Monthly Archives: November 2017

media news

One troll disappears, more to emerge

I have become “acquainted” with trolls.

They aren’t my favorite audience members. They seem to lurk out there, waiting for my posts to appear. Then they pounce with negative responses.

I don’t mind the negativity if it is based on principled arguments to substantiate their point. I do mind the pointed barbs that contribute nothing to current discourse.

I’ve been reluctant to comment on them because, well, because I don’t want to encourage other trolls.

Recently, I took the rare step of blocking one of them. He and I aren’t connected on any social medium. He just kept chirping about issues on which I would comment. Then he got into name-calling, challenging my intelligence while remarking about how my posts were a “waste” of his time, which I presume is of great value to him.

So I cut him off.

Recently, another frequent critic of High Plains Blogger apparently has decided to block me. Imagine that, will ya? This individual is a fervent supporter of Donald John Trump Sr. She took supreme offense at my constant carping against the president.

This individual — and I reluctantly use the term “troll” here — is an actual acquaintance of mine. But I guess I have to describe this person as a classic “troll” as it has been used to define certain Internet users.

I found this description via Wikipedia: In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroÊŠl/, /ˈtrÉ’l/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll’s amusement.

Yep. That describes the individual who blocked me. This person would engage in some heated back-and-forth with other readers of this blog, arguing just for the sake of arguing.

I won’t lose a wink of sleep over getting blocked by this person, because I am acutely aware that there will be others who’ll step up to take the place of any such “troll” who drops off this blog’s grid.

Oh, just so you know, I still love writing this blog.

national news

What might happen if Roy Moore actually wins?

It’s quite possible — if not probable — that Alabama voters next month are going to send an accused pedophile to the U.S. Senate.

Democrats are all a-flutter because their candidate, state Attorney General Doug Jones, has pulled even — and actually leads in some polls — in his race against Roy Moore, the guy who’s been accused of making sexual advances on underage girls back in the late 1970s.

But we’re talking about blood-red Alabama, where Republicans seemingly have to drool on themselves in public to get rejected by that state’s voters.

The question: What kind of reception would a Sen.-elect Moore get on Capitol Hill?

Many of his fellow Republicans are pulling their endorsement of him. Others have said that “if the allegations are true” he should pull out of the race. Even other GOP senators, such as Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, say Moore should quit the race now.

The Republican Party doesn’t want to be associated with someone operating under such a sinister, seedy and sordid cloud. Believe me when I say that. It’s a given as well that Democrats detest this guy.

Moreover, I am not sure how Moore plans to stay in this race for the duration if more of his possible GOP colleagues keep bailing on him.

So, what if he wins on Dec. 12? My sense is that he’ll be the loneliest Senate freshman perhaps in the history of the “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body.” He’ll get crappy committee assignments. He won’t be invited to cloak room get-togethers. Senators won’t want to be seen in public with one of their own who has stands accused of some pretty vile behavior.

There’s also the possibility that he won’t be allowed to take the oath of office. The Senate has a provision that could call for his removal before he even takes the oath. That, of course, requires maximum courage by the Senate leadership. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called the allegations deeply disturbing. He is one of those who said Moore should quit the race if the allegations are true.

I don’t get a vote in this race, of course. I’m only allowed to spout off from my perch out here in Texas, several hundred miles away from Alabama. You know my thoughts already on Roy Moore.

I’m just saying that if Alabama voters are foolish enough to elect this clown, they’re going to send someone to Washington who very likely won’t be able to do a single thing on their behalf.

local news

WT set to honor vets who gave their full measure

I am proud of West Texas A&M University, even though I never attended the school; nor did either of my sons.

My pride stems from the decision to erect a memorial on the WT campus that honors those grads from the school who have given their full measure of devotion in service to their country.

They broke ground the other day, with several dignitaries on hand to turn some dirt over to symbolize the start of construction.

This project exemplifies in my mind the nation’s continuing redemption toward the way it treats those who have served in the nation’s military. It wasn’t always this way, as those of us old enough can remember.

I was struck to see Randall County Judge Ernie Houdashell (second from left in the picture attached to this post) among those breaking ground. Houdashell is a buddy of mine and he — like yours truly — served in Vietnam during the war that tore the nation apart. The national reaction to that war sank the nation to its emotional nadir as it related to its treatment of veterans. I know that Houdashell remembers that time, because he has told me so.

That was then. The here and now brings loads of respect and affection for the men and women who have answered the call.

As for the WT memorial, it will bring additional honor to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in every war this nation has fought since 1917, when we entered World War I.

Times do change. So do attitudes. It’s part of a national maturation. Indeed, the nation hasn’t always acted maturely where its veterans are concerned.

We’re doing so now — and that’s all that really matters.

national news

Are we clear now? POTUS backs intel agencies

That’s as clear as mud, isn’t it?

Donald John Trump says in one breath that Vladimir Putin is sincere when he says Russia didn’t meddle in our nation’s 2016 presidential election.

In virtually the next breath — actually it was the next day — the president says he backs the U.S. intelligence agencies’ assessment that, yep, the Russians meddled, they interfered, they sought to influence the election outcome.

The question now is this: Which is it, Mr. President? Who do you believe?

This kind of stumble-bum rhetoric is driving many of us utterly bananas.

POTUS back tracks

Trump had been “on script” for most of his 12-day trip to Asia. Then he shook hands with the Russian president; the men met privately for a brief period in Da Nang, Vietnam. Putin told Trump he has been “offended” by assertions that Russia meddled in our election. Trump seemed to side with the bad guy while dismissing the assessments of the good guys, the men and women who work for our intelligence agencies.

For the life of me, I don’t understand — let alone accept — Trump’s belief that Putin can be trusted as far as he can throw him. The man is a former KGB hot shot. He is trained to lie.

Forgive me for quoting former Fox TV commentator Bill O’Reilly, but O’Reilly did assert correctly during an interview with Trump that “Putin is a killer”; Trump responded by saying, essentially, “So are we.”

Good … grief. Dude! Get an ever-lovin’ grip!

Oh, but now he backs U.S. intelligence analysts, who’ve been saying all along that Russian hackers meddled in our election — and they did so on orders from Vladimir Putin. One of them who stands by our analysis of Russian meddling happens to be CIA Director Mike Pompeo, whom Trump appointed.

My head is spinning.

International news

Trump tweet is ‘almost funny’

I now am going to admit something.

I giggled a bit when I read something about what Donald Trump tweeted about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Kim supposedly said something about Trump being “old.” The president took offense. He said he’d never call Kim “short and fat.”

Oops! Didn’t he just do exactly that? Sure he did.

Actually I found the president’s tweet kinda/sorta clever. But I don’t want to encourage him to keep doing it.

You see, the worldwide stakes are pretty damn high. Kim wants to build a nuclear weapon delivery system that reaches the United States of America. He’s said so publicly. Trump keeps yammering about “the military option” being on the table.

It’s a dangerous world out there, Mr. President. Going to war in Korea isn’t an option — and I don’t give a damn what the president threatens to do if Kim keeps “threatening” the United States and South Korea.

He’s dealing with someone no one outside of North Korea seems to know. No one can determine with any certainty how he will respond to these kinds of personal insults.

I just wish the president would stop saying out loud what he’s entitled to think in private.

national news, political news

Political presumption differs from the judicial

They’re bailing rapidly from Roy Moore’s political campaign.

I refer to the Republicans in the U.S. Senate where Moore wants to serve. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is the latest GOP senator to withdraw his political support for the embattled Alabama Republican nominee seeking to join the Senate.

Moore has this problem. A woman has accused him of making an improper sexual advance toward her when she was just 14 years old. That was in 1979 and Moore at the time was a 32-year-old district attorney.

There have been no criminal charges filed against the former state Supreme Court chief justice. Indeed, the statute of limitations prohibits a criminal complaint against Moore.

However, there’s this political element that has no statutory limit. That is where Moore is facing some seriously deep doo-doo.

No self-respecting Republican wants to serve with someone who must fend off these allegations. Never mind the Senate Democrats; they don’t want him in the Senate just because he is a Republican.

Sen. Cassidy’s decision to bail on Moore illustrates the huge — and still growing — problem the Alabama politician is facing.

Reason would dictate that Moore is going to lose the December special election contest against Democratic Alabama Attorney General Doug Jones. These are not reasonable times, though. I mean, after all, we elected a carnival barker as president of the United States a year ago.

Is it fair for a politician to be presumed guilty of doing something terribly stupid and likely illegal? Not if you balance it against how we treat criminal defendants.

However, we aren’t dealing with a criminal justice issue. In the rough-and-tumble world of hardball politics, Roy Moore is being forced to deal with a harsh reality.

International news

Put, ‘er, blame America first?

Donald J. Trump pledged to “put America first” while he ran for the presidency.

It sold his pitch along the campaign trail. Guess what? He is governing under a policy of “blaming America first.”

The president is in Asia. He went to the People’s Republic of China and praised the Chinese government for “taking advantage” of the United States in piling up a huge trade surplus with this country. He also pledged to end that trend and vowed to restore some semblance of trade balance between the two economic powers.

Still, he blamed U.S. trade policy.

Then he ventured to Vietnam to attend a summit of foreign leaders. He shook hands with Vladimir Putin, who told the president — allegedly! — that the Russian government did not interfere with the U.S. presidential election in 2016. Trump accepted Putin’s assertion at face value.

When the Russian strongman says something, he “means it,” according to Trump. Oh, but what about the intelligence agencies who say the opposite, that the Russians did interfere and hacked into our electoral system? Trump calls former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI director James Comey and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper “political hacks.”

What the hell … 

He’s blaming America first, not “putting America first.”

I’m old enough to remember the 1984 GOP presidential nominating convention. The keynote speech at that event came from Jeane Kirkpatrick, the nation’s United Nations ambassador. She brought the house down by chastising who she called the “San Francisco Democrats” who were all too willing to “blame America first.”

I’m trying to imagine how the late ambassador would react to a president of her own party doing the very thing for which she once blistered the Democratic Party.

national news

Should we trust Putin’s word? Nope!

Well, that settles it.

Russian strongman/president/dictator/former spy chief Vladimir Putin told Donald J. Trump that he didn’t “interfere” with the 2016 presidential election. The president took him at his word. He believes him. That’s it. Done deal. Let’s move on to the next thing, shall we?

Good … grief, Mr. President!

Who in the world should the president believe? A lying former KGB agent who is trained to deceive, divert and dissemble? Or should the president take the word of trained U.S. intelligence professionals who say quite the opposite, that the Russians did hack into our electoral process with the expressed aim of influencing its outcome?

Trump and Putin have shaken hands in Vietnam and have visited unofficially for a brief period when they weren’t posing for pictures with other foreign leaders. The president said he trusts Putin, that he’s telling him the truth, that when Putin says his government didn’t interfere that it’s good enough for him.

Once again, the president has disrespected and disparaged the intelligence officials who answer to him and whose mission is to protect U.S. interests against those who seek to do us harm.

I don’t know about you, but I am inclined to take the word of our trained spooks, the men and women who take their oath seriously enough to stake their careers on what they say in public.

They have said the Russians interfered with our electoral process. Putin can deny it all he wants. Those of who’ve been paying attention know about the Russian’s history and understand completely that he remains quite capable of lying to the face of the president of the United States.

If only the president, himself quite a prevaricator, would accept what the rest of the country knows.

local news

Puppy Tales, Part 41

Toby the Puppy is going to have to share this blog post tribute with another member of our family … but he’s still a champ.

Toby is comfortable around virtually all human beings. The only group of people that makes him slightly uncomfortable is young ones, mainly those of toddler age.

Well, you can scratch little Emma Nicole — our precious granddaughter — from the list of young ones who give Toby the Puppy the heebie-jeebies.

Emma and her Daddy — the younger of our two sons — arrived this weekend for a visit. We were waiting outside for them and the moment Toby saw little Emma jump out of the car … well, let’s just say he went nuts.

He greeted Emma the way he greets his Mommy and me when we’ve been away for any length of time. Indeed, he gets hyper-excited when we’re gone for 20 minutes, let alone for two hours! Emma got the treatment he reserves for those he recognizes, which is a very good thing, given that we still live some distance from Emma — for the time being.

How did our little 4-year-old react to the enthusiastic greeting? She loved it! Indeed, she loves Toby very much and showers him with plenty of tender, loving care.

As an aside, I should add that Toby and Madden — our granddaughter’s large and loving black Lab — also are big-time pals. Toby weighs about 10 pounds; Madden, aka “Mad Dog,” tips the beam at around 80 pounds, give or take. They play and tussle with great enthusiasm whenever they’re together.

The weekend figures to be a fun event for little Emma, who gets to play with her “other” puppy. As for Toby, he too will be in his element, enjoying the endless supply of TLC that Emma will deliver.

national news

GOP Senate candidate turns toxic

They’re now starting to cut ties with one of their own.

Republican U.S. senators who once backed the candidacy of Alabama GOP nominee Roy Moore are bailing on a guy they once hoped would join their ranks.

Moore is accused of having making improper sexual advances on a 14-year-old girl nearly 40 years ago. Moore was 32 years of age when he allegedly made the advance on Leigh Corfman, who’s now 53 and has come forward with the scathing accusation. Other women have told essentially the same type of story about Moore.

Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Steve Daines of Montana have rescinded their endorsements of Moore. They haven’t exactly declared him guilty as charged. They are concerned about what they believe are the veracity of the allegations made.

Indeed, they are seeking to cut their own political losses by severing ties with Moore. There well might be more defections as the Alabama special election set for Dec. 12 draws closer.

As for Moore, he is denying it all. He says he doesn’t know Leigh Corfman. He calls it a conspiracy cooked up by Democrats. He calls the allegation the work of the “forces of evil.”

Well, let’s just wait and see how this plays out. Meanwhile, Democratic nominee Doug Jones might be the immediate beneficiary of the troubles that now are threatening to swallow Roy Moore whole.

We have entered an entirely new political environment fueled by he “Me Too” movement that has swelled in the wake of sexual abuse/assault/harassment allegations that have all but destroyed the careers of Hollywood titans.

It isn’t pretty. It is, however, a significant part of a brand new political reality.