Monthly Archives: November 2022

education news

Be careful with Open Meetings Law

You run into this once in a while: a governing body will convene an executive (or closed) meeting to discuss something that in the strictest sense of the word doesn’t qualify as an item worthy of such secrecy.

It happened the other evening at a Princeton (Texas) school board meeting that I happened to be attending.

The Princeton Independent School District board of trustees met in regular session to discuss school business. During the course of the meeting, the board convened three executive sessions to discuss employee grievances; it’s all according to the Open Meetings Law that governs public governing bodies’ conduct. The board convened an executive session then reconvened its public meeting to vote on what it had discussed in secret. Then it went back into private session. This happened three times.

Then the board welcomed two new members who were elected in Nov. 8 school district trustee election. They swore them in and bid goodbye to two outgoing trustees.

The board then convened a fourth secret session. Why? To discuss election of its officers for the coming term. I believe that fourth session was an inappropriate reason to convene an executive session. Trustees cited personnel matters as their reason for speaking out of public earshot. That’s not right.

Personnel matters, as I interpret the Open Meetings Law, deal with paid employees. They do not cover elected officials’ duties. A better way for the board to handle it would have been to keep meeting in public and then go through the motions of selecting a board president, vice president and secretary.

Now, in the grand scheme this isn’t a scandalous breach of transparency. It was a routine process that boards such as the Princeton ISD board go through every year.

Taking this routine matter into the closet, though, was an unnecessary attempt to shroud it in secrecy.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news, political news

GOP to take over the House

Kevin McCarthy now appears likely to become the Man of the House … of Representatives when Congress convenes its new term in January.

Republican House candidates have secured the body’s 218th GOP seat, giving Republicans the gavel.

It’s not yet a cinch that McCarthy will succeed his fellow Californian, Nancy Pelosi, as speaker. The GOP’s underwhelming performance in the 2022 midterm election — which was supposed to produce a Republican tsunami that would sweep Democrats out of office — has brought plenty of recrimination to McCarthy.

McCarthy said he’ll seek the speakership. He will have a fight on his hands, not that I really care.

Whoever takes the speaker’s gavel from Pelosi will take command of what appears to be a razor-thin majority. The projections tell us the Rs will finish with 219 seats, compared to the Ds with 216. No wiggle room, man.

The red wave never materialized. The new Congress will be fun to watch … don’t you think?

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news, political news

Big Liars defame election officials

The defamation of state, county and municipal election officials continues as the proponents of The Big Lie spew their rubbish.

When I hear the trash flow from the mouth of, say, Kari Lake in Arizona — the MAGA-loving Big Liar who lost the race for governor in that state — I am filled with rage on behalf of the people whose integrity she defames.

She said just the other day that Arizona election officials are incompetent and corrupt. Once again, she provides no proof of what she is alleging.

I worked with election officials during the nearly 37 years I toiled as print journalist. I did so in two states, in Oregon and Texas. To a person — be they Democrat or Republican — they were competent, filled to the brim with integrity and dedicated fully to the oaths they took to protect and defend the constitutions of the state and the nation.

They worked their tails off to ensure election integrity, whether they served the people of Clackamas County, Ore., or Jefferson, Randall or Potter County, Texas. I got to know all the county clerks whose job was to oversee elections and protect their integrity.

It simply sends my blood to a full boil when I hear tinhorn pols take pot shots at these dedicated public servants. Make no mistake about this fact: The individuals who incur the unjustified wrath of these politicians are the local folks, some of whom are elected officials themselves. Furthermore, they all take oaths of office that usually end with the phrase, ” … so help me God.”

Thus, the oaths are sacred. They are holy. They are not to be violated. Indeed, they are the same oaths the pols who accuse them of corruption themselves take.

The election deniers and MAGA types who level these baseless accusations are guilty of defaming the good character of others. They sicken me to my core.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Donald Trump

Trump jumps in again

Donald J. Trump today announced his intention to run for president a third time.

You’ll have to excuse me for refusing to push any panic buttons. He will not be elected POTUS in November 2024. He might not even be nominated by the Republican Party. Indeed, he might pull out of the race once the criminal indictments pour in.

He garnered fewer votes than Hillary Clinton in 2016 but was elected on the basis of the Electoral College victory he scored. I accept that he won. Trump collected 7 million fewer votes than Joe Biden in 2020 and lost his re-election. I embraced that outcome.

What happens now? Beats me.

I do know this: The ex-POTUS is going to make an ass of himself.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

economic news

It isn’t ‘Biden’s inflation’

How about putting an end to the lie that the nation’s inflationary troubles are the result of President Biden’s economic policies?

I am weary of hearing the Republican demagogues repeating the mantra that Biden deserves to be vilified because of the inflation that has pummeled every major economy on the planet.

What is driving up the price of materials we purchase? Let’s see.

We have the Ukraine War that has had a direct impact on the flow of energy from Russia and Ukraine to the rest of the world; it has affected the cost of agricultural commodities that come from Ukraine’s fertile farmland.

We also have the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption created by the “supply chain” matter that continues to drive up cost of goods caught in the inability to deliver them to us in a time manner.

The United States is far from alone in suffering these inflationary pressures. Indeed, our own inflation rate is less than many countries in Europe and Asia.

President Biden keeps taking hits because he insists on developing alternative forms of energy to replace the fossil fuels that pollute the air and are responsible for the climate change that threatens the very existence of the planet we call home.

I get that inflation affects us all directly. I don’t like paying more for food and other necessities than the next guy. However, I am not going to join the right-wing amen chorus that seeks to demonize Joe Biden for a worldwide crisis that is far beyond his control.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news, political news

Now … for a positive outlook on election

With all the reaction — replete with blame over who did something wrong during the midterm election — I want to take a moment or two to ponder the positive takeaways one can get from the balloting.

Democrats held off the Republican “red wave” by maintaining control of the Senate and, also importantly, by minimizing the Republican ascent to majority status in the House.

When the ballots are counted, it appears that the GOP will occupy 219 House seats, compared to 216 Democrats serving in the lower chamber. Republicans need 218 to win an outright majority. They got one more than the bare minimum.

Who deserves credit for Democrats’ stronger-than-expected showing? I suppose you can start with the abysmal quality of many GOP candidates. Some of them didn’t deserve to be nominated by their party, let alone elected to public office.

I am struck by the message that voters seemed to deliver, which is that they are weary of the conspiracy nonsense. Voters favored candidates who vowed to govern. They sought out the thoughtful candidates who promised to stop demonizing local election officials, individuals who work hard to ensure and protect the integrity of our electoral process.

The process does work. It’s not perfect. But it works. It did so again in the midterm election.

I won’t seek to assess which politicians benefited from this election. It’s easy, I suppose, to wonder whether the midterm result enhances President Biden’s chances at re-election. I won’t go there. One message, though, seems to have resonated with voters. It is that Joe Biden does not deserve blame for worldwide inflation.

If he were to shoulder that blame, then he should bask in the notion that inflation appears to be lessening. Then again, I won’t assign that credit to him, either. Global economics is far more complicated than many of the MAGA types would have you believe.

The election is over. The task now awaiting Democratic and Republican politicians alike is determining how they intend to govern with such narrow majorities in the Senate and the House. Remember that if Democrats secure 51 seats in the Senate and Republicans finish with 219 seats in the House, neither party has any room for mistakes.

Still, the midterm election ended with democracy having a good day at the polls.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Election denier gets the boot

Kari Lake has just joined the roster of fellow deniers of the 2020 presidential election.

That is, she’s now a loser, having been defeated for the Arizona governor’s office by Democrat Katie Hobbs, who served as Arizona secretary of state and presided over the election that helped send Joe Biden to the White House.

Oh, did I mention that Lake had been endorsed by the man President Biden defeated in 2020, Donald John Trump? Well, you knew that.

Lake has been ardent denier of the truth, which is that Biden won a free, fair and legal election. Lake has been among the Big Liars who have alleged widespread voter fraud that did not exist.

Well, may this defeat signal the end of her presence on the national political scene … along with all the other liars.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Another shooting … more anger

Another madman opened fire, this time at the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville.

Three victims are dead; two more are injured. The suspect has been caught and is in police custody.

In keeping with policy established for this blog, I am going to refrain from publishing the moron’s name. I just am going to thank God Almighty in heaven that the cops were able to arrest him and throw him in the slammer.

This is yet another “mass shooting,” which the event has been defined under the definition ascribed to these kinds of tragedies.

It’s a strange case. The shooter reportedly is a former member of the UVa football team. His victims were current members of the team.

May the prosecutors find enough evidence to convict this guy and dish out the appropriate sentence. May we also continue to apply pressure on lawmakers to do something — finally! — to end the senseless violence that continues to plague our land.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Oz does what? Concedes?

Mehmet Oz did something that in another time wouldn’t be cause for comment. The here and now, though, prompts a brief response.

Oz lost his race for the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania to Democrat John Fetterman. What did Oz do? He conceded the race and called for unity!

Why is that worth a hats off? Because Oz had been endorsed by Donald J. Trump, but shied away from some of Trump’s more outrageous mantras, such as The Big Lie about voter fraud tainting the 2020 presidential election.

Oz, though, stayed on the high road. Fetterman defeated the Republican by about 5 percentage points. Unlike his political benefactor, Oz had the good taste and grace to do with losing candidates have done since the beginning of the republic. He conceded the contest to his opponent.

If only the Big Liar in Chief would follow that lead.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Expressing thanks for charter vote

My attention has been focused since Election Day on the national implications of the midterm election and on Democrats’ astonishing performance in keeping control of the Senate and cutting Republicans’ effort to gain control of the House.

But here in Princeton, Texas, we had an important election that affects the manner in which our city government will be able to do business.

Fifty-six percent of the voters who cast ballots approved a city charter for the city where my wife and I have lived for nearly four years. This is an important step toward what I call “municipal adulthood.”

Princeton is a city in a serious growth mode. Our population is exploding, and I believe firmly that the outcome at the ballot box was determined by the numbers of new residents who decided to lift the city into the 21st century. The final tally was 2,257 votes in favor compared to 1,787 votes against.

Princeton had been governed as a “general law” city, meaning its laws were set by the Texas Legislature. The city had tried four times previously to approve a charter; it failed all four times, chiefly because of opposition from those who lived outside the city limits. Think of the irony. These charter foes opposed it because of annexation concerns, yet they couldn’t even cast ballots to oppose it, as the referendum was limited only to those who live inside the city’s corporate limits.

Well, the annexation matter has been settled. The city’s voters turned out in significantly greater numbers than they had in previous elections to approve the charter.

This means the city now can set its own rules, which is necessary for a growing community such as ours.

it was a good day, indeed, for those of us who are concerned about the tone of the Republican Party’s rhetoric. Election Day 2022 also proved to be a good day for those of us who favored Princeton’s City Hall’s decision to ask for voters’ permission to run its affairs with a home-rule charter.

To their great credit, our neighbors in Princeton answered the call.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com