national news

Happy birthday, America!

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Today we wish our country a happy birthday. 250 of them have come and gone since the wise men who founded the nation gathered to sign the Declaration of Independence from the English Crown.

The declaration in fact was a long list of grievances the Colonies had against the Crown. Thus, the nation was formed by an act of dissent from the edicts of another nation that governed us. And yet … we now hear from the current American government that dissent is an act of treason, that it’s not right to disagree with the pronouncements from the nation’s capital. Such a belief is totally counter to what the founders believed. Indeed, they produced a government with a tenet that declares that dissent is the most democratic and patriotic thing we can do as Americans.

The folks in DC have it wrong. The founders 250 years ago had it right when they declared that we were “endowed by our Creator” with rights that could not be abridged and trifled with. They included the rights to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Well, I am one American patriot has lived a good life, I am liberated to the max and I am still pursuing happiness.

But I continue that pursuit against the current of rhetoric that comes from D.C. It comes from our current president, a man I happen to detest even though I accept with no sense of pleasure that he was elected duly in the latest presidential election.

I don’t want to make this brief salute to our nation about our current troubles. They’re going to work themselves out in fairly short order when vote for the next Congress in two years after that when we vote for president and yet another Congress.

The founders got it right when they built a governmental framework around a Constitution that was built to withstand the challenges if faces. They didn’t get it right. Indeed, the founders knew that perfection was impossible, as they wrote they were seeking a “more perfect Union.” We’ll continue that struggle through all the troubles we encounter.

They ended up with a pretty damn good piece of work. Happy birthday, America.

national news

How should I react to the Reflecting Pool?

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You might know that I will be traveling to Washington, D.C., for an overnight stay as part of an Honor Flight celebration that pays tribute to veterans for their service.

The trip is set for Sept. 11; we’ll return to North Texas the evening of the following day.

Part of the trip will be to tour the various memorials and monuments along the DC Mall that, as you might have heard, features the Reflecting Pool that Donald Trump sought to turn American Flag Blue to honor the nation’s 250th birthday. It didn’t work out.

The pool turned green because of algae — or so I understand.

The question I am facing is how do I react when I lay my eyes on the Reflecting Pool. Do I do nothing? Do I make a loud, agonizing groan of disgust? Do I fake being thrilled to see it?

I am likely to offer a four-letter word or two to whomever is nearby when I utter it. I find the whole thing to be just one more hideous example of Trump’s unfitness to hold the office he will occupy for another two years. He didn’t need to spend taxpayer money to gussy up the pool. It was a no-bid deal went to a friend of his. And the idiot blew it!

I damn sure am not going to let the sight of that monstrosity ruin what I believe should be a wonderful experience for myself and the other veterans with whom I will travel to the nation’s capital.

The Honor Flight intends to shower us with love and respect. I intend fully to accept all of it with humility and pride.

Donald Trump

Will he get this one right?

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Sometime before the weekend expires, Americans likely can expect to hear from Donald J. Trump, who will speak ostensibly about the holiday we are celebrating.

Yep. We’re going to blast firecrackers, fire up the grill, salute the flag and cheer the nation’s 250th birthday. It’s a big deal, one that usually requires a red, white and blue statement from the president of the United States.

Oh, but wait! The POTUS this year is a numbskull who’s engulfed in scandal, caught up battles lost long ago, and who is presiding angrily over a nation that is growing increasingly disgusted with the man we elected to lead us.

Furthermore, we have seen what this individual can do to moments such as this. Do you recall how he defamed Christians’ most holy day over Easter with a tirade against his political enemies. He has done the same thing with Christmas, not to mention secular holidays such as Memorial Day, Labor Day, Patriots Day. You name it, Trump has cheapened it with shallow political rhetoric.

I hope against hope that he could rise to the occasion this time. After all, it’s the 250th year since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That is a huge deal, man.

I am going to hope he doesn’t mess it up. That’s all I can do is hope. I don’t expect anything different from a president who hardly gives these matters a moment’s thought.,

legal news

Time to return the ‘favor’?

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You and I know that politicians keep telling us how they hate dealing with hypothetical situations, how they detest questions dealing with circumstances that might not ever occur.

Well, here’s a hypotthetical matter that very well could play out. Bear with me for a moment.

The midterm election this fall could result in a dramatic shift in congressional power, with Democrats reclaiming the majority in the House of Reps … and also the Senate. Let’s suppose the Senate shifts from Republican to Democratic control. Donald Trump is likely to become apoplectic, but this isn’t really about him.

What happens if one of the three liberal seats on the U.S. Supreme Court becomes vacant? A justice might have to resign, or he or she might well … be unable to serve. The Senate then becomes Ground Zero in the battle to fill the seat.

Flash back to 2016. Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died while vacationing in Texas. President Obama then was able to nominate someone to replace the brilliant jurist Scalia. He chose Merrick Garland, chief justice of the DC Appellate Court.

Not so fast, said then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. We’ve got an election coming up in November and we need tolet the voters decide who becomes president before moving on this nomination, McConnell said. Obama was furious. So were Democratic senators. Everyone praised Garland as an outstanding candidate for the high court. McConnell played his hand brilliantly.

Donald Trump won the 2016 election. He took his oath and then nominated the first of three justices he would get to pick during his first term in office.

It well might be possible for the next Senate majority leader, presuming it’s a Democrat, to pull the same stunt that McConnell used. One liberal justice, Sonia Sotomayor, has hinted openly she might have to step down because of health matters. Do you think a new Senate majority leader is going to roll over and let Trump tilt the court even farther to the right? Hah! I don’t believe that will ever happen.

Elections have consequences, yes? We’re watching in real time how those consequences can play out with a Supreme Court that already has overturned landmark rulings. Thus, it becomes vital to understand how vital it is to select the right Senate candidates when it comes time to speak out.

political news

Wanting a return to good wishes

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I have been watching a video that went viral years ago, and it’s still making the rounds.

It shows President George W. Bush welcoming his successor, President-elect Barack Obama to the Oval Office. Joining them were three former presidents: George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. The men are standing tall and straight and President Bush is addressing the cameras gathered.

He turns to the president-elect and tells him that despite their political differences, all these men have the same thing in common. They want the new president to succeed. Bush offered Obama those good wishes on behalf of all the men gathered.

And every time I watch the video, I cannot help but think — or believe — that we’ll likely won’t see that kind of presidential fellowship for the foreseeable future. I try like the dickens to imagine Donald Trump taking part in such an event one day near the end of his time in office. My mind’s eye just cannot capture that moment.

I wish for all my might to see that kind of gathering to return. When President Biden won the 2020 election, we saw an angry mob storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. You know what happened. Donald Trump never conceded that he lost. He still carries that complaint with him, alleging that the 2020 election was stolen.

So, what might we expect to occur if a Democrat happens to win the 2028 election? Will the incumbent fling open the White House doors to all his predecessors and stage the kind of rapprochement we saw in 2009? Do not hold your breath.

I cannot predict, either, what might occur if a Republican wins the 2028 election. I suppose it might depend on which end of the GOP the winner might emerge. I still enjoy seeing video evidence of how it used to be in this country, where a peaceful transition of power allowed grown politicians to put their anger aside and wish the very best to the new person who will take the reins.

military news

Recalling a national mistake

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President Barack Obama occasionally would hang a medal around the neck of a warrior who fought in a long-ago-battle. And if that warrior served in Vietnam during the war that ravaged that nation, he would remind Americans of the mistake many of them made when those warriors came home.

The nation has grown up since those days. Now we honor the men and women who fight our battles. We tell them we love them and we’re proud of their service. During the Vietnam War era, it wasn’t that way … at all! The individuals who came home were treated with varying degrees of hostility or — in my case — with profound disinterest. Therein lies the mistake we made. Gladly, we have rebuilt our national conscience and are welcoming home our warriors with ceremonies, with viral videos of their reunification with loved ones.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Americans had to taste the bitter pill of defeat. We didn’t lose fights on the battlefield. We lost the war at home. We ran out of patience. The Vietnamese proved the fallacy of walking onto another man’s turf and expecting to score an easy, quick victory over a people that had fought for decades for their homeland. They were battle-hardened. They knew about suffering in ways we only could imagine.

The result was the young Americans who went to war because their government ordered them, or who volunteered for the service, were treated disgracefully. They took the blame for policy decisions they merely were following. The public that blamed them had no clue about the wrong they were perpetrating.

That’s all changed. The Persian Gulf War of 1990-91 brought that shame to a screeching halt with parades honoring the personnel who took care of business on the battlefield. Who led the cheers? The Vietnam War veterans! In communities all across the nation, Vietnam vets took up the organizing baton and staged parades to honor their battlefield descendants.

That’s how a nation grows up.

military news

Honor Flight awaits

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My phone rang Saturday morning and for a moment I tjhought it might be spam call. Oh … it damn sure wasn’t anything of the sort.

A lady from Dallas was calling to inform me that I had been chosen to join a group of 40 to 45 fellow veterans on a whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C. The trip will occur the morning of Sept. 11 and we’ll return to Love Field the next evening.

It’s an Honor Flight, established years ago to salute those who have worn the uniform of the nation.

Now … every person I’ve ever know who has taken one of these trips cannot speak kindly enough about the treatment they receive. They carry nothing. They have “guardians” who accompany them to ensure their needs and desires are satisfied. The plan, as I understand it, is for us to visit as many of the pertinent memorials and monuments on the D.C. Mall during our time in the nation’s capital.

I also understand that we will be applauded, offered congratulations and many thanks from those are present to see what’s going on. I’ll be candid here: I do not yet know how I intend to react to such royal treatment.

There will be veterans who have served in all the nation’s conflicts dating to World War II. I suspect there will be few among our group who served in WWII, or in Korea for that matter, given that the Korean War started just five years after the end of the the Second World War. I hope there will be plenty of us who served in Vietnam who will take this trip. We will have much to share among ourselves about our experience during that troubling era. Desert Storm, Grenada, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans also will be present.

This kind of fanfare marks a remarkable about-face for a nation that once scorned those of us who came home from Vietnam. To be clear, I was never spat upon or called a filthy name. However, I am aware of how too many Americans blamed military personnel simply for following lawful orders.

Well, that’s all changed. I am going to take part in an Honor Flight. It’s a new day in America and I look forward to enjoying it.

local news

City manager search: so far, so good

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I am ready to proclaim my cautious optimism in Princeton’s search for a new city manager to take the reins of a government that, to my eyes, appears to be flailing.

The City Council appears ready to hire a search firm with some serious credential to lead the search effort. Compared to to slap-dash, and frankly underhanded, method that brought us the previous city manager, it looks as though the city has awakened to smell the coffee.

The council has stated it likes the way CPS HR Consulting has presented itself. It will hire the firm, founded in 1985, to bring candidates to Princeton. And get this: Council members will interview the finalists, actually meet them prior to decided whom to choose as the next city manager. The most recent city manager, Mike Mashburn, emerged from the shadows in January 2024. He met the City Council for the very first time in an executive session of the council, which then hired him unanimously on the spot and decided on a healthy salary package.

Mashburn last a little less than two years on the job. I haven’t read a single detail of the terms of his sudden resignation, but my trick knee tells me he was asked to leave the building immediately. Why? Well, I guess he wasn’t working out.

Then the city brought in a fellow, Jeff Jones, to run City Hall in the interim. Then he quit suddenly just recently. Again, no details have been forthcoming. The city is being run by Jim Waters, the current interim manager who happens to be the city’s chief of police.

Now we have a new mayor, Eugene Escobar Jr., has vowed a transparent search. His mayoral predecessor, Brianna Chacon, made the same vow when embarking on the search that brought Mashburn to Princeton, but didn’t deliver on that pledge.

CPS HR Consulting can claim success in finding city managers.

Let us hope its success rate is bolstered by a selection for Princeton. This city has moved rapidly beyond the one-street-light burg it used to be. It’s now a city in high demand by new residents. It needs a strong hand to take the reins of the city administration. Just keep it in the open.

Donald Trump, national news

Pay attention to what matters … Donald

This has been clear ever since Donald Trump took the presidential oath on his first tour of the White House … the dude has too much serious work to consider, which is why he wastes so much time lampooning TV comics, critics of assorted importance and all the little things he ought to let slide.

Barack Obama said it well recently when asked about Trump’s fixation with him, a predecessor in the White House. If Trump were seriously committed to working for us, President Obama said, he would have zero time to fire off social media messages at 2 in the morning. TV comic Stephen Colbert noted as well that “We’re just clowns.” Trump should spend a minute of his time wondering about the fate of comedians or what they’re saing about him.

Trump has exhibited zero interest or inclination to concern him with policy details or the effects of decisions he makes from the Oval Office. His unfitness for public service is on display ever waking hour of every single day.

He tears down the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom; he decks out the Oval Office in gold ornaments; he drains the DC Mall reflecting pool in what is turning into the boondoggle of the year; he slaps his name on the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in a disgraceful display of disrespect for a slain president.

The man is an idiot. Pure and simple.

national news

Hoping to hear truth behind what we received

I am hoping the day will arrive — and that I’ll be alive to watch its arrival — when we will understand how American voters got suckered twice into electing a known fraud, con man and imposter to the nation’s highest office.

To be honest, I am still in a fog over that one. We once demanded the very best among us to serve in the presidency. With Donald John Trump we have gotten the worst among us.

What makes this case even more maddening is that Trump forewarned us himself about what we would get if we elected him. He once declared in the open that he would be the “retribution” of those who believe they have been done wrong. Boy howdy, has this clown delivered the goods on that one.

There were plenty of high-powered individuals who had told us to be wary of what we were swallowing. Mitt Romney, the Republicans’ 2012 presidential nominee, called Trump a “phony, a fraud,” and spelled out in excruciating detail evidence he had to make such a claim. Our collective response was to push it all aside. Many MAGA faithful called Romney guilty of spitting sour grapes. Well, Mitt was spot on!

A POTUS who should have more important matters to occupy his time instead vents on a reflecting pool, bitches about the removal of his name from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and continues to denigrate the records of his immediate predecessors … namely Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

This is what he told us we would get if we elected him to the White House? Yep. It damn sure is!

Shame on American voters for guzzling this swill.

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