Monthly Archives: April 2021

crime news

Rep. Gaetz sought a ‘pre-emptive pardon’? But … he’s ‘innocent!’

By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, the congressman under investigation for having sex with an underage girl, reportedly sought a pre-emptive pardon from Donald Trump before the president left office.

Trump, not surprisingly, denies ever getting the request.

Hmm. Let’s see. Who do you believe? The president who told more than 30,000 lies during his term in office and couldn’t tell the truth if it meant he would miss a Happy Meal if he lied? Or the congressman whose sole mission in Congress was to protect Donald Trump’s backside?

I’ll go with Gaetz on this one. The Washington Post reporting of Gaetz’s request for a blanket pre-emptive pardon has a certain ring of truth. Don’t you think?

Yes. Even though he insists he didn’t do anything “illegal.”

Which begs the question: Does an innocent man seek a pardon?

national news

Mitch backs down … who knew?

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(Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has taken back what he said about Major League Baseball, Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines’ decision to oppose a controversial Georgia vote law.

He said that big business should stay out of politics. McConnell admitted he didn’t speak “artfully” about the firms’ opposition to regulations that critics contend limit voters’ access to casting ballots.

McConnell backs away from warning businesses to stay out of politics (msn.com)

The truth is that McConnell has been exposed once again as the political hypocrite for which he has become infamous. You see, McConnell said that the Supreme Court’s decision in 2010 to allow corporations to contribute unlimited amounts of political money was, um, all right with him. The case became known as “Citizens United.”

So, it was all right for corporations to donate to GOP campaigns but not all right when they oppose GOP-friendly legislation and laws.

Don’t get me wrong. I am glad that GOP leader McConnell has switched gears on this matter. I just felt the need to put it in some context that McConnell chose to overlook.

medical news

Mixed messaging on COVID?

By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

If you are confused about the status of the war against the coronavirus pandemic, join the proverbial club.

I am, too.

President Biden now says he intends to declare that all adults will be eligible for a vaccine by April 19; he moved the all-eligible deadline up from May 1. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, talks about the nation “on the verge” of a fourth surge in infections. Variants from the virus are infecting more of us. Hospital emergency rooms are filling up with COVID patients.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stands by his decision to lift the mask mandate he ordered a year ago. Texas Rangers fans jammed into the Arlington ballpark to cheer for the  home team.

The government proclaims further success that the millions of Americans are being vaccinated daily, inching the nation toward that state of “herd immunity” that officials hope will squash the pandemic.

So, where in the world are we?

I am going to make a presumption. It is that I have no intention of forgoing my mask when I venture into public places. Nor do my wife and I intend to frequent restaurants, movie theaters or any other venue that puts us in close proximity to total strangers.

I want to remain hopeful that we are on the cusp of eliminating the pandemic. I also want the politicization of mask-wearing and social distancing to become a thing of the past. It annoys me in the extreme to hear so-called “conservatives” bitch and moan about government mandates that aim to keep them and others safe from deadly infection.

All of this does not lessen the confusion I am sensing from those on whom we rely for information about the pandemic. I suppose my option is to believe — and act on — the worst and hope for the best outcome.

crime news

Gun violence action on tap?

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By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

President Biden wouldn’t seem to need any lectures on the limits of executive power. So it makes sense to me that a planned executive order that seeks to stem gun violence is being done with all due diligence on its legality.

Let’s all stay tuned for Biden’s announcement set for Thursday in which he will invoke an executive order that sets stricter regulations on something called “ghost guns” and implements more stringent background checks on those who want to purchase a firearm.

Congress, to no one’s surprise, is dawdling on legislative remedies in the wake of recent Atlanta and Boulder massacres that left 20 people dead. Republicans are resisting any effort to tighten the rules for purchase. Democrats need 10 GOP senators to help them end an expected Republican filibuster.

The Hill newspaper reports: Advocacy groups, including Brady, Giffords, Everytown and parents of victims of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, have met with Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice and Biden adviser Cedric Richmond in recent weeks.

Anti-gun violence advocates, including some who attended meetings with Biden officials, told The Hill in February that, through executive order, Biden could eliminate ghost guns by defining what constitutes a gun.

The term ghost guns refers to guns available for purchase, typically without a background check or a serial number, that are not fully finished or may have a missing part.

Biden expected to announce executive action on guns | TheHill

Does any of this violate the Second Amendment constitutional provision that allows Americans to “keep and bear arms?” Hardly.

local news

Betsy backs Ginger

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By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson is touting a re-election endorsement she has received … from someone who lives way down the highway in Fort Worth.

The endorsement comes from Mayor Betsy Wright, who’s not seeking another term as Cowtown mayor.

I am not going to denigrate Betsy Wright’s mayoral legacy over yonder in Fort Worth. She appears to be quite popular among those she serves. Moreover, I happen to believe Ginger Nelson deserves another term as Amarillo mayor.

I do have a question: Does it really matter in real, tangible vote-harvesting terms to trumpet an endorsement from someone who serves a city that is more than 300 miles away?

Mayor Nelson could benefit in a real way with formal endorsements from those who work with her at the highest levels of government. How about a nod from, say, Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner and newly installed Randall County Judge Christy Dyer? Or from each of their commissioners courts? Or from mayors of the towns scattered across the Panhandle landscape?

All that said, from what I have witnessed from afar, Amarillo is continuing to make steady and enviable progress as it continues its journey from dusty burg to a city of major consequence.

So, with that she has my endorsement, too … and it likely won’t win Nelson a single vote.

 

local news

Proud of ‘Ike’s park’

By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

EISENHOWER STATE PARK, Texas – Every so often I feel the need to extol the virtues of enjoying the great outdoors in our great state.

That urge has overtaken me yet again.

I offer this brief missive aiming to entice fellow North and Northeast Texas to enjoy the state park system that I continue to believe is one of the major accomplishments of our state government which occasionally draws barbs from me.

My wife and I ventured to Eisenhower State Park, just outside of Denison, right on the Red River and in this region the local news media refer to as “Texoma.” This place is a jewel. It’s clean, well-managed, with well-marked hiking and biking trails. We did pick up an empty Coke can on one of our hikes through the park, prompting my wife to wonder out loud how someone who ventures to one of these places to “enjoy nature” could possibly toss an aluminum can into the bushes.

Summer break is coming up for students all across Texas. That means, of course, that demand on these parks will increase dramatically during the summer. Listen up: If you intend to camp at nearby Eisenhower State Park, you’d be wise to book your campsite soon, perhaps even right now!

Gov. Greg Abbott has lifted many of the mandated restrictions brought to us by the COVID pandemic. That doesn’t mean you can ignore safety measures recommended by infectious disease experts, a point that Abbott has sought to make. Texas Parks & Wildlife officials continue to disallow public use of office. TP&W staffers are still masked up and keeping their distance from those of us who venture to the park.

I want to make another point about Eisenhower State Park. It is named in honor of a great American, the nation’s 34th president, Dwight Eisenhower, who was born in a modest home in nearby Denison. Ike went on to do a couple of pretty big things. He helped defeat the 20th century’s most evil tyrant during World War II and then got elected to two terms as president of the United States. He famously warned us during his farewell address in 1960 to guard against the “military-industrial complex,” which even at the time was an amazing admonition from a man who bore the title of general of the Army.

The National Park Service has put together a wonderful exhibit at Ike’s boyhood home. That, too, is worth seeing … along with the state park that bears his name.

Take my word for it: spending time away from the hubbub and hassle of today’s news provides great therapy for the soul. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department has answered that need with this – and many other – wonderful parks.

NOTE: This blog post was published originally on KETR-FM’s website, ketr.org.

local news, Sports news

Soddies can proclaim: We’re No. 6!

By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

Texas Monthly has weighed in with its strangest and coolest minor-league baseball team names for 2021.

Drum roll for Amarillo Sod Poodles fans: Your team made the cut as the sixth-strangest/coolest name in Texas minor league baseball.

As TM writes: As a new team, the Sod Poodles had the advantage of history in knowing how fans had taken to other quirky team names in choosing their identity, but we can’t argue with the results: prairie dogs are certainly plentiful out near Amarillo, and the old settler term “sod poodles” is definitely a fun way to refer to them. Locals didn’t exactly cotton to the name at first—in fact, all five finalists for the team’s name drew eye rolls in the town—but can you really look at the family of grass-chewing, Stetson-wearing prairie dogs in the team’s logo and not find yourself rooting for the lil’ guys? 

Texas’s Best (and Weirdest) Minor League Baseball Team Names, Ranked – Texas Monthly

I’ll be candid. The name had to grow on me. I wasn’t crazy about the name when I first heard it had made the list of finalists under consideration. I didn’t know what a Sod Poodle is, but I found out it’s an old cowboy name for prairie dogs.

Whatever its historical significance, the Sod Poodles have played some good hardball in their single year in existence.

They are set to open their new season in early May.

Yes, the Sod Poodles won the Texas League pennant in their first year in Amarillo. They are starting a new season this week. Maybe they’ll win another pennant, this time in the Central League.

Now they have made TM’s roster of cool/strange team nicknames.

Play ball!

media news

Calling all comments

1 Comment

By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

As many of you know already, I love to write this blog. It gives me great relief, allowing me to vent on this and that, to provide my admittedly biased perspective on world events and news of the day.

However, it does provide me with a frustration. Really, it’s just one for now.

I post these items on WordPress, a platform designed for this kind of cyber activity. I also distribute it along several social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. Each blog entry on WordPress contains a tab that allows readers to offer comment.

My frustration? So few readers of this blog actually take a moment to comment. One gentleman comments regularly. That’s it! No one else weighs in. Well, mostly no one.

High Plains Blogger, I am proud to declare, is read around the world. The vast majority of visitors to the blog, of course, reside in the United States. But a healthy minority of them also reside in Ireland, in Ghana, Australia, Germany.

It reaches tens of thousands of people each year. I enjoy the worldwide impact this blog might be having; I cannot confirm any impact, because I cannot be sure whose blood might be boiling or who might want to offer me an atta boy.

Occasionally I hear from a critic. They weigh in, offer a comment or two telling me I’m a dumbass. I usually respond to them, often with a touch of snark. Hey, it goes with the territory.

This blog post seeks to solicit more comments. I want there to be some honest discussion. Moreover, be advised that I never have rejected a comment because it disagrees with the brilliant observation I offer.

The invitation is out there.

local news

Phrases that drive you nuts

By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

I belong to a social media group that comprises alumni from my high school in Portland, Ore.

Someone in that group posted the picture you see with this brief post. I responded with “at the end of the day.” The question posed has sparked a lively talk among fellow graduates of Parkrose High School.

I feel a need to explain why “at the end of the day” is No. 1 on my list of annoying phrases.

It is, to put it simply, a setup for what comes next from the person who says it. The phrase seems to come most often from politician who are in the middle of some monologue about a policy matter. They will tell you, “At the end of the day” and then mutter a phrase that — in their vacuous mind — is the most profound statement ever uttered.

It usually is just another platitude.

I suppose I could offer all the other annoying phrases with which I am familiar. I’ll spare you all of that.

Just know that if you tell me something that follows “at the end of the day,” I am likely to scream.

I’m out.

national news

Vote ‘reform’ based on the Big Lie

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By JOHN KANELIS / [email protected]

State legislators and governors keep yapping about “protecting the electoral process” by enacting rules that make it more difficult for millions of Americans to actually vote.

All of which makes me wonder: Against what are these officials seeking to protect us? 

I think I know. They are protecting us against a bogus affliction of voter fraud promulgated by the Big Lie that took root when Donald Trump was in the process of losing his bid for re-election as president of the United States.

You’ll recall when Trump alleged that were he to lose his re-election bid it would be the result of “widespread fraud.” That illegal voters would be able to cast ballots. That they would vote for Joe Biden.

Evidence in state after state has concluded that the voter fraud Trump said existed doesn’t exist. Has there been a scant ballot cast illegally? Sure. Is it as widespread and corrosive to the system as Republicans, led by Trump, Not by a long shot.

Indeed, the man Donald Trump hired to protect the nation’s electoral system, Christopher Krebs, declared the 2020 election to be the “safest, most secure” election in U.S. history. What did he get for doing his job? Donald Trump fired him!

Texas has joined the vote fraud amen chorus by approving voter suppression laws. Major League Baseball responded to Georgia’s restrictions by pulling its all-star game from Atlanta. This debate, as you would expect, has fallen along partisan lines: Republicans make the bogus case of vote fraud; Democrats debunk those claims and allege that the GOP is seeking to hold onto the power it has in many states by any means necessary.

I keep circling back, though, to the cause of all this tempest. It is the Big Lie, which culminated on Jan. 6 when the riotous mob of terrorists mounted an insurrection against the federal government just as it was certifying Joe Biden’s election as president.

The Big Lie continues to fester in the minds of those in state capitols who enact laws that have little to do with vote fraud but seemingly everything to do with making it more difficult for Americans to vote.

We are witnessing a disgraceful assault on a cherished right of citizenship.