Monthly Archives: August 2022

national news

Another run for Donald?

The political world cannot seem to stop talking about Donald Trump and whether the two-time candidate for president wants to make a third run at an office in which he garnered fewer votes twice than his opponent.

Given that I cannot predict what this nimrod will do, I am left just to speculate out loud and wonder: Does this guy actually believe he can win after being impeached twice and has since been revealed to be an individual who is incapable of fulfilling the duties of his office?

It’s a stretch even for The Donald.

At least that’s my belief.

He has prided himself on his unpredictability. He said as much when he garnered more electoral votes in 2016 than Hillary Rodham Clinton. He was right. I couldn’t predict a single move this guy would make during his single term in office.

So, if he’s still an unpredictable moron, does that mean all this fancy footwork, this teasing his followers that he is going to run — again! — mean he doesn’t really intend to do it?

Let’s suppose for instance that Attorney General Merrick Garland indicts Trump for violating the Espionage Act by squirreling confidential documents away from the White House and hiding them in the basement of his Florida mansion.

How in the name of political idiocy can a man run for POTUS while fending off what could be a lifetime sentence in prison?

Or, what happens if the Fulton County (Ga.) district attorney indicts him for voter interference? Or if the New York AG indicts him for falsifying his net wealth to obtain loans?

I just am having trouble grasping how anyone — even someone as slimy and slippery as The Donald — can possibly run for president under those circumstances.

Well, I ain’t predictin’ nothin’, man. I am just going to remain skeptical that The Donald is going to take this plunge yet again. There well could be a crowded Republican Party primary field awaiting with opponents ready to skewer him over what we now know to be the truth about him.

OK. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part. Accuse me all you want of bias. Or of hating Trump. I won’t deny any of it.

Nor will I deny loathing the sight of him clenching that tiny fist of his in that show of defiance intended to portray this coward as a tough guy.

If you do, don’t forget to accuse me as well of loving my country enough to prevent it from enduring any more misery that this individual can bring.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

Go after Fauci? Why?

Did I read this right, that if Republicans take control of Congress after the midterm election that they’re going to “go after” Dr. Anthony Fauci?

This prompts two immediate questions: What has he done to provoke this vengeful reaction? Why go after a man who has decided to retire from public service after serving presidents of both parties with distinction for many decades?

The threat comes from Sen. John Kennedy, the Louisiana Republican who bears not a single similarity to the late president whose name he shares.

Fauci announced this week he is stepping down in December as President Biden’s chief medical adviser. The man has had a full plate over many years. It became a heaping plate when the coronavirus pandemic broke in late 2019.

His advice rankled many on the right, including the man who brought him on board to help deal with the pandemic … Donald J. Trump.

So now there might be another persecution in store, if the cards align and the GOP takes back Congress.

So says John Kennedy.

Good grief! The man saved many thousands of lives with his advice to two presidents of the United States, Donald Trump and then Joe Biden.

It looks for all the world to me as though Kennedy wants to make as much hay as Americans can stand.

Well, he can count me out.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Vote fraud? Yes, but …

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The purveyors of The Big Lie keep insisting that the 2020 presidential election is the result of “widespread vote fraud,” of millions of dead people casting ballots, nations using orbiting satellites to manipulate votes.

Am I going to deny the existence of some voter fraud? No. I cannot possibly make that denial with a straight face. Nor can I presume that election deniers have anything credible to assert the “widespread” of the fraud they insist occurred in November 2020.

The “Big Liar in Chief,” Donald J. Trump, keeps leading the chorus of deniers. The cultists who hang on his every lying word hang on them as if they are gospel. They continue to foment The Big Lie and continue to insist they’re going to end it.

End … what? Precisely?

This is the ultimate frustration for those of us who happen to maintain reasonable trust in the local election officials who do a great job of protecting the sanctity of our cherished freedom to vote for the candidates of our choice.

I am more than willing to acknowledge that individuals here and there occasionally try to pull some funny stuff at the ballot box. They are caught and they are prosecuted. The conspiracy theorists out there will not be satisfied as long as they can cling to The Big Lie and pretend it is true.

They call themselves “patriots.” They are traitors.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Clock is ticking, 1/6 panel

U.S. House Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson doesn’t need unsolicited advice from little ol’ me on how he does his business.

Too bad. I am going to give him some anyway.

Mr. Chairman, I am acutely aware that the clock is ticking on your 1/6 investigation. Which makes me implore you to get your probe done sooner rather than later.

You must ignore the happy talk among Democrats who have stars in their eyes and who are thinking they can retain control of the House after the congressional midterm election. The fate of the Senate is another matter. The House, though, remains vulnerable to a Republican takeover of leadership of that legislative chamber.

That means if the committee’s work is unfinished when the new Congress convenes in January, the new Republican leadership is going to scuttle every damn thing the panel did. It will toss all the evidence it has collected implicating Donald Trump in the insurrection and his effort to deny the peaceful transfer of power to the Biden administration.

A new GOP House speaker is going to launch investigations of his own into the panel’s conduct. There might even be efforts to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland. Believe this, too: The Trump cultists who comprise the Republican Party will have vengeance on their minds if they seize control of the House.

I say all this to remind the chairman that he has to finish the committee’s work sometime this fall. The committee is set to reopen the public hearings next month with a new round of witnesses. They are likely to add even more evidence to the growing pile of it already gathered through hours of public and private testimony.

The panel might ask former Vice President Mike Pence to testify. Fine. Do it and then get him to spill whatever beans he can under oath.

Look, Mr. Chairman, time is not your friend. It is your relentless enemy as you seek to finish your work, compile a report and present it to us — and to the attorney general.

He must not be deterred by whatever blowback he gets from the diehard cultists who stand with the insurrectionist in chief. They have loud voices, but so do the rest of us who want to make sure those who are responsible are held to account for the dastardly deeds they launched against the government they all swore an oath to protect, preserve and defend.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

Many thanks, Dr. Fauci

Just got word of what many of us expected all along: Anthony Fauci is going to retire from a several-decades-long career in public service.

To which I want to offer the good doctor a heartfelt expression of thanks and gratitude for all he has done to help protect us against infectious disease.

Fauci, of course, became the face of medical awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic that spanned two administrations, from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. He is the nation’s — if not the world’s — leading expert on infectious disease. He spoke the truth to us when he had the answers to a disease that was killing thousands of Americans daily. When he didn’t know the answers, he had the guts to say so.

Oh, but the man who served as President Biden’s senior medical adviser, had to endure the defamatory criticism that came from the far-right wing of our political life. They didn’t trust him. They bristled at mask mandates, at calls for social distancing, at government telling citizens what they needed to protect themselves and others from a killer virus. He even had to endure the undermining of his public statements that came from Donald J. Trump, who hired him to manage our pandemic response.

Fauci served through several administrations, going back to the time of Ronald Reagan. He served with honor and with dedication to the practice of medicine and public health.

Fauci said he will leave in December. Presumably he will head toward a private life with his wife and family.

The man has earned some time off.

As the saying goes to those who have devoted their life to the cause of serving the public … thank you for your service, doc.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news, media news

Memoir: It’s back!

I have written about this already, but I feel the need to give you an update on the progress I am beginning to make — yet again — on a project I decided to undertake.

A memoir of my career is in the works. What’s new about it? Well, I had put it on ice for far too long. I would get busy, distracted, tired out and wouldn’t spend the time I needed to complete it.

It’s going to be a compilation of the people I met and some of the cool things I was able to do and places I was able to see while working as a newspaper journalist for nearly 37 years.

My bride gave me the idea to write it and to give it to members of our family. Kathy Anne and I soon will celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary, a fact I just thought I’d throw out there, as it has no particular significance to the memoir I am writing, except that the memoir was her idea in the first place.

My career enabled me to meet some fascinating figures. Some of them were historic figures, indeed. You’ll read about a couple of presidents of the United States, one foreign head of state, a few who wanted to be POTUS. You’ll read about notable journalists with whom I had the pleasure of meeting and — in a couple of cases — actually get to know on a personal level.

I once stood in the same room with one of history’s most iconic and revered figures. I didn’t meet him, but just standing about 40 feet away was enough to overwhelm me. Spoiler alert: That person was Nelson Mandela. 

I don’t have a title for this piece of work. I’ll come up with one about the time I finish it. I once wrote that I wasn’t sure I could ever finish it. I have changed my mind. It’ll come to an end.

Here’s what I wrote earlier about it: Memoir in the works | High Plains Blogger

I once was the model of self-discipline. Once I set my mind to something, nothing stood in my way. That drive has waned just a bit as I have grown older.

But the way I look at it all right now, at this stage of my life, I realize that I have lived most of my life already. The clock is ticking, which means I have to get busy and finish this project.

Therefore, I will do so.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news, State news

Yes, we have a border crisis

Texas Democrats, you have a problem of your own making, and it would be wise for you to own it and then propose some solutions to the issue that is creating the problem.

I am going to concur with an editorial published by the Dallas Morning News over the weekend that says Democrats need to admit publicly that Texas has an illegal migrant problem.

Democrats’ inability or unwillingness to state what appears to be obvious is costing them politically. If they have any hope of returning to power in this state, then they need to speak truth to those of us who need to hear it.

The DMN takes note of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke’s reluctance to talk honestly about illegal immigration: Beto O’Rourke has been twisting himself in knots trying to walk the line between saying something needs to be done at the border while not offending a base of voters for whom any enforcement is too much. O’Rourke can’t even seem to settle himself on whether the Trump-era Title 42 requirement that migrants be returned to Mexico should be revoked. He waffled on the matter with a suggestion it should remain in place, then clarified it should be revoked after a scolding from leftist activists.

Check out the editorial here: Texas Democrats can’t admit there is a border crisis (dallasnews.com)

Yes, we have a border crisis. Republicans’ bellicose rhetoric and their demagoguery using terms such as “invasion” are profoundly wrong and unhelpful. However, as the Morning News noted, the bigger political consequence falls on Democrats.

They need to step up. Immediately would be nice … if it isn’t too late.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

environmental news

Climate change: legislative target

President Biden’s recent success has prompted plenty of discussion about whether his political standing will hold up through the 2024 election, presuming he actually runs for re-election.

I want to look briefly at one aspect of Biden’s hot streak. It’s the Inflation Reduction Act and the provision contained in it that deals straight ahead with what I consider to be the nation’s most serious existential threat: climate change.

Forbes magazine has taken a good look at specific aspects of the IRA. Here is its summary of the climate change aspect of the law:

The bill includes numerous investments in climate protection, including tax credits for households to offset energy costs, investments in clean energy production and tax credits aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

Now, I have to ask: Why is any of that such a bad thing?

The Inflation Reduction Act is a slimmed-down version of Biden’s Build Back Better legislative ideal. He couldn’t get all Democrats — let alone any Republicans — to buy into the initial version of the bill. So, he settled on this dialed-back facsimile.

What I find horribly disconcerting from GOP critics is their insistence that efforts to curb carbon emissions is a “job killer.” In a way, yes, this emphasis will reduce jobs … in the fossil fuel industry. The payback, though, comes with investment in new clean-energy jobs. 

Here’s What’s In The Inflation Reduction Act – Forbes Advisor

You might recall a statement that 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said about her plan to convert to clean energy. She pledged to virtually eliminate fossil fuel jobs; her foes led by GOP nominee Donald Trump hammered her mercilessly. Except that she said in the very next sentence that she would want to replace those fossil fuel jobs with clean energy jobs.

Here’s a bit more from Forbes: Though the bill may fall short of bringing immediate price relief to consumers, it’s monumental in other ways. According to The Wilderness Society, a nonprofit land conservation organization established in 1935, the Inflation Reduction Act is described as a “breakthrough” on climate policy.

A “breakthrough on climate policy”? I agree about whether this bill bring much immediate relief on inflation. However, I am going to retain a belief that tax breaks and household incentives are going to bring immediate relief to the stresses humankind is putting on our fragile planet.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news, national news

Defund the FBI?

The right-wing extremists — the QAnon adherents and election deniers — need to be committed, sent to the nut house and left to fester in the dark.

These are the cretins who are calling for Congress to “defund the FBI” in the wake of the agency’s search of Donald Trump’s home in Florida for classified documents that Trump took from the White House when he left office in January 2021.

This is simply an astonishing thing to hear from those who proclaim to be “patriots” who believe in “law and order” and who declare that they are friends and allies of those who enforce our laws.

My … goodness.

Patriotic Americans wouldn’t vilify government agents who were acting on lawful orders. Nor would they attack law enforcement officers — such as what occurred on 1/6. Moreover, no friend or ally of police would ever present physical threats of harm to those who occupy the thin blue line that protects American society.

One Republican congressional candidate has actually said that Attorney General Merrick Garland should be executed. Can you believe that? Oh, sure you can! Why? Because it’s becoming part of the GOP mantra.

It’s disgraceful.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

You go, Liz … but only so far

I listened this morning to Liz Cheney explain why she remains adamant in her opposition to Donald J. Trump and why she intends to keep fighting to keep the ex-president far away from the White House.

I am all in on her effort to keep Trump out of the people’s house.

Then came some questions from ABC News’s Jon Karl, who wanted to know whether she is going to run for president in 2024 in an effort to forestall Trump’s possible nomination. She didn’t take the bait. That’s OK. I wouldn’t, either.

However, she reminded me once again why, despite the courage she is showing in fighting Trump, I generally oppose virtually all her political views.

She reiterated her stance as a pro-life, pro-gun, anti-tax Republican. She didn’t say it, but she did vote in favor of Trump’s agenda more than 93% of the time he was in office.

If Liz Cheney, who lost her Wyoming congressional GOP primary race this past week, is dedicated to keeping Trump out of power, then I’m all for it … and for her effort.

If lightning were to strike and Cheney gets nominated by Republicans in 2024, well … that’s where my admiration ends.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com