Monthly Archives: May 2019

national news

Chairman Nadler: We are in a constitutional crisis

I believe I will stand with U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who today declared that the United States of America has become ensnared in a “constitutional crisis.”

Is it worse than, say, the crisis that led to President Clinton’s impeachment in 1999? Or worse than the Watergate matter that came within one House vote of impeaching President Nixon, before the president resigned in 1974?

I do not know how bad this has gotten.

However, I believe Chairman Nadler is correct. We are in a crisis of a highly serious nature. The Judiciary Committee had just voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress before Nadler made his “constitutional crisis” declaration.

Donald John Trump has stuck it in the ear of Congress, invoking “executive privilege” and denying lawmakers access to anything — or anyone — involved in matters relating to The Russia Thing.

The president is suggesting Congress has no power to carry out its constitutional duties. Attorney General William Barr has refused to release the complete and unredacted report filed by special counsel Robert Mueller — and has refused to testify before Nadler’s committee.

The fight is on!

Where it goes remains anyone’s guess at this point. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to oppose immediate impeachment procedures against the president. Why? She knows the danger of impeaching the president, only to have him walk away with an acquittal in a Senate trial. Pelosi can count votes as well as — or better than — most members of Congress. I happen to concur with her view about the impossibility of an impeachment, at least at this juncture.

None of that lessens the dangerous territory into which the nation is heading, according to Chairman Jerrold Nadler.

House Democrats are furious. Trump is angry with them. It has become a monumental game of chicken between the two co-equal branches of government. Neither side is likely to blink.

The end game well could produce the ugliest battle any of us have ever witnessed.

I don’t know about you, but I do not yet have the stomach to witness it. The potential for permanent damage to our system of government is scaring me sh**less.

national news

Courage shows itself in Colorado shooting

A young man stepped up and saved a lot of lives this week when he rushed one of the shooters who opened fire in his suburban Denver, Colo., school. His name was Kendrick Castillo.

Kendrick drew a statement of praise from former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who posted this message on Facebook today:

Kendrick Castillo was killed yesterday when he tried to protect his fellow students during another school shooting. Castillo charged the gunman who entered his literature class, saving countless lives. He was just days away from graduating.

It is hard to imagine such bravery and selflessness from a teenager, especially when our leaders in Congress are so useless to stop the bloodshed in our schools. My heart is broken for Kendrick’s friends and family. We must recommit ourselves to making sure no more families have to live through such tragedy.

I believe Reich is being overly harsh when referencing teens. I trust he isn’t suggesting that today’s younger citizens are less brave or selfless than previous generations.

However, he is spot on when referencing the cowardice that our lawmakers exhibit by refusing to enact stronger sensible and constitutional efforts to “stop the bloodshed in our schools.”

Two suspects are in custody. One of them is a juvenile. The argument has begun about whether this individual should be tried as an adult. If I were King of the World, I would declare “Yes, by all means!”

As for Congress and whether there is a scintilla of courage in that body, I have given up hope.

national news

AG held in contempt of Congress … to what end?

Well, here we go. Donald Trump has managed to make history once again.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has ruled that it now holds Attorney General William Barr in “contempt of Congress” for refusing to turn over the complete, unredacted report filed by special counsel Robert Mueller III.

To be honest, I don’t know what this really means in actual terms. A previous Congress once held another AG, Eric Holder, in contempt, but that went nowhere.

This one somehow feels different.

Trump has declared executive privilege in declaring that the White House will no longer allow anyone to testify before Congress; nor will it send over any documents that Congress might demand as it continues its constitutional role of oversight of the executive branch of government.

The president leads the executive branch, which the Constitution says is merely a “co-equal” arm of government. Its power is no greater or less than Congress, which comprises the legislative branch of government.

I’ll stand with Congress — no surprise there, I’m sure — in this dispute. Congress is seeking to assert the power granted by the Constitution. Donald Trump is asserting a vast array of executive privilege that he is seeking to block congressional inquiry.

I do not know how in the world the president can get away with this power grab.

A key House committee now has acted. It holds the president in contempt. That decision by itself is virtually meaningless, in my view. However, it is looking like a precursor to more legislative action intended to get to the bottom of this matter regarding obstruction of justice and whether the president is blocking efforts to find the truth.

Is there an impeachment on the horizon? A big part of me hopes that isn’t the case. House Democrats are in a position to impeach Donald Trump. Republicans who run the Senate — where an impeachment trial would occur — are in a position to dismiss whatever complaint comes to them from their colleagues in the House.

It’s taken a while to get to this place. It is an ugly spectacle to watch. It’s making me quite jittery.

national news

No, Mr. Leader, the case is not ‘over’!

Listen to me, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. I’m going to say something you’ve heard already, but you choose to ignore.

The case against Donald Trump is not “over,” as you said on the Senate floor today. There’s more to learn about that obstruction of justice matter.

I get that the collusion case is done. Finished. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings on that matter aren’t exactly going down well with all Americans; I’m one of them who wishes he had reached a different conclusion as to whether the president’s campaign conspired to collude with the Russians who attacked our electoral system. He didn’t. However, since I have extolled Mueller’s integrity and professionalism, I am left to accept his findings.

Mr. Majority Leader, the obstruction case is still gaping wide open. We need to get to the bottom of what the president did and how Mueller concluded that he wasn’t “exonerated” of allegations that he has obstructed the investigation into the Russia matter.

You, sir, have added to the disgrace of your own high office. I’ve already said on this blog many times already that the president has disgraced his office. Now it’s your turn, Sen. McConnell.

Step aside and let your colleagues in the Senate and down hall in the U.S. House of Representatives complete their probe into obstruction, per Mueller’s suggestion in his lengthy report.

The case isn’t over.

business news

What? Trump lost a bundle of cash? Wow! Who … knew?

The New York Times released a scoop today, telling the world that Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed “self-made” business genius, lost more than a billion bucks for a decade ending in 1994.

Well, who would’ve thought that?

I’ll admit to being not terribly surprised. The NY Times was able to obtain tax documents — not the actual returns, mind you — that tell of Trump’s business misadventures.

In 1990 and 1991, according to those documents, Trump lost $250 million, which reportedly is the largest amount lost during that time by an American taxpayer. The documents also reveal that Trump lost so much money that he didn’t pay any taxes for eight of those 10 years.

How about that?

The world already knows that his late father, Fred, staked him a huge amount of money to get started when he finished his education at the “best college.” Donald Trump, though, had previously portrayed himself as a self-made tycoon, a mogul who built his huge empire from scratch.

Hmm. Not so.

Now we are able to look just a little more deeply into what kind of fraudulent picture he painted of himself.

Yep, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney was right in 2016 when he described the future Republican Party presidential nominee as a “phony” and a “fraud.”

Sports news

Wait’ll next year for return to horse-racing interest

Well, that’s it for me for this Triple Crown horse-racing season.

It was bad enough that the “winner” of the Kentucky Derby actually was the second-place finisher, given that the initial winner, Maximum Security, got disqualified for interfering with other horses’ gallop down the stretch.

Now we hear that Country House, the Derby “winner,” isn’t going to run in the Preakness, the No. 2 leg on the chase for horse-racing’s vaunted Triple Crown.

That’s it. I’m out.

I was thrilled to watch Justify win the Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes in 2018. It thrilled me even more to watch American Pharaoh do it in 2015, as it had been 37 years since Affirmed won all three of ’em in 1978.

The same horse has to win the first two races for me to gin up any kind of excitement for this sport.

So, the horse-racing season is over for me.

I’ll just bet, too, that TV ratings for the Preakness and the Belmont are heading into the tank.

national news

Not sure how all this ends well for POTUS

I just don’t know how Donald John Trump’s stonewalling Congress is going end well for the president of the United States.

He is digging in on all fronts. No witnesses should testify before congressional committees; no documents are forthcoming; he wants to stop the special counsel, Robert Mueller, from testifying before Congress.

How does any or all of it not constitute an obstruction of justice?

The battle is coming. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler plans to file contempt of Congress complaints against Attorney General William Barr. Where it goes, of course, is anyone’s guess.

Unlike many previous presidents, this one seems resistant to “compartmentalizing” these relationships. He flies into rages at any challenge of the legitimacy of his election in 2016. He takes quite personally any criticism of any sort, from any source.

He has declared all-out war against Congress. He doesn’t understand, let alone appreciate, that the legislative branch of government has just as much power as the executive branch.

The collusion issue is a goner. Obstruction of justice remains in play.

Congress is seeking to assert its role in governmental oversight. One would think its Republican members — who comprise most of the Senate and a healthy minority of the House — would be willing to stand up for the legislative branch’s role. They aren’t. They are rolling over for the president.

Again, I must ask: How in the name of good government does this end well for the president?

local news

Hot buttons hit; now, produce some evidence

I must have hit a couple of hot buttons with a recent blog post about Amarillo Matters, wondering about the sniping at this group of individuals who seek to have its voice heard on the direction taken by City Hall.

My earlier post wondered why the sniping is occurring, given that Amarillo Matters’ mission and vision statements seem noble enough.

A couple of respondents challenged me for weighing in at all, given that I no longer live in Amarillo.

Amarillo Matters worked to re-elect the City Council; they were rewarded by voters who returned all five council members for another two years in office.

But some of these respondents have tossed out a few potentially explosive terms. They referred to what they called “corruption.” They accused members of Amarillo Matters of being interested only in “self-enrichment.” The criticism of the blog post implied that the rich folks who comprise Amarillo Matters somehow are interested only in fattening their own hefty bank accounts.

Is there evidence of malfeasance? Or double-dipping? What about back-room wheeling and dealing?

My comment aims only to draw attention to the positive direction I’ve seen occurring in Amarillo over the course of several years. Yes, that positive course even pre-dates the election of the City Council in 2017.

One critic sought to “shame” me for being “so dismissive” of concerns about Amarillo Matters. I am not dismissing anyone. My concern rests with what looks and sounds to me like an empty gripe.

I must ask: Is the city heading down the path toward oblivion?

I’ll answer my query: I believe it is moving toward a bright future.

https://highplainsblogger.com/2019/05/amarillo-matters-taking-shots-but-why/

Why is it a bad thing for a political action group to seek to guide the city into a future that well could lift everyone who lives there?

national news

Just keep saying it, Mr. POTUS; it’s still a lie

Donald Trump must believe in the theory that if you say something often enough — regardless of its fallacy — that people will eventually believe it to be true.

I refer to “no collusion, no obstruction,” the mantra of the moment for the president of the United States.

I am running out of ways to say this, but I’ll try it yet again.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s 22-month-long investigation into alleged “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russians who hacked into our electoral system came up empty. Mueller didn’t find sufficient evidence of conspiracy to collude with the Russians. That particular case is closed.

I do get that. Honestly. I really do.

The obstruction matter is wide open. Mueller has said so. He said in his 448-page report, which Attorney General William Barr has let the world see, declares that Mueller’s team could not conclude that Trump and his campaign team did not obstruct justice; if they could have done so, they would have, Mueller said.

So, the obstruction issue remains an open — and quite inviting target — for Congress to pursue.

I’ve got some social media contacts who keep yapping at me because I won’t acknowledge that Mueller found no evidence of “obstruction.” One of those contacts actually is a friend of mine . . . who happens to be a Trumpkin. Hey, I still love my good buddy.

I regret, though, that he has bought into the Trump mantra of “no obstruction.”

To my dear friend and to others who happen to read these musings from me, I just need to reiterate for the umpteenth time: The case for obstruction of justice is far from being settled. Those 500 or so former federal prosecutors — who worked for Democratic and Republican administrations — all signed that letter that declared that had Trump not been president, he would have been indicted for obstruction of justice.

Let’s allow this matter to run its course.

national news

Treasury boss says ‘no’ to Trump tax returns … now what?

Hey, how is this supposed to end?

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee — under the protection of established federal law — demands that the Treasury Department hand over Donald Trump’s tax returns for congressional review.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says “no” to the request of Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal. He won’t do it. No way, man.

But doesn’t the Ways and Means panel have the law on its side? It’s my understanding that the force of law means that everyone has to knuckle under to it — even the executive branch of the U.S. government.

Mnuchin says the demand is for political purposes, that there’s no legitimate legislative intent implied in the demand.

But wait. Neal says Ways and Means needs the returns to assist in its hunt for the truth behind the president’s business dealings and whether — and I think this is a legitimate issue — whether he has broken the law and, um, violated the U.S. Constitution.

Oh, but the law is the law. No one is above it. Isn’t that correct? Not even the president of the United States.