Tag Archives: Texas Tribune

media news, national security, political news, State news

Do as I say, not do …

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This is the opening paragraph of a story published today by the Texas Tribune …

Monica De La Cruz, a firebrand Republican running in a fiercely competitive South Texas race, received thousands of dollars for personal business interests from federal COVID relief programs despite disparaging federal assistance programs as harmful to the U.S. economy.

Man, you just have to love the kind of reporting that exposes politicians’ hypocrisy in this Age of Hypocrites.

Here’s the rest of the story. Take a peek. It’s worth your time.

Monica De La Cruz cashes in on COVID aid, trashes programs | The Texas Tribune

The Tribune points out that De La Cruz is the latest Republican — yeah, this is mostly a GOP affliction — to criticize Democrats’ policies while scarfing up the goodies for their own gain.

So it is with this GOP candidate for Congress.

Do you recall in 2020 when Republicans railed against President Biden’s efforts to pump money into repairing and upgrading our infrastructure? Then, once Congress approved it Biden signed it into law, they stood up and boasted about all the money that was coming to their states and congressional districts.

The Tribune reported further about De La Cruz’s duplicity: “Monica De La Cruz raged against relief funding for Texas small businesses, but what she didn’t mention was that she and her family happily took nearly $200,000 of that same aid for themselves. Her hypocritical agenda of ‘Help for me, but not for thee’ is politics at its worst and South Texans deserve better,” said Monica Robinson, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Where I come from, such blatant hypocrisy is a deal-breaker.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news, political news

Trump gets support from CPAC … imagine that!

This is likely the biggest non-surprise of the current political season, but it’s still worth a comment or two.

It comes in the form of the endorsement of Donald J. Trump’s continuing presence on the political scene by the Conservative Action Political Conference, which met this past weekend in Dallas.

I cannot help but shake my noggin.

The CPAC faithful want Trump to run for president in 2024. They have decided, I reckon, to ignore the two impeachments during his term in office, the stunning pile of evidence that mounts from the House select committee’s probe into the 1/6 insurrection and perhaps the possible indictments for criminal activity that might come from the Justice Department.

Oh, and never mind that Trump has yet to lay any sort of agenda for the future. He continues to wallow in The Big Lie that he keeps alive by suggesting the 2020 election was stolen from him.

That’s leadership? That’s moving toward the future?

At CPAC, conservative Texans show Donald Trump loyalty | The Texas Tribune

The “conservative movement” has been hijacked, along with the Republican Party, by the cult of personality led by Donald J. Trump.

The Texas Tribune summed up nicely the theme of Trump’s keynote speech: Trump stuck to a familiar script and repeated the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen from him, even as those claims have repeatedly been debunked by even his own former aides. He painted cities run by Democratic leadership as hellscapes awash in crime and lamented what he described as an open southern border with Mexico.

The Texas crowd ate it up. “I’m over the moon, I’ve been trying to see him for years,” said Therese Boehnlein, who drove from Waco to Dallas to see Trump.

Well … OK. The ex-POTUS dropped a hint or two that he’ll run again in 2024. That will be his third attempt at the White House. Just remember something: He got fewer votes than Hillary Clinton in 2016 and a lot fewer votes than Joe Biden in 2020.

Truly astounding.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Uvalde shooting panel: a pox on all houses

Three Texans — a former state Supreme Court justice and two members of the Texas House of Representatives — have delivered a scathing report on what went wrong when a shooter killed 19 children and two teachers in a Uvalde elementary school.

Their verdict: We have witnessed a systemic failure at all levels.

The cops who responded to the violence didn’t know what they were doing, they didn’t know who was in charge and they failed at every level to protect the community from the madness that erupted at Robb Elementary School.

Now comes the seemingly impossible task of determining how we fix it. It’s not impossible, but, yes, it is daunting in the extreme.

I will stand by my earlier stated belief that Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo needs to be fired and he needs to be sent on down the road to do something other than put on a badge and strap on a firearm as a police officer.

I also will contend as the top cop in the Uvalde school district it naturally should have fallen on him to take charge of the situation.

The Texas Tribune reports: But blame for the flawed police response extends far beyond the school district police chief of a six-officer department, the report concludes.

The report criticized other officers and law enforcement agencies, many of them better trained, for failing to fill the leadership vacuum left by Arredondo’s inaction.

Law enforcement failures in Uvalde shooting went far beyond local police | The Texas Tribune

The 77-page report offers details on the number of police officers on the scene. Arredondo’s police force comprised a tiny fraction of the total tactical team.

State Reps. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and former Justice Eva Guzman have done a thorough job of laying bare how the command and control of the situation failed as the tragedy was unfolding.

Eva Guzman offered a cogent piece of advice to those who run every school system in Texas: read the report.

Moreover, these folks need to assess their own response strategies and whether they are able to do what the individuals who responded to the Uvalde slaughter failed to do.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

A deal on guns … finally

Let me be clear: The deal in principle by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators doesn’t go nearly far enough to curb gun violence.

But … it is a baby-step start.

The Texas Tribune reports on the deal announced today: The tentative deal includes a mix of modest gun control proposals and funding for mental health. It would incentivize states to pass “red flag” laws, which are designed to keep guns out of the hands of individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others; boost funding for mental health services, telehealth resources and more school security; permit juvenile records to be incorporated into background checks for purchasers under the age of 21 and crack down on the straw purchase and trafficking of guns.

Deal on post-Uvalde shooting gun legislation reached in Senate | The Texas Tribune

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, the senior Texas Republican, is part of the senatorial team that hammered out the deal.

My own preference would have been to ban assault rifles, raise the minimum age requirements for purchasing firearms from 18 to 21 years of age and launch comprehensive universal background checks for every purchase.

That won’t come forward. House of Representatives Democrats want more. They’re likely to resist what the Senate is pitching.

I am not going to dig in just yet against this plan, which is good remember is just a deal in principle.

However, it is more than we got after Sandy Hook, after Columbine, after Las Vegas, after Sutherland Hills, Aurora, El Paso or Parkland.

Uvalde and Buffalo proved to be the catalyst to provide something.

It is far from ideal. However, I am going to accept it as possibly the beginning of a march toward more meaningful reform to end the gun violence that is killing too many innocent Americans.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

political news, State news

Character no longer matters

This much is abundantly clear about today’s Republican Party: Character no longer matters, that party fanatics do not care whether the individuals who hold public office might be criminals, or that they are serial philanderers and admitted sexual assailants.

A Texas Tribune story published this week talks, for instance, about how Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is well-positioned to defeat challenger George P. Bush in next week’s GOP runoff for the attorney general’s office.

Why is that a big deal? Because Paxton has been under criminal indictment almost his entire time in office. Paxton has shamelessly challenged President Biden’s election in 2020. The FBI is investigating complaints filed by several top Paxton legal assistants, who allege criminal activity within the office.

Hey, no problem! The GOP is set to renominate Paxton for yet another term.

It’s all part of the pattern followed by the GOP cultists in this Donald Trump Era. Conservatives used to get their underwear tied into knots when liberal politicians got caught misbehaving.

Why Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s backers are unfazed by his scandals | The Texas Tribune

Character mattered to them in the days of Bill Clinton. Do you recall those days? I damn sure do. These days, one of their own pols — Donald J. Trump — actually boasted that he could “shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes.” The line drew laughter and gasps when he said it. It’s not so preposterous these days.

This is a large part of what troubles me about the demise of a once-great political party. It no longer stands for character. The only aim of GOP pols ought to be their ability to stick it to their liberal foes.

Ken Paxton has done so in Texas and he likely will win the GOP runoff next week, to the ever-lasting shame of the GOP faithful.

As for Trump … aww, hell! I have nothing to say about the former Sexual Assailant in Chief.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Loony bin wing strikes back

The loony bin wing of the Republican Party comprises two Texas congressmen who were among just nine House members to vote against legislation that aims to fast-track baby formula which — you likely have heard — is in critically short supply.

Reps. Louie Gohmert of Tyler and Chip Roy of Austin voted “no” on a bill that seeks to grant women on federal assistance greater access to the formula.

Texas is among the worst-hit states in this current crisis. President Biden has just invoked the Defense Production Act to facilitate delivery of the formula to families with infants.

The Texas Tribune was unable to obtain a comment from Gohmert. Roy delivered a message. The Tribune reported: “The only way to get more formula to American families is to fix the crony policies that prevent more U.S. companies from producing it, remove barriers to innovation, and allow imports from trusted nations; the legislation Democrats put forward does none of that,” he said. Calling the Biden administration “demonstrably incompetent,” he called the shortage “the direct result of unnecessary federal regulations and of a bloated bureaucracy that failed to recognize the problem before it spiraled out of control.”

Two Texas Republicans vote no on bill to help poor mothers get formula | The Texas Tribune

Well, Congress was able to act in that rare bipartisan fashion to approve the legislation, no thanks to the stubbornness of two Texas Republicans.

Shame on them.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Condemned woman might get a new trial

It surely isn’t every day that someone convicted of a capital crime wins bipartisan support in her quest for a possible new trial to see if the individual is truly guilty of the crime for which the state has leveled a charge.

Melissa Lucio is that rare case.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today blocked her scheduled execution in a move that has drawn widespread praise across the vast political landscape. Republicans and Democrats alike are hailing the CCA’s decision, given that the state’s highest criminal appellate court isn’t known as being “defendant-friendly” in its handling of these matters.

What’s more, one of the legislators most adamantly in Lucio’s corner happens to be a Republican from Plano, state Rep. Jeff Leach, who next year will become my state representative in the Texas Legislature. OK, that last part doesn’t mean a damn thing, other than my recognition of Leach’s possible impact on my life.

Leach told Lucio the court had granted her the stay, prompting her to cry out and, yes, to cry.

Why the stay?

A court convicted Lucio in 2008 of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez, who had fallen down some stairs. The little girl went to sleep a couple of days later and never awoke.

Lucio’s trial reportedly was fraught with vague testimony from key witnesses. The defense team reportedly was denied access to information acquired by state prosecutors. Lucio, of course, denied harming her daughter.

The defendant has drawn support on both sides of the political aisle, an event I find to be remarkable, given the great divide that exists in this state, with liberals seen as “soft” on crime and conservatives seen as those who want to “throw the book” and everything else at criminal defendants.

Melissa Lucio’s execution halted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals | The Texas Tribune

And so, does Lucio deserve a new trial? It looks as though there well could be enough doubt cast on her conviction to warrant a judicial do-over.

I mean, if the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — inhabited entirely by Republican judges — thinks there is merit to those questions, then by all means let’s try this case again … and do it right!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

 

DC riot

Rioters sought to ‘protect’ Rep. Jackson? Well …

What in the name of insurrection do we make of this news? It turns out that the Oath Keepers, the right-wing radicals who took part in the 1/6 insurrection, sought to shield a Texas congressman from harm.

Why? Because he was on their side in the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. He voted in favor of efforts to resist certifying Joe Biden’s election as president.

The congressman in question is Ronny Jackson, an Amarillo Republican who represents the congressional district I called home for 23 years.

There’s a bit to unpack here. I’ll give it a shot.

Jackson has been adamant in contending the 2020 election was “stolen” from The Donald, who he once treated as White House physician; Jackson also served as WH doc for President Obama.

Jackson’s office said he doesn’t know anyone in the Oath Keepers group. The Texas Tribune reports:

“Like many public figures, Rep. Jackson is frequently talked about by people he does not know,” a Jackson spokesperson said in a statement. “He does not know nor has he ever spoken to the people in question. In fact, he stayed behind with Capitol Police to help defend the House Floor and was one of the last Members to be evacuated.”

“The liberal media’s attempt to drag him into a ‘story’ and make him part of something he has nothing to do with is yet another example of why millions of Americans are exhausted by the relentless, biased coverage of January 6th and its continued use as a political tool,” the spokesperson added.

C’mon! This isn’t a “liberal media” conspiracy! It presents a host of questions that need a congressman’s full disclosure about who or what he knows and when does he know who or what.

Here’s a bit more from the Tribune: The Oath Keepers claim to represent tens of thousands of present and former law enforcement officials and military veterans under the pretense of defending the U.S. Constitution. The group is, in effect, one of the largest far-right, anti-government groups that peddles in baseless conspiracy theories.

Oath Keepers involved in Jan. 6 wanted to protect U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson | The Texas Tribune

Does a member of Congress — such as Ronny Jackson — want to be affiliated with a group of radicals such as the Oath Keepers? This individual, Jackson, has said that those who rioted and “broke windows” on the Capitol Building must be “held accountable.” That’s not enough.

He needs to condemn the Oath Keepers in language everyone understands. My hunch is that such a condemnation won’t come from Ronny Jackson’s mouth.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Abbott vs. O’Rourke: gonna get nasty

Listen up, my fellow Texans. It is looking as though this year’s campaign for governor is going to get nasty. Maybe even way beyond nasty.

Democratic nominee Beto O’Rourke has leveled both rhetorical barrels as his Republican foe, Greg Abbott. I do for a moment believe Gov. Abbott is going to sit by passively while O’Rourke calls Abbott a “thug.”

Get a load of what the Texas Tribune has reported:

“I just had a chance to meet with the ambassador from the EU,” O’Rourke told Evan Smith, the CEO and co-founder of The Texas Tribune, in a crowded hall at the South by Southwest festival. “We talked about the fact that you’re seeing the continued rise of authoritarians and thugs across the world. And we have our own, right here, in the state of Texas.”

Smith asked, “Greg Abbott is a thug in your mind?”

O’Rourke replied, “He’s a thug, he’s an authoritarian.

Beto O’Rourke calls Gov. Greg Abbott a “thug” and an “authoritarian” | The Texas Tribune

Oh … feel the burn, OK?

Don’t get me wrong here. I want O’Rourke to defeat Abbott, who I believe has become a disciple of the Kooky Cabal of the GOP. Abbott has shown zero inclination to pull his own punches regarding O’Rourke, accusing Beto of wanting to disarm Texans by taking their guns away, which is a lie; he accuses O’Rourke of favoring “open borders,” which is false on its face.

O’Rourke’s thug description carries some remarkable imagery, to be sure.

Still, the fight for the Texas governor’s office is on. It’s going to get loud and likely quite angry in extremely short order.

We’d all better strap ourselves in tight and get ready for a rough ride to the political finish line.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

It ain’t child abuse

Greg Abbott never struck me in the years I covered him while working in daily journalism as a man with a mean streak; that was before he became Texas governor and now his meanness is on display.

Abbott wants to prosecute parents of transgender children for child abuse. Why? Because they want their children to undergo what is called “gender-affirming care.” He has the endorsement of the state’s indicted attorney general, Ken Paxton, who is another piece of … work.

What is gender-affirming care? The Texas Tribune reported:

Areana Quiñones, executive director for the Texas nonprofit organization Doctors For Change, defined gender-affirming care as judgment-free, individualized care oriented toward understanding and appreciating a person’s gender. Providers often work with counselors and family members to ensure they have everything they need to navigate the health care system.

Under the gender-affirming model of care, more time is spent allowing kids to socially transition instead of focusing on medical treatment. A social transition consists of the steps a child takes to affirm their identity. An example could include allowing a child assigned male at birth to grow their hair or use a different name and wear clothing that better fits their identity.

Is that the stuff of child abuse? I think not.

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/04/gender-affirming-care-transgender-texas/

What’s happening is that Gov. Abbott, who just breezed to the Republican nomination for a third term as governor after being challenged from the right wing of his party, is trying to assuage concerns among the nut jobs in his party that he isn’t conservative enough. Yeah … he is.

This ridiculous attack on children who express legitimate concerns about their sexuality suggests a level of radical conservative thought that shouldn’t have a place in setting state policy.

Child abuse is clearly defined as physical or emotional damage inflicted on children. How gender-affirming care — as stated earlier in this blog post — falls into that category simply boggles my noodle.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com