national news

How to pick a House speaker

Do we have another multi-ballot marathon awaiting the U.S. House of Representatives as it seeks to find a new Man of the House?

Two frontrunners have emerged from the House GOP caucus: Bomb-thrower and Donald Trump sycophant Jim Jordan of Ohio and current No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise of Louisiana. I don’t know who has the stroke to be elected. I detest both of them, although Scalise does bring a bit of sympathy to this process by virtue of his being damn near killed when that moron opened fire on the Republican congressional baseball team as it practiced for its annual charity game with the Democratic members.

It took the House 15 ballots to choose Kevin McCarthy as its speaker. His tenure ended recently when one of the MAGA nitwits, Matt Gaetz of Florida, objected to McCarthy striking a deal with Democrats to keep the government running. Gaetz filed a motion to “vacate” the speaker’s chair … and he won!

Well, let’s just hold on with both hands as the GOP-led House seeks to find a way to actually govern. I am not hopeful!

International news, military news

Cowards pose danger

Let there be no mistaking this clear fact, which is that the terror group Hamas — even as cowardly as they are — pose an existential threat to those who live within range of their weaponry.

The world is witnessing how effective cowards can be in waging war. Hamas launched an unprecedented barrage of missiles against Israel over the weekend, prompting the Israelis to counterattack and then declare a state of all-out war against the terrorists.

The cowards are hiding behind the civilians who surround them. They are forcing the Israeli armed forces to hit them in the middle of their civilian “shields.” What’s more, it must be noted that Hamas targets civilians living in Israel.

The death count among civilians is mounting rapidly as the onslaught continues. Hamas fires its rockets at cities such as Ashkelon, Eilat, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel responds by aiming at military targets … which sadly are sandwiched among civilians, making collateral casualties a sad factor of urban warfare.

This war has no apparent end in sight. It will last for as long as Hamas continues to pursue the coward’s path, which means it will attack civilians in Israel and then hide behind civilians in Gaza.

The cowards are seeking civilians in Gaza and slaughtering them in their homes. They are taking victims hostage and then threatening to kill them upon each Israeli attack.

How does one deal with such cowardice? You do it as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged: teaching Hamas a lesson that they have made a “terrible mistake” by hitting Israel with its rocket barrage.

It’s doubtful cowards will heed that lesson. What’s left, then, is to inflict as much damage as possible on them … which I am certain the Israelis will be able to do.

International news, military news, national news

Why does GOP ignore Russian aggression?

Some things you never expect to see up close … such as congressional Republicans turning their backs on Russian aggression in Europe.

Think about this for a moment. Republicans from Richard Nixon, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and two presidents named Bush all considered Russians to be our nation’s foremost adversary. Operating under the guise of the Soviet Union, Russia sought to spread its form of autocracy via armed conflict.

Such action was deemed an existential threat to everyone who didn’t adhere to their policy.

The Russians are doing so at this moment in Ukraine. They invaded that sovereign nation in February 2022. Ukraine has pushed back — hard! — with help from the United States, NATO and other freedom-loving nations.

But not, apparently, from this country’s Republican Party. The GOP congressional caucus has approved temporary spending legislation that suspends he military assistance the United States is providing Ukraine in its effort to repel the Russian aggressors.

Where, though, is the Republican Party led by the MAGA cult that is calling the cadence within GOP headquarters?  Is it insisting on diverting that money to domestic programs to help Americans in need? Is it seeking funds to assist veterans, Social Security recipients? Nope. None of that.

It’s just sticking it in President Biden’s ear because of the president’s stated commitment to help the Ukrainians beat back the Russian invaders … and preserve democracy in Ukraine!

Today’s Republican Party is following a foreign-policy script that would make past GOP leaders cringe.

International news

Israel is right to defend itself

Some of my right-wing friends already are looking for U.S. politicians to blame for Hamas’s sudden and vicious attack on Israel over the weekend, forcing the Israelis to declare war against the terrorists.

Who are our right-wing friends blaming? President Biden, of course. They say that Iranians helped Hamas plot the attack that caught the Israelis off-guard. These right-wingers also contend that Iran was able to assist Hamas because of a $6 billion payment made to secure the release of Americans helped captive in Iran.

Hold on! The Iranians haven’t yet received a nickel of that money, meaning that the deal played no role — none! — in the Iranians’ ability to assist in planning the Hamas attack on Israel.

For the record, I believe Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorists such as Hamas, which targets civilians deliberately when it launches these attacks against Israel. I fear for my many friends in Israel, as some of them live near Gaza City, which is controlled by Hamas.

One horrific consequence of Israel’s response to Hamas’s attack will be that it, too, will inflict civilian casualties. Why? Because hides its high command in the middle of civilian neighborhoods, and make no mistake that Israel is looking to take out the commanders who are coordinating these attacks.

My five weeks in Israel in the spring of 2009 almost give me a stake in seeing how this drama plays out. I intend to stand with the Israelis as they seek to root out the monsters who have started this war.

local news

Texas GOP sounds battle cry

These are difficult times if you are a Republican speaker of a House of Representatives, whether on a state level — such as Texas s — or on the national level in D.C.

Kevin McCarthy was tossed out of his speaker’s chair in Washington by an angry MAGA moron — Rep. Matt Gaetz — who filed a motion to declare the speaker’s chair “vacant.” McCarthy made the deal with the MAGA cult … and it cost him!

Next up will be Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, who is set to open the House proceedings in the third special session called this year by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Except that Phelan is in trouble with his own caucus, too. He led a House of Reps that impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with an overwhelming bipartisan vote. It turned out that the “will of the House” had its say. Then the Texas Senate acquitted Paxton on all the complaints filed against him.

There’s a move afoot in Austin to boot Phelan out of the speaker’s chair. Conservative lawmakers don’t like the way the speaker handled the impeachment of Paxton. They want his head on a platter.

It looks as though, to my eyes, that the Republican Party simply is too damn dysfunctional just to govern. Why is that? Because too many of the mainstream GOPers are afraid of retaliation by the MAGA cult.

Shameful, man.

local news

Fall/winter ‘flora’ returns!

My memory at times fails me, particularly when I try to recall events in my life … such as when I began growing a fall/winter beard.

I started it again this year a few days before the start of autumn. The autumnal equinox came and went a few days ago and my beard already was in full — or nearly full — swing.

It will remain on my puss until the first day of spring, sometime in March.

I’ve been known to cheat on growing the thing and then shaving it off. My dear wife disliked it when I was late starting in the fall, and  she damn sure really didn’t like it when I shaved it off before the vernal equinox.

But she got over it and liked me just the same — with or without the facial flora. At least that’s what she told me.

It gets saltier each year I grow it, meaning it contains far more “salt’ than “pepper” these days.

The mustache? I started that thing when I was still in the Army. I believe it began sprouting in July 1970. I kept it for 10 years before I shaved it off in a fit of stupidity. I recall coming out of the bathroom sans ‘stashe. My sons took a look at me and started laughing. They never had seen Dad without facial hair. They kept laughing until two or three days later I decided “it’s coming back.”

Fifty-three years later, it’s still there, now accompanied by the beard that makes me proud.

As a former colleague and friend of mine, the late Claude Duncan, once told me: “You may have your share of shortcomings, but growing hair isn’t one of them.”

education news

Support public education … not deplete it!

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called the Legislature back to work for its third special session this year, aiming to enact a law that allows Texans to divert their property taxes into private school systems.

Gov. Abbott can count me out!

I happen to want the Legislature to put more money into public education, not deplete its revenue stream by allowing Texans to purchase vouchers to spend on their kids’ education.

I am willing to concede that public education in Texas isn’t doing all it can do to provide our children with the best education possible. I see the test results and I am acutely aware that Texas students’ perform below the national averages on almost all educational disciplines. Much of that is cultural, some of it is economic.

It’s also because Texas public educators likely do not believe they have the support of the men and women in power who have it within their power to give teachers and administrators all the support they deserve.

Dammit to hell, anyway! Texas public education deserves better than it is getting from the state and, in some instances, from local school boards whose members have been bitten by the “anti-woke” bug. Public educators have found themselves distracted by pressure to ban books or to teach students only a “certain way” that adheres to some right-wing ideology.

I hate the notion of public education being kicked around like the proverbial political football. That is what is happening with the governor and legislators getting set to fast-track Texans away from public education.

As a believer in spending public money on public education, my sincere hope is that we can do more within government to improve the education we provide our children.

International news

Hamas attacks shake me personally

Reports this morning out of Israel shook me to my core as I learned of the Hamas terrorist group’s assault on Israelis.

The terrorists fired rockets out of Gaza, thousands of them, reportedly, striking neighborhoods and killing several civilians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “we are at war” with Hamas.

Has it been anything but a war footing with the monsters who live on the outskirts of the Israeli border.

In May-June 2009 I spent five weeks in Israel. I learned first-hand and saw up close the damage that the terrorists can bring to that country.

I saw damaged houses in Ashkelon and learned how Israeli building codes require the installation of fortified rooms to give residents protection from the barrage. Our group looked into Gaza City from a bluff overlooking the area and were told how it teems with groups intent on destroying Israel. We learned how little time it takes for jet fighters to cross Israeli air space.

My emotional support is with the Israelis. I want them to put down this latest uprising, no matter what it takes. I have too many friends from that earlier visit in 2009 who remain near to my heart.

local news

Journey nearing its end

My journey through the darkness has found sufficient light for me to declare that I believe it is nearing its end.

Does that mean the destination is near, that I have no more distance to travel before I can declare my life has been (more or less) restored since the passing of the only woman I’ve ever loved with all my heart?

It means only that I can see much more clearly these days, that I can profess openly that I am ready for a relationship if the right one were to present itself. I don’t mean to sound coy or cagey. I only mean to tell you the obvious, which is that my heart is likely to remain permanently damaged and that I am learning the complexities of dealing with the pain.

Kathy Anne’s brief but savage fight with glioblastoma at the beginning of this horrible year will remain with me for the rest of my life on Earth. She had six weeks from her diagnosis to the end. The oncologist who was scheduled to treat her called her form of cancer “the most aggressive” he ever has seen.

That was then. The here and now puts me in a position to start to move on, to commence with the rest of my life. My beautiful bride, Kathy Anne, was 71 when she passed. I am almost 74. She was in good health until, well, she wasn’t. I am in reasonably good health … at this moment. The events of this year have taught me the bitterest of lessons. One of them is that at my age, health can turn from blessing to curse in rapid fashion.

I am not going to sit around, awaiting the outcome I know awaits all of us. I intend to live, just as Kathy Anne insisted I do back when we both were young and had a long life ahead of us.

There will be more tales to tell about my journey as it progresses into the blinding light of the living. I’m not there yet.

But, damn … I believe it’s getting closer!

education news, local news

Institute shouldn’t ignore diversity

Alex and Cheryl Fairly are paying it forward in a big way at the university from which they both graduated.

The Fairlys are contributing $20 million to West Texas A&M University, creating an institute they say will promote West Texas values.

“The mission of The Hill Institute is to encourage reflection upon the importance of ten West Texas, Texas, and American values and, through study and scholarship, promulgate the values among students within the diverse disciplines of the University and the extended community,” according to a flier distributed by WT.  The institute is named after Joseph Hill, the second president of WT.

I hope they’ll allow this word of caution about the way of life the institute hopes to promote. Do not neglect or give short shrift to the immense diversity that is occurring throughout West Texas. I refer to ethnic, religious and racial diversity among the population that is growing throughout Amarillo and, indeed, in many of the surrounding communities.

The gift is the largest ever given to WT and for their generosity, the Fairlys deserve high praise.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick attended the announcement ceremony of the Fairlys’ gift. He said, according to the Texas Tribune, “This is the America that all America used to be, it should be again,” Patrick said of the sprawling, pastoral region whose rural counties and smaller outposts have long been a Republican stronghold. “These are American values here.”

West Texas A&M gets $20 million gift for new institute | The Texas Tribune

Let’s understand, though, that the Panhandle is now home to an increasing number of non-Anglo, non-Christian families. Let’s not deny them their place in the shaping of the Panhandle’s future. Nor let us not forget that even the Texas Panhandle is drifting toward a more “urban” society than it has known.

These changes are inevitable and likely cannot be reversed.

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience