Republicans are looking like … uh … Democrats!

July 18, 2016 kanelis2012

The first day of the Republican Party’s presidential nominating convention has gotten off to a start no one might have seen coming.

Those stodgy, staid, stuffy Republicans are looking like Democrats.

More to the point, they’re looking like Democrats of Yesteryear, back when the Democrats used to fight among themselves, convention delegates walking off the floor.

The GOP started its Donald J. Trump nominating convention by having a knock-down floor fight initiated by the anti-Trump forces. They wanted to change the rules to allow a roll-call vote that could have allowed delegates to abandon their obligation to voting for the frontrunner.

They didn’t clear the hurdle. The convention chair declared the voice vote to have gone to the Trumpkins, and the move died at the scene.

Democrats in 1968 and again in 1972 used to fight like that. Republicans, meanwhile, conducted orderly conventions those years … and went on to win the presidential election. The 1980 Democratic convention had its share of drama, too, with Ted Kennedy’s forces fighting to change the rules, only to lose that fight to the Jimmy Carter juggernaut. That election turned out badly for Democrats, too.

This year, Democrats are going to be mild-mannered. Republicans are going to fight among themselves.

What does any of this portend for the fall election?

I am not going there. I’ve tried to predict political outcomes for too long without success.

I’ll just sit back and watch the theatrics.

local news, State news

Heat: It’s all relative

July 18, 2016 kanelis2012

The dog days of summer have arrived a bit earlier than usual on the Texas High Plains.

We’ve been simmering in 100 or near-100-degree weather for several days now. How’s it going with my fellow Panhandle residents? Not too well, based on some of the social media postings I have been reading of late.

Pardon me for snickering … just a bit. I promise I’ll be discreet. I won’t guffaw out loud.

Still, I must remind my many friends here just how bad it could be during this time of year. We could be living on the Texas Gulf Coast, where my family and I lived for nearly 11 years before my wife and I skedaddled to the High Plains in January 1995. Our sons were in college and were on their own.

I now shall inflict a brief version of a story I’ve told many times about life in what I call The Swamp.

It was around 1989. I was working in my yard. The temperature outside that summer day was just this side of 100 degrees.

The humidity? About the same. High 90s. I’m telling you, there’s nothing quite like the Gulf Coast heat/humidity combo that makes one appreciate cooler places and cooler times of the year. Our many friends who live between Beaumont and Corpus Christi know of which I speak.

I stopped working in my yard and went inside the house. I announced to my wife, “We’re going to the beach!” So, we gathered up our beach gear, threw it into our Honda Civic and peeled out for the coast.

We raced through Mid-Jefferson County then turned east, across the Sabine River that borders Texas and Louisiana and headed for our favorite spot on the coast.

Holly Beach, La., beckoned us. Hurricane Katrina and later Hurricane Rita in 2005 wiped out what passed for the “resort” there. On this day, though, it awaited us.

We drove our Honda onto the beach, we got out and raced to the water.

I plunged into the surf — and came up immediately and ran back out onto the sand! Why? The water was as stinkin’ hot as the ambient air. That’s why!

There was no refreshment to be found in the Gulf of Mexico that day.

OK, we stayed for the rest of the day. We rented inner tubes and lolled around in the surf. Why go back home when we’d made the effort to find some comfort in that oppressive heat?

The moral of the story?

Suck it up, my Panhandle neighbors and remember: It’s a dry heat.

International news, national news, political news

Trump now pitches ‘extreme vetting’ of Muslims

July 18, 2016 kanelis2012

Donald J. Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States has morphed into something he calls “extreme vetting.”

Is that any more acceptable?

That depends, I suppose.

If you’re frightened beyond all reason over allowing any Muslims into the country, then the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s apparent change in policy is a “weakening” of his get-tough stance.

On the other hand, if you wonder just how U.S. immigration and customs officials are going to conduct this so-called “extreme vetting” — as I do — then this plan is just another goofy notion that well might change in the next day or two.

Oh, and there’s also that constitutional issue. The First Amendment lists three basic liberties, the first one of which just happens to be the freedom to worship whichever faith you choose.

Trump is going to accept the GOP presidential nomination this week in Cleveland. He’s selected Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate. Pence, interestingly, has declared Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric to be antithetical to American values.

Aw, but what the heck? What’s wrong with a few disagreements among political allies? That sounded like Trump’s rationale for selecting someone with whom he has some serious policy disagreements.

Does the “extreme vetting” bring the two GOP candidates closer on this particular difference of opinion? Time will tell, I suppose.

Whether it’s an outright ban or a regimen of “extreme vetting” of people based on their religious faith, the GOP nominee’s precept is built out of fear and panic. It also ignores the reality that federal security forces are intercepting and detaining suspected bad guys every single day.

Trump keeps insisting that we need to be more vigilant, more alert, more resolute in defending ourselves against terrorists.

The 9/11 attacks nearly 15 years ago — Can you believe that? — exposed the nation to the harshest reality imaginable, which is that we were vulnerable to that kind of horror. We were vulnerable to such evil for a long time before it actually happened.

I believe we are a lot less vulnerable to it today, based on the terrible lessons learned from that horrifying event.

What’s more, defending ourselves against a lone-wolf attacker is difficult in the extreme, as Secretary of State John Kerry noted over the weekend.

He made a fascinating point Sunday morning, which is that U.S. national security forces have to be on guard and totally alert every minute of every single day of the year. Meanwhile, a terrorist has to be sharp for just a few minutes in order to conduct a successful strike against us.

“Extreme vetting” or an outright ban of Muslims will not protect us totally and fully against the evil that lurks out there.

Such language, though, does create a catchy political sound bite.

national news, political news

GOP ticket: together for the first time

July 18, 2016 kanelis2012

I watched tonight’s “60 Minutes” interview with Donald Trump and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

I was amazed — but not surprised — to hear how the Republican presidential nominee, Trump, often wouldn’t let his running mate get a word in edgewise.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/unaired-60-minutes-clips-with-trump-and-pence/

The clips here perhaps illustrate my point.

What did surprise me was how ill-prepared Gov. Pence is to answer the questions that cut to, as Stahl said, “the daylight” that exists between the candidates on policy matters.

Leslie Stahl sought to pin Trump down on the differences the two men have on some key issues. Trade? Trump wouldn’t let Pence answer. For his part, Pence didn’t answer the question directly, either.

How about Trump’s penchant for insult? Pence is much more of a gentlemanly campaigner. He’s said he opposes negative campaigning, that candidates do better to sell their policies rather than denigrating the opponent.

He didn’t answer that question, either.

Perhaps the most awkward evasion came when Stahl asked Pence directly whether he believes — as Trump said some months ago — that Sen. John McCain is a “war hero” only because he got captured by the enemy during the Vietnam War.

Trump interrupted: “McCain is a nice guy.”

Pence never answered that one, either.

This, ladies and gents, is a political team that needs work.

national news

As if police work isn’t dangerous enough …

July 18, 2016 kanelis2012

Do we need any more examples of the deadly hazards that await police officers every single day they report for work?

Five Dallas officers died the other night while they were patrolling a peaceful demonstration in the city’s downtown. Then a gunman opens fire on them.

Then today, Baton Rouge police respond to a 9-1-1 call. They show up to determine the nature of the call and someone ambushes them.

Three of them died today in yet another horrifying example of senseless violence being brought to police officers.

My response when I heard the horrible news? Good bleeping grief!

Baton Rouge police killed the gunman today. He has been identified and authorities say he lived in Kansas City, Mo. His motivation has not yet been determined. That will come in due course.

But today we mourn yet more police officers who have died in the line of duty.

I’ll be honest about this point: My first fear was that the gunman who opened fire today had targeted white police officers in the manner that the Dallas shooter did in response to earlier incidents involving the deaths of black men at the hands of white officers.

Then came word that one of the victims today has been identified as Montrell Jackson, a black officer — and the father of a small child.

We toss the word “hero” around much too loosely. The men and women who take the oath to serve and protect us do so with honor, with bravery and with dedication to the public they serve.

Yes, I know that not every one of those officers is honorable.

Then again, every profession has its bad actors. You hear about bad doctors, bad lawyers, bad civil engineers, bad reporters and editors.

Do we tar all those professions because some of their practitioners don’t measure up?

Today I am honoring the work that our law enforcement officers perform for their communities — for my community. My heart is broken over the loss they have suffered yet again.

national news

Now it’s Baton Rouge PD under fire … literally!

July 17, 2016 kanelis2012

I am going to pray that we haven’t started another list of communities where we attach them immediately to random acts of unspeakable violence.

We have places like Newtown, Charleston, Aurora, Blacksburg, Killeen, Littleton, Springfield, Orlando, you name it, where violence has broken out, claiming the lives of innocent people at the hands of hideous monsters.

Just two weeks ago, another such monster opened fire in Dallas, killing five police officers. Today? It happened again … in Baton Rouge.

Three officers are dead; several others are wounded.

What I haven’t yet been able to read is anything that starts to explain the motive behind this latest attack on law enforcement.

The big question? Is it race-related?

Baton Rouge police, you must recall, were involved in the shooting death of an African-American man. The officers, who are white, have been put on leave. Demonstrations have broken out.

It’s reasonable, I reckon, to believe that today’s shooting was in response to that earlier incident. But we don’t know.

One gunman is dead. Police today have said he is dressed in black, but no one is identifying him, either by name or by his ethnicity.

No matter the motivation, this kind of attack on law enforcement must not stand.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/breakingnews/3-baton-rouge-police-killed-in-shooting-1-suspect-dead/ar-BBuq8lz?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

President Obama has condemned it. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has as well. So has the leader of the Black Lives Matter movement that has led the demonstrations.

Let us all pray for an immediate end to this kind of tragedy.

I don’t know how we’re ever going to repair hearts that keep getting broken by this kind of cruel senselessness.

national news, political news

Host governor takes a pass on GOP convention

July 17, 2016 kanelis2012

Of all the Republican Party no-shows for this week’s GOP presidential nominating convention, I want to focus on one of them.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is taking a pass.

He won’t be in the convention hall to welcome the delegates. He won’t speak on behalf of the party’s presumptive nominee. He will be absent from the proceedings.

Kasich has told the media he plans to be in Cleveland, even though his governor’s duties might require him to stay on the job down yonder in Columbus.

He’s not alone, of course. The party’s two living former presidents — George H.W. and George W. Bush — are staying away. The party’s two most recent presidential nominees — John McCain and Mitt Romney — won’t darken the convention hall door. Jeb Bush will be a goner. Several GOP members of Congress facing tough re-election fights won’t be there, either.

None of these folks can stand Donald J. Trump, the party’s nominee.

Kasich’s absence, though, is the most profound.

He was one of the 16 Republicans who ran against Trump. Although he didn’t get tagged with a label — a la “Lyin’ Ted,” “Little Marco,” or “Low Energy Jeb” — Kasich became the target of a Trump barb as the GOP frontrunner poked fun of Kasich’s eating habits, for crying out loud!

It’s a very big deal for the governor of the state that is hosting a political nominating convention to stay away.

Kasich, who was my favorite Republican primary candidate, is a longtime GOP pol with a stellar record as a member of Congress. He had a record on which to run, such as his leadership in helping craft a federal balanced budget while he chaired the House Budget Committee. In a normal election year, that might be enough all by itself to put a presidential candidate over the top.

Oh, wait! This is anything but a normal election year.

I’m glad to see Gov. Kasich refuse to have his good name tainted by an association with a nominee who has parlayed his penchant for insults into a winning campaign formula.

national news, political news

Trump, Pence: clash of egos

July 17, 2016 kanelis2012

Mike Pence wouldn’t like being associated with this politician, but I’m going to offer it anyway.

The late George McGovern — a liberal icon and one of my favorite pols — once stated that a politician’s most necessary trait is to possess a huge ego.

You’ve got to think highly of yourself in order to achieve success in the political world, McGovern declared.

Thus, it is that memory of a former presidential candidate’s observation, that brings me to the present day.

Gov. Pence himself is a successful politician: service in the U.S. Congress and as Indiana governor.

His rollout Saturday as Donald J. Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, though, makes me wonder: Is Pence’s ego going to suffer grievous injury because of the behavior and spotlight-hogging style of the Republican Party’s presidential nominee?

Those of you who watched Trump prattle on for nearly 30 minutes Saturday about himself, his business success, his defeat of 16 other GOP candidates, and his record-setting vote totals in the GOP primaries had to have wondered what Pence might have been thinking as he waited — patiently, I presume — in the wings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/us/politics/mike-pence-donald-trump.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Then came the introduction. Trump and Pence shook hands, Trump patted his running mate on the arm, then walked off the stage. Political tradition dictates that the candidate at the top of the ticket introduces the running mate and then stands dutifully behind the No. 2 guy and leads the applause when he delivers the appropriate punch lines.

Tradition, however, is the last thing that Trump wants to follow.

And that brings me to this final point.

Mike Pence is as traditional a politician as one can find. He’s a doctrinaire conservative Republican. He believes in free trade (which Trump opposes), he is anti-abortion (which Trump has supported), he is loyal to his party (which Trump has characterized as being part of a “rigged system”).

He also possesses — if Sen. McGovern’s wisdom is correct — the kind of ego that all politicians need to be successful.

There can be zero denying Trump’s h-u-u-u-u-g-e ego.

Those of us who are interested in these things are going wait with some anticipation to see whether these two men can settle their apparent — and in some cases obvious — differences in style … and public policy.

local news

Downtown revival far from total

July 17, 2016 kanelis2012

I have made no secret of my enthusiastic support for the steps Amarillo has taken toward the revival of the city’s downtown business district.

It’s been dramatic and at some level actually breathtaking. The construction activity along Buchanan is a sight to behold. The Potter County Courthouse restoration is a thing of beauty. Polk Street looks healthier than it has in the past 20 years.

I am awaiting the groundbreaking of the downtown ballpark, which I hope occurs sometime this year — and that we’ll get some high-quality minor-league baseball in the shiny new venue.

Downtown’s revival, though, isn’t as comprehensive as perhaps it ought to be.

If you venture just a bit west along Sixth Avenue and north along Harrison, Tyler or Van Buren streets, you see signs of lingering urban blight.

Yes, we have that crappy-looking Barfield Building at the corner of Sixth and Polk. And the Herring Hotel building, which was supposed to have been sold to a deep-pocketed investor with big plans to bring it back to life? Well, that project has suffered another setback.

I am aware that the downtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone has boundaries. The TIRZ area sets aside property value increases to develop downtown projects. A good bit of the area just outside those boundaries seems to cry out for attention.

Weeds are sprouting along sidewalks. Parcels of land have gone unattended.

It looks bad, boys and girls.

While I will continue to cheer on any and all efforts to revive downtown, which is essential to the city’s future growth — indeed, its very future — my hope is that attention can be focused on those areas just beyond the blocks that are getting all this tender loving care.

I will keep the faith that the city will spread its TLC to blocks in dire need of it.

High Plains Blogger

Monthly Archives: July 2016

Republicans are looking like … uh … Democrats!

Heat: It’s all relative

Trump now pitches ‘extreme vetting’ of Muslims

GOP ticket: together for the first time

As if police work isn’t dangerous enough …

Now it’s Baton Rouge PD under fire … literally!

Host governor takes a pass on GOP convention

Trump, Pence: clash of egos

Downtown revival far from total

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