discuss the border crisis, created by the influx of thousands of illegal immigrants — from Central America — into Texas. The immigrants are young people fleeing repression; they have become commodities of human traffickers and drug lords. It’s a disgraceful development.

I must agree wholeheartedly with the governor on his request for a substantive meeting with the president.

The president reportedly has no plans to visit the border region while he’s in Texas to raise money for Democratic candidates. He should change his mind on that one, too.

As for meeting with Perry, Obama would have to set aside the idiotic statements from the governor, who said over the weekend he believes the White House may have “wanted” the crisis to erupt on the border. To what end is anyone’s guess. Perry hasn’t yet described what possible motive the president and/or the White House would have in fomenting this crisis.

The two men are adults. They’re seasoned pols. They know how to talk “frankly” with each other. I would hope the president could find time to meet with the governor of a significant state that is under siege at the moment by illegal immigrants.

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Flames cause setback for Amarillo project

It’s not every day you get to see a significant news event occur while you’re on the job.

So it was today around 6 p.m. when I noticed smoke billowing south of Street Toyota, where I work part time. I craned my neck a little more and then noticed flames belching out from the Town Square Village complex under construction at Hillside Road, just west of Soncy Road.

http://www.newschannel10.com/story/25959864/heavy-smoke-and-flames-from-town-square-village-development

I called 9-1-1, but they told me they were on it. A seemingly countless number of fire trucks began arriving and the flames were extinguished in about 45 minutes.

I’m not aware as I write this if the fire produced any casualties. I pray no one was hurt.

The bigger story, though, will be how much this damage delays the construction project under way. The fire didn’t consume all of it, just part of it. The damage, though, is substantial.

The project is huge and many long-time residents, civic and business leaders see the Town Square Village project as arguably the biggest commercial development to hit Amarillo since Westgate Mall.

It’s going to be huge. It will include retail shopping, residential development, some green space, recreational activities, entertainment … I’m probably missing something, but you get my drift.

The developer, Amarillo resident Perry Williams, is known to have some vision. He helped develop the Tradewinds Airport complex and much of the residential areas around it. He’s done well with his investments and as I’ve told folks all over town for the past year or so, Williams didn’t get to be so rich by being a dummy.

The blaze will set the project back. It should not stop it.

Let’s hope fire investigators learn the cause quickly and that the project can get moving again. Amarillo needs it.

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Perry says Obama 'wanted' border crisis to occur

Politics is a cynical business.

It results in politicians saying some pretty outrageous things — often about themselves but usually about their opponents.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has added another chapter to the Book of Cynical Commentary.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2014/07/perry-obama-administration-inept-or-has-ulterior-motive-191578.html?hp=l10

He said over the weekend that President Barack Obama might have wanted the crisis along the Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California borders with Mexico to occur.

“I have to believe when you do not respond in any way, you are either inept or have some ulterior motive that you are functioning from,” the lame-duck Republican governor said on ABC’s “This Week.” Moderator Martha Raddatz had challenged him about earlier comments he made that implied the president might have helped Central American immigrants enter the United States illegally.

I’d go with the competence issue before I’d ever consider some kind of plot to create a crisis where none need exist. This kind of nonsense falls in line with the idiocy spouted recently by former Vice President Dick Cheney that the president is deliberately trying to weaken the United States.

We now have the Texas governor — another loose rhetorical cannon — suggesting the president might have wanted the young people to flood into this country to create a hideous border patrol nightmare. Why? For what purpose does the president of the United States of America deliberately allow such chaos?

I suppose one can chalk it up to another salvo in Perry’s increasingly likely run for the presidency. He’ll leave the Texas governor’s office in January; then he’ll probably start prepping for another run at the GOP nomination for the White House.

Gov. Perry will have to do better than what he demonstrated over the weekend.

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