Monthly Archives: March 2019

national news

‘Record deepness,’ says POTUS

Donald J. “Best Words” Trump Sr. offered a curiously worded show of support for one of America’s natural wonders.

He said this at a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich.:

“I support the Great Lakes, always have. They’re beautiful. They’re big. Very deep. Record deepness.”

Yes, the lakes have “record deepness” . . . whatever in the name of mangled syntax that means.

He then said he would support a $300 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The president got big cheers from the crowd gathered for his political rally.

Except that his administration had just proposed cutting that $300 million fund by — get this — $270 million!

I believe the only “record deepness” that Trump can boast about is the depth of the bulls*** that pours out of his mouth.

Weird, man.

national news

Is the AG lengthening the list of redacted items?

U.S. Attorney General William Barr is going to release the Robert Mueller Report in a couple of weeks.

Mueller’s findings into the Russian collusion/conspiracy/obstruction matter are going to be made public. Good deal, yes? I hope so. Although I am feeling a bit of alarm.

Barr is going to redact much of it. He will keep secret national security matters and grand jury testimony and evidence. I get that.

But wait. There’s more. He also intends to withhold informatin that deals with ongoing investigations. Huh?

Also, we now we hear that Barr has decided to keep secret information that might have a negative impact on the reputations of  “peripheral” figures. Eh? What does that mean? Who decides who is “peripheral”? Is that Barr’s call? Should it be Barr’s call?

Congressional Democrats want the nearly 400-page report to be made public. As in all of it. Without redactions.

I can live without knowing the classified information and grand jury testimony evidence. The national security information is sensitive for a damn good reason. Grand jurors are sworn to secrecy and the testimony they hear should be kept secret too, per the oath they take.

However, the attorney general seems to be spreading his net over more of the Mueller report than he initially intended.

I’ll implore the AG once again: Make the report public. We paid for it. We need to see what our money purchased and whether it was worth the public investment.

national news

‘Ridiculous bulls***’ is exactly that

Donald Trump speaks to his base. The 38 to 40 percent of Americans who still stand with the president love hearing the way he talks. He “tells it like it,” they contend.

I get that the president’s coarse public language isn’t everyone’s adult beverage. He was at it again this week, referring at a political rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., to the effort to find collusion between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives as “ridiculous bulls***.”

He drew laughs, cheers, applause, shouts of affirmation.

Do you remember what Candidate Trump said in 2016 about his voters’ loyalty? He said he “could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue” and he “wouldn’t lose any votes.”

Many of us saw that as a hideous metaphor when he blurted it out. These days I’m not so sanguine about that hideous boast. It is beginning to look to me that he actually meant it.

The “ridiculous bulls***” declaration is the kind of thing many of us would say in private. You don’t say it in public, in front of total strangers. But that’s OK in the eyes of those who cheer this guy on.

I mention this because Donald Trump has insisted on occasion that he would be “more presidential.” He hasn’t yet delivered on that pledge. I’m still waiting. And waiting . . . and waiting.

national news

‘Collusion delusion’ becomes new Trump mantra

Donald Trump has produced what sounds like a 2020 campaign slogan, referring to the “collusion delusion” as he continues his touchdown dance after Robert Mueller concluded his investigation into The Russia Thing.

It’s a knee-slapper! Don’t you think? Well, me neither. The president is reciting it and getting lots of laughs, cheers, whoops and hollers from the adoring crowds.

It is good to put a couple of issues into perspective.

First of all, special counsel Mueller did not say that there was “no collusion.” He said, according to Attorney General William Barr, that he found insufficient evidence to produce a complaint of collusion with the Russians against the president and his 2016 campaign team.

We haven’t yet seen Mueller’s report. William Barr today said he intends to release the report, with redactions, in a couple of weeks. We don’t yet know what precisely Barr is going to black out from public view. He has talked openly about grand jury testimony, issues related to national security and statements that mention individuals who aren’t formally charged with wrongdoing.

My sincere and fervent hope is that the AG releases as much as of the report as possible. He has pledged transparency. I want to believe him.

Absent any knowledge of what Mueller has concluded, it is impossible — even for the president — to say categorically that he has been “exonerated” at any level regarding any allegation that has been leveled against him.

Trump is incapable of being magnanimous in victory. He vows revenge against those who he says have done him wrong. That includes damn near everyone who didn’t vote for him, or so it sounds to me. He continues to label the Mueller probe as a “witch hunt” that failed. He continues to refer to the media as the “enemy of the people.” Trump hurls despicable personal insults at congressional Democrats; House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has become his latest target.

One more point: We haven’t seen anything yet about obstruction of justice. Barr said that Mueller did not “exonerate” the president, even though he did not find sufficient evidence to conclude that he did obstruct justice. Once again, we need to see precisely what evidence Mueller collected and we need to be able to assess how he reached his conclusion.

Yet the president of the United States, as he is prone to do, is getting way out in front of this still-developing story.

Hey, he still has his campaign slogan that he thinks will serve him well. “Collusion delusion” it is. My sense is that Donald Trump is wallowing in his own delusion as well.

education news

AISD should have expanded search . . . here’s why

I feel the need to comment on the selection of a new Amarillo school superintendent. Then I’ll move on.

I’ve stated already that I do not know the new Amarillo public school superintendent, Doug Loomis. I wish him well and hope he succeeds. Given that I live some distance away from Amarillo, I have no particular axe to grind. I do have some thoughts on the process that brought Loomis to the top education administrator job in Amarillo.

The Amarillo Independent School District board conducted an in-house search. It did not look beyond the staff already on hand. I believe it should have done that very thing. My reason why has nothing to do with Loomis. He well might be the greatest superintendent AISD will ever employ.

However, a narrow search, one that doesn’t cast a wide net, does not give board members a chance to have assess the local applicants against those who might have a different view on how to implement educational policy. Loomis emerged as the sole finalist for the job vacated when Dana West resigned suddenly this past year.

Does the board know with absolute certainty that Loomis is the best it could have found to compete for this post?

When I was working as editorial page editor of the Amarillo Globe-News, we tackled similar issues involving the hiring of chief administrators: at City Hall and at Amarillo College.

  • John Ward resigned as city manager after being on the job for 20 years. The City Council chose to look inward only. It elevated Alan Taylor to the manager’s job. We insisted the council look beyond the city. Taylor took our position as a criticism of him personally, even though we said expressly that it bore no reflection on him. We merely wanted the city to expand its search to include as broad a field of applicants as possible.

Taylor eventually retired and moved away. He did a fine job, although he continued to harbor ill feelings toward me personally and the Globe-News. I am sorry he felt that way.

  • Steve Jones became ill and eventually succumbed to cancer, leaving the Amarillo College Board of Regents with the task of looking for a new president. The man who served as acting president, Paul Matney, was elevated to the permanent post. The Globe-News argued yet again that the AC board should look nationally. Regents decided to stick with Matney. Our rationale for the AC search was the same as it was for City Hall.

It pained me greatly to make that argument, given my immense professional respect and personal affection for Paul Matney. He turned out to be an outstanding AC president and retired with his head held high and the gratitude for a job well done. To his great credit, Matney did not take our editorial position as a criticism of the job he would do.

AISD has some issues to tackle. My hope is that the new superintendent is up to the job. If only the AISD board had decided to expand its search far and wide.

local news

Puppy Tales, Part 67: His reactions speak volumes

The more time Toby the Puppy spends with us the more able we are to read his body language. We know what certain reactions mean when we say certain things.

Our puppy has developed a new response that we interpret to mean: “Yep. I’m all in!”

What does he do?

Well, when we ask him whether he wants to go for a walk, or ride in the car or truck, or whether he wants to see Emma or our grandpuppy Madden aka “Mad Dog,” he jumps around and then fetches whatever toy he most recently is playing with.

The reaction often includes at least a couple of complete spins.

Then he grabs the toy — one of his many plastic balls or perhaps one of the squeakers scattered around the house — and brings it to us. He might drop it, or . . . he might just hold on. His tail wags, his ears perk up, he looks for all the world as if he’s bought in fully to what we have mentioned.

I see this as a certain growth in Toby’s development. He need not “speak” to us, bark or yelp or do whatever it is dogs do to vocalize. All he needs to do is grab a toy. That tells my wife and me all we need to know what’s on his mind or in his heart. He wants to accompany us wherever we intend to go.

This puppy continues to make us laugh.

Every. Single. Day.

national news

This Democratic congresswoman must be a colossus

It is astounding to the max how a young rookie member of Congress can attain superstar status even before she takes her oath of office.

Alexandrea Ocasio-Cortez is that particular member. She now has become a chant theme at Republican rallies. Conservatives took great joy in bashing her continually at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Her name is everywhere, along with her face.

She’s a staple on cable news talk shows, late-night comics’ shows. You name the place, she’s there.

AOC, as she now is known, seems to be defying certain laws of physics by managing to be everywhere seemingly at once.

I do not get this.

There once was a time when freshman members of the House and Senate had to blunder and stumble their way around Capitol Hill. We didn’t hear their voices. We didn’t know what they sounded like.

Social media have tossed that truism into the crapper. Now some of these newbies become instant celebrities. AOC is the latest of them. Oh, we’ve got some more congressional rookies, too, but AOC has become the poster child, the whipping girl for Republicans and other conservatives to thrash. She is a socialist; she has pitched a number of interesting ideas, some of which are wacky, others need some attention.

And . . . yes, she’s whiffed on some statements, such as not knowing about the three branches of government. Her critics have pounced like big cats on their prey.

At a rally last night in Grand Rapids, Mich., the chant rang out “AOC sucks!” which caused Don Trump Jr. to stand there with a crap-eatin’ grin on his mug. Oh, I almost forgot: Don Jr. is a know-nothing, so it doesn’t matter a damn bit what he thinks about anything or anyone.

Back to my point, which is that the astounding presence of these congressional rookies on center stage gives them far more influence than they deserve.

entertainment news

‘Alexa’ needs to mind ‘her’ own business

It’s come down to this, ladies and gentlemen: My wife and I have to whisper whenever we mention the name of an electronic presence we have brought into our home.

You know to “whom” I refer. “She” is “Alexa,” the smart-home gadget that performs certain tasks for us on voice command. “‘Alexa,’ turn off the lights. Play music. Lock the front door.”

As for the “play music” command, we can instruct “her” to play rock music, gospel music, country music . . . whatever genre we choose. Weird, yes? I think so.

I’m now waiting for the technology that allows “Alex” to tuck us in at night.

We find ourselves awakening “Alexa” when we mention “her” name in casual conversation. “She” tells us “she” doesn’t understand what we’re saying. “She” asks for clarification. When we give “her” none, “she” goes quiet.

Now, though, “Alexa” is responding to the sound of “her” name when the TV commercial blurts it out. I refuse to turn the volume down whenever one of those “Alexa” commercials airs. So there.

Yes, this smart-home technology is rather fun. It gives us a chuckle or two during the day when we instruct our device to do something we used to do manually. You know, things like flipping a light switch. Sheesh!

Now in this brave new world into which we have entered, we are forced to whisper the name of an electronic gadget.

Surely, “she” won’t take us hostage in our own home. Will “she”?

national news

Nothing close to ‘rare form’ for POTUS

I had thought it would be good to lead this post with a declaration that Donald J. Trump was in “rare form” Thursday night at his campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Then it occurred to me: The rant he delivered to an adoring crowd was an all-too-common occurrence from the 45th president of the United States.

The particularly shameful part of Trump’s tirade was his disgraceful, despicable denigration of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. It’s not enough for Trump to challenge someone’s policy positions, or their public votes, or their philosophical leanings.

Ohhh, no! This president employs fifth-grade-style language to criticize his foe’s appearance, which he did Thursday in Grand Rapids. He called Schiff “little pencil neck,” which quite naturally drew raucous laughter from the packed house full of Trumpsters. They just loved hearing the president of the United States of America denigrate the physical appearance of a former federal prosecutor who happens to chair a key House committee. Schiff has been highly critical of the president and his conduct during the 2016 campaign. I do not believe he ever has said anything publicly about Donald Trump’s physical appearance.

This is the rhetoric of an individual who vowed to “make America great again.” He said he would be an “unconventional” president. He promised to restore dignity to the nation’s highest office. Trump pledged to “put America first.”

None of that kind of schoolyard bullying is going to accomplish any of it. But . . . none of that will dissuade this president from continuing his hideous insult campaign against his foes.

Oh, I truly wonder how in the name of decency, dignity and decorum those who comprise Trump’s political base can continue to support this individual’s moronic public behavior.

Someone will have to explain it to me.

I’m all ears. Anyone? Hello?

national news

Chairman Schiff lays it on the line

1 Comment

I have watched this soliloquy a couple of times. I consider it quite compelling.

The speaker is House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who Donald Trump has ridiculed with a tasteless nickname. He also has bastardized his name.

Schiff responds in this video to his nine Republican committee colleagues who have signed a letter demanding his resignation from the committee chairmanship.

Schiff responded with a controlled sense of seething at the gall of his GOP colleagues, one of whom happens to be Devin Nunes, who chaired the committee until this year.

Schiff stands by his belief that there was “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russians who interfered with our electoral system. He recites chapter and verse the events of that campaign that has caused so much angst.

Hey, it’s only a little more than 5 minutes long. I found it fascinating. You might, too.