Tag Archives: family values

local news

Right-winger needs close scrutiny

How many times has this happened before? A politician who proclaims fealty to his wife, who stands on the shoulders of those who wrote holy scripture finds himself the subject of a possible investigation into conduct unbecoming of such a God-fearing human.

So it is with Texas state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, who has been accused of having sex with a legislative intern. Slaton, through his lawyer, calls the allegation trash. You would expect him to say such a thing.

Look, I am not going to presume this young man’s guilt. I do not know him well, but he and I are acquainted, if only through a couple of telephone conversations we have had since he took his Texas House seat prior to the start of the 2021 Legislature.

It’s just that pols such as Slaton open themselves up to extra-keen-eyed scrutiny when these allegations surface.

Former U.S. Rep. Van Taylor of Plano admitted to engaging in an affair with a woman while running for re-election in 2022. He, too, is a conservative Republican who touted his love for his wife. He made a big mistake, which he admitted to doing; Taylor then dropped out of his GOP primary race.

Do you remember the case of John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic nominee for vice president, who cheated on his late wife while she was battling cancer … all while parading her in front of crowds, telling them how much he loved her? Sickening!

These are just three examples of the danger of boasting about martial fidelity. I always find it offensive when a pol uses his wife as a political prop, declaring that we should vote for him because he’s been faithful to the vow he took to “love, honor and cherish” someone “for as long as both of you shall live.”

I hope for a quick resolution to this Bryan Slaton matter. Someone on his staff has corroborated the allegation. It falls now to a House committee to complete its probe into the veracity of the allegation.

It’s serious stuff, folks.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Is this guy in deep doo-doo?

A conservative Republican state legislator who happens to hail from North Texas might be in a heap of trouble, which requires Texas House ethics investigators to get to the truth behind some deeply troubling accusations.

Bryan Slaton of Royse City has been accused of having sex with a legislative intern, a woman with whom he had been flirting.

I don’t know the truth behind any of it; I know only what I read in the Texas Tribune and other outlets.

Slaton — who’s been married since 2017 — is one of those deeply conservative GOP lawmakers who touts family values, morality and rails against so-called “woke” policies. The accusation is troubling in the extreme. It has been corroborated by those in the know, according to the Tribune.

Staffer alleged that state Rep. Bryan Slaton had sex with Capitol intern | The Texas Tribune

Two House Republicans, Briscoe Cain and Steve Toth, have called for Slaton to resign, along with Democratic Rep. Anna-Maria Ramos. I won’t wade into that mess.

I do believe, though, that it is imperative for the House General Investigating Committee to get and stay busy on this issue until it determines whether it’s true.

This clearly is a matter, given Slaton’s outspoken public views on character and moral clarity, that will not go away.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news, political news, religious news

Infidelity can scar for life

You see this circumstance crop up far more often than politicians care to admit. A pol declares himself or herself to be a “devout Christian” who wears his or her faith on both sleeves and plastered on the forehead.

Then their personal life becomes the subject of tittering and gossip.

That’s you, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor “What’s Her Name” Greene, the lunatic Republican from Georgia. She only recently declared herself to be a Christian nationalist. By golly, she’s devoted to the Bible, its teachings.

But … oops! Now comes word that her husband of 28 years is divorcing her. Their marriage is “irretrievably broken,” he said in papers filed in divorce court.

Oh, but there’s more. Reports are flying all over the place that Rep. What’s Her Name had a fling or two with men who aren’t her husband. I haven’t heard any categorical denial coming from the Georgia flamethrower. What am I — and others — to surmise? One notion might be that the reports of her extramarital tumbles are true.

So, here you go. Politicians who make these proclamations about their faith and, presumably, the sacred vows they take to their spouse open themselves up to even greater scrutiny when their lives take these sudden turns.

Ya gotta walk the walk, Rep. What’s Her Name … not just talk about it.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

business news, crime news, national news, political news

How can GOP tolerate this?

I guess I’ll just have to resign myself to never knowing the truth while I am alive and breathing.

The “truth” to which I refer happens to involve how a once-great political party can be at one time a champion for “family values” and proclaimed that “character matters” can align itself with a cult figure who embodies the exact opposite of both principles.

Republicans today are wedded to the rubbish uttered, muttered and sputtered by Donald John Trump.

The thrice-married former POTUS has admitted to cheating on his first two wives and then paid a porn star $130,000 to remain quiet about a tryst she said she and the future POTUS had back in the old days. Trump denies the event occurred … but he paid her the money to keep quiet about it. Go figure.

I guess I should mention that the alleged tumble with the porn queen occurred just weeks after Trump wife No. 3 gave birth to his youngest son.

We are being flooded with information about the FBI search for top-secret documents taken illegally from the White House and socked away in the basement of Trump’s home in Florida. Republican response to it? Crickets, man.

In a way, though, the silence is a bit of a change in what had been the typical GOP response to allegations leveled against the former Cult Leader in Chief. Members of Congress had been quick to blame Democrats for “weaponizing” the process that resulted in two impeachments of Trump. I am hearing little justification for a POTUS taking those documents that belong to the public and do not belong to him.

Meanwhile, GOP congressional leaders remain shamefully silent as evidence piles up along several legal fronts. In Georgia, we hear about a grand jury taking testimony about Trump coercing state election officials to “find” enough votes to swing that state’s 2020 presidential election results to Trump’s favor. Does anyone in the GOP care about that?

Trump’s business is being probed for allegedly falsifying its assets in order to obtain loans. Are those the ingredients of a character-driven business empire?

The House select 1/6 committee is trying to finish its probe into Trump’s role in inciting the insurrection that sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Republicans don’t give a crap about that, either … except for the two GOP committee members, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

I do not understand what has happened to the Republican Party. I thought I might learn the answer before they threw me into the ground.

Silly me.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news, political news

Righteous among us tumble

My head-shaking just wonā€™t stop in the wake of this weekā€™s stunning announcement regarding a North Texas congressman, a self-proclaimed conservative lawmaker who ā€” I am going to presume ā€” was proud of his ā€œfamily values.ā€

Republican Van Taylor ended his re-election campaign Wednesday after disclosing he had an extramarital dalliance with a Plano woman, a so-called ā€œISIS brideā€ who once was married to an officer in the Islamic State terrorist organization. Geez, that alone is enough to make me wonder about a lot of other things.

Taylor was heading for a runoff after Tuesday’s GOP primary.

What is so damn disturbing about this ā€” actually one of many things that ought to disturb any of us ā€” is the way Taylor characterized himself as a staunch conservative, someone who stood for strong values. The implication of those values statements is clear, that he is a devoted to his wife and children. Well, the way I see it, oneā€™s devotion must be complete, unequivocal and unconditional.

Taylor has apologized profusely to his family and to his constituents. I am one of the latter and I will accept the apology and I will wish him well as he tries to rebuild his life. Whether he is able to rebuild his family is a matter for them to decide.

My only concern ā€” as a Third Congressional DistrictĀ constituentĀ ā€” is that Taylor stays away from public service. I donā€™t want him representing my interests at any level of government. You see, I donā€™t much care for public officials who profess to be of a certain stripe, but who are hiding dark secrets that reveal them to be something quite different.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

political news

So long, Gov. Greitens

Every so often, a no-name politician thrusts himself onto the nation’s center stage. Occasionally, it’s the result of bad conduct.

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has resigned his office. The Republican up-and-comer is quitting in the midst of scandals involving a former paramour with whom he was having an affair. He allegedly threatened her by releasing a racy photo of her if she said anything publicly about their affair.

Greitens, a former Republican political star, denies wrongdoing. He calls the stories a “distraction.” He says it has put a strain on his family; uhh, yeah, do ya think?

Contrary to what this “family values” pol has said, this issue with his philandering (to which he has admitted) isn’t just a “private” matter. This former Navy SEAL proclaimed while running for governor that he is a “proud husband and father.”

Greitens’s pride in his marriage was then determined to be a lie. Bigly, man! He campaigned partly on the basis of his marital fidelity.

Thus, it becomes the public’s business.

He’s going to leave office. Fine. Don’t let the door hit you in the wherever, dude.

Let there be a lesson to be learned here. If you’re going to talk about family values while running for public office, you’d better be skeleton-free.

national news, political news

‘Proud husband and father’ faces the music

Eric Greitens is trying to have it both ways.

The Republican governor of Missouri has now been accused of forcing himself onto a woman with whom he had a sexual relationship. He has admitted to an extramarital affair, but denies the sexual assault allegation.

Oh, but there’s more. Greitens, once a rising star in the GOP — a handsome former U.S. Navy SEAL and all that kind of thing — says his transgression has “nothing to do with governing,” that it is a totally private matter.

But … it isn’t. Not really.

You see, this “family values Republican” proclaimed on the campaign stump while running for his office that he is a “proud husband and father.” That’s right. He used his alleged pride in marriage and parenthood as a campaign hook. He sought to win the support of fellow proud spouses and parents who share his so-called traditional family ethic.

I have to offer the young man a piece of unsolicited advice about his path to high public office. It is that he shouldn’t have bragged in the open, out loud about being a proud hubby and dad while he was messing around with a woman to whom he was not married.

I keep thinking of former Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards, who made similar declarations about his ailing wife only to be shown to be a philanderer.

He, too, tried to have it both ways. It didn’t work for him. I cannot imagine how Eric Greitens can get away with it.

He is facing possible impeachment in Missouri. Hang on, dude. Your ride toward political oblivion is likely to get rather bumpy.

Disgusting.

national news, political news

Eric Greitens: latest casualty in ‘family values’ war

Don’t sit down, Gov. Eric Greitens. I’m going to talk about you for a moment.

This fellow is a Republican governor from Missouri. He’s been in office for only about a year. He also is making quite a name for himself.

He ran for office as a “family values” candidate. He once proclaimed his love for his wife and children and the happiness he feels at being a married man and father.

The former Navy SEAL — who was a Democrat until he switched parties in 2015 — was even discussed as a possible presidential candidate in 2020 or 2024.

Then came this: He fooled around with a woman other than his wife before he was elected governor. What’s even more troubling is that he allegedly threatened her if she blabbed about it.

The woman, who was married at the time, is now divorced from her husband. Greitens remains married to his wife. He admits to the affair, but denies threatening the woman with whom he took the tumble.

Family values …

Wow. What are we to make of political candidates who make such a big show of their marriage? How are we supposed to react when they get caught in the big lie? I take this kind of thing quite badly. It doesn’t go down well. Why? Because of the show politicians such as Greitens make when they actually boast about their marital fidelity on the campaign stump — as if someone keeping a vow he makes before God is worth a boast.

This clown reminds me of so many politicians who’ve proclaimed their love for the spouse only to be revealed to be philanderers.

Does the name John Edwards ring a bell? Edwards was the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee who campaigned across the land declaring his devotion to his late wife, Elizabeth — while he was messing around with a woman who later gave birth to a baby, courtesy of that relationship with Edwards.

This kind of revelation sickens me in the extreme. Gov. Greitens makes me sick, too, given that he made such a phony show of his marital devotion.

Politicians who lie about their faithfulness then deserve all the scorn they receive.

Now … you may sit down, Gov. Greitens. And may you disappear from the national political scene.

national news

Rep. Murphy quits Congress … see ya later

Tim Murphy is about to become a former member of Congress from western Pennsylvania. He had toiled in relative obscurity until he decided to make a politically fatal mistake.

This Republican lawmaker got involved intimately with a young woman, who became pregnant as a result of their extramarital affair.

Now, what grows legs under this story is that Murphy — whose main claim to fame as a member of Congress is that he has been fervently anti-abortion — asked his paramour to obtain an abortion.Ā 

As the saying goes: Oops!

Murphy had intended initially to retire at the end of his current term. He has decided to quit the House and will depart Capitol Hill in about a month.

Good. I recognize that Congress is full of hypocrites. There will be more hypocrites coming along even as some of the current congressional hypocrites depart the scene.

When one of those hypocrites sacrifices his moral authority in such a callous matter, it’s good to show him the door and urge him to avoid letting that door hit him in the … you know.

national news

‘Backbencher’ thrusts himself into the limelight

I had never heard of Tim Murphy before today.

He used to be an obscure member of Congress from western Pennsylvania. The Republican lawmaker was known mostly to his constituents and, I presume, his colleagues in the 435-member U.S. House of Representatives.

To the rest of this vast nation, he was a stranger.

No … longer.

Many more Americans now know Murphy as a duplicitous politician who got caught doing something he shouldn’t have done. The married pol got involved with an extramarital affair with a much younger woman. That relationship resulted in the woman becoming pregnant.

What did Murphy do at that point? He reportedly asked the woman to obtain an abortion. And why is that a big deal? It’s because Murphy has been an ardent political opponent of abortion. He’s a “pro-life, family values” Republican.

Murphy is going to finish the rest of his term. Then he’ll retire from Congress.

There you have it. An individual who labels himself a certain way behaves at a couple of levels like someone quite different.

He’s not the first politician to fall off the virtue wagon. He won’t be the last one. Politicians of all stripes have said one thing and done another. Former Democratic U.S. Sen. John Edwards used to proclaim his love for his late wife — only to be revealed to have fathered a child with another woman. Ex-GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich wailed aloud about Bill Clinton’s misbehavior with a White House intern while taking a tumble with a female staff member.

The list is endless.

I just have to believe Tim Murphy wishes for a way he could return to the farthest end of the back bench — out of sight and out of mind.

Sorry, Rep. Murphy. You brought this unwanted attention on all by yourself.