Monthly Archives: November 2018

national news

Trump still refuses to accept any responsibility

Donald Trump took on the media today and once again demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to accept any responsibility for the anger that permeates the atmosphere throughout the country.

He continues to blame the “enemy of the people,” aka the national media. He lays blame on Democrats and anyone who happens to disagree with him.

The president won’t accept responsibility. I have given up wondering when he might see the light. I have surrendered my desire for him to realize the error of his ways.

He either (a) doesn’t understand what he’s doing or (b) knows precisely what he’s doing and is talking specifically, directly and explicitly to his base of supporters.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I believe it’s the latter.

Donald Trump is not a stupid man. He knows how he is perceived. He doesn’t care one bit about those of us who disagree with him.

national news

Trump dukes it out with the media … and the GOP losers

Donald John “Pugilist in Chief” Trump stood before the media and was in a fightin’ mood, to be sure.

Not only did he take on the media, calling them “unfair,” “rude,” “racist,” and all together comprising nasty individuals working for equally nasty organizations, he decided to call out Republican lawmakers who lost their re-election bids in the midterm election.

CNN’s Jim Acosta – of course! – was the president’s first target. Acosta sought to ask Trump a follow-up question, the president told him to sit down, calling him and his network a failure. A White House aide then sought to take the microphone from Acosta.

It only got worse from there.

Trump routinely interrupted reporters in the middle of their questions. He battled with them over what he says are their unfair and unfavorable coverage.

PBS’s Yamiche Alcindor, an African-American reporter, was accused of asking Trump a “racist” question because she inquired about the way he has characterized the “caravan” moving slowly north from Latin America.

But he wasn’t done once he got through his usual media-bashing routine.

The president of the United States called out – by name! – a list of Republican lawmakers who he said failed to embrace him. They paid the price, according to Trump, by losing their re-election bid.

Good grief, dude! It’s one thing to lump a group of politicians together, calling out the group for their alleged lack of fealty to the president. It’s quite another to single them out by name, to hold them up as examples.

Is this the same guy who said he wanted to “unify” the country, who pledged to seek “peace and harmony”? Yep, it is. Believe … or not!

national news

Sessions is gone; let the battle commence

There goes compromise, collegiality, comity, courtesy.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been shown the door. The day after the midterm election, Donald Trump made good on his threat. He asked for Sessions to submit his resignation; the AG did and now he’s out.

What’s next? Let’s see, the president will nominate a new attorney general who more than likely won’t recuse himself from the “Russia thing” probe, which Sessions had to do. More on that in a minute.

This appointment might put special counsel Robert Mueller’s expansive and extensive investigation into alleged “collusion” between Russian agents and the Trump presidential campaign into jeopardy.

Trump, though, says he has “no interest” in ending Mueller’s probe. You believe the president, right? Me, neither.

I am no fan of Jeff Sessions, but he did the only thing he could do by recusing himself from the Russia investigation. He served on Trump’s foreign policy team during the campaign. He played a role in whatever happened between the Russians and the campaign. He couldn’t possibly investigate himself, so he backed away, handing the Russia probe over to his No. 2 man at DOJ, Rod Rosenstein.

Sessions’s recusal infuriated the president, who wanted Sessions to act with total loyalty and fealty to the man who nominated him. That, of course, is utter nonsense. Sessions did the right thing and he incurred the president’s wrath for doing it.

One more time, with emphasis: Be sure to let Mueller complete his investigation, Mr. President. If there’s nothing there, then Mueller should be allowed to say so himself. But if there is something … well, then we all have a problem.

Sports news

Play ball, ‘Sod Poodles’? Sure, why not?

There’s some chatter up yonder in Amarillo about the name of the brand new minor-league baseball team.

It well might be that the Amarillo Sod Poodles are going to play hardball in the new ballpark under construction in the city’s downtown district.

The new team’s owners are going to announce the name on Nov. 13. They’re considering five names that made a finalist list. None of them would have been my choice had anyone thought to ask me.

Of the finalist names, though, Sod Poodles has grown on me. The term supposedly is a old-time word once used to describe prairie dogs. I’ve talked to a lot of long time Panhandle residents and none of them has ever heard of the term “Sod Poodles” until the team owners announced the finalist names.

The rest of the names are: Bronc Busters, Long Haulers, Boot Scooters and Jerky. Nice, huh? Not really.

I’m actually looking forward to seeing how the team and the city will market this new name, if it indeed is Sod Poodles.

My wife and I recently returned to Amarillo for a couple of days. We drove downtown and were stunned by the changing look of the city’s central district. The multipurpose event venue is rising from the ground across the street from City Hall. I am thrilled at the prospect of the city taking on a new identity.

The Sod Poodles are likely to be the talk of the baseball world, if only temporarily.

Of course, that presumes the chatter is correct, that the team has settled on the name of the new baseball team.

political news

The turnout was huge in Texas … imagine that!

Texans came out swinging during this midterm election.

I am proud of the raw numbers, although the result in one key contest — Ted Cruz defeating Beto O’Rourke — saddens me.

Ballots are still being counted, but get a load of this: More than 8.2 million ballots were cast in this year’s midterm contest. In 2016, when we elected a new president, Texans cast about 8.5 million ballots.

The turnout for the midterm election was virtually identical to the most recent presidential election. I consider that to be a most positive statement about Texans’ interest in this year’s election.

O’Rourke talked a lot during the campaign about how his campaign was able to attract new Democratic voters. That’s a good deal, from my standpoint. However, Republicans also became energized, turning out for Cruz throughout rural Texas — which is the bastion of the state’s Republican majority.

The bottom line is the bottom line. The total midterm election turnout rivaled the turnout for the state’s most recent presidential election. I consider that to be a good thing for Texas.

If only the Cruz-O’Rourke result had ended differently …

national news

Cool it with the accusations, Democrats

So much to say about the 2018 midterm election … so I’ll start with this item.

The presumptive speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said prior to the election that Democrats should cool it with talk of impeaching Donald J. Trump. She said impeaching the president is a non-starter and she didn’t want the campaign to be decided on that issue.

Here is her chance to make good on that plea.

Democrats seized control of the House last night. Senate Republicans gained a couple of seats, cementing the GOP control of the upper legislative chamber. The former House “ranking members” will become committee chairs. They’ll be able to call the shots in the House. The ballots were still being counted Tuesday night when word came out of Washington about Democrats wanting to subpoena the president’s tax returns, which he has (in)famously refused to release for public review.

I want to see them, too. However, Democrats also campaigned for office demanding that “pre-existing conditions” are honored if the House considers amending the Affordable Care Act. They have health care to consider.

They also have budgeting issues to ponder. They have to consider potential new tax cuts. That budget deficit is spiraling out of control.

The president called the new speaker last night to congratulate her for the Democrats’ House victory. The two of them reportedly talked about bipartisanship and working together to get things done on behalf of the people.

I don’t know if Trump actually means it, given his propensity for lying. Pelosi should heed that call, even if the president reneges down the line.

Those of us who want to see government re-learn how to function on behalf of the “bosses” — that’s you and me, folks — must demand that a divided Congress learn to unite within itself. We also must demand that the president and Congress set aside the fiery rhetoric and start acting as if they mean what they said about cooperation and compromise.

national news, State news

Beto falls short, but the struggle might gain steam

The marquee Texas political matchup has been called.

Ted Cruz is returning to the U.S. Senate for another term. I won’t yet declare he’ll be there for a full six years, given that I happen to believe the Republican has his eyes on a bigger political prize.

My preferred candidate, Beto O’Rourke, fell short in his titanic effort to unseat Cruz. He didn’t fall short by much. He came close, but as they say: Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

I’ll have more to say about Beto’s effort later. I need to get some shut-eye. My initial sense is that the young man’s political future is far from over. Nor is the Democrats’ energy about to subside, given how close they came to seizing a Senate seat from the Republicans.

Beto falls short

As part of the bigger midterm election picture, Republicans are going to retain control of the Senate, possibly with a bit of an increased cushion of two or three seats.

The House is a different picture. As I write this post, Democrats are poised to take over the lower chamber. The gavel will be passed to Democrats. Get ready for a subpoena storm as Democrats summon Donald Trump’s closest advisers to Capitol Hill to testify on a whole array of matters associated with, oh you know, the president’s myriad troubles.

I wish the Senate race had finished differently in Texas. The Cruz Missile is going back to Capitol Hill. I’m quite sure he’ll pick up where he left off, antagonizing his fellow Republicans and enraging the rest of us with his brazen demagoguery.

As for the president of the United States, I also am quite sure he’s going to take all the credit for the GOP triumph in the Senate and he’ll fabricate some pretext for the result that turns the House into a Democratic playground.

I am tired this evening. I am going to get a good night’s sleep. I’ll wake up tomorrow. The sun will rise above the eastern horizon. I intend to have a good day.

religious news

This just in from Kentucky: Kim Davis loses

Who, you might ask, is Kim Davis?

She is a Rowan County (Ky.) clerk who made a spectacle of herself when she declined to sign marriage licenses requested by same-sex couples. That was her reaction to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that made gay marriage legal in all 50 states.

Well, Davis has lost her bid for re-election.

Too bad? Actually, no. It isn’t.

Davis proclaimed that her religious beliefs precluded her from signing marriage license requests for gay couples. She had run initially as a Democrat; she switched parties, becoming a Republican. Her refusal to uphold her oath landed her in jail briefly. She came out and made a big show of it by standing alongside Baptist preacher (and former Arkansas governor) Mike Huckabee.

Here’s the deal, though. Davis’s oath of office demanded that she obey the U.S. Constitution. She declined to remain faithful to her oath. She then let deputy clerks sign those certificates to protect the boss from doing so.

She’ll be out of office by the time January rolls around. That’s fine. Hit the road, Mme. Clerk.

national news

Get ready for ’20 election contestants

Many political junkies — and I include myself in that crowd — are awaiting the results of the 2018 midterm election.

Some of us, however, also are awaiting the announcements for the next big political event that’s coming up … two years from now!

That would be the 2020 presidential election.

The incumbent president already has declared his intention to run for re-election in 2020. Donald John Trump has begun raising money; he’s making speeches against potential Democratic opponents. So, the president is in.

There is some chatter out there that sometime this week, maybe by the weekend, we’re going to hear about announcements from notable Democrats who have been rumored to be considering a run.

I suppose we’ll hear announcements of the formation of “exploratory committees,” those pre-candidacy announcements candidates use to determine whether they have a chance in hell of winning.

I’m not waiting with bated breath. So far, I haven’t seen or heard much from any potential Democratic candidates who excite me. Maybe someone will surface, will emerge from nowhere. That’s the kind of candidate I want to challenge the president.

The old war horses won’t cut it for me. I hope to hear that someone will burst out of the tall grass and catch us all by surprise. I am secretly hoping for a candidate in the mold of Jimmy Carter to spring forth.

You know my thoughts about the incumbent. Enough on that … for now.

The end of one campaign is likely to signal the start of another. It’s the big one, man! Let’s all hold on for a wild ride.

State news

Beto becomes a first-name-only celebrity

Win or lose tonight, Beto O’Rourke’s name has become part of the American vernacular.

I suspect he’ll be known from here on as “Beto.” No last name needed. It’s just like a former secretary of state, former U.S. senator and former Democratic Party presidential nominee is known to many Americans as “Hillary.”

Beto’s given name is Robert Francis O’Rourke, the same first and middle names as my first political hero, the late Robert Francis Kennedy. “Beto” is a nickname popular along the border with Mexico, says the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Of course, Beto is unique enough of a name to stand alone. There are zero other Betos out there in the public arena.

Occasionally, you get celebrities known only by their first names. Arnie, Wilt, Serena, Cher come to mind immediately.

So it will be with Beto.

Yes, I hope he wins tonight. My penchant for insisting on good manners means I’ll likely refer to him as “Sen. Beto O’Rourke” initially. Subsequent references, though, likely will become just plain “Beto.”

You’ll know who I’m talking about.