Tag Archives: Donald Trump

DC riot

Lt. Byrd saved lives

Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd says he fired a fatal shot during the 1/6 terrorist attack on the Capitol Building only after the rioters refused to heed his commands to cease their assault.

The shot he fired killed Ashli Babbitt, who’s become a martyr among the insurrectionists/cultists who stormed the building.

I believe Byrd is a hero who saved an untold number of lives by acting as he did. Indeed, the Capitol Police internal investigation has cleared Byrd of any punishment for his deed.

Babbitt was one of thousands of rioters who stormed the Capitol after being egged on by the 45th POTUS to “take back our government.” From whom, of course, remains a mystery. I guess it’s the so-called “deep state.” Babbitt sought to break into the building. Byrd yelled at her to back off. She refused. He fired his pistol and Babbitt, an Air Force veteran and QAnon believer, died in the melee.

Lt. Byrd saved lives. He acted heroically as did all the officers who sought to prevent the mob from overturning the results of a free and fair presidential election.

I am damn proud of Michael Byrd.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

International news

Do we stay or do we go?

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By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Public opinion polls have had their hands full in the past few days.

They are scurrying around the country asking Americans whether the Afghan War was worth the fight. A significant majority of Americans are telling them “no,” it wasn’t worth it.

And yet …

Congressional Republicans continue to pound President Biden over his decision to bring our troops — all of them — off the battlefield. A consequence has been the Taliban takeover of a country our forces fought to protect against the terrorists’ retaking control of the country.

I want to reiterate a key point. President Biden ended what his immediate predecessor started, which was a negotiated settlement to end our fight. That fact has been lost on GOP critics of Joe Biden, one of them being U.S. Rep. Van Taylor, my congressman, who said this in a statement: “Reminiscent of Saigon, President Biden naively chose to conduct an ill-advised and poorly planned withdrawal from Afghanistan despite warnings from national security experts and continuous violations from the Taliban.”

Huh? Eh? Taylor said Biden should have done “nothing.” His decision to end the fight, Taylor said, leaves “America and Americans worse off for it.” He calls this one of the president’s “reckless decisions.”

Hmm. I will disagree respectfully with the congressman.

Americans didn’t want to keep fighting an unwinnable war. POTUS No. 45 sought to negotiate a deal with the Taliban, remember? Do you also recall how he invited the Taliban to Camp David — on a date commemorating the 9/11 attack on our nation?

I agree that the withdrawal should have been planned better. Then again, there should have been an end-game strategy on the day we launched the Afghan War after 9/11. There wasn’t.

By my way of thinking, “doing nothing” about Afghanistan was not an option. President Biden had two choices: staying or leaving. He made the right call.

national news

GOP faces a reckoning

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

There can be no denying that the Republican Party is facing a reckoning.

It has to decide if it is going to remain on the track laid out by an individual who has corrupted a once-great party. Or will it return to matters of principle and public policy?

The individual who corrupted the party — the 45th POTUS — lacks any defining principle. Unless you consider revenge, spite and chaos to be principles that define a political party.

POTUS 45 had zero Republican Party policy experience when he entered the 2016 GOP primary campaign. He won the party’s nomination that year by hammering his foes into submission. Then he won the presidency — with a bit of help from the FBI and its infamous e-mail investigation. He also won because of incompetence in the Democratic nominee’s campaign.

The presidency became POTUS’s play thing. Many of his top campaign aides found themselves indicted on criminal charges. The corruption ran throughout the highest rungs of his political ladder.

Oh, and then he got impeached twice. Once for trying to coerce a foreign government into doing his political bidding and once for inciting an insurrection that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Many of the men and women who served with him have stood behind his corruption and his venality. For what? Someone needs to explain to me the strange grip this clown has over a party with which he had no prior knowledge or familiarity.

The 2022 midterm election is coming up. POTUS 45 wants to have a big time say in who gets elected. He wants to elect those who are blindly loyal to him. Oh, boy. If the party follows that course, it will consign itself — as well as the nation — to a future shrouded in darkness and corruption.

I am a good-government progressive who wants the Republican Party to rediscover its basis for existing and to debate the Democratic Party openly and honestly without the hatred that stains the rhetoric that comes from the one-time Liar in Chief.

Is that possible? For the nation’s sake, I hope so.

local news

No mention of 1/6

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

A town hall meeting in Rockwall, Texas, this week produced plenty of fiery rhetoric from a congressman who represents the Northeast Texas region contained in the Fourth Congressional District.

Rep. Pat Fallon came loaded with plenty of ammo to fire at President Biden over Afghanistan (the withdrawal), infrastructure spending, COVID-19 and the Democratic House caucus over the rules it is imposing over the way lawmakers behave.

But … no mention from Rep. Fallon about 1/6 and — if you’ll excuse my use of a term not heard among members of the GOP caucus — the insurrection incited by the former Insurrectionist in Chief.

Nor was there any mention of the riot from any of the folks crammed into a Rotary Club office to hear from their congressman.

Now, I suppose I could have raised the issue, given that I was there covering the event for a local weekly newspaper near where I live. Indeed, I did give it some thought. Then it occurred to me: If I raise the issue and ask Fallon why he and most of his fellow congressional Republicans refuse to examine the why and wherefore of the attack on the Capitol, I would have become part of the story.

I feared the folks in the audience would have turned on me, given that Fallon already had taken shots during his remarks at what he called “the mainstream media.” The audience also took a dim view of the media’s coverage of the 2020 election,

My task while there was to report on the event, to record what Fallon said and to chronicle the town hall meeting for the readers of the newspaper for which I write. That’s it, man. I did my job.

However, it did frustrate me a little to hear not a word from Rep. Fallon — an ardent supporter of the former POTUS — about his take on what went down on 1/6 and whether he believes POTUS 45 was in any way culpable in provoking the attack that sought to overturn the results of a free, fair and legal presidential election … which the former president lost to Joe Biden.

Well, I know the answer to that notion. I just wanted to put him on the record. Oh well. There might be another time. I’ll wait.

media news

Test of rehabilitated skill

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By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Time for an acknowledgment.

I have told more than one person since I began work as a freelance reporter for a weekly North Texas newspaper that I have gone back to my roots. I am covering city council meetings, school board meetings and writing occasional features for the Farmersville Times.

After spending most of my career — spanning nearly 37 years — writing and editing opinion commentary, I entered this gig knowing I could write news stories straight away, checking my bias at the proverbial door. Just stick to the who, what, when, where and why stuff … you know?

My reliance on that skill was put to a test today. I passed it with flying colors, but I was a bit concerned going in to cover the story.

It was a town hall meeting hosted in Rockwall, Texas, by U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon, a Sherman Republican and a self-proclaimed “strong conservative.” I was concerned he would fly off the rails so badly that I couldn’t restrain myself, that I would have to offer some sort of “commentary” in describing what I saw.

You know what? It didn’t happen. Sure, Fallon spouted his conservative mantra about foreign policy, about the 45th POTUS and how great he is. He denigrated Democrats and specifically House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

None of it bothered me. The only that drew an audible response from me (which no one heard) was when he reported that the “mainstream media” didn’t report something to the public. Oh yes. It most certainly did.

I wrote the story and turned it in to my boss.

That all said, I am proud to declare that the story doesn’t contain a hint of bias.

I am proud of myself. Just thought I’d brag a little.

local news

They still believe The Big Lie

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Today was an eye-opener for little ol’ me.

I went to Rockwall to cover a town hall meeting held by U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon, a Sherman Republican and a man who describes himself as a proud conservative. I won’t discuss the congressman’s politics with this brief post.

However, I do want to take a quick look at some of the comments that came from the crowd that listened to Fallon. The comments suggested that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from the guy who lost it. No one said it out loud, but the inference was clear to me: that President Biden isn’t the duly elected winner of what has been called by many the “most secure election in U.S. history.”

He was elected. The election was fair and square and legal. It has been certified by the Electoral College and by election officials in every state of the Union.

The town hall, in a related matter, didn’t mention the 1/6 riot that erupted when the then-POTUS incited the insurrection that sought to stop the Electoral College certification.

What is so very troubling to me was to sit in a room full of individuals who continue to adhere to The Big Lie that the former Insurrectionist in Chief keeps alive. What’s more, I was a bit surprised that no one brought up the 1/6 insurrection, even if they sought justification from Rep. Fallon over what occurred that horrible and horrifying day.

I get that Rockwall County gave the 45th POTUS 68.15 percent of its vote in 2020 and 78.2 percent in 2016. I only can presume that the truth of the electoral integrity of the 2020 balloting just doesn’t sink in with most residents who continue to believe The Big Lie.

It was just staggering to me to sit there among them and listen to them say out loud — and without a hint of shame — that they endorse a notion that has been debunked time and again.

Weird.

media news

More in common than we thought

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

A most startling thing happened to me today and I want to share it briefly.

I wrote a blog in the past day or so that was highly critical of the 45th president of the United States. It drew an angry response from a reader who called me an “idiot.” My oldest friend on Earth responded to this fellow and defended my honor; I am grateful for that show of support.

Then this individual noted that we have a common friend, a guy we both knew in high school back in Portland, Ore. I didn’t recognize his name; it turns out he ended up graduating from a nearby high school and didn’t attend the same high school as my friend and me during our senior years. We exchanged messages via Facebook about our common friend. We all served in Vietnam, they in the Marine Corps, me in the Army.

We shared a thought or two about our friend and about our shared service. Then this same guy who called me an idiot expressed that we have “more in common” than we thought.

A little while later, this fellow extended a Facebook “friend” request to me. I accepted it. Now we’re hooked up on social media.

I find that so very strange in a pleasant sort of way. In this time of extreme political polarization, the opposite too often occurs; longtime friends sever their friendship over … politics.

I hope my shiny new friendship survives after he reads more of my political posts, which I share on social media platforms, such as Facebook. I remain confident it will.

national news

Liz Cheney: doomed!

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

As I watch the once-great Republican Party devolve into a collection of cultists, I am left to lament the pending political demise of a GOP politician who has the temerity to stand for the rule of law.

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming is facing a certain primary challenge next year. She now appears likely to lose that contest to a challenger who has swilled the Kool-Aid dispensed by the former Insurrectionist in Chief.

This pending turn of events saddens me terribly.

It’s not necessarily that Rep. Cheney stands tall in my gallery of political heroes. I am not a fan of her conservative politics. I am a fan of her stand against the former POTUS’s actions on 1/6 when he incited the riot of terrorists who stormed the Capitol Building and sought to stop the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The House of Representatives impeached the ex-POTUS a second time for that act. Cheney joined a handful of Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach him. She has stood firm on the oath she took to defend the Constitution. Cheney said the party is not beholden to any individual.

For that she is going to face a stern primary challenge in Wyoming. I fear she is going to lose. She might lose bigly.

The country would be worse off if she is replaced by another cultist.

DC riot

‘Political obituary?’ Do ya think?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Lindsey Graham is finally — finally! — beginning to talk some sense as it regards the man he once opposed for the presidency and then became one of his go-to suck-ups once he got elected in 2016.

The South Carolina Republican senator said that the Jan. 6 insurrection that POTUS 45 incited could become his “political obituary” if he fails to get over the fact that he lost the 2020 presidential election.

Could become? Really, senator? Do you mean to suggest that the former Insurrectionist in Chief might be able to salvage his reputation if only he were to admit that President Biden won?

I am semi-glad to hear Graham speak some semblance of truth to his former adversary-turned-No. 1-golf buddy. The South Carolinian is still being terribly muted in his assessment of the damage that the former POTUS is delivering to our cherished democracy.

As Newsweek reports: “What I say to him is, ‘Do you want January the 6th to be your political obituary?'” Graham, an ally of the former president, told The New York Times for an article published on Saturday. “‘Because if you don’t get over it, it’s going to be.'”

Lindsey Graham Warns Trump That Jan. 6 Riot May Be His ‘Political Obituary’ (msn.com)

The events of 1/6 are going to stand alone among the hideous events of U.S. political history. To suggest that it wasn’t an insurrection against the democratic process is to ignore with willful prejudice what the entire witnessed on that day.

The former POTUS incited a mob that was spoiling for a chance to do what it did, which was storm Capitol Hill, beat police officers with flags and assorted other weapons, crap on the floor of the Capitol Building, shout their desire to “Hang Mike Pence!” and stop the certification of the Electoral College tally that elected President Biden and Vice President Harris.

The ex-Traitor in Chief has refused to atone for any of it.

Yeah, it’s his “political obituary,” all right.

national news

Biden is still POTUS! Well …

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(AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

The sun rose in the east this morning. I rolled out of the rack and got my day started per usual.

I glanced at the news and discovered that Joseph R. Biden Jr. is still president of the United States.

Who knew?

Well, it turns out that the My Pillow dude’s prediction that the 45th POTUS would be “reinstated” by day’s end on Friday the 13th didn’t come to pass. Indeed, the Internet has been full of jokes about the “re-inaugural parade” down Pennsylvania Avenue that didn’t take place. Friends and acquaintances have been asking, “Did I miss it?”

I would laugh all this off, blow it off as a sick joke (which it most certainly is) and not give it a second thought, except that too many lunatics among us actually bought into the crap pitched by My Pillow Guy, and the likes of POTUS 45 legal pal Sydney Powell and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani — who’s been disallowed from practicing law in the city he once governed.

Of course, we also have the former Seditionist in Chief continuing to pitch The Big Lie about alleged electoral theft in the 2020 presidential election. Rather than accepting the notion that he was just a temporary occupant of the White House before losing the election, we are hearing about how the ex-Liar in Chief chose to employ astonishing methods to get government officials to overturn the results of the election.

But … he ain’t POTUS; he won’t ever hold the office again. Joe Biden remains on the job.

For that I am so very grateful.