Monthly Archives: January 2017

media news

Media become pols’ chosen villain

The president of the United States is taking dead aim at the national political media.

He calls them “dishonest.” Donald Trump even has called reporters “among the most dishonest people on Earth.”

Ouch and double-ouch!

Of course, I don’t believe that.

But I did scrounge up an earlier item I posted on this blog about one political medium that I found implicitly fair, honest and accurate.

It’s the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network. I had an experience with C-SPAN that I want to re-share again today.

https://highplainsblogger.com/2016/01/c-span-worked-miracles-with-this-spot/

I posted this item nearly a year ago. It is intended to speak the nuanced skill associated with editing video recording and making the interviewee sound a whole lot smarter than he is. In my case, that’s what C-SPAN did to near perfection.

National Public Radio did the same thing — again to yours truly — during the 2008 presidential campaign. NPR wanted to talk to two newspaper editors from disparate regions of the country. They got in touch with me at the Amarillo Globe-News, which serves a solidly Republican region; NPR also talked to the editor of the Dayton Daily News, where the Barack Obama-John McCain was much more competitive.

Again, NPR worked its magic. I stammered my way through a 30-minute conversation with the radio host and my colleague in Dayton. But you didn’t hear all that clumsiness when NPR aired on its “Weekend Edition” broadcast. Here is what I wrote about that experience:

https://highplainsblogger.com/2010/02/npr-reaches-out-to-the-heartland/

I want to stand up for my colleagues in the media.

They aren’t “dishonest.” Those who work for actual news organizations — not the purveyors of fake news — do so in good conscience and with the singular mission to report the truth.

 

International news

Build a wall? With our money, Mr. President? No thank you

Donald J. Trump is continuing his war of words with our nation’s southern neighbor.

The president says he still plans to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. He keeps making boasts about making Mexico pay for it because “they’re sending rapists, murderers and drug dealers” into the United States.

Of course, the president never has stipulated who he means by “they.” Let’s presume something for a moment: Trump is referring to the Mexican government.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/official-mexicos-president-considering-scrapping-us-trip/ar-AAmfCw3?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has responded on two fronts.

First, he is considering scrapping a planned visit to the United States to meet with the new president over his latest remarks about the wall.

Second, he’s continuing to insist that Mexico ain’t paying for the wall. Period. End of discussion.

According to The Associated Press: “Pena Nieto said he regrets and condemns the decision to build the wall, saying ‘I have said time and time again, Mexico will not pay for any wall.'”

So, the question must be posed to Donald Trump: What part of “no” doesn’t he understand?

Is he going to storm Mexico’s presidential palace at Los Pinos with weapons drawn and demand they pay? Is he going to launch an all-out trade war with one of this nation’s major trading partners?

Absent Mexico paying for the wall, then the final option is to saddle U.S. taxpayers with a monstrous bill to pay for a project that has little chance of succeeding at what Trump intends for it: which is to stop illegal immigration in its tracks.

He calls U.S. immigration policy the equivalent of “catch and release.”

If the Mexican president were to ask me, I’d say he ought to go to the meeting with Trump and tell him to his face: We won’t pay for it! Then he ought to tell his colleague: Mr. President, let’s work together to strengthen border security with more reasonable and achievable strategies; this build-a-wall notion is nutty and it will … not … work!

Perhaps he also can tell the U.S. president that he ought to apologize for demonizing the Mexican government — and Mexican citizens in general. That won’t happen, but President Pena Nieto ought to go on the record with the demand.

local news

Change becomes the new norm at City Hall?

Another incumbent has bailed from the Amarillo City Council.

The latest to call it quits — perhaps if only temporarily — is Place 2 Councilwoman Lisa Blake, who announced this week she will not seek election to the seat to which she was appointed in 2016.

This is a loss for the city, as is the upcoming departure of Mayor Paul Harpole.

Blake said “family priorities” are taking precedence over public service, but let’s not close the door, lock it and toss the key on the chance of her returning to municipal politics. In the meantime, she has thrown her support behind Freda Powell, another fine and capable candidate for Place 2.

Two years ago, voters elected three new council members, all of whom vowed to be change agents for the city. This election season might produce at least that many new council members, depending on voters’ mood. Two years ago, voters expressed anger — or so many of us were led to believe. To be honest, I’m still a bit baffled at the reason for the anger, given the city’s robust economic health and the progress it has made toward the redevelopment of its downtown district.

I am not at all sure what will drive this year’s election. But with two incumbents calling it a public service career, there appears to be momentum to a huuuuge municipal ballot in May.

The more candidates the better. That’s my unofficial political motto at any level of the political process.

The more candidates we have, the more choices will be available for voters. The more choices we get, the more ideas we get to hear. Thus, we’ll be grazing along a smorgasbord of guiding principles.

That’s a good thing for everyone.

I’ve already saluted Paul Harpole for his service to the city. He isn’t likely to return to elected public service. As for Lisa Blake, thank you for your brief time in the municipal arena. Here’s hoping you’ll return to the fight one day.

medical news, national news, political news

Economist is now practicing medicine?

Knock it off, Paul Krugman.

I get that you’re a smart fellow, Nobel laureate and all.

But your Nobel Prize is in economics, not medicine.

Why, then, are you trying to diagnose a supposedly “obvious” mental illness for the president of the United States?

http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-krugman-trump-mentally-ill-2017-1

Krugman leans left in his economic theory. He opposes Trump at every conceivable level. Heck, so do I. So do most of those Americans who voted in the 2016 election.

But for crying out loud, Professor Krugman. You need not fire off tweets alleging something about which you have no knowledge.

Sure, the president is acting kind of goofy. He campaigned as a serious goofball. I get all of that.

No one, though, except a medical doctor is qualified to toss out assertions like the one Krugman has tossed. Not even if he is a smarty-pants economist.

national news, political news

Trump hears critics … calls for vote probe

I’ll take all the credit I deserve for this bit of news.

Donald J. Trump has called for a full investigation of the allegations he has made about illegal immigrants voting en masse for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. He said that so many of them voted illegally that they cost him the popular vote margin — as if it that matters. I mean, c’mon, Mr. President! You won the Electoral College … in a self-described “landslide.” That’s where it counts, right?

Yes, I was one of the many critics of the president’s blind assertion about illegal voting activity. He offered zero evidence, proof or attribution to the assertion that as many as 5 million illegal immigrants voted for Hillary.

Now he says he wants to get to the bottom of it.

Fine. Go for it, Mr. President.

But perhaps you ought to commission an independent investigation to do the job. I had called on you to sic the Department of Justice on the matter. Now I’m not so sure DOJ would be fully independent and would reach the incontrovertible decision that would settle this matter.

I happen to be among those who doesn’t believe what you have alleged. Thus, I don’t want DOJ investigators to fabricate conclusions based on what you — the boss — have alleged.

Independent investigations aren’t out of the question. They have plenty of precedent.

The president has leveled a full frontal assault on the integrity of the electoral process with his allegations. He has attacked our democratic process. He has implied that our state and local elections officials lack the integrity protect our system against illegal voting activity.

Let’s get to the truth, shall we, wherever it leads us.

local news, Sports news

Amarillo’s baseball future might get brighter

Paul Matney pitched hard for approval of a downtown ballpark, reciting his belief that Amarillo is, indeed, a “baseball town.”

The retired Amarillo College president walked the point for approval of the multipurpose event venue in a nonbinding municipal referendum in November 2015. Amarillo voters listened and approved the MPEV by a narrow margin.

Now the real hard part might be coming to a fruitful conclusion for the city. It well might come in the form of a signed agreement to bring a AA baseball franchise to Amarillo — on the provision that the city proceed with construction of the MPEV.

Or … we might be getting ahead of ourselves.

City Councilman Randy Burkett wears another hat as a member of the Local Government Corporation that’s seeking to negotiate a deal to bring a team that currently plays ball in San Antonio. He sent out a message that suggested that a deal might be struck by Feb. 1.

Not so fast, said Jerry Hodge, chairman of the LGC board. The deal won’t be done by then and Hodge — a former Amarillo mayor — said he is “ashamed” of Burkett for speaking prematurely.

I want to embrace the Matney view of Amarillo returning to its baseball roots. Its unaffiliated baseball team has abandoned this city, which used to be home to franchises affiliated with Major League Baseball teams. The AirHogs left because of the rotten condition of Potter County Memorial Stadium, the venue known formerly as the Dilla Villa.

There appears to be a complicated set of negotiations going on. San Antonio is trying to bring a AAA team to replace the AA team that is slated to move out. The AA San Antonio Missions have indicated a desire to move to Amarillo.

Meanwhile, the LGC is seeking to nail that down, at which point the city hopes to begin construction on the MPEV that Matney and others worked so hard to win voter approval more than a year ago.

Before we can see an organization signing up to play hardball in Amarillo, it appears there needs to be some procedural work done. It might have to start with reeling in a city councilman who is getting ahead of himself and the rest of the city’s negotiating team.

I want Amarillo to have minor-league baseball. I want it to land a team that will play ball in a shiny new ballpark downtown. I want Paul Matney’s vision to become a reality.

But first, let’s all get on the same page.

national news

Trump continues to promote a lie

The president of the United States is perpetuating another lie … allegedly.

This one involves the phony charge that as many as 5 million “illegal immigrants” cast ballots in the 2016 presidential election — all of them for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It was those votes, Donald J. Trump insists, that cost him the popular vote margin over his challenger.

This is as ridiculous an assertion as anyone can hear from a newly sworn in president of the United States.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-won%E2%80%99t-back-down-from-his-voting-fraud-lie-here-are-the-facts/ar-AAmbXBM?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

White House press spokesman said today — again! — that the president believes it to be true. He hasn’t cited a single provable fact to back any of it up. Trump hasn’t provided a scintilla of evidence of a single vote cast by someone who is in this country illegally.

But this is Trump’s modus operandi: You say something enough and you demonize the target of your falsehood sufficiently to provide a shadow of a doubt. Sound familiar? It should. It was the same kind of shameful/shameless tactic he used to keep alive the lie about President Barack Obama’s place of birth. To this day, polls are showing that most Republican voters actually believe the former president was not qualified constitutionally to hold the office he held for two successful terms. That is Trump’s work.

Here’s an idea for the president to consider.

Why not launch a Justice Department investigation to prove the claims the president is making. Heck, the president has the power to turn the DOJ hounds loose. He should do so. Now!

He’s got a pal running the FBI. James Comey’s letter to Congress casting doubt on those “damn e-mails” from Clinton while she was secretary of state is considered a possible turning point in the election outcome. Sic the FBI boss loose on this caper, Mr. President.

The president continues to make a mockery of our electoral process with this specious allegation about “millions of illegal immigrants” casting ballots.

Oh, wait! We also have that Russian hacking thing, too.

First things first. Either put up, Mr. President, or shut up!

national news

U.S. remains strong and resilient, despite the chaos

A friend of mine and I were chatting briefly Monday about the state of affairs in Washington after the inauguration of Donald J. Trump.

“What do you think about how things are going?” my friend asked.

“I don’t know. I’m worried,” I answered.

We chatted about the media relations that the Trump administration seems intent on destroying. “Hey, CNN gave the press guy good marks for his press briefing,” my friend said, “and if CNN says it’s OK, then it must be OK, right?” He clearly was tossing a dig at CNN’s purported “liberal bias.”

He added, “I think we’re going to be just fine.” Oh, yes. I am quite sure my friend voted for Trump.

Then it dawned on me. We’ve been through muc worse than what we’re experiencing now. Nothing, though, quite matches the unique quality of the weirdness taking place as Trump settles into the presidency after two terms of Barack Obama.

Watergate? That was worse and we got through it. World War II? Hey, how does one compare any conflict with that event? We got through that one, too. The Great Depression? We survived and then prospered. The Civil War? Other countries endure such bloodshed and never are the same. We did and went on to continue our march toward international greatness.

I, thus, take a form of perverse comfort in knowing that our system of government is crafted to see us through crises. Do I rank the current transition from one president to another as one of those? Not really.

However, it’s damn weird. I hope our system can make provisions for the strangeness of it all. I’m guessing it will.

national news

Chaos continues as Trump takes charge

My goodness. The chaos, the pandemonium, the confusion.

It’s just what Donald J. Trump has ordered … allegedly.

That was some wild weekend as Trump became president of the United States.

* The president delivered 16-minute inaugural speech that re-stated the winning themes of his presidential campaign and painted a dark picture of gloom and “carnage” in the United States of America.

* The next day, White House press secretary Sean Spicer meets the press corps for the first time and delivers a five-minute scolding of what he said was a deliberate misreporting of the size of the crowd at the inauguration. Amazing!

* Meanwhile, White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said Spicer was delivering a set of “alternative facts,” prompting “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd to remind her that “alternative facts are falsehoods.”

* Then … the president goes to the CIA ostensibly to pay tribute to the agents who’ve fallen in the line of duty then excoriates the media as a “dishonest” group of people.

* As all this was occurring, several million people around the world hit the streets to march in protest of Trump’s inauguration.

* Finally, Trump told congressional leaders he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton because as many as 5 million illegal immigrants cast ballots against him.

Is this what we’re going to get for the next four years? Is this what our allies abroad are going to witness as the 45th president’s administration tries to gain its footing?

He told us he would campaign unconventionally. It now appears that unconventional governance is going to follow.

I’ve got to catch my breath.

national news, political news

Trump offers his set of ‘alternative facts’ about election

Here we go … again.

The president of the United States invited congressional leaders to the White House today and then offered a patently absurd assertion about why he lost the popular vote to his Democratic opponent.

It was those “illegals,” Donald Trump said, who voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Proof? He didn’t need no stinkin’ proof. He just said it. Therefore it must be true. I mean, the president said it. His press flack, Sean Spicer, said today the administration would never lie to us.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/315791-trump-told-leaders-illegals-cost-him-popular-vote

I want to examine this ridiculousness briefly on a couple of levels.

First, Trump and his Trumpkins keep telling us the popular vote doesn’t matter. Hillary pulled down 2.8 million more of them than Trump. But she lost the Electoral College by a vote of 304-227. It’s a comfortable margin, but it’s not nearly the “landslide” Trump keeps describing it.

If the president and his allies don’t think the popular vote matters, why bring it up today in the White House, where he’s now residing?

Give it up, Mr. President.

Second, the president once again threw out something without offering a shred of proof, documentation or authentication. He said 3 million to 5 million “illegals” voted for Clinton. Had they not voted, he said, he’d have won the popular vote.

Here he is yet again questioning the integrity of the voting process. He is asserting, according to those in attendance, that local elections officials somehow were too lax to check the legality of the ballots being cast.

Is it me, or does anyone else see the irony that the president would make such a damning accusation about U.S. election officials but would remain virtually silent about alleged Russian interference in the very same electoral process?

Or is this the president’s version of “alternative facts”?