We’re hearing some grumbles around Amarillo that the City Commission should put a cellphone ban ordinance to a popular vote, as was done twice some years ago with an indoor smoking ban. The commission voted 4-1 recently to ban the use of handheld cellphones while driving motor vehicles. It’s been a tough road for the … Continue reading Yet another city vote? Please, no
By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com Forgive the boastfulness of this post … but I just gotta share it. Forty-one years ago I made one of the more profound decisions of my life. It doesn’t rank with marrying my wife, which resulted in the family we produced together. But it’s a biggie. I quit smoking cold … Continue reading Proud of this decision
I want to report a satisfactory finding I discovered this morning while running an errand into McKinney and then back to Princeton, Texas. The other day I griped about Texas rescinding its mandatory motorcycle helmet law back in 1997. The Legislature decided, to its discredit, that requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets was intrusive, that Texans … Continue reading Motorcyclists using common sense
No-o-o-o! Don’t do it, Mr. President! Don’t reverse a common-sense provision you announced regarding vaping, the current craze among young people who are taking up this killer habit in place of smoking cigarettes! Your decision to ban the manufacture and sale of certain flavored vaping products was the right call when you made it in … Continue reading Don’t reverse vaping restriction, Mr. POTUS
There are times when you think you know someone and you find out things about that individual that you might have suspected, but didn’t ever confirm. The late U.S. Rep. Jack Brooks of Beaumont was my congressman for nearly 11 years. I commented on his public service while working as editorial page editor of the … Continue reading ‘The Executioner’ wrote the book on impeachment
You no doubt have said the same thing when your life status changes dramatically. When my wife and I were married more than 47 years ago, we giggled like children when we referred to each other as “my wife” and “my husband.” I quit smoking cold turkey nearly 39 years ago and I found myself … Continue reading Happy Trails, Part 125: Still liking sound of ‘we’re retired’
It’s pretty clear that Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s road to the U.S. Supreme Court has hit a serious pot hole. I’m not yet sure his nomination to join the nation’s highest court is doomed. A woman has come forward with a 35-year-old claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s nominee … Continue reading Kavanaugh nomination on rocky ground, but not doomed
I feel like revisiting an issue that some years ago got a lot of Amarillo, Texas, residents all fired up. I am referring to smoking indoors. Over the years I have discovered something curious — and quite welcome — about the city where my wife and I live. It’s damn near impossible to find an … Continue reading Amarillo goes smoke-free … without a city ordinance
Panhandle PBS, the public TV station based in Amarillo College, is going to present a couple of compelling public affairs programs in the coming weeks that require voters to pay attention. They’re going to focus on the upcoming municipal election to take place. They’re going to try to drive home a critical point about this … Continue reading Why do these elections matter?
So help me, I never thought Rudy Guiliani was capable of going around the bend. That is, until I read about his remarks delivered last night at a dinner honoring Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. The former New York mayor, the hero of the 9/11 response and Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2001 actually … Continue reading Guiliani makes zero sense