Now here is a bit of irony: Conservative Panhandle residents owe a debt of thanks to one of Texas’ more prominent, and controversial, liberal judges.

It’s going to be tough going as we move deeper into autumn and then into winter, but one of Amarillo’s newest parks is getting a good bit of use.

McDonald Lake — at the corner of 45th and Coulter — is playing host to plenty of Canada geese as well as a lot of human beings who are, um, flocking to the park to enjoy the great outdoors.

The park took some time to develop. It changed incarnations in its planning stages. The City Parks and Recreation Department dredged the old playa lake, deepened it, refilled it and then landscaped the terrain around the lake. The trees scattered throughout the property are beginning to take root and the grounds turned green as spring and summer came and went.

It is gratifying, though, to see so many people strolling along the walkway around the lake — often with dogs on leashes — and to see clusters of folks gathered at the southern end of the lake for picnics and assorted activities.

I must admit to harboring some doubt as the park project progressed during its construction. But those doubts have been eased a good bit as folks from my neighborhood are putting the park to good use.

And the birds are welcome, too.

An acquaintance of mine commented recently on my blog posting regarding the Chase Tower in downtown Amarillo.

I had said the tower is looking pretty spiffy these days. The response dealt with the burned-out lights at the top of the 31-story building. They annoy him. In truth, they annoy me as well.

His point is well-taken. The inside of the bank tower is looking mighty nice these days. The lights at the top of the place, though, need more work. The sign atop the building for months had beamed “Cha,” but this morning only part of the “C” was lit up.

I will make an admission: I don’t follow high school in the Panhandle very closely. My sons didn’t attend school here; they graduated from high school in Beaumont and were close to completing their college educations when my wife and I arrived here in early 1995.

But we attended our first high school game in Amarillo this past Thursday at Dick Bivins Stadium. My impression of the venue? Very impressive place.

The field is spectacular. The grounds are immaculate. The men’s restroom is spotless; I did not use the women’s facility, obviously, so I am not qualified to speak about its cleanliness. The food is perhaps a bit overpriced but a hot dog has this way of tasting like a filet mignon when you’re sitting in an outdoor sporting event.

What took us to this game, Amarillo High vs. Monterrey Lubbock? We wanted to see a young friend perform as a cheerleader. His parents, Jay and Lonna, are good friends of ours who are dedicated Sandie parents. Brolin is a delightful young man. So, we went to cheer for the cheerleaders — to be honest. But the weather was too cold and wet for the kids to throw each other around on the sidelines. We didn’t do much cheering for the cheerleaders that night.

We cheered for the Sandies’ team, who won 21-6 in a fairly ugly game under cold, wet and windy conditions.

But I have to say that the Amarillo school district has developed a first-class venue on the west side of the Tri-State Fairgrounds — unlike the Dilla Villa baseball park at the other end of the complex. I’ll hold out hope that Potter County gets its money’s worth from the outfit that is promising to invest money to improve the baseball stadium.

It will have to go some to come close to equalling Dick Bivins Stadium’s quality.

Make no mistake, I was flabbergasted this morning when I heard on NPR that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

And not in a good way.

Then came this little tidbit: The deadline for submitting nominees was Feb. 1 — 11 days after Obama had assumed the presidency.

What gives here? The Nobel Committee has rewritten the rules by which it hands out this most prestigious award. They’re now awarding the Peace Prize for the potential of the recipients. Obama indeed holds an enormous amount of potential. He well might achieve all that he hopes. But he hasn’t done it yet.

My feeling is this: The scrap heap is piled high with politicians who never fulfilled their potential. President Obama well might be tossed onto that scrap heap when his days in office are over. I hope that doesn’t happen.

But I also know that the prize ought to go to those who actually have accomplished something. And the list of non-winners with an actual record of accomplishment is quite stunning. Three names come to mind immediately:

Mahatma Gandhi, who sought a peaceful declaration of independence in India — and died in the effort; Ronald Reagan, who pressured the Evil Empire into tearing down “this wall” in Berlin, a move that marked the beginning of the end of communism in Europe; Bill Clinton, who has launched his Clinton Global Initiative and teamed up with former President GHW Bush in providing relief for the victims of the southeast Asia tsunami in 2006.

I hope President Obama actually earns the Peace Prize he has just won. But as this is written, he doesn’t deserve it.

A nation of immigrants must look to its makeup as a source of strength, said Alberto Gonzales, former U.S. attorney general — and a son of migrant farmworkers.

Gonzales spoke today to the Rotary Club of Amarillo and hit a home run with at least one grandson of immigrants — me — with his comments on the subject of immigration.

“We are strong because we are a nation of immigrants,” he said. Gonzales did draw a bead on those who are here illegally. “When people fail to follow the law, then that breeds disobedience,” he said.

Then he added, “State and local governments shouldn’t have to pay for the federal government’s failure” to enact a reasonable immigration policy.

He scoffed at the notion promoted by some in Congress that we should round up all 13 million illegal immigrants and deport them. “It is impossible to locate all those people and deport them,” he said, “so why do people keep trying to pass laws that do that?”

Gonzales’ statement about the strength of this nation, though, rang the loudest with me. I’ve grown weary of those who believe that the nation has enough immigrants, that we should slam the door shut on those still seeking entry into the greatest nation on the planet.

My sainted grandparents — all four of them — surely would disapprove of such a thought.

There’s little doubt that Alberto Gonzales’ record as U.S. attorney general is, shall we say, mixed.

Canyon city commissioners have elevated Dale Davis to the post of police chief. It’s a good choice, given Davis’ long history with the city, even pre-dating his nearly three decades as a Canyon police officer.

He was one of five finalists for the job; the city received 31 applications for the chief’s job in total. City officials said Davis — a Canyon native — is the most qualified finalist by far for the job.

I am not impugning the veracity of that view. But don’t Canyon residents deserve to know the names and backgrounds of the rest of the finalists? I would think so.

But so far, all we know for certain is that city commissioners and City Manager Randy Criswell believe strongly in their choice for police chief.

How about sharing the facts that back up your belief in that choice with your constituents?

Former President George W. Bush returned to West Texas this past week to give a speech at a fundraiser for Lubbock Christian University.

Conservative talk show hosts will have a field day with this one.

President and Mrs. Obama flew to Denmark to make the pitch for their city, Chicago, to host the 2016 Olympics. Not only did the City With Broad Shoulders not get the bid today, it didn’t even make it out of the first round.

It’s a crushing personal defeat for the president, the gabbers will say. This means he’s done politically, they’ll crow. Take that, Mr. President, they’ll blather.

Let’s get a grip. This “competition” wasn’t among the heads of state and/or government who made their pitches to the International Olympic Committee. It was about the cities. Chicago’s bid fell short. The world might find out in due course where Chicago came up lacking in the eyes of the Olympic selection committee.

The Olympic bid was a momentary diversion from the real issues of the day. Rio will do a great job when the Olympians gather in 2016.

Now, let’s get back to work — and pay no attention to the blowhards who will try to make an issue out of the president’s Olympic whiff.