Monthly Archives: February 2017

Uncategorized

‘Do you miss what you did?’ Yes … and no!

People who know me through the work I did for nearly four decades ask me the same question, albeit a bit differently, all the time.

“Do you miss it?” they ask. “It” is my career in print journalism. It was my craft for nearly 37 years. It was my identity in three communities where I worked: first in Oregon City, Ore., and then in Beaumont and Amarillo, both in Texas. People who said they “knew” me actually only knew my work. My picture appeared in newspapers alongside my columns; my name appeared on editorial page mastheads.

Did they “know” me? Not really.

But the craft I enjoyed so much is changing rapidly. Newspapers no longer distribute as many copies each day. Publishers say they’re committed to what they call “the print product,” but many of us believe differently.

The changing times have claimed many talented print journalists. One of them recently called it a career. He walked away from a job at a major metro daily newspaper to take a job with a public television station.

The bad news is that the newspaper has lost an astonishing talent. The good news is that this young man is going to continue a new form of journalism, which he will meld into TV production.

His story will end up well, no matter where his life’s journey takes him. He’s got a long way to go before it’s finished.

But as I grow older and am farther removed from the career I enjoyed for so many years, the less connected I feel toward those who still practice this noble craft. Sure, they remain friends. I have many of them scattered throughout the country.

However, as I count the number of people with whom I have shared this craft — and this includes men and women who are much younger than I am — the list of former print journalists is outpacing those who are still hard at it.

I remain proud of the career I pursued. I also am proud of those who continue to fight through the amazing change that is occurring within the craft.

They still are answering a noble calling, which is to report the news fairly and without bias. Whether they report for a newspaper, or for a public TV station, or for an online “publication,” they are performing a priceless public service to a public that still relies on them for information in its purest form.

Do I miss working in that environment? Yes — even though I spent the bulk of my career writing opinion. Do I miss the media tumult that broke out just a few years before my career came to its sudden end? Not in the least.

Those who are still hitting it hard have earned my respect and admiration.

Those who have gone on to — as they say on occasion — “pursue other interest” have my best wishes.

My own future lies with this blog.

national news, political news

Trump vs. McCain: Keep your punches up …

Donald J. Trump started the feud with John McCain.

The president vs. the senator is now getting serious. I’ll stipulate that I’m rooting for the senator who once was his party ‘s presidential nominee.

This intraparty feud could get in the way of some serious policy matters.

The president fired the first shot in the feud when he told an interview that he didn’t consider the Arizona Republican U.S. senator to be a war hero. Trump said McCain is a hero only because “he was captured. I like people who aren’t captured. OK?”

I was among those who thought that comment would doom Trump’s budding presidential candidacy. Silly me. I was so wrong!

McCain ever since has been none too bashful about criticizing Trump. McCain’s foreign policy credentials are well known. He believes Trump is too friendly with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and has said so publicly.

The feud has taken a new turn. McCain has criticized a military mission that Trump ordered. Trump and his team have said McCain should apologize for impugning the memory of a Navy SEAL who died in the operation in Yemen.

From where I sit, I didn’t here McCain disparage the gallantry of the fallen commando. It would be unthinkable for the former Vietnam War prisoner to say such a thing.

But this war of words between the leading Republicans doesn’t bode well for the new president getting much through the GOP-led Congress. It’s not that McCain is terribly popular among his colleagues; the difficulty might lie in McCain’s well-chronicled service to the country, which is infinitely greater than any such service Trump ever performed before he was elected president.

The Hill reports: “Further fights between McCain and Trump seem almost certain. Neither likes to back down from a fight, and it is hard to believe that Trump’s criticisms of McCain haven’t got under his skin.”

I am quite certain as well that Trump’s famously thin skin is pretty chapped these days, too.

local news, medical news, national news

Now, those are ‘town hall meetings’

Town hall meetings usually are love fests, at least that’s what transpires when state legislators convene them in the Texas Panhandle.

State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, quite often stages these sessions in communities throughout his sprawling West Texas district. As near as I can tell, they are civil, usually friendly and constituents spend a good bit of energy telling Seliger how much they appreciate his service.

Well, town hall meetings in many congressional districts have turned into something quite different in recent days. They have produced shouting matches between members of Congress and their constituents.

At issue? The Affordable Care Act.

Constituents are showing up in droves to tell their congresspeople to leave the ACA alone. Or, if they’re going to repeal it, they’d damn well better have something to replace it … as in immediately, if not sooner!

U.S. Rep. Gus Billirakis, R-Fla., got a snootful from his constituents, who told him they’d better not mess with “Obamacare.” He’s not alone. Someone uttered the term “death panel” during a town hall event and promptly got booed and shouted down.

I haven’t heard about any such encounters in my congressional district, which would be the 13th, covering the Texas Panhandle. Our member of Congress is a fellow named Mac Thornberry, a Clarendon Republican, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, a rancher and a self-proclaimed “recovering lawyer.” He has served in the House for 22 years, making him one of the big dogs of Capitol Hill.

Thornberry hasn’t said much in public — above a whisper — about how he would replace the ACA.

Town hall meetings, as I have long understood them, were meant for constituents to speak their minds freely, telling their elected representatives what they think about issues of the day and how their representatives are handling them. The bad comes with the good. Town hall meetings aren’t usually intended to be amen choruses.

Thus, the real deal has broken out in congressional districts across the land.

It’s beginning to sound as though Congress has just discovered a so-called new “third rail.” It used to be that you didn’t mess with Social Security. These days, with 20 million Americans insured through a new government-sponsored insurance program, the third rail might have switched.

Now it’s the Affordable Care Act … maybe.

national news

No criticism of Trump golf outings

I hereby make a solemn vow: I will not criticize Donald J. Trump for playing golf while he serves as president of the United States of America.

Obama’s immediate predecessor, Barack Obama, took some unfair hits from critics who bitched about his golf outings. Why, they couldn’t understand why the president was playing golf while the world was spinning out of control all around him.

I defended Obama. He is never not the president, I said.

I’ll say the same thing about the guy who succeeded him. Trump took Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to his Florida estate for a round of golf, a few laughs — and maybe even some high-level diplomacy.

Trump might get criticized by some. Not from me.

Hey, fair is fair.

Presidents deserve time off away from the hustle and bustle of the Oval Office. Even this one.

International news, State news

Where are the hordes of illegal immigrants?

ROMA, Texas — This is one of those hardscrabble towns strung out along the Rio Grande River just on this side of our border with Mexico.

The main drag is U.S. Highway 83, which is populated with assorted convenience stores, an occasional chain outlet, fast-food restaurants and a flea market.

You see a lot of Spanish-language signage here. We stopped for lunch at a pizza joint and the young hostess who served us there was pleasant and attentive.

We did not see something that one might be tempted to look for: hordes of illegal immigrants.

We did notice two U.S. Border Patrol vehicles parked on the medium just northwest of Roma about a mile or so apart. All was quiet at both locations.

I bring this up only to illustrate what I think has been something of a mischaracterization by some politicians — including one highly notable one — about what appears to be going on along the U.S.-Mexico border.

I understand fully that people are indeed sneaking into the United States without the proper documentation. I also understand that some of them are, um, undesirable.

The president of the United States — Donald John Trump — wants to build a wall the length of our southern border. I keep wondering: how and why?

We stopped briefly at Falcon State Park and noticed a wide and deep reservoir between the United States and Mexico. We didn’t see anyone splashing out of the reservoir behind the Falcon Lake Dam; nor did we see any boats loaded with families.

OK, we are just two people out of many who visit places like this. We were unable to cast our eyes on every mile along our border. We did see a good bit of it from Laredo to Roma.

I am going to presume as well that had we kept going we would have seen more of the same. Which is to say we’d see nothing out of the ordinary.

Life seems to go on in South Texas. It all looks pretty normal to me.

Some pols, though, would have us believe we’re in crisis mode. We’re being overrun by international terrorists, drug dealers, murderers and rapists. That message seemed to resonate with a lot of Americans during the 2016 presidential campaign.

That message was lost on me. Based on what we saw along the border, I understand why.

International news, political news

The Dossier: It’s ba-a-a-a-ck

2 Comments

I am still trying to figure this one out. So, too, are federal and international law enforcement authorities.

Donald J. Trump went ballistic not long after becoming president at media outlets that reported the existence of a “dossier” that allegedly had been compiled on him. The president called out CNN in particular for being a “fake news” outlet because it reported the existence of unsubstantiated reports contained in this dossier.

Now it appears the dossier’s existence might be gaining some credibility among law enforcement spooks.

Some truth is in order. The issue centers on some information reportedly compiled by a British spy alleging that Russian authorities had some negative information regarding Trump’s business dealings in Russia.

The curiousness of all this seems to center on Trump’s dismissal of allegations that Russian government hackers were trying to influence the 2016 presidential election at the time CIA and other intelligence agencies were saying they had proof that such activity was occurring.

The arc of this ongoing story might find its way back to the president’s continued refusal to release his tax returns for public review.

I have no clue where this story will end up. It frightens me that it might produce some ghastly information regarding Trump’s business interests inside of Russia and whether they involved direct dealings with a government that might have tried to manipulate our electoral process.

Trump, of course, denies any business dealings with Russian government authorities. He asks us to believe him, to take him at his word. Sure thing, Mr. President … just like you want us to believe the baloney about “millions of illegal immigrants” voting for Hillary Clinton or the lie you perpetuated about Barack Obama being born in Kenya..

Let’s get to the whole truth.

International news

Hey … what happened to the Russian hacking story?

Events often overtake other events. News gets shoved aside when events bury them.

Such appears to be the case with the Russian hacking controversy.

Remember that one?

Donald J. Trump got elected president of the United States amid reports/rumors/allegations that Russian government computer geeks hacked into our electoral system in an attempt to aid Trump’s campaign.

The president has dismissed any kind of link. He has disparaged our intelligence agencies, which have concluded that the Russians played a role in hacking into our electoral process.

Isn’t it a big deal to have a foreign power — Russia, no less! — involved in such activity?

Well, it turns out that Trump has a way of changing the subject: executive order banning travel into the country from several Muslim-majority nations; strange confirmations of Cabinet officials; questions about his daughter’s line of clothing; his continual tweets criticizing federal judges; a Supreme Court nominee telling senators the president’s tweets are “disheartening” and “demoralizing.”

All the while, the Russian hacking story has been tossed aside. It’s been pushed to the back of the bottom shelf, way behind the other stuff.

We still need some definitive answers about the Russians supposedly did and how they might have affected the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

national news, political news

Government isn’t like a business, Mr. President

It’s become a throwaway line for politicians to toss around.

“I’m going to run this government like a business,” they tell us. Many folks buy into it. “That’s my guy!” they say. “He’s going to turn things around because that’s what he’s done before … in business.”

Donald J. Trump might be learning the hard way that the presidency of the United States is far more complicated than any business he’s ever run.

Politico is reporting that many of the new president’s aides and allies have become perplexed at Trump’s frustration with the pace of change he promised when he took office.

As Politico reports: “The administration’s rocky opening days have been a setback for a president who, as a billionaire businessman, sold himself to voters as being uniquely qualified to fix what ailed the nation. Yet it has become apparent, say those close to the president, most of whom requested anonymity to describe the inner workings of the White House, that the transition from overseeing a family business to running the country has been tough on him.”

Trump seeks simple answers to complex questions. That’s been the view of those interviewed by Politico. The president’s inability to find those simple answers has frustrated him early in his term.

My sense is that Trump needs to buck up and get ready to understand the complexities of the job he sought — and then won!

He talked tough during the campaign. He “told it like it is,” in the words of those who voted for him. He bragged about doing for the country what he did for his business empire; he didn’t mention, of course, the many failures his business interests have produced.

The point, though, is that the massive federal government is a complex machine. It’s a labyrinth of agencies — some of which compete against each other. The president is the chief executive of the government, but he cannot run it like a CEO.

He must be a team player. He must learn to cajole, not coerce.

Will this president learn the lesson? Can he overcome the obstacles he didn’t see laying before him? Can this man actually learn to govern and run a government with which he had zero prior contact?

Believe it or not, I hope he succeeds.

I just am doubting he can rid himself of the temptation to “run the government like a business.”

national news, political news

FEC to Trump: Show us the proof of fraud

A federal elections commissioner has called Donald J. Trump’s bluff.

Good for her!

The challenge has come from Ellen Weintraub, a commissioner from New Hampshire, who is demanding that the president of the United States provide proof of allegations he has made about “widespread voter fraud” in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has said “millions” of illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton, resulting in her hefty popular vote margin over the actual “winner” of the presidential election.

In so doing, Trump has impugned the integrity of the U.S. electoral process, not to mention that of state and local elections officials throughout the nation.

He hasn’t produced a shred, a scintilla, a scant hint of evidence to back up what he has alleged.

It’s time for Trump to produce the goods. Weintraub said Trump has in effect accused elections officials of committing “thousands” of felony crimes.

According to The Hill: “The President has issued an extraordinarily serious and specific charge,” added Weintraub, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush. “Allegations of this magnitude cannot be ignored. I therefore call upon President Trump to immediately share his evidence with the public and with the appropriate law-enforcement authorities so that his allegations may be investigated promptly and thoroughly.”

Well, Mr. President? Play your hand, sir.

Sports news

MLB trying its best to ruin the Grand Old Game

I saw this item about a so-called “experiment” that Major League Baseball is pondering … and promptly flipped out!

MLB is considering a plan to monkey around with extra-inning baseball games. The plan is to place a runner at second base to start the 10th inning of a game.

As I understand it, the visiting team that bats first in the extra inning would have a runner at second — in other words in “scoring position” when the hitter comes to the plate. I presume that the home team gets to do the same thing when it comes to bat at the bottom of the inning.

My plea is this: Do … not … do … this!

I guess the big leagues have grown weary of extra-inning games going into the wee hours. My answer? That’s too damn bad!

Baseball is a game built on tradition. As such, I remain a purist in the sport.

It was bad enough that the American League instituted the designated hitter rule in the early 1970s. Then they decided to enact inter-league play during the regular season, rather than having teams play each other exclusively within their leagues; the old way made the World Series all the more exciting when the American League and National League champs would face each other for the first time that season.

It got worse when inter-league play allowed National League teams to use the DH when they were playing in AL cities.

Then they installed lights at Wrigley Field, allowing the Chicago Cubs to play night baseball games.

Let’s not forget that MLB now has instant replay reviews, holding up the pace of play.

Let’s leave the game alone. If these games go on seemingly forever, let ’em play hardball.

***

One more thing: Pete Rose does not belong in the Hall of Fame. He bet on baseball. The rule says doing so results in a “lifetime ban” from the game. He bet. He got caught. He should pay the price.

I had to get that off my chest, too.