Monthly Archives: October 2018

national news

What if we had armed guards at the temple?

I feel like playing out a hypothetical situation that today sounds shockingly relevant.

What if there had been armed security guards posted Saturday morning at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa., when the gunman opened fire, killing 11 congregants? The suspect is a known anti-Semite. He reportedly bellowed anti-Semitic statements as he was mowing down his victims, committing the worst known attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history.

Three of the individuals who were wounded by this moron are Pittsburgh police officers who, I can assume with supreme confidence, were carrying sidearms.

What does stop any idiotic son of a bi*** with a death wish, someone intent on committing “suicide by cop” by exposing himself to law enforcement’s firepower?

Will police or private security guards armed with, say, shotguns or rifles or pistols prevent someone from opening fire in this horrifying manner? I do not believe he — or she — would be deterred.

Donald Trump introduced the element of putting armed security around houses of worship while he was offering otherwise wholly appropriate remarks in response to the Pittsburgh massacre.

I happen to disagree with the idea the president has put forward.

Armed guards at the Tree of Life might have stopped many — if not most — of the deaths during the carnage. But not all of them. Thus, are we now going to quantify the pain we suffer by the number of people who die in such a senseless and hateful manner?

Let’s not go there.

national news

No, Mr. POTUS, no guns at houses of worship

Donald J. Trump calls the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa., an “assault on humanity.”

The president is right. We need to treat this hideous tragedy as a hate crime. Eleven people were killed because they were Jewish. They were gathering at Tree of Life to celebrate Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath.

What does the president suggest as a possible response? He thinks putting “armed security guards” at houses of worship would stop this kind of carnage. Really? No sir. That is the wrong idea.

If we armed guards at the doors of sanctuaries where people go to worship whatever deity they choose to worship, where do we stop? Where do we draw the line on places that attract groups of people, sometimes large crowds of people?

Shopping malls? Grocery stores? Athletic events? Schools? Public parks?

The president suggests an armed society would deter those who commit evil acts.

I don’t accept that. The solution has to be more nuanced. It must require us to talk candidly and openly to each other. It must include a serious lowering of the volume and the temperature — and that volume and temperature adjustment must come from the top of the political food chain.

Armed guards won’t cut it.

Pittsburgh mayor speaks out

media news

Megyn Kelly gets the boot she deserves

Now I get it. I am ashamed of my ignorance on the hideous history behind “blackface,” but I have been educated.

I want to stipulate that I’ve never accepted or laughed at blackface performances. I have known all along how insensitive and inciteful — and profoundly offensive — it is. I just didn’t appreciate fully the extent of its offensiveness.

Until now.

Megyn Kelly, the broadcast journalist who became a media superstar over her questioning of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s treatment of women, now has joined the Media Hall of Infamy for her on-air remarks regarding blackface.

Kelly said she saw nothing wrong with people smearing black grease paint on their face to make them “appear black.” The reaction to her remarks was ferocious. NBC canceled her morning talk show. Her future now in broadcast journalism is, shall we say, in serious doubt.

I have learned about how African-Americans have perceived blackface performances by entertainers, how they have demeaned an entire race of people. They portrayed African-Americans as subhuman, as cartoon characters. I now know about how this practice pre-dates the Civil War, a bloody 19th-century conflict fought over the issue of slavery and that euphemistic issue of “states’ rights.”

I once rooted for Megyn Kelly to succeed after she changed networks, moving from Fox to NBC. Her new employers saw a great deal of potential in their new hire. Her weekday morning talk show struggled with ratings. Her future was getting a bit tenuous even without this outburst of anger over her on-air thoughtlessness.

Do I believe Kelly is a hateful racist? No, I don’t. However, she has painted herself (pun intended) as an individual who clearly needed an education on a behavior that long ago has been tossed onto the trash heap.

Her popping off in front of an entire nation about how blackface is no big deal exemplifies a level of ignorance that has no place on a major broadcast network.

national news

Calling the Obamas and Clintons? ‘We’ll pass’

I want to hand Donald J. Trump a most left-handed compliment.

The president at least had the stones to acknowledge that he won’t do the decent thing as it regards two of his presidential predecessors.

Cesar Sayoc was arrested in Florida by the FBI in connection with a series of pipe bombs sent to various Democratic political figures and to CNN. Two of the intended victims of the domestic terrorists were former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

A reporter asked Trump this week if he intended to call his predecessors presumably to assure them that they are safe and that the administration will do all it can to ensure their safety and that of all Americans.

Trump said, “We’ll pass.”

There you have it. The decent thing to do would be to … oh, you know what that is.

Disgraceful.

Sports news

Early votes keeping piling up

Texas well might be on the verge of shucking a title I am quite certain Texans don’t want their state to hold.

The Texas Tribune reports that in several of the state’s most-populated counties, the 2018 early vote totals have surpassed the entire number of ballots cast during the entire early voting period during the 2014 midterm election.

Texas, sadly, is known to be one of the country’s most underperforming states in terms of voter turnout, particularly during these off-year elections. Is that going to change?

There appears to be no letup in store during this year’s early voting season leading up to Election Day on Nov. 6.

Democratic partisans suggest the huge spike in this balloting bodes well for their candidates. Republican partisans counter that their folks are energized, too, which will benefit the GOP slate of candidates.

I’m out of the loop. I haven’t spoken to party officials on either side in Collin County, one of the state’s larger counties. Collin County is known to be a heavily Republican bastion, although it’s not nearly as dependably Republican as Randall County, where my wife and I lived for 23 years before moving to the Metroplex earlier this year.

The question facing congressional candidates in places like Collin County rests with how “suburban women” are going to vote. We live in a suburban county populated by many thousands of such women who well might be turned off by the rhetoric that comes from those on the right and far right. The Senate hearings to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh brought many of their concerns to the fore, given the accusation leveled against Kavanaugh by a woman who alleges he assaulted her sexually in the early 1980s.

Does this represent a groundswell against Republican candidates for Congress — for the House and Senate? Democratic senatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke’s supporters certainly hope so.

Oh, one more thing: I hope so, too.

national news

How could it get worse than bombs in the mail? It just did

My heart is broken. My head is spinning. I am about to scream at the top of my lungs.

The nation has just witnessed a serial domestic terrorist mailing pipe bombs to political figures and a major media outlet. Law enforcement arrested him and he stands accused of multiple counts of terrorism-related felonies.

Then an explosion of violence erupted today in a Pittsburgh, Pa., synagogue. Eleven people are dead. The suspect is known to hold anti-Semitic views. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, called it a crime “against humanity.” Yes, it most certainly is.

The Justice Department is planning to file hate crime charges against the monster who opened fire on the congregants who were worshiping in a Shabbat ceremony commemorating the Jewish holy day.

This latest example of sickening, heartbreaking violence defies any form of logic. It boggles the mind. It pushes everything else — perhaps even including the pipe bomb suspect and the terror he brought to the nation — to the back of our consciences, if only for a brief period.

I heard reports during the day about how the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where the massacred occurred, is known to be a “beautiful” and “peaceful” place. It contains an eclectic blend of people of varying faiths, ethnic background, races.

Think, too, of the tragic irony that the massacre took place in a synagogue named The Tree of Life.

It will take a long time to get past this latest spasm of violence.

national news, political news

‘This is war’? Um, no … it isn’t

I’m beginning to repeat myself and for that I apologize.

I don’t intend to apologize for the repetitive topic. It involves this notion that the current state of political debate necessarily must devolve into a rhetorical flame-throwing contest.

Such fiery rhetoric comes from many of my progressive/liberal social media friends and acquaintances. Some of them have scolded me for seeking to reduce the temperature.

“This is war,” a few of them have told me. No. It is not.

I’ve had a brief bit of exposure to war. Believe me when I say this: This is nothing close to the real thing.

Yes, it is a form of combat. Democrats are angry with Republicans for fomenting anger. They suggest that anger can — and does — manifest itself in acts such as what we witnessed the past few days: the mailing of pipe bombs to officials who disagree with Donald Trump, the nation’s 45th president.

So, to counter that anger, they propose to ratchet it up. Among the top proponents of the in-your-face policy of political debate is Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who has made a name for himself representing Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress who alleges taking a one-time tumble with the future 45th president.

Avenatti is considering whether to run for president in 2020. Imagine my surprise. He says Democrats need a gut fighter to take the battle straight to the president and his fellow Republicans.

Where does it go from there? Only heaven knows.

I am sick of hearing the “war” references to this political debate. Too many politicians I respect — the late Sen. John McCain, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, former Vice President Joe Biden, for example — have demonstrated how elected officials can argue and bicker over public policy without demonizing those on the other side.

Thus, I cannot accept the “this is war” mantra we hear from today’s active participants.

national news

Enough of the ‘both sides do it’

Have you noticed that those who keep blaming “both sides” of the political divide usually are those whose own side is under the more severe criticism?

So it goes today. The nation is reeling from the serial acts of terrorism committed against Democratic political figures and a major media organization. The suspect, Cesar Sayoc, is reportedly a huge fan of Donald Trump.

Democrats blame Trump and Republicans for fanning the flames of deep-seated anger in the country, which they contend manifested itself in the pipe bombs mailed to a wide array of Democrat-friendly political figures, including two former Democratic presidents of the United States.

Republicans counter that Democratic pols have been encouraging citizens to harass and harangue Republicans when they are off the clock, seeking to eat meals at public restaurants.

I will acknowledge that I, too, have engaged in this “both siderism” strategy. Back when Bill Clinton was being impeached for perjury in connection with his tawdry relationship with Monica Lewinsky, I joined those who said Republicans — such as then-Speaker Newt Gingrich — had no moral standing to criticize the president’s behavior, given their own checkered marital history.

I am not proud of being part of what has become a national problem.

Indeed, Bill Clinton’s conduct has emerged yet again in the discussion of Donald Trump’s own conduct. Pro-Clinton voices — such as mine — respond that the former president isn’t the issue today. We are concerned about the current president and how his history of crude behavior denigrates the high office to which he was elected.

This “both sides do it” does nothing to cure what ails us.

Why don’t we just start over? We can turn the page and set aside the angry and mean-spirited rhetoric we’ve heard for many years … even preceding the time Donald Trump took office as president.

However, I will continue to insist that the effort ought to start at the top of the political food chain. It should be initiated by the president himself. Well, Mr. President? Are you game?

national news

Call for ‘unity’ gives way to more attacks

It’s been quite clear that Donald Trump’s calls for “unity” and “compassion” are as hollow as his claim of being a “self-made” zillionaire.

The president recited the correct words as federal, state and law enforcement officials apprehended a suspect believed to be responsible for sending pipe bombs to the president’s political foes and a major media organization.

Then he returned almost immediately to form.

He blasted Democrats as wanting to take the nation on a track to “socialism.” Moreover, he blamed the media for fomenting the anger that has infected the nation’s political debate.

No mention, of course, of his own role in the anger that allegedly prompted Cesar Sayoc to send out the bombs.

In a more perfect political world, the president of the United States would talk at his campaign rallies about the specifics of his policy proposals, rather than merely attacking those on the other side.

He would, for instance:

  • Articulate why his tax policies would help individuals and families.
  • Explain in detail why the nation wants to declare trade wars with its trading partners worldwide.
  • Line out — with specifics — his view that the nation’s environmental policies haven’t improved the environment and why they’re harmful to job growth.
  • Explain, again with detail and context, why the government is considering an elimination of the term “transgender.”

He won’t do any of that. He will rely on applause lines spoken to fervent crowds of supporters. He will continue to applaud chants of “Lock her up!” when the crowd erupts in anger at Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Trump is sincerely insincere

He’ll continue to applaud a politician who assaults a reporter while decrying “political violence.” He will keep insisting that the media are using the bomb/terror story for “political gain” against Republicans.

Unity, Mr. President? Sure thing. The man’s calls for unity don’t mean a single thing.

local news

Puppy Tales, Part 60: Yes, we’re a trio

Toby the Puppy is out of sorts.

He’s been moping around the house. His “team” has been separated.

You see, my wife — aka Toby’s mother — has been out of town the past few days. It’s just been the Puppy and me at home. He does all the things he normally does with me: He awakens every morning around the same time; we eats breakfast, we goes outside for his morning, um, potty walk; we play fetch with one of his squeaky toys for a good part of the day; he eats dinner and then we turn in for the night.

However, he does none of it with quite the same gusto and joy that he displays when all three of us are together.

My wife tells me that when she takes Toby for walks that he is anxious to return home to see “Daddy.” Since I cannot verify that with my own eyes (if you get my drift), I rely on my wife’s testimony. Given that I married the most honest woman on Earth more than 47 years ago, I have no reason to doubt that she’s telling me the unvarnished truth.

And she informs me routinely that Toby loves yours truly, but he loves “he just loves me more.”

Toby the Puppy considers us to be a trio. He loves it when we’re all together. He’s in his element. He is safe and sound and he gets all the attention he deserves … which happens to be every ounce of it we can spare.

OK, so he’s a bit out of sorts. He’s a little under the emotional weather at the moment. I keep telling him that Mommy is coming home soon, which seems to perk him up.

It’s just not soon enough.

In the meantime, Toby the Puppy has just me.