local news

Road work does not end

A wacky millionaire in Amarillo, the late Stanley Marsh, was proud of posting signs around the city. One of them said “Road does not end.”

I now live in a community, Princeton in Collin County, Texas, where it can be said with a straight face that “road work does not end.”

We have this highway, U.S. 380, that runs through our city in an east-west direction. Traffic on it stalls westbound in the morning and eastbound in the afternoon as motorist go to work and then return home from work, respectively.

The Texas Department of Transportation and cities along the U.S. 380 route are planning ways that they acknowledge — if you ask them — that their big ideas are going to cause a whole lot of teeth-gnashing for the next several years.

They all want to relieve the traffic pressure on U.S. 380. Princeton City Manager Derek Borg told me recently that sometime in 2024, TxDOT will begin work on widening the highway from four lanes to six. Sheesh! Do I have to tell you about the disruption that will occur along that right-of-way? I won’t bother. I think you get it.

That’s not nearly the end of it.

Sometime soon, TxDOT is going to build freeway passes through communities along U.S. 380. Princeton, Farmersville, McKinney, Prosper, Little Elm and God knows where else will feel the impact of that work.

TxDOT has been gathering information from the communities, assessing the environmental impact of the monumental job. I am not sure when the agency plans to start work. This much I know: When it starts, there will be headaches a-plenty all along the highway.

When will it end? I haven’t a clue. I do believe it will bring significant traffic relief for cities such as Princeton … until the state decides to do even more work on our roadways.

The road work does not end!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

History to be made

No matter what transpires after this week, I believe you and I are about to witness a history-smashing event when the House select committee examining the 1/6 insurrection meets for its final public meeting.

All signs — every single one of them — tell us that the panel is going to recommend at least one criminal referral against Donald J. Trump.

Now, to be sure the House panel cannot indict Trump. That task rests with the Justice Department. History will be shattered, though, when the panel votes on the referral. It will be the first time in U.S. history that a congressional committee has made such a recommendation on a former president of the United States of America.

An even more critical question will arise when the committee takes its vote: Will the DOJ follow the recommendation handed it by the House? All the smart money in the land says “yes.” Why? Because Attorney General Merrick Garland hired a career prosecutor, Jack Smith, to serve as special counsel.

Smith hit the ground in a dead-on sprint. He has been working to finalize the evidence gathered by the House committee and by the probe that the DOJ had completed before Garland decided to recuse himself from the insurrection probe and the examination of the pilfering of classified documents from the White House as Trump was leaving office.

To be absolutely clear, the fecal matter is going to hit the fan when the committee casts its vote Monday. We can expect the MAGA cultists in Congress to yammer and yowl about “partisan witch hunts,” and “weaponizing the Justice Department” and, yes, there will be calls to impeach Merrick Garland.

It’s all BS. The committee was constituted correctly at the beginning of this saga right after the insurrection. It has collected damning testimony — most of it coming from Trump loyalists within the administration!

I believe there is sufficient evidence to indict the ex-POTUS on any number of charges. But … first things first. The House committee needs to make history for the rest of it to proceed. I also believe we should prepare for a monumental moment.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Open borders? Where?

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t answer a direct question posed by ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz.

She prefaced the question by stating that President Biden never has said he favors “open borders.” The only people making that contention are Republican foes of the Democratic president. Gov. Abbott is one of them.

Is it the GOP mantra that is spawning the massive influx of migrants to our southern border? Raddatz asked Abbott that question directly, as it was broadcast this morning.

He didn’t answer it. He veered somewhere else with some rambling response about the chaos that will develop if a Donald Trump-era restriction is lifted.

C’mon, governor … aren’t Republican critics’ lies and demagoguery about an “open border” fueling this crisis?

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news, local news

Arming teachers? No thanks!

Let’s discuss for a brief moment the issue of gun violence in schools … shall we?

The Keller Independent School District over yonder in Tarrant County has just voted 4-3 to train teachers on how to use firearms and then allow them to pack the pistols into their classrooms.

Oh, my. How can I say this properly? Well … that’s a bad idea. Period.

I get that there remains considerable public support for arming teachers, allowing them to take “whatever measures are necessary” to stop a lunatic from killing people inside the school walls. I remain terribly concerned, though, about the level of training that Keller ISD is going to provide for its teachers and whether there’s a fool-proof way to ensure that teachers don’t shoot someone other than the lunatic by mistake.

Where I live, in Princeton, the independent school district has employed armed marshals. They are former law enforcement officers with considerable training and expertise on how to handle potential emergencies. The marshals will join the existing staff of “resource officers” employed by the Princeton Police Department in keeping our district’s schools safe. Every campus will be covered by heavily trained personnel who know what to do when trouble erupts.

Just down the highway, about seven miles east of Princeton, the Farmersville ISD has a staff of sworn police officers led by a Texas law enforcement-certified chief of police. All the officers in the Farmersville school system, by the way, are certified by the state law enforcement authority. They, too, are well-equipped and trained to respond correctly in case of emergency. Every Farmersville ISD campus has such an officer on duty.

Quite obviously, no one wants a teacher to pull a gun out of his or her desk drawer and start firing at a wacko. I just have this nagging fear that a young college grad entering a classroom as a teacher would be petrified at having to respond to a violent outbreak.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Puppy Tales, Part 99: He’s dressing himself

You know by now that Toby the Puppy is a smart pooch, perhaps the smartest pooch who ever lived.

I want to provide a brief report on a skill that our puppy has just acquired: He can “dress himself.” Yes, you read that correctly.

How does he perform such a — um — human task? It goes like this:

We use a harness when we take him for walks around our neighborhood. We prefer the shoulder restraint over a collar for one obvious reason: We don’t want to choke him if we need to tug on his leash.

When I tell him I have his harness ready for him to wear, he runs to me and then sits down. I lower the harness below his face. Toby the Puppy then lifts one leg for me to slip one loop over him. Then he lifts the other leg.

Bada-bing, bada-boom! He’s dressed. No fuss whatsoever.

Being a puppy parent has been loads of fun for my bride and me. These little tricks or habits he has learned make it easy.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news, legal news

Tamping expectations

Try as I have done to tamp down expectations on what will occur Monday when the House select committee makes its criminal referrals on the insurrection and assorted crimes relating to the 1/6 insurrection, I admit to difficulty doing so.

However, I am prepared to acknowledge that the House panel charged finding truth behind that violent chapter in our nation’s history only is going to recommend criminal charges be brought against those who were responsible for the onslaught.

The heavy lifting will occur in the offices of the Department of Justice and the special counsel who is examining the evidence.

I believe the referrals will include Donald Trump. He incited the assault on 1/6. He refused to stop the assault, even as the treasonous assailants were shouting “Hang Mike Pence!”

Let us remember that the House committee has no power to issue indictments. That power rests solely within the executive branch of government, which means the DOJ and the man who is serving as special counsel in this probe.

Still, I am certain that Americans who decide to tune in Monday will be treated to some riveting TV watching. I look forward to watching this drama unfold.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

legal news

Defamation, anyone?

Defaming a fellow public official’s good name is difficult to fight in a court of law, I suppose, which might explain why we haven’t seen many defamation lawsuits filed in this age of extreme political anger and vilification.

I mention this because of the hideous lie that U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Republican, said regarding fellow Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat.

Jackson put a tweet out there that accused Porter of saying that pedophilia isn’t a crime. She didn’t say that. She said nothing of the sort. Porter said gays have been treated unfairly as pedophiles and “groomers.”

Has Jackson, the GOP rep who lives in Amarillo — the city I once called home — apologized to Porter? Hah! Nope.

That brings to mind the hideous statements that have flown from the pie holes of the QAnon/MAGA cabal of public officials. They have accused high-ranking Democrats of peddling children for sex. Yes, there have been lawsuits and the victims of that hideous epithet have won judgments.

Jackson needs to be slapped with a lawsuit for the constant barrage of moronic messages he has fired off via Twitter on any number of Democrats. The guy is a disgrace to the office he occupies and to the governing body where he serves.

What’s more, the overwhelming majority of Twitter messages that come from Jackson seek to denigrate those on the other side of the great divide. Any constructive notion, any positive comments about legislation he either authors or supports are not to be found.

All of this is my way of suggesting that those he denigrates — such as Rep. Porter — ought to ponder whether it’s wise to take this clown to court. To put words in someone’s mouth for the purpose of embarrassing her, as he did with Katie Porter, surely can be grounds for defamation.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Cheney’s credentials: They are impeccable

You aren’t about to read the final blog item I’ll ever post about Liz Cheney, but I feel moved to say this as she prepares to cast the most significant votes of her congressional career.

She is going to vote Monday — I am quite certain — in favor of referring criminal charges against Donald J. Trump for his role in the insurrection and assorted other crimes he committed.

Cheney, a congresswoman from Wyoming who lost her primary battle earlier this year to a Trump sycophant, has been accused of being a “traitor” to the party.

Hmm. I want to make this point one more time, with emphasis.

Cheney’s voting record during her years in Congress has been as staunchly Republican and conservative as anyone ever elected under the GOP banner.

She is staunchly pro-life on abortion; she has opposed legislation aimed at curbing gun violence, standing with the gun lobby every single time; she has been a small-government conservative, favoring tax cuts for businesses, even those that make billions of dollars for their owners; she has been tough on illegal immigration; she supported our war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Liz Cheney voted in favor of Trump’s legislative agenda more than 90% of the time!

She isn’t my type of legislator. However, she won the hearts of liberals and even a few moderate Republicans for the courage she has shown in standing firm for the Constitution and for opposing Trump’s blatant, illegal and immoral power grab.

The allegation of being a “traitor” comes from those who pledge their loyalty to a man and who — like their cult hero — ignored the oath of office they took to protect and defend the nation’s governing document.

I declare once more my admiration for Rep. Cheney for standing up for the rule of law. Would I vote for her for any public office? Uhh, probably not, but … I would if the only other opponent on any ballot was the man she wants to ensure “never gets close to the Oval Office ever again.”

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Ex-cop gets correct verdict

Here I go, weighing in on a subject about which I know little and cannot relate directly to its social implications.

That said, I believe a Fort Worth trial jury delivered the correct verdict in the trial of former Fort Worth police officer Aaon Dean, who shot Atatiana Jefferson to death in 2019. The jury convicted Dean of manslaughter.

Dean was responding to a disturbance at Jefferson’s home. He shot her to death after believing she had pulled a gun out and was preparing to shoot him.

Dean is white; Jefferson was Black. Therein lies the social consequence.

It’s been said that a decade or two ago, this case likely wouldn’t have gone to trial in Fort Worth. This one did. The jury could have convicted Dean of murder. It could have found him not guilty. Instead, it split the difference by delivering a manslaughter verdict.

Jurors now must decide whether to send Dean to prison for a maximum of 20 years. It could bring back a probationary sentence. If the jury declines to sentence to hard time in the slammer, I do believe there could be serious recriminations from those who believe justice was only partially served with the manslaughter verdict.

The conviction has drawn a mixed response. Some residents wanted him convicted of murder. They worry that justice has been served only partially. I won’t comment on that, as I am sitting about 40 miles away in Collin County with no — if you’ll pardon the expression — skin in this game.

Now that he has been convicted of a felony, this former cop now will be a felon for the rest of his life. I will offer my expression of hope that the jury sends him to prison. He has to pay for the crime he committed.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

 

Uncategorized

Now … comes the 1/6 report

Americans with an interest in how the government came under attack on Jan. 6, 2021, and how we might prevent a recurrence of such a travesty have some riveting TV viewing ahead of them.

The House 1/6 select committee is going to meet one final time Monday in front of you and me. It will discuss what it has discovered after interviewing more than 1,000 witnesses and reviewed more than a million documents.

The committee then will take arguably the most monumental congressional votes in U.S. history. It will vote on whether to refer criminal charges against the former president of the United States who, in 1/6, incited the insurrection that tore through the Capitol Building with the aim of overturning a free and fair presidential election.

To be abundantly clear, Congress only can refer criminal charges to the Department of Justice. DOJ must decide whether to indict whoever the congressional committee refers in its report.

And … yes. Donald J. Trump’s name needs to be among those referred for criminal prosecution.

To suggest that the1/6 committee has been anything but meticulous, patient, diligent and courageous in its pursuit of the truth about 1/6 is to be guilty of the most partisan cynicism imaginable.

On the receiving end of those referrals, of course, is Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has insisted repeatedly that “no one is above the law.” By “no one,” he means precisely what we must infer, which is that Donald Trump is vulnerable to a criminal indictment … or two … or three.

Having watched many hours of previous testimony and commentary from committee members, I have no doubt — none, zero! — that Donald Trump committed multiple crimes before, during and after the assault on the Capitol Building.

What remains to be determined if whether the AG is going — after poring through the committee’s findings — to make history by doing something to previous attorney general has done. Will he indict Donald J. Trump?

I believe that moment is coming.

Meanwhile, I am going to listen with the most intense interest possible at committee members’ message as this drama draws to its long-awaited conclusion.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience