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

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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!

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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.

national news

We will survive this crisis

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Barack H. Obama is being hailed in many quarters these days as a wise man, a title he was largedly denied while he served for two mostly successful terms as president of the United States.

But here he is today, being hailed by progressives as standing among the greatest of the 47 men who have held the high office. Forgive me, but I believe some folks are getting ahead of themselves. History isn’t done drafting how Obama will stand among the Americans who have served as president.

He did, though, offer a bit of wisdom to Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of the man he succeeded as president. Hager interviewed Obama on the current crisis that threatens to engulf our political system. Obama said, simply, that we have been through many crises already and have managed “to come out of them better” and stronger.

I intend to cling tightly to that view. I believe that’s the case.

We fought a civil war that killed about 600,000 Americans. We have fought two world wars against tyrants who sought control of the planet through the use of force. We have survived a great depression that saw fortunes vanish in an instant, where the once-wealthy were left with nothing on Earth. Three presidents have been impeached. A fourth president resigned from office to avoid a fourth impeachment. Americans have marched in the streets to protest war, economic policy and any assortment of decisions made on high.

We have at this moment a tinhorn charlatan, a fraud, a con man seeking to corrupt the system of government beyond anything we recognize. And now many Amerians are worried that he no longer has the mental capacity to make rational decisions.

Are we going to fall apart and crumble? No! The founders must have expected some form of what is takiing place, and crafted a Constitution built to withstand the pressure it is feeling.

The founders knew what they were building. I believe, as does President Obama, that we’re going to survive.

national news

Clearing the air on Trump

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Donald Trump is the least fit man ever to occupy the office of president of the United States.

There, I have just repeated a mantra I have been declaring on this blog since the moment it became clear that Trump was considering a run for the nation’s highest elected office.

However, I now am going to state what hasn’t been repeated … which is that I and many other critics take no joy in blasting the POTUS over the way he has conducted himself. I now will clear the air.

When President Bush invited all the living former POTUSes to the White House to honor his successor, President-elect Barack Obama, he did so with grace and dignity. Bush turned to Obama and said that despite deep political differences, he wanted Obama to succeed. He wished him well, as did all the former presidents.

This is worth mentioning because of the criticism that has been tossed at the Trump foes over the course of his time as POTUS. These “never Trumpers” don’t “hate America.” They don’t want the nation to fail. They don’t seek to destroy this nation’s standing as the lone military superpower.

They don’t criticize Trump with gleams in their eyes and warm feelings in their tummies.

They are angry with Trump. They dislike the nation denigrating itself by allowing the president to make a fool of himself on the world stage. They understand that when the president criticizes our allies, or salutes dictators for their strength he is speaking ostensibly on behalf of 300-plus million Americans. This pluralistic society of ours cannot stand in synchronized lockstep with a man who states his desire to wipe a nation off the face of the Earth … which is what Trump has done with Iran.

No one with an ounce of conscience should support such a notion. I possess more than an ounce of it, so I am adamantly opposed to the idea of wiping a civilization off the planet.

I oppose Trump not because I detest him personally. I do so because I love my country. I want us to succeed. I actually want Trump to succeed. However, it is abundantly clear that POTUS 47 lacks the thread of compassion to do the right thing for the nation he was chosen to lead.

I take no joy in acknowledging that truth.

religious news

Faux Christianity on full display

For those who might not recall, I want to declare that I — and many others — have been saying for years that Donald Trump’s appeal among Christians was built on a mountain of lies.

He appealed to evangelicals among his MAGA cabal by supporting them in their spiritual journey. It all broke down the moment he was forced to speak specifically about a passage from Scripture he found particularly moving or profound.

He failed. Every single time. There was that hilarious statement prior to the 2016 election in which Trump referred to “Two Timothy,” which is a description no one uses when referencing the New Testament book. Then he held the Bible upside down in front of a church marquee.

He once declared he never has sought forgiveness from God.

Now comes the latest barrage of bizarre non-starters. He chided Pope Leo IXV for being “soft on crime” because the pontiff opposes the Iran war. He said he’s “not a fan” of the pope, in a statement that sort of equates the vicar of God to the world’s Catholic population to a secular political pundit.

After a series of blog posts I published, a member of my family came down hard on me for criticizing Trump’s admission that he has groped women in their private areas. That’s quite un-Christian of him, I said. My critic said that Christianity endorses second chances, that Trump merely deserves the chance to make good on his sordid past.

The deal breaker, though, might be the post of Trump portraying himself as Jesus Christ. He is cast in holy glow, wearing a Christ-like robe while tending to someone lying down. “Yes, I posted it,” Trump said, but added that he was portraying himself as a doctor. Wow! Did you see any sign of scrubs, or a stethoscope? Neither did I.

Trump’s flirtation with religion has been so plainly over-cooked that it boggles my mind that anyone can take anything this idiot says seriously.

And, yes … there is a glimmer of good news in all of this. Many of the MAGA faithful are finally seeing through the charlatan.

local news

Mac comes back for some keen memories

William McLellan Thornberry came home the other day to be honored by Texas Tech University as its 2026 Alumnus of the Year.

It was an honor well-received and richly earned.

Allow me now to dispense with the use of his given name. I want to refer to him as Mac. Yes, Mac Thornberry was my congressman for virtually the entire time my bride and I lived in the Texas Panhandle.

I agreed rarely with his politics. Or his views on public policy. Or with his occasional disdain for members of the “other” party on Capitol Hill. However, Mac Thornberry, a dedicated Republican through and through, did his work with class, with decorum, with dignity and with the sense that he knew from where he came.

Mac was a gentleman. He grew up in Donley County just east of Amarillo. He worked his parents’ ranch. He learned the value of hard work, of getting dirt under his fingernails. He served in Congress with none of the bellicose bluster we hear too often from the guy who succeeded him.

Mac Thornberry and I kinda grew up together. He’s a lot younger than I am, but we started our new Panhandle jobs in the same week in January 1995. He was elected to the U.S. House in the Contract With America election in 1994. I started my jog as editorial page editor of the Amarillo Globe-News. He read me pretty well. He knew my personal politics veered from his conservative views, even though the paper’s editorial policy remained faithful to the right-wing views for which it had established over the course of many decades.

However, I always liked Mac Thornberry as a person. He was charming in a West Texas, humble sort of way. I don’t recall ever telling him directly that I developed a deep respsect for the quality of man he showed himself to be. Maybe if he reads this blog post, he’ll see it for himself.

Given the open hatred and hostility we hear from those in power in D.C., there is not a hint of doubt that for my money, we could use more like Mac Thornerry in D.C. than we have serving there these days.

 

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