Monthly Archives: April 2020

State news

Undocumented immigrants getting unfair punishment

Oh, if we only could muster up a bit of compassion in this country for U.S. residents who lack proper immigration documents, but who perform “essential” work, pay their taxes and behave themselves.

These folks are being neglected by the “economic stimulus package” that is being sent to millions of Americans. They won’t receive the help that is going to U.S. citizens.

Call me a bleeding heart if you wish. I’m OK with that as it regards this issue.

The Texas Tribune reports that roughly 8.2 percent of Texas’ workforce comprises undocumented immigrants. Yes, they are here “illegally” in the strict definition of the term. They face deportation by the Trump administration.

But they pay their taxes, giving money to the U.S. Treasury. They do not break other U.S. laws. They act as de facto law-abiding citizens. Except they are being shut out of the government’s economic stimulus initiative activated by the coronavirus pandemic.

I do not believe that is fair. It is as unfair as the effort to criminalize the Dreamers who live here “illegally” because their parents brought them to this country as children. They are recipients of the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals measure enacted by President Obama, but which was revoked by Donald J. Trump. The state and nation are full of DACA recipients who have lived as model “citizens,” even as they lack the documentation that grants them citizenship, or even legal immigrant status.

And so the unfairness is now spilling onto those who deserve some economic relief in this perilous time.

media news, medical news

Pandemic coverage = failed prevention policy

Something occurred to me this week when I began reading the Dallas Morning News that my carrier tossed onto my driveway.

The newspaper’s front page story count was devoted totally to the coronavirus pandemic. Then I looked at some of the inside pages. Multiple pages contained full coverage of the pandemic. The editorial page also had many letters to the editor and opinion columns devoted to the pandemic.

Then the light bulb flashed on: When have we ever witnessed such wall-to-wall, 24/7, nonstop, relentless coverage of a single issue? I guess the last issue that did that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001. That’s how big this pandemic has become.

Why mention this? Well, I also remember earlier this year when Donald Trump was downplaying the onset of the virus that he was highly critical of previous administrations’ efforts at handling earlier health crises. He mentioned the Ebola virus and the H1N1 outbreaks that dogged the Obama administration. He exerted a bit of effort to tell us that in his view President Obama did a lousy job of corralling those crises.

OK, but … did those crises dominate the media coverage — not to mention the top of everyone’s awareness — the way this pandemic has done? No. They didn’t.

What does that tell me? It tells me that those crises either weren’t as widespread as the coronavirus pandemic has become and that the Obama administration did a good job of stemming their impact on the population.

It also symbolizes and illustrates one of the fundamental points that Trump critics — such as yours truly — have made all along, which is that Donald Trump has fumbled bigly in organizing his administration’s response to the crisis.

I have to circle back to something Dr. Anthony Fauci said, which was that had there been a concerted early effort to “mitigate” the effects of the disease that we wouldn’t be in the pickle we’re in at this moment.

So, here we are … with a disease overwhelming the media’s daily coverage of the news of the day. That, I submit, is a consequence of an inept governmental response.

economic news

‘Total authority’ takes a back seat to reality

Donald Trump’s claim to possess “total authority” to tell governors what to do in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic has taken a back seat to obvious reality.

I want to believe reason set in, that the president of the United States has looked — finally! — at the U.S. Constitution to see what it says about such authority.

But I cannot believe such a thing. What likely happened is that someone told Trump that his incoherent blathering was doing far more harm than good. I’ll go with that … or something like that.

The president is announcing “guidelines” that governors and local officials can exercise in deciding whether to relax restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 virus.

Of course his emphasis will be on the economic impact on the virus. Yes, he is giving some lip service to the suffering that has occurred among many thousands of Americans. Rest assured, Trump’s major concern continues to be — in my view — whether the economic collapse will harm his re-election chances this November.

All that said, the total authority that Donald Trump once proclaimed for himself has given way to a more reasonable approach that hands the vast bulk of that authority back to the states and those who govern them.

medical news, science news

Politicians should cease setting back-to-normal schedules

The feeble efforts by human beings to predict when they’ll be able to declare victory in a fight against a deadly virus make me want to … pull my hair out by the roots.

One such human being happens to be the president of the United States, who keeps insisting he has a preferred date in mind when he can start relaxing guidelines brought to bear by the coronavirus pandemic.

How many times must we tell Donald John “Stable Genius” Trump what should be patently obvious? Politicians cannot dictate to a deadly virus when it should stop sickening and killing human beings! We need science to determine when that will occur. We need human beings with deep scientific backgrounds and experience battling infectious disease to take the lead on this endeavor.

Donald Trump wants to establish some “flexible guidelines” that would dictate whether or to lift some of the stay at home directives that governors have issued. He keeps saying he wants a May 1 deadline to reopen the economy; then he talks about some states loosening restrictions even sooner than that!

C’mon! Let’s quit this game-playing!

We need science-based facts. We need to stop trying to outmaneuver a virus. Here is one more obvious fact that still needs to be brought up once more: A killer virus is no respecter of human deadlines, human wishes and human goals.

medical news

Waiting for the escape hatch to open

I believe I understand why the current worldwide health crisis is so unprecedented and devastating in its scope.

Let me say first that I totally understand the illness and death it has caused, creating untold misery, heartache and mourning. Its victims die alone, as hospitals cannot allow loved ones near them to hold their hands, whisper their love into their ears or just to act as comforters in time of pain and peril.

The unique quality of this coronavirus pandemic rests in the absence of any escape hatch for us to get away from the onslaught of bad news we are being forced to consume from our news networks.

Professional sports? College sports? Any sort of entertainment that allows us to sit among crowds of people who are cheering at the same performance? That’s all been put on ice.

Pro basketball and hockey has been shelved. Major League Baseball’s season has been delayed until only God knows when. The Summer Olympics in Tokyo has been postponed for an entire year … maybe even longer than that. College football is supposed to start later this summer, but they might not kick it off until much later.

New York’s Broadway theaters are closed. Movie theaters everywhere are closed, too.

So, we’re stuck. At home. Our governor asks us to stay put. He’ll get back to us soon to tell us where we might be able to go.

Some of us are going batty looking at the same walls for weeks on end. To be honest, we’re doing OK in our home. My wife and I happen to like each other’s company; at least I can speak for myself anyway on that matter.

This pandemic, though, is unprecedented simply by virtue of all the activities it has been on the back shelf. We are waiting now for an escape hatch to open.

economic news

Sure thing, Mr. POTUS; keep saying you didn’t insist on the name issue

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The nation’s Liar in Chief revealed his penchant for prevarication once again this week; it occurred at his Wednesday “briefing” at the White House over the coronavirus pandemic.

A reporter asked him about whether his name should appear on the stimulus checks that are coming to millions of Americans.

Donald Trump said oh, no. He had nothing to do with putting his name on those checks. That he had no input on the matter. That was someone else’s call. Some anonymous staffer agreed finally to put “Donald J. Trump” on the memo line on the checks that are coming to us.

I believe that, right? Wrong! The liar who poses as president of the United States cannot tell the truth even if someone were to point a gun at him while he stands on Fifth Avenue. You know what I’m talkin’ about?

Our stimulus payment appears to be coming to us via the Postal Service that Trump might allow to go bankrupt later this year. I learned that by looking at the irs.gov website. It says we’re eligible for payment, but that the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t have sufficient information for us to qualify for direct deposit into our checking account. Whatever.

If it comes to us via snail mail, I am left with a decision to make: Do we deposit the check immediately or do we gaze fondly for days at the Idiot in Chief’s name engraved in the memo line? Well, you know how I feel about him and the notion that he would insist on putting his name on a document in an unprecedented display of ego.

And yet, Donald Trump insists he had nothing to do with putting his name on the check?

Got it. I will wait for the sun to rise in the west tomorrow morning.

military news

Capt. Crozier back to the USS TR? By all means … yes!

What do you know about this item?

The U.S. Navy is considering whether to return Capt. Brett Crozier to the bridge of the USS Theodore Roosevelt after he was summarily — and wrongly, in my view — removed from his command of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

Former Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly canned Crozier after the captain fired off a letter to the brass complaining that the Navy was not doing enough to protect sailors who had been exposed to COVID-19. Several dozen sailors serving on the Roosevelt had tested positive for the virus. Capt. Crozier issued a plea for help!

For that he was relieved of his command. His sailors cheered him as he left the ship for what was thought would be the final time.

Modly himself was removed from his post.

Now we hear that the Navy is considering whether to return Crozier to the ship he commanded and to command the sailors who revere him.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday’s spokesman said the admiral hasn’t made a firm decision … which to me sounds as if he’s leaning toward that returning Crozier to his former — and possibly future — command.

The New York Times, though, reports that Crozier’s possible return to the TR might face an obstacle: the commander in chief might meddle in this military personnel matter. Donald Trump already has demonstrated a willingness to intervene in a command decision. Trump has criticized Crozier already for the way he communicated his concern over his sailors’ well-being. Thus, he well might feel inclined to block a rightful decision to return Crozier to commanding a crew that clearly respects and reveres him.

I hope Capt. Crozier is returned to the Theodore Roosevelt.

The men and women would welcome him. What’s more, if the commander in chief is as devoted to the men and women who serve our country as he claims to be, he will stand aside and let Brett Crozier resume his command.

national news

Coronavirus ‘briefings’ = campaign rallies

I want to be clear.

I cannot stand to watch Donald Trump campaign rallies when I am told that’s what I am watching. I especially cannot stomach them when we are told he is going to “brief” the nation on the ongoing fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

And yet …

We get campaign rally-style riffs from Donald Trump at the White House. He keeps yapping about what a “great” and “fantastic” job he says he’s doing to fight the virus. He keeps hammering at Democrats for their alleged “obstruction” and at the media for their “fake news” reporting of the facts.

It’s all part and parcel of a typical Donald Trump rally.

I attended an actual Trump rally this past year at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas. I actually had a good time visiting with assorted Trumpkins who waited in line with me to get into the arena. The rally itself was, oh, the typical rant. So, I left.

I just am weary of turning on the TV and seeing POTUS’s mug looking at me while he’s supposedly offering the latest news on the fight against the pandemic.

That is why I normally turn the channel away from it. Strangely, though, I am lured to watch it hoping (foolishly) that there might be a nugget of important information coming from Donald Trump.

How silly of me.

medical news

Pelosi speaks great truth about relying on knowledge, facts

The blistering critique of Donald Trump delivered by Nancy Pelosi clearly had one major goal, which was to point out — in Pelosi’s view — the ineptitude demonstrated by Trump in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the speaker of the House of Representatives’ letter to congressional Democrats also spoke to a larger issue that bears a brief examination. It is that we need to rely heavily on the knowledge of individuals educated specifically in the field of fighting the pandemic that is sweeping around the world.

Yes, the speaker spoke of Trump’s lies, his ignorance, incompetence, his confusion, chaos, mixed messaging, bullying … all of that and more. The president displays it in abundance every time he stands before a microphone and talks about the pandemic.

He politicizes this crisis in ways that sicken many of us. The issue at hand is the safety of human beings. Americans are longing for a president who can speak with authority on his caring for his countrymen and women. Donald Trump cannot exhibit that caring. He simply is not wired that way.

So we are left to depend on the experts. Trump has no shortage of them at his disposal. You’ve seen them and heard them. They are learned men and women who’ve spent their entire professional lives studying and battling these diseases. They are the individuals who need to be heard. Not the politicians … and damn sure not the nation’s top pol, the president of the United States.

Let me be clear about this point: Not every politician speaks with the vacuous volume that comes from Donald Trump. We’ve heard from governors and mayors who express sincere empathy with those who are suffering. However, these individuals are not inclined to delve into scientific details about which they are not as informed as the experts with whom they are surrounded. One cannot say such a thing about the president who continues to insist he knows far more than he does.

So, with that I want to suggest that the greater truth that came from Nancy Pelosi should resonate with all Americans who want to hear unvarnished facts about the fight against coronavirus. They won’t get them from the Politician in Chief.

local news

Farmersville council recognizes ‘hazardous duty’

BLOGGER’S NOTE: This blog item was published originally on KETR-FM’s website, at ketr.org

You know it and I know it, too. When police officers and firefighters suit up for duty, when they honor their oath to “protect and serve” the public, they are performing hazardous duty.

We also know that as far as police work is concerned that there is no such thing as a “routine traffic stop.” Firefighters know all too well that every emergency call they get – be it a medical or a fire emergency – that there’s certainly nothing routine about what they do.

But we’ve entered a new phase of hazardous duty and this week the Farmersville City Council acted on a request from Police Chief Mike Sullivan to compensate police officers with extra pay for extraordinarily hazardous duty related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The council approved an extension to an ordinance that declared a mayoral emergency declaration in Farmersville. The ordinance is now set to expire on May 15. However, the council agreed to pay police officers and two fire department officials extra money for the calls they answer while the nation is fighting the health outbreak.

Farmersville reports 11 residents have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, although that number might change rapidly. When police and firefighters respond to a call, they well might be dealing up close with someone who is infected with the virus. That is why Sullivan sought the extra hazardous duty pay for his officers; Sullivan also included Fire Chief Kim Morris and Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Linsman among those first responders who should get the extra pay. Farmersville’s fire department is a volunteer force, with just two paid full-time firefighters, Morris and Linsman.

The city has approved a $13,000 payout over the next month to compensate the responders for the hazardous duty they are performing on behalf of the city’s residents. The council will revisit the budget amendment over the next month; it might extend the hazardous duty pay if the city maintains its emergency declaration.

This is a sound call. It speaks well of the City Council that it would respond readily to Chief Sullivan’s request.

I want to point out, too, that Sullivan didn’t say a single self-serving word during his presentation about the potential danger his officers or the firefighters face when they suit up during this perilous time. He didn’t need to say it. Indeed, everyone knows and certainly should appreciate what they do in service to the public.