Monthly Archives: March 2023

environmental news

Water, water everywhere

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The hours-long drive along California Highway 99 opened my eyes to the ravages that Mother Nature has brought to this wonderful part of the country.

They have water here. Too much water!

The playas are full; some of them are overflowing. I ventured across several bridges spanning rivers. I glanced at the rivers as I sped by. Lete me be clear: I don’t know what the “normal” streamflow looks like for the San Joaquin River, but what I saw as I glanced at the river was far from what I am certain is normal.

I got a text message from my sister in Santa Cruz, telling me it was “pouring” once more. I’ll be heading that direction in a couple of days. She did tell me the other day that if her neighborhood is underwater that “the entire city is gone,” which is her way of telling me they’re fairly safe from the deluge. I do hope so.

The weather forecasters apparently are in love with the term “atmospheric river,” which sounds like a cool term to use to describe the torrents that have fallen for the past several weeks. I’ll say, though, that the current term du jour is more appealing than “bomb cyclone,” which has been used to describe previous events of this magnitude.

There well could be more of this madness awaiting me as I continue my travel north from the Bay Area in a few days. I plan to see my niece in Eureka, which is on the coast just south of the Oregon border.

A respite from The Flood would be so nice. Indeed, I believe the good folks here have enough water to last them a while.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Puppy Intuition: It’s real!

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — I have boasted for many years about the intelligence of my pooch, Toby the Puppy.

Well, today he outdid himself.

We pulled into California’s capital city to stay with my cousin and his wife for a couple of nights before we head to the rainy coast. We have been to this city before; we came here a year ago while my bride and I were pulling our RV.

But we did not venture into my cousin’s neighborhood on that earlier visit; we parked our RV in a park several miles from my cousin’s home. Today, we did.

What is so remarkable about Toby the Puppy is that we were about five minutes away from arriving at my cousin’s home when Toby awoke from his snooze, stood up and began peering out the window, looking for all the world as if he wanted to get out and explore wherever we were going. His tail was wagging. He was prancing around the front seat where he had been sleeping.

He does this very thing when we approach our own neighborhood in Princeton, Texas, or when we’re a couple of turns from driving up to my son’s home in Allen, Texas. He’s ready to get out and dash into his own backyard or is ready to play with my son’s two pooches, Madden and Ryder and, of course, to see our granddaughter, Emma.

Today was a different deal altogether. He seemed to recognize several streets away from my cousin’s home that — by golly! — this is where we are going.

Amazing. I’m tellin’ ya. Simply amazing.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Nature gets in the way

VISALIA, Calif. – You’ve heard it said that “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.”

Well, my westward journey delivered that truism to me squarely as I drove into what the weathermen and women around the nation keep referring to as the “atmospheric river.”

To be clear, I haven’t slowed or changed my route to the latest stop on Toby the Puppy’s and my trek. However, I had intended while in this central California community to visit one of nature’s grand exhibits, the sentinels that tower above the forest floor in Sequoia National Park.

No … can … do!

The torrents of rain that have fallen on California for the past several weeks have closed Sequoia and nearby Kings Canyon national parks. I called the Sequoia park office today and learned that Kings Canyon would be closed for the remainder of this month and Sequoia will close until mid-April … but that it remain closed long after that.

Dang it!

We were able to visit the Grand Canyon the other day. That was a wonderful period of exploration for Toby the Puppy and me. And after we visit with family in Sacramento and then Santa Cruz, we’ll venture north toward Eureka, Calif., to see more family.

And along the way we hope to see towering redwood timber, providing of course that Mother Nature will enable us to gaze at those trees.

Still, the adventure continues. More to see and enjoy.

Johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

If only he had respect …

If the former president of the United States who well might be indicted for a felony allegation of an illegal payment to a porn star had an ounce of respect and dignity …

He would never have told of the threat of political protests in case he is indicted. He also would have instructed his gullible followers to protest peacefully if they’re going to march in the streets.

Neither of those things happened. Manhattan, N.Y., District Attorney Alvin Bragg appears set to indict the one-time POTUS. The process well might produce some unseemly images of an ex-POTUS being fingerprinted and processed in a local jail.

If Bragg goes through with what the world believes will occur, we can likely look forward to Justice Department prosecutors and the Fulton County, Ga., DA to follow suit.

But if the ex-POTUS can’t bring himself to do the right thing by calling off the mobs that could cause a lot of harm to the nation — once again! — then perhaps the cops in cities across the land will be prepared to meet them head on.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Uncategorized

MAGA cult redefines RINO

Republicans In Name Only has become a sort of four-letter word among the MAGA cabal that comprises a good portion of the Republican Party.

Let’s examine the RINO phenomenon for a moment, OK?

Those who now comprise the so-called RINO wing of the party are the same as they always have been. They haven’t modified their positions — as near as I can tell — from when they were first elected to office. Granted, I cannot know the history of every Republican officeholder in the land, but some of the more prominent folks, well, they’re on my radar.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is now considered to be a RINO. Same with former President George W. Bush. Even Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell is forced to wear the RINO label. It’s been said that the late Ronald Reagan, the once-sainted former president, would now be thought of as RINO.

RINOs, whoever they are, remain as they generally have always been. They just refuse to swill the Kool-Aid offered by adherents to the 45th POTUS … who, to my way of thinking is the real RINO among us. He campaigned for the presidency in 2016 as some sort of populist, espousing “America first” notions on trade and our international alliances.

The ex-POTUS captured the fancy of the evangelical Christian movement, although the thrice-married serial philanderer doesn’t know the New Testament from a new pair of socks. Let’s remember, too, that this is the moron who once declared he’s never sought forgiveness for any of the sins he has committed. Hmm. Didn’t Jesus Christ instruct Christians to do that very thing?

He is the RINO. Not the many public officials who wear the Republican Party label with pride in where the party formerly stood.

The MAGA cult has changed the description of what it means to be a “true Republican.” Those who disbelieve the MAGA rants are cast as outliers. What a shameful turn of events.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Found: the end of the world!

NEEDLES, Calif. — Bum Phillips, the late, great football coach, once told a magazine interviewer that his hometown of Orange, Texas, “wasn’t the end of the world, but if you get up on your tippy toes, you can see it from there.”

Well, Coach Phillips, I believe I have found the end of the world. It is here … in Needles, Calif.

This is the latest stop for Toby the Puppy and me as we trudge our way westward and northward. It’s an overnighter, then we head for the central part of the state, where we intend to gaze skyward at some tall timber at Sequoia National Park.

There really is nothing to see here. The highway west from Needles is among the more desolate stretches of roadway in these United States. The next day’s travel will be — without a doubt — the least scenic leg of this journey. I’ll be looking at mountains, but they will be far, far away.

Family members await in Sacramento, then in Santa Cruz, then on to Eureka, Calif., before heading into Oregon.

Toby the Puppy and I have enjoyed plenty of scenic splendor so far. The Grand Canyon is as gorgeous as it gets anywhere on Planet Earth. The drive into and away from Gallup, N.M., presented plenty of eye-popping visuals as well.

A saving grace about our stop in Needles has been the courtesy extended by the campground hosts where we are spending the night. Indeed, we aren’t strangers to this particular site, as my bride and I came here at least three times before while pulling an RV. It’s all changed, of course.

For now, though, I am enjoying the company of my pooch, who — to my total non-surprise — has proved himself to be the King of Road Warriors. His stamina is astounding, not to mention his ability to “hold it” for as long as he does.

The road ahead awaits my puppy and me, even if much of the next leg will be oh, so lonely.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

How about this discovery?

WILLIAMS, Ariz. — One of the more remarkable discoveries I have made on this journey I decided to take out west has kinda caught me by surprise.

It is that I do not miss keeping up with those political matters that seem to drive many Americans damn near to the nut house.

Ohhh, no. Most of my conscious thoughts these days involve my bride, who I lost to cancer this past month. Indeed, I think of her practically every waking minute of every day. But … I also seek to fill my days on this westward trek with sights I am seeing, those I have seen and those I will see.

Those of you who read this blog know that I have not forsaken all political commentary of late. I like to weigh in when events merit commentary on this venue. So, I do.

However, I do not look for topics on which to bloviate. If they present themselves, fine. I’ll weigh in.

My time instead is spent looking for joyous sights to see and looking forward to seeing more family and friends along the way.

I’ve only logged about 1,500 or so miles on the truck on this trip. I figure this journey could exceed 6,000 miles by the time I roll into my driveway in Collin County. Almost all of those miles and all that time will be spent enjoying the here and now.

Yes, Kathy Anne never is far from my thoughts and my heart. I am beginning to appreciate better the notion that (a) she would want me to enjoy myself and (b) she’s with me every step of the way.

You know what? I am beginning to draw comfort from it.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

Great story on the fall of a media ‘giant’

The Texas Tribune has published a wonderful story about the pending demise of the Canadian Record, an award-winning weekly newspaper that has “suspended” its print editions … maybe only temporarily.

Nic Garcia wrote the piece.

Texas news desert expands after Canadian Record stops publishing | The Texas Tribune

The Record’s owner, Laurie Ezzell Brown, is trying to find a buyer. She admits to being weary of the grind and wants to spend time with her children and grandchildren.

Garcia alludes to the demise of many newspapers that serve rural communities. I would just add this mild critique, which is that he didn’t mention that the Texas Panhandle’s significant urban community — Amarillo — is suffering from the same lack of local news coverage as communities such as Canadian.

Same for Lubbock further down the highway from Amarillo. And other larger cities as well.

The era of printed newspapers is fading away … rapidly, it seems.

It saddens this old newspaper hand terribly.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Master of impeccable timing

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. — You can take this declaration straight to the bank, because it is the unvarnished truth.

Which is that I am the undisputed master of impeccable timing.

How do I know that? Because I ventured to one of the nation’s most sensational natural exhibits — the Grand Canyon — and got there just ahead of the massive crowd of tourists that stampeded onto the park grounds after Toby the Puppy and I had arrived.

We had the parking lot in front of the visitors center virtually to ourselves when we pulled in. We parked our truck and began our trek along the south rim of the canyon. The sky was overcast, the weather was cool, but the wind was calm.

We took in the sights of the splendor laid out before us. My puppy got lots of love from some of the kids who were out there with us.

As I looked back at the parking lot, I noticed it was filling up rapidly. The walking path wasn’t — yet! — jammed with other tourists.

We finished our sojourn along the rim after about three hours and headed back to the truck. We exited the park around noon.

I then noticed that the entry gate where I had just driven up, presented my Senior Pass and entered the park was backed up more than a mile with vehicles and their occupants waiting to get into the park.

I chuckled.

I also wished them luck as they waited their turn — and then I wondered if there was any place for them to park once they got in.

The day for Toby and Puppy and me, though, was spectacular … and you can take that to the bank, too.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

McCarthy: duplicity beyond belief

If there is a more duplicitous, hypocritical, cowardly and craven politician than Kevin McCarthy, then he or she will have to show themselves to me.

The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives continues to carry the cudgel for POTUS 45, the man McCarthy said immediately after the 1/6 insurrection should be held accountable for the assault he incited on our government.

He said at the time that the ex-POTUS should be charged with crimes against the government. He condemned the former president’s inaction in the harshest terms imaginable.

What’s he saying now? That his hero did nothing wrong. That the Manhattan DA who’s about to indict the ex-POTUS should be investigated. McCarthy is standing with the MAGA cabal, which stands with the former POTUS and his threat to pardon all the defendants charged with crimes against the government … if he’s elected to office. (I can’t believe I just typed those final few words.)

It won’t happen, but that doesn’t diminish Kevin McCarthy’s craven display of cowardice.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com