Monthly Archives: January 2019

education news

The power of education shows itself in this man

Elijah Cummings is the new chairman of the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee. He is a Maryland Democrat who’s represented the Baltimore area for more than 25 years in Congress.

“60 Minutes” interviewed Cummings tonight, exploring how he intends to run the committee that on Feb. 7 is going to question Michael Cohen, the convicted felon who once was Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and his so-called “fixer.”

The interview covered a lot of ground, including Cummings’ background as the son of Pentecostal ministers; both Mom and Dad were preachers.

He talked about how his father instilled in young Elijah the value of education.

His father told him that “if you miss any school that means you died the previous night.” Cummings told “60 Minutes” correspondent Steve Kroft that he “never missed a day of school.”

That’s what I call discipline. Pay attention, Michael Cohen. You are going to be facing a tiger.

national news

Our nation will survive — and flourish

Make no mistake about it: I am alarmed at the accelerating crisis in Washington, D.C.

Some Republican lawmakers, such as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, might believe that “no one outside the D.C. Beltway cares” about Russia and Donald J. Trump’s alleged involvement with the nation’s pre-eminent adversary. I, though, do care about it. So do millions of other Americans, senator; you’re just not listening to us.

Does my alarm extend to my fear for the resilience of this system of government of ours? No. Not for an instant.

I remain an eternal optimist that we’ll get through all of this, no matter what the special counsel’s report reveals to us. Robert Mueller could exonerate the president of any wrongdoing. Or he could lay out a smorgasbord of questions that call into fact-based suspicion about the president’s fitness for the job.

Whatever happens, I feel compelled to remind us all that this country has survived equally serious — and more serious — crises throughout our history. We endured the Civil War; we engaged in two worldwide wars; we also endured a Great Depression; we have watched our political leaders gunned down by assassins; Americans have rioted in the streets to protest warfare; we witnessed a constitutional crisis bring down a president who resigned in disgrace; we have entered an interminable war against international terrorism.

Through it all we survived. The nation pulled itself together. It dusted itself off. It collected its breath. It analyzed what went wrong. The nation mobilized.

Our leaders have sought to unite us against common enemies. We responded.

Here we are. The special counsel is preparing — I hope — to conclude a lengthy investigation. There have been deeply troubling questions about the president’s conduct. One way or another I expect the special counsel, Robert Mueller, to answer those questions. They might not be to everyone’s satisfaction. Indeed, I can guarantee that the findings will split Americans between those who support the president and those (of us) who oppose him.

But we’re going to get through it. We might be bloodied and bruised. It might take some time to heal.

It’s going to happen.

The founders knew what they were doing when they crafted a government that they might have known — even then — would face the level of crisis it is facing today.

International news

How can POTUS sustain his presidency?

It’s getting worse for the Donald Trump administration, if that is possible.

Just in the past week Americans have been told:

  • That the FBI launched an investigation into questions about whether the president is acting as an “agent” for the Kremlin, which is where the Russian government calls the shots. Why in the world would the FBI look into such a thing if it didn’t have “probable cause” to suspect something was terribly wrong?
  • On top of that we now hear just in the past couple of days that the president seized the records of the translator who was present in the room when Trump met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. The meeting produced that astonishing kowtowing by the president who disparaged U.S. intelligence findings that Russia attacked our electoral process in 2016. Trump said Putin told him the Russians didn’t do it and Trump believed the Russian spymaster/killer’s denial over the intelligence analysis of our agencies.

Trump also has reportedly kept his senior advisers in the dark about what transpired in that one-on-one meeting with Putin.

How in the name of national integrity does the administration sustain itself in light of all this?

While all this unfolds before us, special counsel Robert Mueller reportedly is finishing up his exhaustive investigation into the president, his possible relationship with Putin and the Russian government.

Please, Mr. Special Counsel, finish your work and present it to us. Many millions of Americans want to know what in the world is going on with our president.

local news

Happy Trails, Part 135: Staying ‘flexible’

Time for an acknowledgment: Retirement hasn’t swallowed so much of my time that I am unable to relax . . . at least not yet.

I’ve heard fellow retirees say, “I’m busier now that I am retired than I ever was when I was working for a living.” Hmm. Well, that’s still a foreign concept to me.

Don’t misunderstand. I like the flexibility that retirement builds into my daily life.

We met friends for dinner last night. One of them asked what plans we had for the following day. Our short answer? None; we’re retired!

So it goes for my wife and me these days.

It’s a marvelous feeling in so many ways.

For instance, we had a house-shopping appointment scheduled for Monday. We had to postpone because something had come up. “Is that OK with you?” came the question. Sure it is. I didn’t say at the time, but retirement gives all the flexibility in the world.

The day might arrive — maybe soon — when I will find things to occupy most of my waking hours. There could be volunteer opportunities that appeal to me. That day could be just around the corner. Or it might be a long way off.

It doesn’t matter to me when, or if, that day arrives. For the moment and maybe forever I am enjoying not having to answer to anyone — other than my bride.

national news

The world is watching and likely laughing

I happen to care what the rest of the world thinks of my nation.

Accordingly, I am thinking at this moment about what the world is thinking as the United States of America grapples in the fashion that it is over border security. What’s more, I am wondering how our allies in particular are feeling about this great and powerful nation functions with only part of the federal government running.

I find myself wishing to be a fly on the wall in places like Ottawa, Mexico City, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, New Delhi, Nairobi, Jerusalem and Hanoi. What are leaders of these nations thinking today about the quality of leadership being seen in the White House and Capitol Hill.

Are they thrilled to see the United States writhing? Does it give any of them comfort as they watch the world’s “most indispensable nation” engaged in an internal struggle over how — or even if — it can reopen the all the halls of government?

Does it matter? Sure it does! Donald Trump might not give a rat’s rear end what the rest of the world thinks of these matters, but millions of his fellow Americans damn sure do care. I am one of them.

As for our adversaries, what are they thinking in Moscow, Tehran, Beijing, Caracas and Pyongyang?

Are they laughing? Are they using all the publicity brewing in the United States to their advantage? Will they seek to parlay all of this into some game they intend to play on the world stage?

Are our friends and foes just throwing up their hands?

Donald Trump vowed to “make America great again.” Is this how it looks to those around this shrinking world of ours?

national news

Sen. Tester tells it like it really is

If you have a little more than five minutes to spare, take a look and listen to this video of Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat.

Spoiler alert: He scolds the Senate for failing to do its constitutionally guaranteed job, which is to act as a “co-equal branch” of the federal government.

Tester wants the Senate to vote on a Republican bill to open the government. He wants Donald Trump to carry through on his threat to veto it. And he wants the Senate to vote on whether to override the presidential veto.

“It’s as simple as that,” he said.

Indeed. It certainly isn’t a complicated process.

He also wonders what the nation’s founders would think of the Senate as it has regressed to this point, of being a body that requires a “permission slip” from the president to cast votes.

Seriously. Take just a few minutes out of your busy day to listen to this Montana cowboy. The man makes sense!

national news

Rudy needs to settle down and let this probe play out

Rudolph Giuliani reportedly was an excellent federal prosecutor back in the day. I believe the man known formerly as America’s Mayor has lost his edge.

Giuliani now represents the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. He now says a most remarkable thing.

He said that Trump’s legal team should be allowed to review special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings into the “Russia thing” and “correct” whatever “mistakes” they find in it.

Wow! Where do I begin with this one?

I’ll start with this observation. Imagine federal prosecutor Giuliani getting a request from a criminal defendant who has been indicted by a grand jury. The defendant’s legal team wants to review the criminal complaint and correct what it considers to be “mistakes” in the evidence compiled in the complaint. How do you suppose Rudy would react to that? He would laugh in the lawyers’ faces! As he should!

No can do, Rudy

That’s the reaction I am having today as I read what Giuliani is proposing now with regard to the Mueller investigation.

I am acutely aware that Mueller’s findings will not constitute a criminal indictment, so there’s no direct parallel to be made. There’s enough of a parallel, though, to make it a reasonable comparison.

Mueller’s work should be released to the public upon its completion. Sure, there ought to be some redactions made, blocking public review of findings that deal with national security. I am fine with that. The rest of it should be exposed to the public for our review, for our analysis and for our determination into whether the president did anything wrong while running for office. We should be allowed to determine whether there’s “collusion” or “conspiracy” or an “obstruction of justice.”

Trump’s legal team led by Rudolph Giuliani need not touch that report until we all get to see it at the same time.

For the former New York mayor to make such a request out loud is laughable on its face. Except that it ain’t funny.

local news

Time of My Life, Part 12: Whom or whether to ‘endorse’

We have entered an era of enhanced distrust or mistrust of the media. That wasn’t always the case and I was proud to practice a craft that the public held in much higher regard than it does now.

We weren’t universally adored and admired, but come election time we had politicians lining up — quite literally — waiting for a chance to be interviewed by those of us who comprised an “editorial board.” They sought our “endorsement” for the campaign they were waging for whatever public office was on the line.

It’s a bit different these days. Politicians are forgoing those meetings with editorial boards. The most memorable “snub” occurred in 2010 when Texas Gov. Rick Perry decided he wouldn’t speak to any editorial boards in the state. He said he preferred to take his re-election message “directly to the people.” We got the message. What did we do? The Amarillo Globe-News decided to invite his Democratic Party challenger, former Houston Mayor Bill White, to talk to us. White accepted. He came to Amarillo and sat down for an hour or so talking about issues affecting his campaign and the state.

The paper then recommended White for election as governor. We were far from alone. However, judging from the response we got from our readers, you would have thought we had just endorsed Satan himself. The anger was palpable based on the mail we got from our heavily Republican-leaning readership.

It didn’t matter. Gov. Perry was re-elected in a breeze. And he established a trend for others to follow:

https://highplainsblogger.com/2014/10/ernst-follows-perry-model-who-needs-editorial-boards/

One of the more fascinating after effects of these editorial endorsement interviews — particularly with candidates running for local offices — was that every election cycle proved to be a learning experience for me. I always learned something at some level about the community where I lived that I didn’t know. Whether it was in Oregon City, Ore., or Beaumont or Amarillo in Texas, I learned something new about the community.

I was able to interview candidates who were invested deeply in their communities and they would share their often heartfelt experiences growing up there. I tried to take something new away from those encounters. Did I learn all there was to know about Clackamas County, Ore., or the Golden Triangle or the High Plains region? No. However, I did know a lot more about all those areas when I left them than I knew going in.

I was privileged to meet a future president of the United States, U.S. senators, members of the U.S. House, movers and shakers of all stripes, men and women who wanted to serve on city councils, or county commissions, they sought legislative office, various statewide public offices, school boards . . . you name it, we met ’em.

It always was a privilege to get to know these individuals, even those who weren’t serious in their quest. Believe me, we encountered our share of those as well.

They were willing to subject themselves to the grilling we provided them. They withstood our sometimes-difficult questions. There is something good to be said about them, too — and the process in which we all took part.

national news

FBI is not known to traipse off on wild-goose chases

This isn’t an original thought that comes from yours truly, but I want to share it anyway. It comes from a couple of friends we met tonight for dinner in Frisco, Texas.

The thought is this: The FBI isn’t known as an agency that launches investigations into individuals or groups without first putting a lot of thought and doing a whole lot of homework into what it has learned.

It is against that backdrop that our friends shared their utter horror at the notion that the FBI would investigate whether Donald Trump, the president of the United States, might be acting as an agent for the world’s most hostile, anti-U.S. power — Russia.

The New York Times dropped that live rhetorical grenade in our laps the other day. The newspaper reported that it launched an investigation after Trump fired James Comey as head of the FBI and then acknowledged on national TV that he did so because Comey was wrapped up in that “Russia thing” involving Trump and Russian efforts to undermine our 2016 electoral process; special counsel Robert Mueller is knee-deep in that investigation, too.

Why did Trump fire Comey at that time? Was Comey onto something involving alleged “collusion”? Are there other key characters close to Trump who are involved?

Our friends’ point is that the FBI has no history of launching these kinds of investigations without some fact-based cause to do so. What’s more, it involves the president of the United States. Holy crap, man!

My question is this: What do you suppose was the outcome of that investigation?

Our friends responded: We’ll likely know the answer when Mueller releases his report.

national news

Preparing for the worst, hoping for something . . . better

I know you’ve said it: It’s good to expect the best but prepare for the worst.

So it is with this ongoing investigation being led by the Justice Department’s special counsel, Robert Mueller III. He appears to be wrapping up his lengthy probe into Donald Trump’s conduct as a presidential candidate and as president of the United States.

Mueller’s probe has focused on allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives who attacked our electoral system. It’s also examining possible conspiracy and obstruction of justice matters, too. There might be a violation or two of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits presidents from accepting gifts from foreign kings, potentates and assorted heads of state.

The media are now reporting that the FBI has looked into whether the president acted as a foreign agent for Russia, our nation’s pre-eminent hostile power. This is frightening stuff.

I won’t call it the “best” outcome, but a better outcome would be if Mueller has uncovered the truth into what many of us have suspected all along, that Trump is inherently corrupt. I suspect Mueller will produce a thorough finding of fact and will deliver it to Congress’s doorstep for full public review, absent the redacted material that deals with national security matters.

The worst outcome will be that he has nothing, that Trump has been right all along, that there is “no collusion.” Why is that the worst? Because none of us is going to hear the end of it from the president. He will be in our faces for as long as he holds office and likely beyond that time. He will launch a torrent of Twitter messages that expound on the “witch hunt” allegation he has been leveling at Mueller.

To be candid, it appears that the likelihood that Mueller comes up empty is diminishing. It looks for all the world that he has something, although what precisely it is remains known only to Mueller and his team of legal eagles.

However, if he does reveal that he has nothing, well . . . we all should be ready. Those of us who are critical of the president have praised Mueller’s professionalism in his pursuit of the truth. If that pursuit produces nothing, then we are dutybound to accept those findings.

I don’t believe that will happen. But if it does . . .