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Bin Laden is still dead, al-Qaida is growing

President Obama has sought to quell the thought that some had back in May 2011 that Osama bin Laden’s death would doom the terror organization he led.

Thus, it shouldn’t be a surprise that experts now say that al-Qaida likely is gaining strength in the Middle East and in North Africa.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/28/world/meast/al-qaeda-growing/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Navy SEALs killed bin Laden in Pakistan. The president announced it to the world that evening. It brought cheers in this country and throughout the world and shouts of “USA! USA! USA!” by crowds that gathered in front of the White House. But the warning came out — from the White House and from other quarters — that the war on terror must continue.

It has.

Drone strikes have taken out dozens of al-Qaida leaders; others have been captured and are awaiting justice. The nation has maintained its aggressive stance against al-Qaida and other terror groups ever since the 9/11 attacks.

We well might have entered a war without end.

That doesn’t mean we don’t keep fighting. It does mean the nation perhaps has entered a period of what could be called some form of a “new normal.” It is that we cannot ever let our guard down for a moment against those who would harm us.

The new normal requires the nation to be on high alert. Always.

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Legalize marijuana? My wheels are turning

Some people get more crotchety in their old age.

Others get more, um, reflective; they are more able to see the big picture.

I think — at least I hope — I am in that latter group.

I’ve spent a lifetime to date believing we should maintain marijuana’s illegal status. People should be punished for using the devil weed. That was how I used to think. I’m beginning to feel differently about that — and a lot of other things — as I grow older.

The states of Washington and Colorado are about to effectively legalize its use. A recent “60 Minutes” report declared that there are now more medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver that McDonald’s and Starbucks combined. It’s going to be taxed and regulated by the state. Coloradoans will be able to purchase the stuff essentially over the counter.

My home state of Oregon also has liberalized its marijuana laws. Other states have followed suit.

Meanwhile, still other states have continued to drop the hammer — as has the federal government with its minimum sentence policy — on those caught carrying and/or consuming small amounts of weed. Texas is one of them, where state police patrols are picking up drivers of vehicles loaded with grass on those so-called “routine traffic stops.”

I’m now wondering aloud whether history is finally forcing a serious change in societal attitudes toward marijuana.

Full disclosure here: I have smoked it. A very long time ago, when I was quite young, before my sons were born and mostly before I got married. My dad once asked me straight up: Have you smoked marijuana? More disclosure: I didn’t have the courage to say “yes.”

That was then. Dad is gone now and wherever he and Mom are, they know the truth. I haven’t touched the stuff in more than 40 years and, oh yes, I did inhale.

Is it sane to keep prosecuting people for consuming a substance that is no more addictive than, say, nicotine or alcohol? How do I know that? Well, I never became hooked on it, nor on alcohol. I did get hooked on cigarettes, but managed to quit cold turkey nearly 34 years ago.

That’s just me. I am aware, however, that millions of others can make similar claims.

I’m aware that I’m late getting into this discussion. What’s fascinated me over many years has been the advocacy of marijuana legalization by prominent conservatives: William F. Buckley, the economist Milton Friedman and former Secretary of State George Schultz, to name just three, all have spoken in favor of legalization. The conservative movement’s godfather, the late U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, did as well.

It’s not just the flaming liberals out there calling for this sea change.

It well might be time to catch this wave.

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A comeback for Carlos Danger? Please … no!

Reports are circulating that Anthony Weiner, aka Carlos Danger, might be pondering a political comeback.

This can’t be happening. Can it?

http://www.msnbc.com/hardball/weiner-political-career-facebook

Weiner’s congressional career came to a screeching halt when it was revealed — no pun intended, honest — that he had emailed photos of one of his body parts to female acquaintances. Once the word got out, Weiner at first denied it, then admitted it, then quit the House of Representatives.

He sought — he said — to heal his marriage. Weiner went into hiding, more or less.

Then he returned to run for mayor of New York. Weiner professed to be cleared of his addiction to this kind of disgraceful behavior.

But wait! Then reports surfaced that, yep, he was doing it again — under the name of Carlos Danger.

Late-night comics went ballistic. Once their jokes took off into the stratosphere, Weiner’s poll numbers tanked.

He finished far back in the pack of the New York Democratic Party primary.

And then he was gone again. Or so some of thought — and hoped.

He wrote this on Facebook: “What’s next? I’ll keep you posted on my plans. But I hope we keep the band together.” He thanked his friends, apparently leaving the door slightly ajar for yet another foray into public life.

Spare the country, please, of the bad jokes and puns. Please?

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U.S. airlines don’t make the grade? Imagine that

This might qualify as the least-surprising survey finding in the history of surveys.

OK, maybe I exaggerate, but not by much.

Business Insider has rated the top 20 airlines in the world. None of them — zero — is based in the United States of America.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-best-airlines-in-the-world-2013-4

I looked at the list and counted four airlines on which I have flown: Cathay Pacific, Thai, Japan Air Lines and Lufthansa.

I’ll stipulate that I do not consider myself a seasoned world traveler, but I have been blessed with opportunities to fly abroad. Some of the air travel has been quite pleasant; some of it has been, well, quite unpleasant. Almost without fail, the unpleasantness has occurred aboard U.S. airlines.

I won’t detail the terrible service I’ve experienced. I’ll tell you two quick stories.

My wife and I flew to Copenhagen, Denmark in June 2006. We stayed there a week and then flew home. Our first leg on the return flight was aboard a British Airways flight from Copenhagen to London Heathrow Airport. The service was fabulous, top-notch; the flight crew was gracious, kind, attentive, cheerful … all the things you expect on a flight.

We disembarked at Heathrow, then caught a cab to Gatwick Airport across town, where we boarded an American Airlines flight from London to Dallas-Fort Worth. The service then was, well, not nearly at the level I just described on that first leg. The flight crew was decidedly less gracious, kind, attentive, etc.

Welcome back to reality, right?

The second quick story involves a flight from Delhi, India, to Tokyo, via Bangkok. This was in 2004. I boarded the flight in Delhi, flew six hours aboard a Thai Air flight to Bangkok. The crew could not have been more gracious. I changed planes in Bangkok and boarded a Japan Air Lines flight to Tokyo.

I took a sleeping aid to help me catch some shut-eye for the next six- or seven-hour flight. I settled back in my seat. The plane took off. After a while, the flight attendants began serving a meal. I declined my meal and went to sleep.

When the pilot announced we were beginning our descent into Narita Airport in Tokyo, I awoke to discover a pillow under my head and a blanket tucked under my chin. I have no recollection of how they got there — therefore, I only presumed the flight attendant tucked me in.

I do not believe that would have happened on a U.S.-based air carrier.

Thus, the survey doesn’t surprise me in the least.

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Mount St. Helens pictures stir scary memory

The story attached to this blog has brought back some chilling memories of my own relating to Mount St. Helens.

I’ll share them here.

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2013/12/mount_st_helens_new_photos_eme.html#incart_m-rpt-2

The story tells of pictures that the late Reid Blackburn took in April 1980, a month before the mountain blew apart. He was a staff photographer for the Vancouver (Wash.) Columbian. Blackburn died May 18, 1980 when the north side of the volcano exploded.

I’ve got my own Mount St. Helens story that I don’t tell too often.

It involves an acquaintance I made when I was working for the now-defunct Oregon City (Ore.) Enterprise-Courier just south of Portland.

I wrote a feature story about a young man who, along with his father, refurbished old airplanes. He took me on a flight aboard a bi-plane he had fixed up. We were airborne for maybe 30 minutes. We landed and then I asked him for a favor. Media were reporting that Mount St. Helens was about to erupt and would he take to the mountain in the event of an eruption — or some activity that lent itself to pictures?

He agreed.

In late March (I think it was the 27th) the wires began reporting that earthquakes had started rumbling through the mountain and that smallish craters were forming around the summit. I called my “new best friend.” He was available. I drove quickly to his place in the country, and climbed aboard a single-engine, two-seat Cessna. We took off and headed straight north.

The flight lasted about 45 minutes. We got to the summit, I had gotten my camera out and we buzzed the summit repeatedly, watching the craters forming; ice would fall into the newly formed fissures.

Back and forth we flew. I guess we were in the air over the mountain for maybe 20 minutes. I snapped dozens of pictures.

We flew back to his landing strip just south of Oregon City.

A point of information: We had no radio aboard. Thus, we were not advised that the Federal Aviation Administration had declared the airspace several miles around the summit to be off-limits.

The statue of limitations now allows me to confess to breaking federal aviation law that day.

Happily, no one ratted us out. My pal never got into trouble. I got some memorable pictures, which we published in the next day’s paper. And I will keep those memories with me forever.

***

One post script: I told my dad about what we had done and he gave me a royal butt-chewing.

Then we laughed.

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Air fare glitch helps someone else … again

So help me, I need to get in the good graces of the god of Air Fare Glitches.

Delta Airlines posted some ridiculously low air fares online this week and some customer snapped up the fares. The airline company fixed the mistake, but said it would honor the fares purchased before it caught the mistake.

http://news.msn.com/offbeat/delta-to-honor-extremely-cheap-ticket-prices-posted-by-mistake

Why can’t I ever get in on that action?

Understand, of course, that Delta Airlines doesn’t fly in and out of Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, so this goof wouldn’t benefit me in the least. But other airlines have had similar problems — United, American and Southwest, for example, which do fly out of AMA.

I’m always caught flat-footed, never getting wind of these mess-ups until after they’ve been resolved.

Heck, my wife and I can barely redeem frequent-flier miles when we’ve earned enough of them to travel somewhere for “free.” I get on the website, look to book a redeem the mileage and learn that all the seats set aside for those with such awards have been taken up already. Crap!

We did hit the jackpot once, redeeming miles for a free flight to Buffalo, N.Y., to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary at nearby Niagara Falls. OK, so I’m not a total loser in this regard.

I’ll hand it to Delta, though, for honoring its mistake. I just wish I could have been one of the honorees.

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Can Sen. Ted Cruz make fun of himself? We’ll see

Ted Cruz has a pretty cool speaking gig on the horizon and it’s likely to test the man’s ability to make fun of himself.

The junior U.S. senator from Texas has been selected as the headline Republican speaker at the annual Gridiron Club dinner.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-on-the-potomac/2013/12/this-time-maybe-the-cat-in-the-hat/

It’s an annual event that draws media and political elites from Washington, D.C. together to poke a little fun at each other — and at themselves.

Cruz landed in Washington with a serious boom — not just a bang — this past January after winning the Senate seat in November 2012. He established himself immediately as the tea party wing of his party’s go-to guy on all manner of policy issues. He’s hogged TV time, made Senate floor speeches — including his infamous 21 1/2-hour faux filibuster over the Affordable Care Act — and managed to inflame feelings among his fellow Republicans, not to mention among Democrats.

I’ll hand it to Cruz, though. He’s an entertaining guy. As the blog post notes, he’ll follow in the steps of some recent folks who’ve brought the house down: Gov. Rick Perry in 2012 and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal this year.

The best part of all these speeches is when the speakers make fun of themselves, as Presidents Obama and George W. Bush have done over the years.

It’ll be interesting to see if Sen. Cruz has been given that self-deprecation gene that makes these events such fun to watch.

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Why not put income tax to a vote?

This crazy idea has been rattling around in my skull for some time.

It involves a state income tax for Texas. The idea is this: If Texas legislators are so sure-fire certain that a state income tax never would be approved by rank-and-file Texans, why don’t they just put the issue to a vote and let them decide this issue once and for all?

My pal Enrique Rangel, writing for the Amarillo Globe-News, talked to some leading Texas pols recently to get their take on ways to improve the state’s rickety tax system. Tea party Republican comptroller candidate Debra Medina favors a consumption tax to pay for public education; state Sen. Bob Duncan, R-Lubbock, favors a statewide property tax to pay for schools; Fort Worth Democratic state Rep. Lon Burnam wants an income tax.

Of the three ideas, I kind of like the idea of an income tax coupled with property tax relief.

Here’s the problem with an income tax: It requires an amendment to the Texas Constitution, which requires a statewide popular vote.

The Legislature, in a silly act of buck-passing, decided some years ago to require a constitutional amendment election, believing it didn’t have the votes in the body to approve an income tax by itself. Legislators figured that such a monumental decision needed voters’ stamp of approval.

They knew all along Texans wouldn’t approve such a tax, even if it could be structured with a serious offset somewhere else, such as local property taxes.

The state has been dancing all over this issue for as long as anyone can remember. Only lame-duck politicians — and a few active pols living in districts where they won’t be threatened with electoral defeat — have had the guts to talk openly about reforming the state tax system with an income tax.

It’s an open secret that an income tax would enable the state to keep its public school system from courtroom fights when judges rule the financing system to violate the state’s Constitution.

So, why not put the issue on the ballot. Burnam’s idea goes nowhere every time he pitches it to his legislative colleagues.

If it’s such a bad idea that’ll never fly with voters, put it on the ballot and let’s decide it.

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Spitzer’s bad year just got worse

Eliot Spitzer’s year — which was a rocky journey to begin with — has ended with a crash.

The former New York governor and his wife, Silda, are divorcing. OK, so that’s not so uncommon these days. In Spitzer’s case, though, it’s a rather public parting of the ways.

http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/193986-spitzers-split-after-26-years-on-christmas-eve

Spitzer was governor of New York until 2008 when he resigned after admitting to fooling around with hookers. Silda stood stone-faced by his side when he quit. Then he had a brief fling as a CNN commentator. The network dumped him when his ratings tanked. This year, Spitzer ran for New York City comptroller and lost that race, too.

Then reports began to surface that Spitzer had struck up a relationship with an aide to New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio. Sometime during all of this, Silda and Eliot separated and were living apart.

Christmas Eve wasn’t full of much cheer for the former New York power couple as they announced their pending divorce.

I don’t usually spend too much time hashing this kind of thing over, but Spitzer’s inability to bow out of the limelight after the hooker blowup makes him an easy target.

He should have just called it quits back then, retreated into private life and sought to restore his marriage behind closed doors. Spitzer didn’t do that. He continued to thrust himself into the spotlight, apparently forgetting that in this age of prying eyes and ears everywhere no one can escape public scrutiny.

Maybe now he’ll disappear from public view.

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Commissioners asking: Show us the money

Potter County commissioners are asking some tough questions of a man who’s been raising money for a railroad museum in Amarillo.

The questions are valid and need an answer.

http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/story.aspx?id=986819#.UrxAUVKA2t8

They involve an amount of money, $400,000, that the county has contributed to the creation of a Santa Fe Railroad museum. Walter Wolfram, an Amarillo lawyer who’s been leading the fundraising effort, has been asked by commissioners to give a full accounting of the money he’s raised. He spoke to commissioners recently and bristled a bit at the implication from the panel that he may have done something wrong.

I’m not going to second-guess or speculate on what’s happening here, but the commission is asking a legitimate question. It’s given a lot of public money for the past five years and wants to know the status of the contribution and wants to know the progress — if any — toward the creation of the museum.

Wolfram initially sought to put the museum on the second floor of the Santa Fe Building on Ninth Avenue, between Tyler and Polk streets. He gave up on that idea and apparently has targeted the old Santa Fe Depot just east of the Amarillo Civic Center.

The commission is wanting to know what’s happened to the money the county has given. It’s a simple query, right?

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