Monthly Archives: April 2020

national news

Waiting for Trump’s day of reckoning

I have been waiting for as long as Donald Trump has been a politician for a day of reckoning, the moment when this carnival barker masquerading as the president of the United States commits the act that finally spells an end to the nightmare through which we are living.

Trump’s political life began the day he rode down the escalator with his wife to declare he would run for the presidency.

It has been all downhill ever since.

Yep, even with that once-soaring stock market and those formerly glowing job-growth numbers. The man has been, to borrow one of his favorite terms, a disaster as POTUS.

The litany of boorish antics, idiotic statements, the endless lies, the hideous denigration of noble people and institutions is too lengthy to chronicle here.

I am left to wonder: Is Trump’s coronavirus pandemic response — or shameful lack of response — the deal breaker, the one thing that finally awakens his cadre of base voters to a realization that, by God, we have made a monumental mistake?

I am not in the mood to predict that it will. I mean, I thought Trump’s slur of the late Sen. John McCain’s war record was enough to do it. Then I thought his mocking of the New York Times reporter’s physical ailment would do it. Oh, and then there was the hideous disparagement of the Gold Star couple at the Democratic National Convention. Or the “grab ’em by the pu***” statement. Or his dissing of our intelligence agencies’ assessment that Russia attacked our electoral system in 2016. We had an impeachment and a Senate trial.

Arrgghhh …

It never ends. Yet the Buffoon in Chief has survived.

Now we have this. The coronavirus pandemic has produced a record full of Trump statements that resulted in a tragic delay of a federal government all-out response to the outbreak. He has mangled medical experts’ assessments of the crisis; he contradicts statements made by the brilliant scientists on whom he is supposed to rely for advice; and he keeps lying.

This takes me back to my original question. When is this clown going to be held accountable for the disaster he has created in the only public office he has ever sought?

International news

What a difference a head of state can make

I could not help but draw the immediate comparison to another head of state when I heard Queen Elizabeth II speaking Sunday to her subjects about the coronavirus pandemic.

You know how it goes, my fellow Americans, when we hear constantly from our head of state, Donald Trump, who has the capacity to say so little with so much useless verbiage.

Then in the United Kingdom, Her Majesty the Queen addressed her subjects for only the fourth time in the more than 60 years of her rule.

The queen was, shall we say, majestic. She spoke for only a few moments. She said with absolute calm that the UK will get through the pandemic. The UK will emerge strong and she implored Brits, Welsh, Scots and Irish to pull together as one family.

She spoke of the horror she endured during World War II as a youngster living through the Battle of Britain, as Nazi warplanes bombed and strafed the cities. She said our current war is every bit as deadly as that earlier conflict.

Then she ended it.

National Public Radio reported this morning that the Queen’s remarks were so profound, so rare and so well-aimed that she moved many of her listeners to tears.

Imagine, if you can, that kind of reaction on this side of The Pond to the sound of our own head of state. You can stop laughing now.

Here is Her Majesty’s speech:

You will not hear a single, solitary self-serving boast from this magnificent monarch.

Wow.

local news

City delays election, gearing up for a major mandate from voters

The pandemic that has felled so many people around the world also is altering the way governments function.

Elections, for example, are being delayed.

One local election that has caught my eye is slated to occur up yonder in Amarillo, Texas. City officials had planned to stage an election in early May, but the coronavirus pandemic has forced a major postponement until, get this, Nov. 3.

At issue is a bond issue of about $300 million that the city is asking voters to approve. The money will go toward (a) expanding and renovating the 50-plus-year-old Civic Center, (b) sprucing up the old Santa Fe Railroad Depot just east of the Civic Center and (c) relocating City Hall to what I understand is a still-unspecified location.

A May election, which the city — along with the rest of the world — would put too many people in jeopardy of catching the coronavirus. Social distancing mandates that we stay away from each other.

So, now the city is looking at a Nov. 3 election, tentatively, that is.

This is a big deal. Why? Because voters all over the land will be casting ballots for president of the United States on that day. The turnout for Nov. 3 figures to be far greater than it would have been in early May.

Thus, whatever voters decide could be — and should be — considered a significant mandate, even if the results reflect a close tally.

My only concern about the bond issue election, though, rests in what I believe has been a well-kept secret: the location of the new City Hall operation. City officials should make damn sure they divulge where they intend to relocate and what they intend to do in order to make the new site amenable to the kind of government operation it will contain.

I have a few snitches in Amarillo. They do their best to keep me informed of this and/or that development. They tell me that the city is still negotiating a deal for a new downtown site for City Hall.

OK, then. Get the deal done and tell the public. Pronto, man!

local news, media news

Time of My Life, Part 48: Still able to keep up with fast-paced story

I have returned to the game of print journalism, even if it isn’t daily print journalism.

Still, writing for a weekly newspaper presents a whole new set of challenges … such as trying to keep pace with a story that is changing damn near hourly.

Forgive the boast, but I am happy to report that I still am able to remain nimble enough to hit a fast-moving target.

The target is the coronavirus, aka COVID-19. They’ve declared it a worldwide pandemic. It is killing thousands of people daily.

How does that affect my freelance gig? The Farmersville Times covers a lovely community in Collin County, Texas, about seven miles east of where my wife and I live in Princeton; I write for the Times. I have spent the past few days keeping pace with the outbreak of COVID-19 in Farmersville.

I was assigned a story to write for the Times that looked at how the community’s first responders — namely firefighters and police officers — are coping with the pandemic. My initial story said there had been no reported infection in Farmersville.

Then it changed. Rapidly.

The publisher, my boss, notified me that Collin County Public Health officials reported several cases in Farmersville. I had to make contact with the police and fire chiefs for updated information. I was able to do so quickly. They provided the information I was seeking.

However, the story likely continues to move even as I write this brief blog post.

Indeed, I have no idea how many — if there are any to report — new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Farmersville just since I filed my amended version of the original story.

By all means, we are experiencing a crisis that tests us all. I just have to stay nimble.

religious news

Don’t heed the calls of wacky preachers

The reports are coming out around the country about wacky preachers deciding to forgo the warnings about the coronavirus pandemic.

They’re going to open their church sanctuaries wide for worshipers on Easter. They’re nuts. What’s more, so are the parishioners who listen to them and pour into churches, sitting next to their fellow parishioners … and exposing themselves and others to potential exposure to the deadly virus.

Let’s see, it’s killed 9,000-plus Americans, infected nearly a half-million of us. The numbers are climbing steadily. Governors are telling us to stay home, imploring us to employ “social distancing,” seeking all manner of ways to stem the infection that is ravaging the nation.

In spite of all that, we hear now that some preachers are wanting to fill their church pews on Christianity’s holiest day.

How in the name of brotherly love can they do this?

My wife and I are staying home for Easter. I might take a moment that day to say a prayer reaffirming the faith I have followed since I was a little boy. I also might offer a prayer of thanks to our pastor who is employing some Earthly common sense and keeping our church closed to in-person worship on Easter.

To those who might consider endangering themselves or others in this perilous time, think long and hard about the potential danger that awaits you.

national news

Trump is the ‘worst president in history’? Take a look at this essay

OK, I won’t quite yet endorse the notion posited by Max Boot in an essay published in the Washington Post that Donald Trump is the worst president in the history of the United States.

But, oh man, this guy — Trump — is really and truly a bad man who happens to hold the nation’s most exalted public office.

You can read Boot’s essay here.

I have not been shy in criticizing Trump since before he took office. I have maintained all along that his background as a rich kid who received a big business stake from his father; who then built high-rises and slapped his name on them; who then ran a series of failed business enterprises; who then ran beauty pageants and who then hosted a reality TV show was the most improbable fit imaginable for the presidency.

His blatant and bald-faced incompetence in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic likely cements his place as the worst in U.S. history. Oh, and then there’s his incessant, relentless lying … about everything, every topic, large and small. He can’t tell the truth.

At every level I can consider this man has denigrated his office. He has flouted tradition and dignity. He has behaved with absolute crassness and boorishness.

Yep, this guy is a bad man.

national news

Hoping that Gov. Cuomo might one day seek to become POTUS

Don’t accuse me of getting ahead of myself. I mean, politicians do at times mess up a good thing. Do you recall, say, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards? Well, whatever.

Given the way New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has coped publicly with the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging his state, I want to declare my desire to see this fellow remain front and center on the political stage for as long as the fire burns in his belly … and for as long as the public can cling to his words of encouragement.

Cuomo comes from solid Democratic Party stock. His father, the late Mario Cuomo, held the governorship in New York as well. He once delivered a stirring Democratic Party nominating convention keynote speech, in 1984, that talked about “two Americas” divided between rich and not-so-rich Americans.

Mario Cuomo once was thought to be presidential material. It wasn’t to be. Then again, he never faced an existential crisis in his state that has galvanized the nation the way his son has been forced to face.

Andrew Cuomo has stood tall among political leaders in telling the nation about the trouble that has befallen his state. It is a microcosm of what is happening around the country. Indeed, the pandemic has felled millions of people around the world.

Gov. Cuomo’s eloquence and his passion have been remarkable and stirring. Cuomo’s eloquence is made even starker when we listen to what comes from the president of the United States. The difference in the quality of the briefings we hear daily from these men is utterly stunning.

He has served the federal government already, having served as housing secretary during the Clinton administration. The man has serious governmental executive chops.

I hope with all I have that this fellow remains a vital part of our political landscape well past the time we can declare victory in this war against the coronavirus.

national news

Why the partisan divide over this pandemic?

I am forced to ask: Why in the name of medical prudence does it seem to me that there is a partisan divide between governors’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic?

How is this playing out so far? Most of our 50 states have declared statewide “stay at home” or “shelter in place” mandates. They have been led more or less by Democrats who run those states. The remaining handful of states that haven’t yet issued those declarations all are being governed by Republicans.

What is going on here?

Donald Trump calls for an end to partisanship. He declares his desire to unify the country. Then he does something quite extraordinary.

When the bill that provided $2.2 trillion in economic aid to Americans reached his desk, he didn’t invite a single Democratic member of Congress to witness his bill-signing; the entire congressional delegation gathered in the Oval Office comprised Republicans who, I should add, were not observing “social distancing” practices while watching Trump sign the bill into law.

Here in Texas, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to issue a “stay at home” ruling, although what is happening here is that we are observing a de facto stay at home order. This appears to me to be a function of Republican politicians adhering to the nation’s top GOP politician’s reluctance to be more proactive in his battle against the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, gubernatorial Democrats across the nation are mobilizing their own forces and resources to fight this “war” against an “invisible enemy.” Their reaction appears to be an effort to stick it in Trump’s eye, to enact policies at a statewide level that the president refuses to do at a national level.

A “wartime president” speaks to an entire nation. He unifies us by appealing to our common mission against an enemy of our state. He does not attack politicians from the other party or the media that seek to report on the progress of the government’s mission.

It is my humble view that Donald Trump has overseen an incompetent response to the pandemic. He has delivered messages steeped in confusion and contradiction. He has undermined his own health experts. Trump has denied saying what he entire world heard him say, which is that the pandemic is a “Democrat hoax.”

The nation is full of competent, intelligent and serious Republican governors. Why in the world do they keep standing behind this president, whose categorical incompetence is putting Americans’ lives in danger?

national news

Pandemic response becomes overarching 2020 campaign issue

Should the federal government’s stumble-bum response to the coronavirus pandemic take center stage for the 2020 presidential campaign?

Oh, boy howdy, hoss! Damn straight it should!

This very moment might not be the right time to start campaigning on Donald Trump’s belated call to urgency. However, once we reach our “apex” and we start seeing declines in the infection rate among Americans, then I do believe it would be an appropriate issue to raise in the contest for the White House.

Are you listening, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.? I’m talking to you.

Even though it might be premature for a presidential contender to raise the issue, I consider it fair game for, oh, those of us on the outside, such as bloggers.

Donald Trump has done a terrible job coordinating the federal response. He has politicized the effort all along the way, and that came after he said initially that the pandemic wasn’t that big of a deal.

Nine thousand American deaths later, it most certainly a huge deal. It is so huge that it boggles my mind — and the minds of others — that the Trump administration would disband a pandemic response team assembled as part of the National Security Council during the Obama administration.

Trump’s supporters, of course, are quite willing to accept the president’s non-response as OK. Some of them are readers of this blog and are critics of what I post on this blog; they are likely to respond to this brief post. That’s fine. Let ’em have at it.

I am not going to remain silent, even in this terrible time, over what I see are egregious shortfalls in the president’s response. Donald Trump has been far too slow to get off the proverbial pot.

When the time comes to make this non-response a campaign issue, then my hope is that Trump’s adversaries zero in and remind us of what many Americans already know: Donald Trump is unfit to lead this nation.

national news

Trump undermines IG’s authority, ability to serve the public

U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff — to no one’s surprise — has condemned Donald Trump’s decision to fire the intelligence community’s inspector general, Michael Atkinson.

Why did the president can the IG? Because, in my view, Atkinson was doing the job to which he was assigned, which was to root out allegations of government fraud and abuse of power.

Trump, though, sees it differently.

Atkinson had revealed to Congress a report from a whistleblower who had reported that Trump had placed a phone call to the president of Ukraine in which he sought a political favor in exchange for weapons that Congress had approved for Ukraine’s fight against Russia-backed rebels.

The phone call led ultimately to Trump’s impeachment by the House and a Senate trial that acquitted him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Trump this week called Atkinson’s report “fake news.” He said Atkinson did a “terrible job” as inspector general and that the report of alleged abuse of power was discredited by his acquittal in the Senate.

Indeed, the report was not “fake.” It was credible. The acquittal in the Senate trial came about only because insufficient numbers of senators voted to convict Trump.

So, for Trump to fire an inspector general simply for doing his job amounts to one more example of presidential bullying.

As for Schiff’s criticism, the congressman said that Trump is trying to undermine the independence of the IG. As Newsweek reported: The congressman warned that the president was “retaliating” against perceived enemies and placing “cronies” to lead oversight, all while the nation is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

Retaliation against “perceived enemies” sounds completely believable to me.