local news

Oh, for the good old days …

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A former member of Congress once told me a story that I want to share with you today because it reminds me of the days when Congress spent time actually governing and ignored the insults the other side would toss at them.

The ex-rep is Larry Combest, a Lubbock Republican and a man of high principle. Combest once represented the southern half of Amarillo, the part of the city that sat within the Randall County area of the Texas Panhandle.

Combest once served as an aide to Sen. John Tower, a Republican who once was slated to become defense secretary during the George H.W. Bush administration; his nomination got derailed over some persnal conduct issues. According to Combest, Tower had friends across the aisle, one of whom was Sen. Hubert Humphrey, a Minnesota Democrat. Tower and Humphrey would engage in ferocious floor debates over this or that public policy. Both men were adamant in their beliefs. They would raise their voices to each other.

Then, at the end of a day of stern debate, Sens. Tower and Humphrey would walk across the Senate floor, shake hands and often embrace as they walked through the doors of the chamber. Combest said the men were friends and never let harsh words spoken on the Senate floor sully their friendship.

I can cite many examples of bipartisan friendships in the Senate: Democrat Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Republican Bob Dole of Kansas; Democrat George McGovern of South Dakota and Republican Barry Goldwater of Arizona; Republican John McCain of Arizona and Democrat Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. I need to add that Combest once told me his best friend in the House was a Democrat, fellow West Texan Charles Stenholm of Abilene. All of these men were fierce advocates of their points of view. They all maintained close friendships with their friends on the other side.

I want a return to that level of collegiality. These days we hear criticism that cuts deeply. It makes me wonder whether there is a relationship between the way lawmakers treated each other then and what we have today … which happens to be a Senate where nothing gets done.

Coincidence? I think not!

local news

Patience becomes a must

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Work has begun a massive highway plan to improve transit along a major east-west highway that cuts through the heart of North Texas.

I refer to U.S. Highway 380, which serves as a major thoroughfare to residents of and visitors to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. There will be plenty of grumbles, profanities and obscene gestures to be seen and heard for what will seem like forever.

For my part, I will mutter the four-letter words under my breath in the sanctity of my pickup truck.

The Texas Department of Transportation has big plans for 380. It’s going to turn the four-lane highway into a six-lane jumbo road. One can see the concept of the new lanes being dug out at this moment. I live in Princeton and the evidence of work is everywhere in the form of those ubiquitous orange barrels and cones.

OK, so what’s the purpose of this blog? It’s merely to implore everyone to find that patience gene in our DNA and put it to work as we travel along the highway.

TxDOT unveiled some time ago an initiative that intends to reduce traffic along US 380. Part of that plan involves purchasing land in loops around communities that sit along 380. Princeton is one of them. The idea is to route through traffic off of 380, encourage motorists to take the loop and leave the existing highway to in-town/local traffic. The idea sounds doable. I will be anxious to see if works out as traffic planners envision.

That is, if I live long enough. I am not a young man. Indeed, I might be unable to drive myself when TxDOT announces it’s done with this massive project.

Well, I hereby pledge to mind my manners for as long as I can and for as long as it still matters.

local news

Make next manager live here

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Former Princeton City Manager Mike Mashburn got away with a dodge that should have been termed unacceptable.

Mashburn was hired by the City Council to help establish a budget that would fall on the shoulders of the city’s 40,000 resident to pay. The city manager wasn’t one of them. He lived far outside the city limits, thus absolving himself of any fiscal responsibility for what he was asking the rest of us to pay.

The next city manager must not be allowed to wriggle off the fiscal hook in such a manner. Mashburn quit the city manager’s job after serving in that role for fewer than two years. The guy didn’t even live within Princeton’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. And yet, he was crafting a municipal budget that would be paid for fully by the rest of us.

This exemption bothered a number of residents, many of whom sought an amendment to the city charter that would require the manager to live within the city limits.

Just as maddening as the residency exemption was to many of us, Mashburn was able to negotiate a monthly travel allowance based solely on the city manager having to drive to work every day.

Let’s get real, shall we? The City Council makes precisely one hiring decision: it’s the city manager. The next individual who ends up managing the growth of the nation’s fastest-growing city should have to live here and share the burden he or she is asking the rest of us to bear. It’s a requirement that doesn’t need a charter amendment to give it standing.

local news

What’s happening at Princeton’s City Hall?

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What in the name of tumult and tempest is going on at Princeton City Hall? I’m not covering it directly, but sources inside the place tell me there’s major chaos afoot.

Get a load of this: The city in the course of about three weeks has fired its legal counsel, lost its fire chief, who left to join another city’s fire department, accepted the sudden resignation of its interim city manager and then appointed its chief of police as its newest interim chief municipal executive.

All of this comes as the city awaits another Census Bureau report on municipal growth and Princeton, I am told, is likely to learn that it retains its standing as the fastest-growing city in the United States of America.

All of this has me shaking my noggin and wondering whether the city ever will be able to wrap its arms around the confusion that permeates City Hall.

Of the personnel upheaval that has upset city governance, the resignation of the city manager perhaps is most stunning. The mayor, Victor Escobar, had expressed supreme confidence in the fellow they hired to succeed Mike Mashburn, who resigned just short of being on the job for two years. Mashburn wasn’t cutting it, so he quit effective immediately. There was no “buyout” associated with his resignation, which tells me the City Council is glad he’s gone.

Then came the decision to elevate Police Chief Jim Waters as interim city manager, giving Waters a second full-time job in addition to protecting Princeton’s residents against bad guys. Maybe it’s just me, but I am trying to understand how Waters will be able to do both jobs well enough to maintain a firm grip on the issues that affect either of them.

Last I heard, the city slapped a building ban on new residential construction to enable the city shore up its police and fire protection. Then it had to reinstate the construction because the Legislature slapped limits on the number of such bans cities could invoke. The city still lacks sufficient police and fire protection because of the growth explosion that is still underway.

City governance is no walk in the park. In Princeton, Texas — a place I am proud to call home — such governance seems to be getting dangerously close to impossible.

legal news

Talk about a flimsy indictment … ?

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We need a return to the actual practice of real law in the U.S. Department of Justice, not a campaign waged on hatred for a former top DOJ official.

What we’re getting from the DOJ is an effort with the cadence being called by the president of the United States. Sweet mother of Jesus … this has to stop.

A federal grand jury has handed down a two-page indictment of former FBI Director James Comey who took a picture of rocks on a beach that spelled out a colloquial phrase that one can translate to “kill Donald Trump.” DOJ tried this once before and a judge tossed it out summarily.

What are we talking about? Someone arranged some rocks on a North Carolina beach in the form of two numbers: 86 and 47.

86 means in street parlance to “get rid” of someone. You know, “I think I’m gonna ’86’ that guy.” 47 is the numerical sequence of Trump in the order of men who have held the office he occupies. You got it? Sure you do!

Comey took a picture of it, I guess thinking it’s funny.

What the nation needs so desperately is an attorney general who follows the actual rule of actual law. Trump fired former AG Pam Bondi because she was insufficiently on board with seeking revenge against Comey. Trump has hired his former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, to serve as interim AG. Blanche must want the permanent job so much that he’s willing to do Trump’s bidding.

Every lawyer on Earth with half a brain says the same thing: This is the flimsiest indictment they’ve ever seen and it will meet the same fate as the first one … it’s headed straight for the crapper.

national news

Time to wish for a brighter future

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Donald J. Trump has worn this old man out. I am pooped, man. All the negativity I can muster has failed the move any needle in determining whether POTUS 47 has heard me, let alone taken any steps to follow the advice I have laid out for him.

So … with that as a predicate, I am announcing a new tactic in my ongoing campaign to get through the POTUS’s thick, vacuous skull. I am going to post what I wish in a future president of the United States.

You probably can guess that one of my goals will be seek a kinder, gentler administration. This bullying, lying, hostile approach hasn’t worked. It hasn’t produced a form of governance that works for the nation. It hasn’t given this blogger an opening through which I can appeal to whatever semblance that might exist within what passes for a heart in the POTUS.

I want a president who knows how to govern. I want someone who is faithful to the sacred oath he or she will take on inauguration. I want a president who understands working with a team around him or her. I want a president who will listen and heed dissent. For that matter, I want a president who will honor dissent as an essential element of how to govern with the limitations of a democratic republic. I want to elect someone who won’t demonize critics as “the enemy within.”

Over the course of next several months I intend to touch on those topics. I intend to relate the future blog topics to probable idiocy we will see from Trump. I won’t spend much energy criticism the incumbent,  but will look forward to what I hope the future brings that will address those concerns of the moment.

I hope you’ll join me. See ya down the road.

crime news

Chaos reigns in wake of WH reporters shooting

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Chaos and confusion, along with some alleged prevarication, has erupted in the wake of the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting in D.C.

All we know for sure is that a lunatic opened fire in the room. I won’t mention his name on this blog, following a tradition I set some time ago. The Secret Service, which was there to protect Donald and Melania Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, did its usual great job of clearing the room and securing the reported targets of the moron. These individuals are well-trained and once again, they earned their salary.

No motive is clear. Nor do we know how this heavily armed goon get so close to the party. There seems to be confusion over Trump reacted. Trump spoke to “60 Minutes” after the event and got many TV viewers confused over what went down.

Trump did declare that violence of this type is unacceptable and that it must end. Yes, Mr. POTUS … you are so right. How about some legislation that could bring this kind of violence to an end?

Trump wants to reschedule this event. Hmm. Not so fast, sir. We have plenty of questions that require thoughtful answers.

national news

Go slow, Democrats, when you take control

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I am now going to offer a bit of advice to congressional Democrats who appear poised to take control of the legislative branch of government once we count the ballots cast in the 2026 midterm election.

I want to be simple and crystal clear, so please pay attention. Do not spike the proverbial football once it becomes clear that the power is shifting from Republican to Democratic control. You can win with grace and class, Democrats, just as you have been forced to lose with it since the Age of Trump grabbed control of the agenda.

It is tempting, I reckon, to show the GOP that it no longer is in charge. How many times in recent years have Republicans done so in showing Democrats that the Rs control the agenda? Too many to count.

It’s easy, I suppose, to stick it in the Rs’ ear. It would be counterproductive. I have yearned for a return to civility in Congress. The House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, will take the speaker’s gavel next January and then, presumably, will get to work. My hope for the new speaker will be that he doesn’t floorboard the agenda, that he takes a reasoned approach to legislating.

OK, I know what you might be thinking: This blogger has called for the impeachment of Trump. I still believe the POTUS has committed multiple impeachable offenses. I want the new majority to ensure it has an ironclad case before filing those impeachment articles. No need to rush.

A new day is likely to dawn. Let us welcome it with solemnity.

science news

Artemis II impact was greater than I thought

Well, kids, it appears that the Artemis II mission to the moon and back had a greater impact on me than I thought it would have.

I could have done a lot of things today. The weather is warm and breezy. I could have spent the day outside working on my yard. Instead, I parked in front of the TV and watched two Netflix documentaries on the Apollo space program. One dealt with the Apollo 11 mission that put human beings on the moon’s surface for the first time. The other dealt with the Apollo 13 mission that brought home three astronauts in a high-stakes deep space rescue mission.

Yes, the Artemis II mission has invigorated my interest in recent history. It returned me to the days when I would await launches with my Mom, counting down until lift-off. Mom is gone now. I, of course, am now an old man … but damn, this stuff gets my heart beating rapidly.

And to reiterate what I’ve said already on this blog, I tend to allow my sappiness to show itself when I cry at signature moments while watching documentaries I have seen dozens of times already. It happened today when Neil Armstrong informed the world, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” And again, when the Apollo 13 chutes deployed and the astronauts splashed down safely in the ocean.

There truly are heroes still left in this world. Today’s binge-watching reminded me of what I have known all along.

Oh, and FYI … I did mow my front lawn.

local news

Rep. Self … talk to us!

The gentleman who represents me in Congress is at once frustrating and quite capable.

The capability comes from his political experience as Collin County judge before making the move to D.C. The frustration comes from his relative silence related to the conduct of Donald J. Trump.

Trump’s cowardice during the Vietnam War has surfaced again as a talking point, given the war of choice he launched against Iran. Trump evaded induction into the armed forces, citing those infamous bone spurs. Yet he is so willing to send your young men and women into harm’s way for reasons that rtemain a mystery to most Americans.

One of the members of Congress who continues to stand with Trump is Self, a decorated Army Ranger, a combat officer. I believe Rep. Self is an honorable man, and I applaud his service in the Army. However, why in the world did he remain silent when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth angrily chastised six congressional Democrats for remaining members of the military that they are obligated to refuse to obey unlawful orders.

Democrats raised holy hell over Hegseth’s tirade. Republicans stayed silent. One of the silent GOP members is Keith Self, a 20-year military retiree who knows an unlawful order when he sees it and knows how to act when he is issued one.

Keith Self remains a dedicated Trumpkin. I won’t change his mind on that matter. But for the life of me, I don’t understand how he can remain silent while the commander in chief exhibits profound ignorance of the Constitution he took an oath to defend.

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