political news

Donning the brass knucks … again

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Maybe you have noticed that High Plains Blogger went a little soft on Donald Trump and his gang over the past couple of days.

I did so to honor the birth of Jesus Christ and to enjoy the holiday we commemorate in his honor.

The holiday is passed. I am back to my normal fare that some might refer to as a revival of Trump Derangement Syndrome. It’s a crock of dookie!

I merely am calling attention to the existential threat Trump poses to the existence of our democratic republic. I figure if I stir up enough concern, there might be a few thousand voices willing to join in the chorus to get this pretender/charlatan/fraud to cease his assault on the rule of law.

I expect to get some blowback from a handful of critics of this blog. They are dyed-in-wool MAGA cultists, although one fellow insists he dislikes the way Trump conducts himself but stands by the message he delivers. Whatever …

We’re about to complete the first year of Trump’s second term in office. Only three more years to go before we show him out of the White House … for keeps!

legal news

Constitution is showing its mettle

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All right, boys and girls, this might be wishful thinking on my part, but I damn sure hope it’s for real because it feels like the real thing to me.

I am beginning to believe that our Constitution is beginning to flex its considerable muscle just in time to put the brakes on Donald Trump’s headlong dash toward establishing an autorcracy where the nation’s founders set forth a democratic republic.

The federal judiciary is leading the way, just as the founders sought when they created a three-branch government in which the courts serve as co-equally along side the legislative and executive branches of government.

Trump surely has left us gasping for breath from the moment he took office on Jan. 20. It was his second time around the presidential pea patch. The good news? There will be no third go-round. The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment limits presidents to two elected terms. Period. Full stop.

The courts keep issuing rulings that are giving Trump fits. To which I say, good on ’em! We see even judges nominated for the federal bench by Trump himself issuing decisions that are stripping away legal options bit by bit.

If the president were ever to read the Constitution, he would understand that the founders sought an independent judiciary that is relatively free of political pressure. Yes, Trump has three justices on the Supreme Court who have joined a six-justice conservative super majority. However, they are not following Trump in lockstep over the proverbial cliff.

Thus, the Constitution works … just as President Ford said in the moments after he took office at the end of our “long national nightmare.”

local news, Uncategorized

Following custom this holiday season

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Custom reigns supreme in my humble North Texas home, which really doesn’t amount to much, except that it means something to little ol’ me.

It is custom in my home that I stay put the day after Christmas, just as I do the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday is a non-starter in my home. I leave that madness to others to pursue to varying degrees of success.

Same is true for Christmas. The Eve night will be quiet. I might go to to church around midnight. I will make that call later. I will spend the holiday with my sons, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

I made a pact long ago to not let Christmas stress me out. I was faithful to that pact once again this year. I finished my shopping five whole days early, which is pretty good for me. I have been seen frequenting stores on Christmas Eve looking for that “perfect gift” for my special loved one. I got it done early this year.

The new year awaits. 2026 looks like it’s going to be a good one for me and for those close to me. I’ll just gear up for the festivities.

I’ll follow the customary path into the coming year.

With that … Merry Christmas and let’s prepare for a year full of surprises and dreams come true.

local news

Reflecting on future Christmases

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I know what you’re thinking, that we cannot “reflect” on events that haven’t yet occurred, as the term applies to the past.

I’ll make a stab at dispelling that notion.

Soon it will be three years since I experienced the worst day of my life with the passing of my bride after a savage bout with glioblastoma, aka cancer of the brain. I miss Kathy Anne every day. We were married for 51 years and one doesn’t lose a life partner without considerable pain.

Christmas was her favorite holiday. My wife would tear through the house like the proverbial Tasmanian Devil. She would deck the digs with boughs of holly, depictions of Santa and Rudy the Reindeer … along with Nativity Scenes depicting the birth of Jesus Christ, which is the real reason Christians celebrate the holiday. And every year she would tell me, “I am not very good at decorating,” which of course demonstrated a degree of false modesty.

I’ve been looking forward to this holiday. I am not the decorator that my bride was, but my modest North Texas home is full of love not just for the memories we shared, but for the family I will see very soon on Christmas.

We will laugh and carry on. We’ll enjoy the holiday fully. It’s all part of the journey I have undertaken since losing my bride.

I am declaring that my journey is complete. I cannot guarantee that I’ll never shed a tear. Indeed, I tell fellow widowers that they, too, likely will feel a sadness that will sneak up on them. Don’t fight it, I tell them.

I’m done fighting my own feelings. I intend to enjoy this season from this one forward.

Merry Christmas!

entertainment news

Trump’s narcissism flies off the rails

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Donald J. Trump’s latest exhibition of narcissism goes so far off the rails that I am struggling with strong enough words to condemn it.

He slapped his name on the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a D.C. structure built to honor the memory of the slain President John F. Kennedy. What galls millions of Americans, though, is how Trump’s name appears ahead of JFK’s name on what Trump wants to be known as the “Donald Trump John Kennedy Center … “

Leave it to Maria Shriver, JFK’s niece, to drive home the family’s outrage. She said that if Trump’s name remains on the building the Kennedy family is going to withdraw all contributions to anything that occurs under the center’s name. The family, she said, also intends to sue to get Trump’s name off the edifice and it will pull every dollar from the family to the center.

The Kennedy Center was named by congressional fiat. It is inscribed in federal statute, which means that Trump’s decision to add his own name is nothing more than a symbolic demonstration of his greed and his monstrous ego.

I want to send my expression of supreme outrage into cyberland and to offer my heartfelt thanks to Maria Shriver for standing up to the megalomaniac in chief whose name on a building erected to honor her Uncle Jack only proves this pretender’s unfitness for the office he occupies.

crime news

What and when did Trump know about Epstein?

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Donald Trump’s refusal to release for public view all the files contained about Jeffrey Epstein — the late sex trafficker and abuser of underage girls — compels me to circle back to a point I have made on this and other issues.

Which is this: If the president of the United States is as clean as Trump says he is, then he should release the files untouched by redactions and allow the public full access to information that can answer a key question about Trump. What did POTUS know and when did he know it?

I do not believe Trump was involved directly in the crimes for which Epstein was convicted and jailed. I am one American patriot who wants to know if the future president knew in real time whether Epstein and his girlfriend, Gyslane Maxwell, were rounding up girls and subjecting them to Epstein’s desire to be pleasured by them.

Trump says there’s nothing to see in those files. Really, Mr. Liar in Chief? Release the damn files and let us determine whether you’re right, that there’s nothing in them that implicates Trump. Fine … but Trump and Epstein once were besties. Therefore, did Trump know about the hideous crimes Epstein was committing?

Trump eventually would run for president. He won in 2016 and in 2024. It would have been important for Trumpkins to know whether their guy was hobknobbing with a sex trafficker. That’s kind of important, don’t you think?

Trump and the Justice Department are refusing to let us see those files. That leads to believe the files contain something in there that is going to cause the POTUS some serious grief.

I believe we might be witnessing a White House coverup.

national news

Trump: Proof that ‘anyone can get elected’

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Surely you recall that when Barack Obama was running for president in 2008 that he proclaimed that “nowhere can my story be told.”

He intended to remind us that that a young man with a “funny name,” with parents of different races, his being raised by his mother as a single parent could be elected president. Millions of rejoiced at the prospect that, yes, “anyone can get elected” to the nation’s highest office.

Well, let’s fast-forward to 2024. Donald Trump was running for a second term as POTUS. Joe Biden defeated him in 2020. Yet there he stood, nominated by a political party that is willing to give him a pass on all his transgressions.

  • He had been impeached twice during his first term. The second time was for inciting the horrific assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 that sought to overturn the 2020 election result.
  • Trump had been convicted on 34 felony counts associated with mistreatment of women.
  • His business exploits have been exposed as failures.
  • He has been shown to be a pathological liar who can’t tell the truth under any circumstance.
  • Trump has been exhibiting signs of mental decline.

I hasten to add that the notion that “anyone can get elected” has taken on a different tone than what we relished when Barack Obama was elected in 2008.

“Anyone” now means a convicted felon, a serial philanderer, a liar, an insurrectionist.

Pretty damn ugly … y’know?

national news

Can’t get No. 44 to return … dammit!

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Most of the politically oriented social media links I follow are yearning these days for Barack Obama to make a comeback. They want him to return to the Oval Office.

Well … you and I know that can’t happen. President Obama served his two terms as our elected leader and he’s busy these days working on his presidential center set to open in Chicago next year. He’s also making speeches reminding us — as if we need reminding — of the sparkling orator he continues to be.

He’s been highly critical of his immediate successor, Donald Trump, telling us “real strength” is not the result of bullying or insults.

It’s important for us to hear from past presidents in this fashion. They’ve been in the very spot that Trump now occupies. It’s also instructive to hear them recall how they responded to crises and compare them with the conduct exhibited by the current guy.

It is tempting to wish for a return to office of the likes of Barack Obama, or Bill Clinton, or George W. Bush. All of those men served two terms. The Constitution limits them to the time they served.

I am heartened somewhat by the lack of open chatter these days that Trump will try to circumvent the 22nÃ¥d Amendment. It might be that someone has persuaded the prevaricator in chief that a third term is a total non-starter. But, damn … the guy keeps scarfing up power as if he intends to stay put.

Sigh. It won’t happen. And that, ladies and gentlemen, gives me hope that our Constitution is strong and durable enough to withstand this full-on, flat-out, frontal assault on our government by the pretender in chief.

It won’t stop the calls for Barack Obama to find a way to sneak back into power. I’ll just wish the former president keeps speaking out with the grand eloquence he possesses. His message is powerful enough.

entertainment news

Is White House next for Trump brand?

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A little more than a decade ago, President Barack Obama stood before the White House Correspondents Dinner audience and joked that Donald Trump might want to hang a huge “Trump” sign on the White House were he elected president of the United States.

The quip drew uproarious laughter. Trump, who was in the audience, wasn’t laughing.

Now, it seems that the joke isn’t so funny. Trump has just agreed to plaster his name on the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The center board has voted to call it the “Trump Kennedy Center … “

Roll that around for a moment and consider why this is so horribly wrong. Trump’s name would appear in front of the slain president for whom the center was named … in his honor! Moreover, it’s not at all clear that the decision is legal, given that the center was named through a congressional act; therefore, it well could require an act of Congress to change the name.

Trump continues to insult the intelligence of Americans — and those around the world — through his callously disrespecful acts. Placing his name on a building intended to honor those who contribute to society’s art is beyond hideous. JFK honored the arts, along with his wife, Jacqueline. The Kennedy name alone should stand forever on the center that seeks to honor a slain — and beloved — leader of this great nation.

I am going to ask something I once thought was unthinkable: Is the White House really immune from this type of PR chicanery?

local news

Here’s why open search is vital

I want to restate my desire for the Princeton City Council to conduct an open, transparent and accountable search for a new city manager.

Now I also intend to tell you why I think it is vital.

Mike Mashburn resigned as city manager after serving a little less than two years. He was out of his element running a city in the midst of a growth explosion such as Princeton. Now he’s gone and will pursue his future elsewhere. I wish him good luck.

Now the council is embarking on a search for a new chief administrator. Why is it vital for the council to do it the right way this time? It is because the city manager is going to make a healthy six-figure salary running a city on the move. As manager he or she will be answerable to more than 40,000 residents. They will call on him or her to ensure the city can solve all manner of issues.

Potholes in the street? Spotty lighting on some of the city’s darker streets? Ensuring the garbage gets picked up? Riding herd on the police department if a spike in crime occurs? Ensuring firefighters respond quickly to emergencies? Helping resolve violations of city ordinances?

The council makes precisely one hiring decision. It is the city manager. The manager then hires department heads who run the various publicly funded departments to take care of the issues I have just lined out … understanding that I have left other issues off my list.

Mashburn got the council’s nod on the very night council members met him for the first time. Brianna Chacon was mayor in January 2024. She interviewed Mashburn and decided all by herself that he was the one for the job. She introduced the designated manager to the council, which in my view then foolishly voted to hire him on the spot.

No one on the council seemingly thought that Mashburn was being foisted on the city. They could not possibly have asked any sort of difficult questions while meeting initially with him that night in executive session.

The next city manager must endure a thorough vetting by the council, by relevant department heads and most importantly by the public this individual will serve. We all need a voice in making this critical decision. The concept of good government requires it.

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