Monthly Archives: December 2015

local news, Sports news, Uncategorized

Hey, maybe Amarillo really is a baseball town

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Paul Matney seems to be a serious expert on baseball and its potential interest in his hometown.

The retired Amarillo College president hit the stump this fall to campaign for approval of a multipurpose event venue in downtown Amarillo. Part of Matney’s pitch was that Amarillo “is a baseball town.”

The MPEV received voters’ endorsement on Nov. 3 in a non-binding municipal referendum. The Amarillo City Council then ratified the results and voted unanimously to proceed with development of the MPEV.

Then, what do you think was revealed just this week?

Melissa Dailey, head of Downtown Amarillo Inc., told the Local Government Corporation that, by golly, she’s had some informal contact with a Class AA minor-league baseball franchise that might be interested in setting up an operation in Amarillo.

Dailey said she is not at liberty — yet! — to disclose the name of the franchise. She said the city is on a “short list” of communities being considered.

Hey, didn’t Paul Matney predict this might happen if voters approved the MPEV?

Yes, I believe he did.

The LGC is moving forward, per the City Council’s advice. It will report to the council regularly as it continues its work toward developing the $32 million MPEV.

And now the conversation might include a minor-league baseball outfit, with major-league connections, that could move into the MPEV once it’s built.

Who knew?

Oh yeah. Paul Matney seemed to be ahead of the curve.

 

national news

Merry Christmas … and lock ‘n load!

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You may believe this if you wish, or you may disbelieve it. Doesn’t matter much to me.

But, optics matter.

I saw this picture of a Nevada state legislator who had her picture taken with her family … all of whom are armed to the teeth with guns.

Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, a Republican, thought it would be nice to show her support for the Second Amendment by putting this image on Christmas cards.

Honest to goodness, I really don’t have much to add to this, except to invite you to look at the picture and decide whether you believe this is in keeping with the Christmas spirit.

Would Jesus be packing? If they had these kinds of weapons 2,000-plus years ago, my strong hunch is that the Lord himself — the Prince of Peace — wouldn’t be seen with a gun.

But, you know, I’m just speculating.

As a friend of mine back in Beaumont was fond of saying: “My three-word answer is … W. O. W.”

 

national news

Yes … it was a terrorist act

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Let’s stop pussyfooting around a certain word regarding the San Bernardino, Calif., massacre.

It was an act of terrorism. There can be no doubt, zero, of that — in my view.

Whether it was “workplace violence,” the culmination of a terrible argument gone tragically  wrong, or the doings of a young couple persuaded to follow the rhetoric preached by religious fanatics, what the suspects did was terrorize the nation.

They gunned down more than 30 people. Fourteen of them died.

The nation is now asking: Did this young couple represent the Islamic State or some other ruthless cabal of terror?

Whatever the motive turns out to be, they have managed to accomplish a singular goal. They have frightened a community out of its wits and have terrorized a nation looking for answers on how to stop this spasm of brutality.

It’s what terrorists — be they domestic or foreign-born — always do.

 

International news, military news

Now you tell us, general …

The moment of the falling of Saddam's statue, with the help of the US Army.

Michael Flynn didn’t disclose much that many Americans already didn’t believe or even know.

The retired Army lieutenant general — who once headed the Defense Intelligence Agency — told a German newspaper that the Iraq War was a big mistake and that the Bush administration started it on “sketchy evidence” that Iraq had a hand in the 9/11 attacks.

Who knew?

History, Gen. Flynn said, won’t be kind as the Iraq War legacy is written over time.

Gosh. Do you think?

I guess my question for the general might be: Why didn’t you tell us before now?

Flynn told Der Spiegel, “When 9/11 occurred, all the emotions took over, and our response was, ‘Where did those bastards come from? Let’s go kill them. Let’s go get them.'”

I don’t think the emotional part of the response should be criticized. We were angry as hell at what happened. that day.

But to assign complicity for the 9/11 attack almost immediately to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein after going after the Taliban and al-Qaeda strongholds in Afghanistan is where the policy came apart rapidly.

Flynn believes that eliminating Saddam Hussein helped strengthen and embolden the Islamic State, the Sunni terrorist organization that has risen to become a fearsome force in the Middle East. He lays responsibility for that squarely on the Bush administration.

Flynn, though, doesn’t spare Barack Obama from blame in this conflict. According to the Huffington Post: “In a recent interview with Mehdi Hasan on Al Jazeera’s ‘Head to Head,’ Flynn took aim at Obama’s publicly stated goals to ‘degrade and ultimately destroy’ the Islamic State, saying that while the administration is effectively degrading the organization, the group cannot be ‘destroyed,'”

He added: “We may cause it to change its name, but we are never going to destroy this organization,” Flynn said. “Destroy means to completely eliminate — he should not have used those words, those were incorrect words to use and he should have been more precise.”

So … the debate goes on.

 

International news, military news

ISIS leader becomes new No. 1 target

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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has become a marked man.

Who is this guy? He is the leader of the Islamic State. He heads the world’s most formidable terrorist organization.

What if we get him? Will it mean the end of the organization. Probably not by itself, but it would cripple the Islamic State in a way that all the bombs and missiles we’re dropping on the terrorists.

This is a big deal at many levels.

According to Bloomberg News Service: “Eliminating Baghdadi is seen as a particularly important goal, the official said, because he holds a unique role in being able to inspire and organize extremists beyond the territory held by the group. While declining to compare the effort to the operation that led to the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, the official said the U.S. has a proven track record of finding a top target once it sets its sights.”

President Obama and Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced recently the deployment of a special operations team that is set up to help Kurdish and Iraqi forces fighting ISIS units. The team is expected to deploy teams acting on intelligence gathered by CIA operatives, the National Security Agency, the FBI, Navy SEALs and Army Delta Force commandos.

These folks all are quite good at what we ask them to do.

Which is to hunt down and eliminate bad guys.

 

national news

Gun death toll keeps mounting

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I totally understand that President Barack Obama has his share of critics.

Moreover, I respect and honor Americans’ right to criticize him, even though I remain generally a supporter of his policies, his vision for the country and the manner in which he has led us.

It’s hard for me to watch this brief compilation of the number of times the president has had to go before the nation in the wake of mass shootings.

San Bernardino, Calif., was just the latest. I am frightfully certain there will be more of those kinds of massacres before the president and his family check out of the White House on Jan. 20, 2017.

And, yes, there will be more of them for the next president to confront.

I am not going to make any partisan statement here about how we should end it. I’m not going to enter the fray that’s erupting already about whether to clamp more gun control laws, or whether the latest shooters were jihadists.

This is a terribly complex and hear-wrenching problem that has gripped the nation by the throat. It won’t let go.

I’m just one American who’s grown weary of watching these events unfold. I try, with no success at all, to imagine how a president musters the will to corral his emotions with every violent spasm that grips the country he governs.

 

local news

Is the MPEV actually picking up some steam?

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If you had asked me, oh, a month ago whether I thought the multipurpose event venue would begin gathering forward momentum so soon after a citywide vote, I’d have said, “not a chance.”

My concern was that foot-dragging would impede the MPEV’s progress, that the Local Government Corporation might begin looking for reasons to delay it.

Well, things might be working out all right after all.

Timeline set for MPEV

The LGC is beginning now to assign duties to city staffers charged with carrying the MPEV forward. Downtown Amarillo Inc. executive director Melissa Dailey has informed the LGC that her office has had informal contact with an organized minor-league baseball franchise that might be interested in moving to Amarillo and playing some old-fashioned hardball in the MPEV. Nothing is set. No deal is done. It’s just conversation, she said.

Then came an LGC decision, which was that it should pursue an affiliated team first rather than an independent team, such as the Amarillo Thunderheads, which has entered into a goofy decision next season to split its home schedule between Amarillo and Grand Prairie.

By all mean, LGC, pursue the affiliated team!

The LGC has been advised that time is not on its side. It has deadlines to meet, work to get done, firms to hire and construction to begin.

The LGC now aims to have the MPEV open for business by the start of the 2018 baseball season, perhaps March or April of that year.

Were some of us wrong about the LGC’s commitment to following through on the voters’ expressed desire to build the MPEV and the ballpark associated with it.

Man, I sure hope so.

national news

Let us not judge all on the acts of a few

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I went to sleep last night not knowing what we all know this morning about the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, Calif.

This morning, I awoke to learn that the two people killed in a shootout with police were a husband and wife. The husband was an American-born Muslim; his wife was born abroad, but moved here years ago; she also was a Muslim. They were the parents of a six-month-old girl.

I also heard this morning on National Public Radio that they weren’t particularly religious, nor were they outwardly political.

Something had snapped, or so it seems. They entered the social services center and opened fire with assault weapons. Fourteen people died.

The suspect then got into a fire fight with police. They died, too.

So, what are we to make of this?

Do these individuals represent all people of their particular faith? No. However, there likely is going to be a measure — perhaps even a large measure — of generalization about them and people all around the world who share their faith.

It’s better for everyone, thus, to accord those of the Islamic faith the same kind of tolerance we give those of other faiths. Are we condemning all Christians because someone, for instance, opened fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs — and then told the cops “no more baby parts”?

No. Nor should we.

An unspeakable tragedy has occurred in southern California. It’s horrific on any level imaginable.

Because the suspected perpetrators are of a certain faith, though, shouldn’t give us license to condemn everyone of that faith.

Let us turn our attention to the victims of this latest tragedy.

 

political news

Gun violence has terrorized us yet again

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Let’s add one more city to the infamous list of communities that have been plagued by shocking gun violence.

That would be San Bernardino.

Fourteen people are dead, about 17 more are injured.

And while the media are reporting on the breaking story, they are fixating on a question that, to my mind, need not be asked.

They wonder: Was this an act of terrorism?

My thought? Well, yes. Absolutely. Look at the picture I’ve attached to this blog post. Does she look terrified?

By its very definition, what happened today terrorized a community, if not the nation.

So, here’s my thought. Why not broaden the definition of terrorism to include any act by individuals that frighten the senses out of individuals or communities of individuals?

We don’t yet know the motive behind the individuals who walked into the social services agency and opened fire. They reportedly were dressed in what police called “tactical gear.” They were heavily armed with assault weapons and assorted “long guns” — which has become sort of the latest term of art to describe weapons that one shoots with two hands.

Does it matter right now, this moment, what kind of terrorism transpired? Domestic or foreign, it matters little to me.

I am frightened for our country and equally terrified at the frequency of these types of attacks.

We are being terrorized.

 

business news, local news

Construction crane: sign of downtown progress

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There used to be a time when I ventured into downtown Amarillo daily.

I worked there full time. I would see the same sights as I drove toward my place of employment. When you see the same things each day you don’t always notice changes while they’re occurring.

These days I get downtown far less frequently. It’s usually once per week to attend a Rotary Club meeting at the Chase Tower.

Those downtown sojourns, though, are producing a visual treat for me. I’m noticing the changes more readily. I cannot say I notice them week over week, but I do sense some serious changes — for the better — in our downtown district.

The most obvious change has been the sight of that construction crane over a major project going up on Buchanan Street. It’s the new Xcel Energy office complex. They’ve laid the foundation and have begun framing the multi-story structure. Xcel will move into the building in 2017.

OK, there’s more.

As I drive down Polk Street, I get the sense of more activity on what used to be the city’s “main drag.” It’s nothing I can define point by point. It’s just a feeling in my gut.

The last time I saw Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner, I told her how proud I am of the courthouse complex renovation. She’s clearly proud of it, too. And she should be.

The Commerce Building at Eighth and Tyler is going to be transformed into an urban branch campus for West Texas A&M University.

My anticipation is growing as well as I await the start of actual construction of the Embassy Suites hotel, where they’ve “broken ground.”

And, of course, we have this multipurpose event venue that’s now planned for construction at the site of the vacated Coca-Cola distribution complex across the street from City Hall.

I’ve long believed that any city’s future depends on the health of its downtown district. Show me a city with a dilapidated downtown and I’ll show you a city in serious decline. Believe me, I’ve seen my share as I’ve traveled through Texas over the past 31 years.

I’ve also seen cities with vibrant downtown districts that also reflect the health of their communities.

My hope for Amarillo is that the momentum I sense is increasing in its downtown district will continue and pick up speed.

That Xcel Energy construction crane is a huge start. I’m ready to see more of them.