Demographers are suggesting the unthinkable.

Texas might become a Democratic state by 2020, researchers and political scientists are predicting. The Lone Star State, so reliably Republican for the past two decades, could become the second-most Democratic state — behind California — by the end of the next decade.

What’s driving the shift? The large influx of Latino residents, who vote as heavily Democratic as rich white guys have voted Republican.

It all goes to show, if the demographers are right, that nothing is permanent in politics.

Democrats used to own virtually every elected office in Texas, even west of I-35, prior to about 1978. Then came Bill Clements to win the governorship for the Republicans. Other GOP candidates began winning statewide office, and Democrats leaving their party for the other side. State Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa was one of them, in the early 1990s.

Now, every statewide office belongs to the Republicans, and it will take some doing to bust loose that vise grip.

But the state ought to be come a two-party battleground, not one dominated by one party. A healthy two-party system in Texas keeps pols on both sides of the aisle more honest than if they are running the show with no one on the other side watching them every step of the way.

Whatever “debate” is occurring over health care reform, it isn’t occurring at these town hall meetings that are turning into shoutfests and riots.

That likely is part of the reason Panhandle residents aren’t being asked to attend congressional town hall meetings sponsored by Republican U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry of Clarendon. It’s either that or the fact that Thornberry knows his constituents, agrees with many of their feelings about health care reform — which basically is this: Don’t mess with health care.

It’s probably just as well that we aren’t having these so-called “discussions.”

Travis County residents shouted down Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin. They carried pictures of Doggett with devil’s horns painted on his head. That’s not what I would call reasonable discourse. But that’s just one example of the kind of nonsense we’re witnessing around the country.

I have no idea whether it’s being staged by lobbyists, or whether they’re sincere, spontaneous expressions of displeasure. The Texas Panhandle is so far removed from the political battlefield, I am not qualified to offer anything more than a guess on what’s driving these near-riots.

I do know this: The disturbances that are consuming these town halls do not serve the cause of a free society, which depends on all sides being able to be heard. Let everyone speak their mind — and then let those in power decide which side makes the case.

Members of Congress are getting a snootful from their constituents during their summer break. They’ve been conducting town hall meetings designed to hear voters’ opinions about President Obama’s health care reform plans.

In summary: Americans are unhappy about it and are none too bashful about telling their elected reps what they think.

I mention this in laying down a marker on the value of any town hall meetings that Rep. Mac Thornberry is likely to call in the 13th Congressional District. Thornberry opposes the Democratic plan to reform health care. He’s said so quite publicly. His constituents echo his sentiment. They, too, have been quite vocal. So, what might Thornberry hear if he conducts a town meeting in any Panhandle community?

Sad to say, but he’s likely to hear some insane utterings about whether the president is an actual American, or whether he’s a closet Muslim, or whether he is a socialist who believes the government should take control of every aspect of our lives. Oh, yes. He’ll hear constituents agree with him about health care reform, that it’s too expensive and won’t improve the quality of health care delivery.

I just hope that if these meetings get too nutty — just as they have in many areas across the nation — that Thornberry restores order in a hurry.

Is it just me or are Amarillo’s bicycle paths seemingly routes to oblivion?

For years I’ve been trying to make sense of them. I’m coming up short.

The city painted bike lanes near Windsor Elementary School, not far from where I live. They go around the corner and down the next street. Then they end somewhere. I don’t know what the city parks planners are thinking. Recently I drove by Avondale Elementary School and noticed the beginning of a bike lane just south of the school. I followed it along Avondale for a few blocks. Then it disappeared, or at least I think it did.

I’ve long been a proponent of bicycle travel in Amarillo. Even on these hot summer days, we need to get out of our cars more and ride bikes. Those infamous March winds present a problem. Riding into the teeth of that bluster isn’t much fun. I get that.

But if we’re going to have bike lanes, then there ought to be a bit more thought put into them than what I’ve seen in recent years in Amarillo.

A bumper sticker in downtown Amarillo today had the following message: “I love my country, it’s the government I’m afraid of.”

Let us ponder that one.

We live in a representative democracy. That means a majority — or often times, a plurality — of Americans elect the people who represent them in government.

I gather from the bumper sticker that the owner of the vehicle adorned by the bumper sticker doesn’t support the actions of the government. I don’t what they would be, since I didn’t meet this individual to discuss the issues. But a republic such as ours allows us the opportunity to elect the people we want to run our government.

Therefore, our government reflects the will of most of those who bother to vote. Sure, it’s often just a majority of a minority that decides these things, and elects these people. But they’re our leaders, nonetheless.

So, what is it about our government that frightens this person?

Whoever he or she is ought to run for public office at the earliest possible moment.

Amarillo city commissioners are taking a hard look at turning a trash-strewn playa lake into a park.

Good luck with that one.

It’s T-Anchor Lake. Its condition has become a sore point with neighbors near the lake, which is next to the American Quarter Horse Museum and office complex.

The word now is that it’s going to cost as much as $11 million to turn the lake into a usable park. Commissioners have been taking considerable grief over the condition of the property. They’ve been accused of ignoring the lake while pouring its effort into park projects in other parts of the city.

But 11 million bucks is a lot of money, especially for a city government that prides itself on its remarkably light debt load. It must determine whether the city will gain a reasonable return on that investment.

Let’s add another complication: bones. Archaelogists have found skeletal remains on the site. Determining their origin could delay park development. Are there more of them? If so, what are their significance?

It reminds me a little of the construction in Athens, Greece, of a new subway system prior to the 2004 Olympics. Engineers were anxious to keep blasting their way under the city, only to be stymied every time they found antiquities dating back to the Age of Pericles. Archaelogists put a halt to to the construction, making the engineers very, very angry. They wanted to excavate the ruins carefully, making sure they were preserved properly for display. The subway got built eventually, and it’s a thing of beauty. It even has kiosks along its route displaying the ruins found during the subway’s construction.

Might a similar situation develop right here over a playa lake?

Stay tuned.

Driving home on Interstate 27 the other day, a question popped into my noggin.

How did the highway department finish this job so quickly? It seemed as if the roadway was all torn up and then — presto! — the asphalt is laid down, the lanes are striped and traffic is flowing just like it’s supposed to do.

Road construction is becoming a way of life around Amarillo. I’ve long thought I should get into the orange barrel- and cone-distribution business. I’d make a fortune right here in the Panhandle alone.

But this latest job seems as if it went more smoothly than many recent highway construction projects.

Particularly striking is the suddenness in which it went from “Road Work Ahead” to “End of Road Work.”

The E-Way is smooth — and quiet under the tires of my car. I can hear the radio now.

Now, about that shabby landscaping at the interchange …

I love this new word that’s come out of Washington: birther.

This word describes those who believe President Obama is unqualified to serve in the office he now occupies. Why? Because they believe he was born somewhere other than the United States of America, which the Constitution requires of anyone who wants to serve as president.

Some birthers in Congress have proposed legislation requiring future presidential candidates to produce a birth certificate that declares they were born in this country.

They deny, of course, that their idea has anything to do with the nut-job commentary about Obama, the doubters who believe he’s a closet this or that, or that he was born in a foreign land — despite the existence of a birth certificate that says the president was born in Hawaii in 1961.

But it has everything to do with the conspiracists who gorge themselves on this baloney.