national news, political news

Time for some ideas, Gov. Newsom

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It pains me a bit to say this, but here goes: California Gov. Gavin Newsom is beginning to bore me … as in bore me enough to ignore what he’s saying.

Why? Well, for one thing it is quite obvious the man wants to run for president of the United States in 2028. Everywhere you turn, and he turns, he’s speaking into a microphone. His message is always the same: Donald Trump is corrupt to the core; his family has earned billions from business ventures made possible by Trump’s position; he runs the “most corrupt” administration human history.

Blah, blah, blah … I’ve heard it already, governor. I know Trump is a crook. I know he is unfit for public office. Hell, I’ve been saying since before he announced his candidacy the first time.

Democrats are likely to field a huge slate of candidates for the 2028 party primary season. So will the Republican Party, given that the incumbent is barred from running again.

I do like Gov. Newsom. However, if he’s going to run for president, he will need to lay out an agenda he intends to follow. I believe it’s time to see and hear it now. There is no need to hear from any of these pretenders what millions of Americans already know … that Donald Trump has been a disaster as president.

Dispense with telling us the obvious. How are Gov. Newsom and the others planning to repair and restore our democracy?

media news, national news

Trump’s words have zero value

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Once, long ago when I was a much younger man, I used to hang on the president of the United States’ every word. When he spoke them, I just knew he was telling me at least his version of the truth.

Was he shading the truth a little to make himself sound better and feel better? Oh, probably. It didn’t matter as long as the fundementals of his statement were based in fact.

The current president? The guy we’ve got in power for the next three years? I have turned 180 degrees in the opposite direction.

I believe nothing that comes from Donald Trump’s overfed pie hole. Zero. Nothing he says means anything to me at this stage of his time in office or in my life as an American patriot.

Please understand that I take no joy in harboring this cynical view. I am not a cynic by nature, unlike some of my former journalism colleagues who actually used to boast about their cynicism. A cynical approach to covering the news or commenting on it is as unhealthy as being gullible enough to believe every single word that comes from a politician.

The current White House occupant, however, has filled even me with cynicism that I find uncomfortable. How can that be? His lying over any issue imaginable — from the epic to the trivial — has become the stuff of legend. The Washington Post counted something like 30,000 instances of lying during Trump’s first term in office from January 2027 until January 2021. No telling how many more thousands of lies he has told just in the first year of his second term.

I will stipulate one more time that I do revere the office of president. It is noble, grand and powerful. Donald Trump has done all he can do to diminish the office in my own mind’s standing. He’s done so by lying whenever he has something to say.

national news

Boycott still standing

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I am feeling the need to offer readers of High Plains Blogger a brief update on one of the boycotts I announced the time Donald Trump became POTUS in January 2017.

Furthermore, I should acknowledge that the boycott has seen some strain and I have been tempted to forgo it when I saw him acting (more or less) presidential.

The boycott was to never attach the word “President” directly in front of Donald Trump’s name. I don’t consider him to be my president. Indeed, he acts as though he doesn’t give a Texas ruby red damn about me, my politics, my beliefs. Indeed, he seems to govern as if the only the people who matter to him are those who voted for him.

I ain’t one of them.

I am not alone in that view. I heard a U.S. senator grilling a Trump Cabinet official and he referred to Trump to the official as “your president.” There you have it. I am not the only American patriot who believes Trump doesn’t care to be president for all Americans.

There have been times when I have agreed with Trump. Those times occasionally have caused me to rethink for just a fleeting moment whether I should maintain that boycott. The moment flashes before me and then disappears, usually when Trump says something so ridiculously unpresidential … which he does with flair and panache.

I have begun watching TV news, but only sparingly. It’s usually during prime time. During the day? Nope. TV stays off most days.

I don’t like refusing to refer to Donald Trump with the title to which he was elected. My conscience tugs hard at me when I start to teeter. My best guess is that the boycott will stay put until the day Trump heads for the door from the White House for the final time.

national news

Listen to your predecessors, Donald!

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Barack H. Obama and Joseph R. Biden have been laying waste to Donald Trump’s performance in the office they once held … and with ample reason.

They both left legacies worth cherishing and emulating. Trump has called them two of the worst presidents in U.S. history. I beg to differ. I consider them both two of the best men to serve as commander in chief and head of state.

Obama has been particularly eloquent in his assessment of Trump. He chastises the POTUS for feigning toughness by being “rude to people” and denigrating others. A third Democratic former president, Bill Clinton, has been a bit quieter than his successors. Clinton did speak about some of the subjects he covered in a closed-door congressional committee hearing. It is clear that Clinton thinks next to nothing about the mess that Donald Trump has concocted.

The fourth living ex-president, George W. Bush, has been relatively quiet. He once told a TV talk show host, Ellen Degeneres, that he wouldn’t “be chirping” his criticism of presidents who follow him. He said that presidents hear enough criticism during the normal flow of business during the work week. He said a president needs to be strong to lead this massive, diverse and sophisticated nation. Criticism only weakens that person.

In a way, I kind of prefer the George Bush method. Sure, he can think ill thoughts of Trump. He needs not express those thoughts out loud. It’s always been understood that presidents walk away not just from the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. They also turn their back on the debates that rage on.

Those who speak out, though, have wisdom to back them up. If only Trump would listen and heed them.

military news

Talk to us, Mr. POTUS

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Presidents of the United States have a number of unwritten rules they are expected to follow, even though they aren’t inscribed anywhere.

They serve as national comforters, consolers, cheerleaders. They also are required — in a manner of speaking — to explain complicated policy decisions to the people they are elected to serve.

How does Donald J. Trump do on any of those examples? He’s not worth a crap at any of them! I want to focus briefly on the final example.

Trump needs to explain to the American public, his bosses, why he has sent young Americans into battle against Iran. We’ve lost about seven young people already. They were killed in the first days of this air campaign. Trump did receive some of them when their remains were returned to Dover, Del. He hasn’t offered a reason why they died.

Trump has yet to formulate a policy that makes sense. He also hasn’t taken the time to explain his action to an American public that clearly lacks the stomach for another endless war, the kind of conflict Trump pledged he never would enter were he elected in 2024; that pledge helped him secure the victory.

He has tossed that promise into the shitter. He needs to tell us what the hell he’s doing, why he’s doing it and what he expects the nation will gain from it.

A national TV speech would be well worth the time and effort. Mr. POTUS, I and others are waiting for some answers.

national news

Trump’s damage will last longer than the POTUS

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Donald Trump’s time in the Oval Office has an end date, and I am grateful for that deadline.

However, the damage Trump has done — and is doing — is likely to last longer than his time in office. That consequence saddens me to no end. The damage is being done to the public perception of our electoral process.

He has been hammering at the credibility of that process since he lost his re-election bid during the 2020 election. Joe Biden beat his sorry behind but Trump never accepted the beating he took. His constant yammering about electoral credibility has sown plenty of doubt among too many Americans.

I believe none of the nonsense that Trump has fomented since 2020. Too many state legislatures, though, are controlled by Republicans and they have acted to make voting an arduous task for many citizens. They call it “voter suppression” and it appears to be working.

I hear from friends and aquaintances in North Texas about the doubt they say lingers over the election process. I have heard too many of them say something like “if it counts” when describing the act of voting. My answer always is, “Yes … it counts!”

The lasting damage to the public’s perception of our cherished voting process is troubling in the extreme and it serves as a damning testament to the harm committed to our public service by an imbecile who has no understanding or appreciation of the work done to further our democratic process.

military news

What if this were a boxing match?

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Try for a moment to consider the conflict between the United States/Israel and Iran to be a boxing match.

I’d be tempted to call it a heavweight fight, except that would be a misnomer. Iran is nowhere near the same class as the United States, let alone a tag team comprising U.S. and Israeli military forces.

Donald Trump says the fight is just about over. Israeli spokespeople say it isn’t. The Israelis want to keep punching. To be honest, I tend to hope that Trump is correct, that the end of this foolishness might be at hand. Will he call a halt, winning by a TKO over a military force that admittedly is formidable, but which is no match for the massive arsenal being launched daily against targets in Iran?

I hope the POTUS is right on this one. Oh wait. I almost forgot that cannot trust a single word that comes from the mouth of the liar in chief.

I guess Trump posesses a puncher’s chance of landing a knockout blow. I do hope it is sooner rather than later.

military news

No way to wage war

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The commander in chief of the world’s mightiest military force appears to be conducting a war operation from the overfed seat of his pants.

Therefore, I will assert that is no way to wage war against a determined, fanatical and hardened regime dedicated to destroying the United States of America.

Donald J. Trump is the commander in chief who launched this war against Iran with no apparent end strategy, no apparent stated reason even for going to war in the first place and with a defense secretary who is more interested in bragging about the technology and expertise of the fighting force than he is about the suffering being inflicted on civilians and on the loss of the personnel who have died at the hands of the Iranians.

Donald Trump said yesterday that the war will “end soon,” but didn’t offer any kind of timetable. He demands “unconditional surrrender” from the Iranians. How in the name of surrrendering does he expect the Iranians to wave the white flag and call a halt to the bloodshed inflicted by the United States of America …. aka the Great Satan?

I applaude Trump already for getting rid of Iran’s ayatollah, killing him in the initial round of bombing strikes. Iran installed Ali Khameini’s son as the new imam in chief. The younger Khameini is thought to be even more militant than Daddy Ayatollah!

I just can’t figure out what the hell is going on here. I want the bombing to stop. I strongly oppose sending troops to fight the Iranians on the ground. Trump promised to end the “endless wars.” This conflict could take on the appearace of another endless war if the POTUS isn’t careful.

And we know already about the stunning lack of care and thought Trump puts into any decision he makes.

national news

Trump: madman at work

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The longer we remain at war with a nation that poses no direct threat to this nation, the more convinced I become that the man who started this war is a certifiable madman.

OK, so that’s not a huge flash to many of you who read this blog regularly. I have stated already my loathing for the POTUS and for most of the policy decisions he makes. What troubles me beyond all that is reasonable in this war with Iran is that the decision came seemingly in the dead of night, with no one next to the POTUS to caution him of the terrible risk he is taking.

What’s more, Donald Trump took this action without seeming to comprehend fully the enormous responsbility he bears when he sends young Americans into harm’s way ostensibly to protect our national interests.

Which interest is Trump protecting with this foolish and feckless act?

Iran’s leadership needed to be wiped out. The initial strike took care of the Ayatollah Ali Khameini. What follows remains anyone’s guess. Will the new ayatollah be any better? Will he assume power with his hand out in a gesture of peace? I can’t continue down this path because I will be laughing too hard derisively at such a notion.

Trump won the 2024 election vowing to end our involvement in “needless war,” only to break that promise and immediately put thousands of young Americans at risk of death or injury.

Yep. Make no mistake that Donald John Trump is out of control. He wants to seize Greenland from Denmark, wants to annex Canada as the 51st state in the U.S.A., wants to run Venezuela as if it’s a casino and now — and this is totally rich — is considering whether to take control of Cuba.

Oh, and let’s not forget reports that the POTUS is giving serious thought to sending ground troops into Iran.

He’s out of what passes for his mind.

local news

Let’s make DST permanent … OK?

High Plains Blogger is aiming this message directly at two members of the Texas Legislature, both of whom represent the author of this blog in that august body of lawmakers.

Listen up, state Sen. Angela Paxton and state Rep. Candy Noble! I am going to ask you to please work to get your colleagues to hammer out a deal that gives us a permanent measure of our time. I dislike changing the clocks back and forth twice a year. It’s not a huge deal for me, but it is becoming a bit of an annoyance.

We’re going to “spring forward” tomorrow when we go from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time.

Two legislative sessions failed to cobble together an acceptable agreement. The 2023 Legislature sought to put a measure to a vote, asking Texans their preference: permanent Standard Time, permanent DST or keep the current practice of switching back and forth? After some soul-searching and personal introspection, I decided I prefer to keep the clocks set to Daylight Saving Time.

DST keeps the sun in the sky a little longer in the evening, enabling folks such as me to do chores around the yard during the growing season.

I get the arguments in favor of DST, that it saves electricity. That’s a noble reason all by itself. Therefore, I am all for it.

The Legislature seemingly couldn’t get its act together in time to finish work on the resolution it intended for Texans to settle. The 2027 Legislature will be upon us in due course. I will just ask Sen. Paxton and Rep. Noble to get their stuff together quickly and persuade their colleagues to get with the program.

Let’s put this matter to a vote.  Let us also hope we can keep Daylight Saving Time a permanent fixture on our calendar.

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