Monthly Archives: December 2013

Uncategorized

Shocking! Sen. Wendy Davis’s income jumps

So now it is revealed that state Sen. Wendy Davis’s law practice is proving to be lucrative for the legislator.

That’s a surprise?

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/04/wendy-davis-sees-legal-income-rise/

Davis, who’s running for Texas governor and figures to be a shoo-in for the Democratic Party’s nomination, released her past three years’ tax returns. They reveal that her private law practice income has doubled. It’s a good thing for her, too, given that she earns $7,200 a year as a state senator, plus the per diem expense stipend she gets when the Legislature is in session.

It’s long been something of an open secret that many lawmakers parlay their public service exposure into money-making strategies for their day jobs. Davis’s law practice wasn’t doing badly for her in 2010, the first year of the returns she released. Her income went from $130,000 annually that year to $284,000 in 2012. Not bad, right?

Well, that’s the way it goes for public figures. Every aspect of their so-called “private life” becomes subject to public scrutiny.

Attorney General Greg Abbott, who’s running for the Republican nomination for governor, had released his tax returns earlier.

Davis’s income story, of course, doesn’t quite end with the amount of money she earned. The law firm she founded has had dealings with some high-dollar public-sector clients, which is where some folks have suggested has produced potential conflicts of interest. She’ll need to reveal those relationships — in detail.

That, too, is the price of being in the public eye.

Uncategorized

How did we sink the ARC?

It’s one day short of a month since an election in Amarillo that defeated a $30 million-plus recreational center.

I’ve been thinking about why it went down in flames, what factors contributed to its defeat, how the city could have done better to sell it to a skeptical public. I’ve been asking some folks in the know around town.

Here are a few preliminary conclusions:

* The Amarillo Recreational Complex was sprung on voters with little discussion. It would have cost $36 million or so to build. It would have included ball fields, indoor tennis and basketball courts, proximity to public golf courses and swimming facilities. I’m not suggesting here that the Amarillo City Council pulled this notion out of its hat at the last minute. Yes, there was some discussion — but not nearly enough of it.

* The light turnout played against it. Turnout was in the teens, meaning that fewer than two in 10 eligible voters cast ballots on Nov. 5. Who are the most dedicated voters in any community? Old folks like me. The young people who would have the most to gain from the ARC didn’t turn out. That’s just the way it has been in this country for as long as I can remember.

* The city had just spent $2.6 million on an abandoned railroad depot. The timing of the election came just after the city plunked down a big chunk of cash to buy the Santa Fe Railroad Depot downtown, just east of the Civic Center. I realize that the money was available and it wouldn’t affect our municipal tax rate, but there well might have been a feeling among voters that the city was adopting a spendthrift philosophy with public money. Why give the city more of it?

* There well might be a latent tea party movement that stirred to life. The pro-ARC signs became almost part of the city’s landscape in the weeks prior to the election. They were everywhere. It made me think the measure was going to pass by a huge margin. The tea party movement across the country operates largely under the radar. It comprises people who are just fed up with government. There might have been some of that at play in Amarillo.

I hope the ARC — or some version of it — comes back. Quality of life issues are difficult to quantify. The pro-ARC gang did a good job of explaining how the complex would keep business here, how it would attract out-of-towners to Amarillo, how it would benefit the city’s economic well-being while providing families here significant new recreational opportunities.

There will need to be a cooling-off period to be sure of perhaps a year, maybe longer. If and when it returns, I would encourage the city to get ahead of the story in a major way, stay there and put forth a serious marketing campaign to sell this worthy product.

That’s how you win elections.

Uncategorized

UIL mixes up the pot some more

It now appears Amarillo and Tascosa high schools are heading for a new classification under the University Interscholastic League sphere of things.

They’re joining the new Class 6A. That will put them in the same classification as, say, Allen High School — the beastly school that keeps winning state high school football championships.

More on Allen High in a moment.

Amarillo went from 5A to 4A two years ago. Tascosa remained in 5A and was placed in a district that required tremendous amounts of travel time and distance. The time kids were spending on buses to take part in extracurricular events didn’t set well with some parents. I don’t recall hearing too much griping from students, but Moms and Dads were highly ticked off about it.

We’ll see what the latest realignment will do to Amarillo’s four public high schools. AHS and THS join the big schools. Caprock and Palo Duro appear headed for a new 5A classification.

It all would be enough to make my head spin — if I had any kids or grandkids enrolled in school here. My interest is only on the fringes. My wife and I moved here as our sons were finishing college. They went to high school in Beaumont. One of my sons was active in band and marched Friday nights throughout East Texas. The farthest he traveled I believe was to Lufkin, about a two-hour drive north into the Piney Woods.

Back to this 6A matter. AHS and THS, each with a little more than 2,100 students, now will get to compete against some really big schools. I mention Allen because one of my grandsons attends that school, north of Dallas. Enrollment there is about, oh, Six Grand. That’s 6,000 students attending school on an enormous campus.

Is it fair to throw all these schools into this super-classification? We’ll find out soon enough.

It’s always intrigued me, though, how the UIL has to tinker so frequently with these classifications, just as the Texas Education Agency feels the need to monkey around with the school calendar every year. Back in my day — holy mackerel, I sound like my dad — the school year started the first Tuesday after Labor Day and ended around June 10.

The UIL, however, seems incapable of keeping its hands off of students’ and parents’ lives.

Good luck on this latest switch. See you guys in two years.

Uncategorized

Sequestration bad for education

Texas’ congressional delegation has been scolded by a gang of top-level Texas higher education officials — representing private and public schools across the state.

Our congressmen and women need to get their knuckles rapped.

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/12/03/texas-higher-ed-leaders-share-sequestration-concer/

Sequestration has educators concerned. They fear the mandatory budget cuts enacted by Congress and signed by President Obama will bring potentially irreparable damage to the state’s higher education network.

“Further reductions to the budgets of research agencies and other federal programs threaten critical national investments that grow our state’s economy, support Texas students, and spur the innovation and discovery required to meet future scientific, medical and economic needs,” the group wrote.

The full roster of signatures, by the way, does not include Texas Tech University Chancellor Kent Hance — a former member of Congress. The list, though, does include Texas Tech President Duane Nellis, who presumably had Hance’s blessing before putting his name on the letter.

I hope the letter and the concerns it expresses about higher education and research doesn’t fall on deaf ears in Washington. Listen up, Rep. Mac Thornberry; they’re talking to you, too.

However, as is too often the case, lawmakers from both parties listen a bit too intently to the fringe base elements within their party and fail to heed warnings from the unwashed masses out here in the heartland.

Sequestration, let’s remember, involve the mandatory budget cuts that kicked in at the beginning of the year. They were supposed to be last-resort measure that was enacted because lawmakers and the president didn’t believe Congress would allow the sequestration to occur. Silly them. They did allow it.

According to the Texas Tribune, “the group warned that sequestration cuts will stifle innovation, resulting in a reduction in gross domestic product, and that students — more than 850,000 are enrolled at Texas universities — will also suffer.”

Our elected leaders keep talking about ensuring a brighter future for their states and the nation. Is this the way to do it, by cutting the guts out of higher education? I think not.

Uncategorized

Health care rollout no ‘mission accomplished’

ABC News correspondent Jon Karl sought to pin White House spokesman Jay Carney down on whether the tinkering of the once-crashed health care website produced a “mission accomplished” moment.

Carney didn’t take the bait.

Nor should he.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/12/02/abcs_jon_karl_to_carney_is_it_mission_accomplished_for_obamacare_website.html

The reference, of course, is to the famous photo op of President George W. Bush landing aboard the aircraft carrier in 2003 after the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had been captured. Then the president stood before the world — and in front of a banner hung across the conning tower of the carrier — that declared “Mission Accomplished.”

It turned out the mission was far from accomplished. Many more Americans would die in battle before the Iraq War came to an end. Anyone with half a memory of that event knows the folly of declaring victory too quickly.

I’m quite sure the current president, Barack Obama, is aware as well.

The Affordable Care Act rollout was a disaster for the White House. The computer program meant to handle all those applications for health insurance crashed and burned. The White House took it down. Health officials throughout the administration began feeling intense pressure. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius could have done an honorable thing by resigning, given that it all happened on her watch. She has stayed.

The healthcare.gov website has been updated, tweaked, nipped-and-tucked and is working a lot better than before. Is it perfect? Has the administration accomplished its mission? No on both counts.

But the administration is making strides, which is about as good as it can get when you take on such a huge enterprise as trying to fix a broken health care system.

The mission is not accomplished — at least not yet.

Uncategorized

There you have it: Health care website is fixed

OK. The verdict now appears to be in on the effort to repair what troubled the launch of the Affordable Care Act.

That website, the one that crashed when Americans tried to sign on for health insurance, appears to be repaired. It’s working. It’s working pretty well. It can handle as many as 50,000 applications at once.

Is that the end of the debate over the ACA? Hardly.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/health-care-website-enrollment-obamacare-november-2013-100528.html

Some Republican luminaries, such as U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, say the healthcare.gov difficulties were the “least” of the troubles relating to the ACA.

Here’s my take.

The health insurance system was broken before Congress enacted the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The ACA is intended to bring insurance to an estimated 30 million Americans who don’t have it now. The website snafu was a big deal, hardly “the least” of the problems afflicting the system. Now it’s repaired. The Obama administration says more work needs to be done to make it work with maximum efficiency.

The administration pledged to fix the system when it crashed and burned at the beginning of October. It delivered on the pledge.

Now … let’s allow the program to take root.

Uncategorized

Drones at my door? No thank you

Allow me to toss a wet blanket on what I will acknowledge to be a truly unique idea for delivering goods to people’s homes.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, says he intends to fill the sky with commercial drones to drop products ordered through his company.

Door-to-door drones spook lawmakers

Members of Congress want to hold hearings on the idea to examine ways to protect people’s privacy.

I’m thinking they also should have hearings to ensure that the drones don’t clutter the sky with traffic that could put people’s lives in danger.

I watched the “60 Minutes” segment Sunday night when Bezos knocked Charlie Rose over with the idea of drones. I’ll admit to being floored by the idea. Then I thought a little about it.

Do we really need to launch these vehicles into the air to ensure prompt delivery of these goods? I’m wondering now if we’re taking technology a bit too far.

“As we move forward toward integrating drones into civilian life and capitalizing on the economic opportunities they offer, we must make certain that these aircraft meet rigorous safety and privacy standards,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Do you think?

I’m all for technology. Heck, I’m learning — finally — to embrace much of what many millions of others embraced long ago. There’s just something vaguely creepy, though, about unleashing these drones to deliver mail-order gifts to people’s front porch.

Just how many of them will take flight? Our airspace seems a bit crowded as it stands right now.

Uncategorized

Women lead the way for Democrats

Juan Williams, writing for The Hill newspaper, says that women might be the saviors for the Democratic Party.

I scanned through the piece and noticed a critical omission: no mention of Texas.

Take a look:

http://thehill.com/opinion/juan-williams/191675-juan-williams-dems-are-now-party-of-women

Williams, a frequent contributor for the Fox News Channel (as one of the network’s handful of token liberals), looks at the rise across the nation of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and of course former first lady/Sen./Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

These all are legitimate powerhouses on the national political stage.

However, out here in Texas there is another possible surge in the making — courtesy of women.

State Sens. Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte are running for Texas governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. They both are being seen by the state Democratic establishment as being critical to their party’s possible resurgence.

Is it probable? Well, many experts around Texas don’t think so. Republicans have cemented their grip on the state’s political infrastructure. They occupy every statewide office and they keep winning with impressive margins. The state has gone through a fundamental political personality transformation since, oh, about 1978, when it elected its first GOP governor since Reconstruction. It’s been downhill ever since for the Texas Democratic Party.

Davis and Van de Putte, though, represent two key constituencies that Democrats will need. Women — of course — and Hispanics, given Van de Putte’s ethnic heritage. The Hispanic vote remains solidly Democratic in Texas, although Gov. Rick Perry has fared well among that group of voters in recent election cycles. Perry, though, is not running. That creates a significant opening for Hispanic activists to get out the vote.

The female vote centers on abortion rights. The Texas GOP has enacted strict rules prohibiting a woman’s right end a pregnancy. That battle in the Legislature propelled Davis to the national stage earlier this year. Davis certainly cannot run on that issue alone, but the passion she stirred among women across the state could serve as a key driver in her bid to become governor next year.

I am not predicting a victory for Democrats next year. I am hopeful, though, that renewed interest in the two Democratic candidates at the top of the state’s ballot can create buzz among voters and deliver a lively campaign that requires Republicans to explain themselves as they campaign across the state.

Uncategorized

Gerald Ford: right man, right time

The columnist David Shribman takes note of an anniversary that few people will remember.

I must say this one got by me, but I am glad Shribman wrote this essay commemorating the 40th anniversary of the confirmation of Vice President Gerald Rudolph Ford.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/12/01/the_steady_hand_of_gerald_ford_120822.html

The date will arrive on Friday.

It should be noted that an embattled President Richard Nixon made many correct decisions during his time in office, right along with some horrendous ones. Selecting the then-House minority leader to become vice president was among the best decisions of Nixon’s presidency.

Spiro Agnew had quit in disgrace. He ended up pleading no contest to bribery charges. Nixon looked high and low for a suitable replacement. He found it in Ford.

As Shribman notes, Ford was one of 17 men to ascend from vice president to president. Of course, Ford’s place in history is unique, given that he never was elected to either position. He would become vice president on Dec. 6, 1973 and then, on Aug. 9, 1974, he would take the oath of office as the 38th president of the United States.

Gerald Ford healed the nation ravaged by scandal. Yes, he stirred up a terrible controversy a month into his presidency when he pardoned Nixon. He was criticized roundly for that action. I remember, though, how the late Sen. Edward Kennedy — one of Ford’s harshest critics at the time of the pardon — admitted to the error of that criticism as he issued the former president a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2001. “Mr. President, I was wrong,” Kennedy said to Ford.

President George H.W. Bush called Ford a “Norman Rockwell painting come to life,” in remarks at Ford’s funeral.

Fate came calling one day four decades ago and the nation was blessed to have had Gerald Ford on hand to heal its wounds.