Monthly Archives: November 2025

military news

Medal of Honor museum: Worth seeing repeatedly

I spent part of my day today touring a museum I had seen only a few weeks ago for the first time.

I wanted to show a friend of mine what real heroism looks like. Truth is, I cannot get enough of those tales of valor and gallantry.

The National Medal of Honor Museum sits across the highway from AT&T Stadium. The exhibit seems inexhaustible. I went through it a few months ago with my brother-in-law. The museum floor seemed to contain even more exhibits today than it did earlier this year.

I have learned something important about the Medal of Honor recipients, which is that they are motivated to act above and beyond the call by a single factor: their own mortality.

Don’t misunderstand me on this. They are driven by the love they have for their brothers in arms. I get that. As President Obama noted during a Medal of Honor presentation he conducted near the end of his presidency, citing Scripture that tells us that “there’s no greater love than that of a man willing to die for his friends.”

These men all acted as well out of their own sense of mortality. So many of them have recalled the moment they responded with extraordinary heroism that in the moment, they were certain they were going to die, so given that belief they acted like the heroes they became.

They are immortalized in a fabulous exhibit in Arlington, Texas. I will return again and again.

Uncategorized

Trump has gone MIA

What in the name of blathering idiocy has become of Donald J. Trump, the self-proclaimed dealmaker in chief, the guy who always vows to negotiate his way out of any scrape?

The dude has yet to show his overfed puss in this fight over health insurance, food for the neediest Americans. It has resulted in a shutting down of the federal government. It is jeopardizing air travel as we enter the busiest travel season of the entire year. This is the guy who supposedly wrote “The Art of the Deal” in which he boasts about the deals he has struck.

Oh, wait. I forgot. The guy also is a pathological liar who cannot be trusted to tell the truth on anything, at any time, on any subject … no matter how trivial.

We’ve trudged through the previous record for government shutdowns. We’re now in virgin territory. I am one American who is scheduled to board a jetliner in a few days and fly east for a couple of days and nights. It is imperative that I arrive at my destination on the day I said I would be there. I am not entirely sure I’ll be able to do so.

Why? Because the self-proclaimed master of his domain refuses to get off his ass long enough to make a few phone calls and push his Republican sycophants to work on behalf of those who put them in power.

political news

Well done, Mme. Speaker

Nancy Pelosi took the gavel to lead the U.S. House of Representatives at a time when Republicans and Democrats were still able to speak kindly of each other.

Take, for example, when in 2007, Republican President Bush prepared to deliver his State of the Union speech and he began with a statement that he would be the “first president in history to begin his speech with these words: ‘Madame Speaker.'”

Pelosi, a Democrat from San Francisco, became the first — and so far only — woman to become speaker of the House. The chamber — all of it — erupted into applause as Speaker Pelosi basked in the glow that shined on her.

Pelosi recently announced she won’t seek another term as a member of Congress when her current term runs out at the end of next year. Nancy Pelosi was as consequential a speaker as any we have had in U.S. history.

Working at times with a paper-thin Democratic majority, she managed to shepherd key legislation through the House and onto the president’s desk. I am thinking at this moment of the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. It was the highlight of President Obama’s domestic agenda and the speaker of the House earned all the plaudits she got in the moment.

Her time wielding the gavel wasn’t all peaches and cream. She was a fierce partisan. She had her scrapes with Donald J. Trump during his first term in the White House. Through all those battles, she kept her poise and remained strong against the bullying tactics that Trump likes to employ.

Pelosi now goes by the meaningless title of “speaker emerita,” which is a symbolic term honoring her time in the speaker’s chair. I’ll skip using that term to refer to the former speaker and simply wish her Godspeed and good wishes as she cruises toward a well-earned retirement.

political news

A word of caution

For those expecting High Plains Blogger to offer a full-throated endorsement of the California vote supporting Proposition 50 this week, let’s instead heed a word of caution over what we might have unleashed in this country.

It is a warning of rigged elections on both sides of the chasm.

Prop 50 was California’s answer to the Texas Legislature’s decision to approve a redistrict plan that could produce five more Republican seats in Congress. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Texas effort cannot stand. So, he launched an effort to ask voters to approve a statewide redistricting plan that counters the Texas decision. Californians did … in a huge way.

What they have done is given the California Assembly carte blanche to redraw lines that would enable the election of more Democrats to Congress to counter an anticipated GOP surge in Texas and other so-called “red states.” More “blue states” are planning similar efforts for the 2026 election cycle.

Do you get where I am going with this? I support the concept of electing more politicians who would oppose the chicanery being foisted on us by the Donald Trump administration. I am deeply troubled that Democrats are responding with an effort to “preserve democracy” with a process that is as rigged as the one Republicans are foisting on millions of other Americans.

That ain’t democracy, kids.

I am left to recall the words of the great Native American philosopher, Tonto, who would tell the Lone Ranger, “Two wrongs don’t make it right.” The path to restoring our democratic process should be more of a challenge than just rigging an election to produce candidates to our liking.

International news

Don’t close consulate!

Benjamin Netanyahu was so upset over the election of New York City’s first Muslim mayor, why … he is threatening to close the Israeli consulate office in the Big Apple.

Please heed this advice from an American patriot who once spent five weeks in the enchanting nation: Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister!

If ever there was a time to keep the lines of communication open and unobstructed, it is right now. NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s election was a stunner, for sure, to those who value the close U.S.-Israeli ties. I happen to one American who does value our alliance with Israel.

I also happen to believe it would be a mistake to close the consulate in the nation’s largest city, which gives Israel direct contact with millions of Jewish-Americans who call NYC home. Closing the consulate would be an act of supreme petulance at a time when we need maturity and reason at the highest levels of international diplomacy.

I don’t know it the Israeli prime minister was just venting his anger or if he intends to follow through with his threat. This much is clear. We live in a democratic republic where we should accept election results for better or for worse.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu needs to settle down, perhaps call the new mayor and seek a way to end the ongoing crises in the Middle East. It won’t happen if he closes the consulate in a fit of rage.

military news

RIP, Dick Cheney

I once thought Walter Mondale rewrote the vice-presidential book on service to the nation when he served for four years in the Carter administration.

Then came Al Gore, who was VP for eight years serving alongside Bill Clinton. Gore, too, added his mark on the vice presidency.

And then along came Dick Cheney. Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush tasked Chene with finding a suitable VP in 2000. Cheney, a senior campaign aide for the Texas governor, looked around and I guess he came up empty. So, Bush chose Cheney to run with him. They won the 2000 contest by the tiniest margin imaginable, then got re-elected in 2004 … after lying to Americans about intelligence data that said Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and then starting a fresh war against Iraq in Mach 2003.

Cheney died this week at age 84. And, yes, he has rewritten the entire book on serving as No. 2 in a presidential adminisration. He was a force for good at times. I am reluctant to say the “good Cheney” was present 100% of the time. He led the misinformation flow that suggested Saddam had those WMD. The war cost us thousands of American lives. Yes, we did capture the Iraqi dictator and he was executed almost immediately the Iraqi justice officials.

Cheney, though, never backed down from his statements about the WMD. I fear that misleading trail will taint his legacy forever.

However, he did join his daughter, former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, in rebuking the MAGA cult that shores up Donald Trump. I salute him, and his daughter, for standing firm and tall against the Trump effort to turn our democracy into an oligarchy.

Cheney did serve well over the course of many years. He was a Wyoming congressman; he served as White House chief of staff for President Ford; he served as defense secretary for President George H.W. Bush and was at the DoD helm during the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91.

He was strong in his belief in what he thought was right. I only wish his belief could have led him a different direction. He’s gone now. Dick Cheney gave all he had. It was plenty.

political news, State news

Amend the amendment process

Texans well might awaken Wednesday morning living in a state governed by a constitution that was amended 17 times at the ballot box the previous day.

Yep, the Texas Constitution could have 17 more amendments tacked onto it, making it a governing document that has been changed, well, countless times. The Legislature calls this “the will of the people at work.” I call it something different. It is government by ignorance and apathy … meaning that most Texans don’t care about the amendments they’re voting on and have no intention of learning about them.

This is a lousy way to run a state government.

I have written about this before, back when I was working for a living writing opinion pieces for the Beaumont Enterprise and the Amarillo Globe-News. I have called for a constitutional convention in Austin to change the manner in which we amend our state constitution.

We’ve tried this before. The Legislature convened a convention in the 1970s to change our system of constitutional government. The effort fell short.

The constitutional amendment process of governing occurs every legislative year, meaning every odd-numbered year when the Legislature meets ostensibly for 140 days in Austin. Issues they cannot resolve are sent to the ballot in the fall. This year we got 17 proposed amendments.

It sorta reminds me of the number of counties Texas has on the books. Not a chance of reducing the number of counties, as it would reduce the number of elected officials who set policy. I have to remind myself that the smallest of counties enjoys a seat at the power table in Texas. Those who created the state in 1845 wanted to diffuse as much power as possible from Austin. Which also explains the enormous number of counties scattered throughout the state. We’ve got 254 of them, some with tiny populations, such as Loving and Roberts counties, both of which are home to more livestock than human beings.

The federal way of governing is preferable to me. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Except for right now when we have nimrods shutting down the government because compromise isn’t in their legislative DNA.

I don’t expect the state to convene a constitutional convention anytime soon … if ever. I just felt like venting because the founders who created the national constitution gave me the right to seek “a redress of grievances.”

national news

Pols run close to ruining their own careers

Politicians dismiss public opinion polls all the time, especially those that tell them things they don’t want to hear.

They do so at considerable risk. Why say such a thing? Public opinion polls are speaking with one voice on this issue: the government shutdown. They are telling us that Americans are disgusted with Congress and the president over their refusal to reopen the government because Democrats insist on preserving elements of the Affordable Care Act that will provide insurance for millions of Americans.

Without the ACA — aka Obacare — tens of millions of Americans will lose their health coverage.

One party controls both congressional chambers; and the White House. No laws are being legislated. The House hasn’t even been in session. Speaker Mike Johnson decided to let ’em all go on vacation rather than stick around and do their job. Get this: All members of Congress are getting paid for their inaction. Listen up, gang: You and I are getting ripped off! None of us likes it.

I get that pollsters get a bum rap. They are right in many instances. Such as now. When they measure citizens’ angst over their government’s performance, Congress’ ratings head straight for the crapper.

We all know that members of Congress depend on their performance to guarantee they’ll continue their political careers. If they don’t get busy in a major hurry, my hunch is that voters in November 2026 will look for candidates who can step in and do the job for which the do-nothings are being paid.

media news

Boycott continues, no end in sight

My boycott of national broadcast and cable news is continuing and it is showing little signs of letting up.

Why am I shutting out the news media from my home? Because the talking heads tell me damn near nothing I don’t know and I am getting basically one side of the arguments that keep spring up like weeds in the spring.

I refuse to watch the Fox Propaganda Channel for reasons that are evident in the name I just hung on the Fox network. MSNBC, the left-leaning cable channel, almost never discusses issues with  pols who tilt right. When they have, and again, it’s a rare event, the discussion turns into a shouting/pissing match because the TV news host chooses to argue with his or her guest. I don’t need that spilling into my home.

About the only option left for me is public TV. The right wing has taken aim at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, yanking money from it and sending my taxpayer money somewhere else; I am presuming some mega rich dudes are getting the dough.

It’s not that I am addicted necessarily to the news. I once was considered a news junkie. When we traveled I would scarf up local newspapers to see the news of the day in a community we were visiting. I don’t do that these days. Then again, I don’t travel as much these days as I used to do.

And when I am home, I am keeping the TVs quiet in all the rooms of my home that have them. I don’t miss the white noise. Frankly, the news and commentary that comes from the TV broadcast and cable channels does me as much good as elevator music.

political news, State news

Is this young man the one?

For a good while I have been yammering about the need for the major political parties to rally around an unknown politician, someone who emerges suddenly with a fresh voice, spoken from a fresh perspective.

I believe the Texas Democratic Party has a chance to bring such a young man to the foreftont of the political stage.

If you haven’t heard the name James Talarico, my hunch is that you will quite soon. Talarico brings a perspective to Democratic politics one likely didn’t see coming. He’s a deeply devoted and faithful Christian. He leans heavily on New Testament Scripture to illustrate his policy stances. Talarico taught school in San Antonio. He now serves in the Texas House of Representatives and is standing for general Democratic principles while waging fights with his Republican colleagues.

I like this young man’s approach to problem solving. I like it a lot!

My former favorite for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate race in 2026 is former congressman Colin Allred, who boasted continually in 2024 about his strong polling against Sen. Ted Cruz … only to lose by double digits on Election Day. Allred is making another run at the U.S. Senate. I wish him well, but I am leaning heavily toward James Talarico.

I am not naive. It is going to take a monstrous effort by Talarico to overturn decades of GOP dominance in statewide elective public office. It seems to be his best course toward victory would be if Republicans nominate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a man with more political wounds than any politician I have ever seen. He’s been attacked by his own AG staff, impeached by the Texas House, divorced by his wife because he cheated on her. This guy is seriously damaged.

I cannot find that kind of blemish on Talarico’s record. I do see a young man who is unafraid to proclaim his religious faith … but he doesn’t support the Christian nationalist agenda of melding religion into government policy. He wants to keep religion where it belongs, in houses of worship, and away from public schools, county courthouses and city halls.

He has jumped out of the tall grass and will seek to do the seemingly impossible in a state where Republicans stand tall over the political landscape. I am going to do what I can to help James Talarico advance his message.