John Kanelis' Blog

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2010-09-15T06:42:00.001-07:00

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John Kanelis' Blog

Paging ex-President Bush

2010-08-31T15:02:00.000-07:00

The 43rd president of the United States has been a man of his word: He vowed to keep silent when he handed the keys of the Oval Office over to his successor in January 2009. But now he needs to speak up on something about which he was quite eloquent.

President Bush made a valiant effort in the wake of 9/11 to assure the world that the United States was not going to war against Islam, that we were at war with terrorists who perverted their religion.

But that declaration has been lost on those who believe in how Bush responded to the terror attacks. Many of them now have declared war on Muslims, making no distinction between those who love peace and the religious perverts.

President Obama has been trying as well to make the same point that President Bush made. But he has a unique problem: Many of those who hate Muslims believe Obama is one of them. Thus, his message is falling on deaf ears.

This is why Bush needs to break his self-imposed silence.

The former president has taken up residence back in Texas to work on his library and to write his memoir. He is working with former President Clinton on getting relief for Haiti's earthquake victims. But he has declared that Obama "deserves my silence" with regard to his policies.

What the current president deserves now is a strong message from his immediate predecessor condemning the anti-Muslim violence that is erupting in communities across the country.

Our enemy is the same today as it was when we struck back in the wake of 9/11: We are fighting terrorists, not Islam's mainstream believers.

Who you callin' biased?

2010-08-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom "The Hammer" DeLay wants to move his corruption trial out of Travis County because, his lawyer says, the county is too "liberal" and DeLay cannot get a fair trial.

Where does The Hammer want to stand trial? In his home county, Fort Bend.

So, DeLay wants to trade one jury pool's potential bias in favor of another jury pool's bias. He wants to swing the pendulum potentially in his favor. Ponder that for a moment.

Justice isn't supposed to swing in either direction. It's supposed to be administered without bias or prejudice -- for either side.

DeLay has been accused in Travis County of money laundering in connection with the use of campaign cash. He left Congress in 2006 and is set to stand trial beginning Oct. 26.

His change of venue request, which has been denied, really is laughable.

Consider the size of Travis County. It is home to nearly 1 million people, roughly half of whom are eligible to serve on a trial jury. Is The Hammer's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, asking us to believe that no one in that vast pool of potential jurors can pass judgment without regard to DeLay's or their own political leaning? Give me a break.

Yes, Travis County is a "liberal" county, but it isn't unanimously so. Not everyone there marches to the same political cadence.

As for Fort Bend County, the jury pool there is roughly half the size of the Travis County pool, which means lawyers are less likely to find jurors who aren't favorably disposed to DeLay's plight. Is that fair to the state that will prosecute DeLay for the allegations leveled against him?

Senior State District Judge Pat Senior, to his credit, has denied DeLay's change of venue request. So, he and the lawyers will have find 12 competent jurors to determine DeLay's fate. It might take a tad longer than normal to find 12 people who aren't biased -- one way or the other. But let them take all the time they need.

Rolling Stone misses the mark

2010-08-26T07:32:00.001-07:00

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/28431/194023

Rolling Stone is a fine publication. But its editors got it all wrong when listing the top 10 Beatles songs of all time.

The mag's pick? "A Day in the Life."

I'll concede that it's a fine tune. But the best of all time? Hardly. It's not even as good as "Strawberry Fields" or "Get Back."

I've been saying for decades that the best song ever recorded -- by any artist ever -- is another Beatles ditty: "Hey Jude," all 7 minutes 11 seconds of it. But that's just my opinion.

How do I measure this song's greatness? It's the only song that I can remember where I was the very first time I heard it. That event ranks right up there with President Kennedy's murder, the first moon landing and 9/11. For the record, that moment came in my barracks at Fort Lewis, Wash., as I listened to a transistor radio on my bunk in the late summer of 1968. I had just joined the Army and was taking a breather after a day of the usual harassment doled out by drill sergeants to a platoon of young recruits. I have no clue where I was when I first heard "A Day in the Life."

Rolling Stone rated "Hey Jude" at No. 7 all time. Aw, c'mon. What have those guys been smoking?

What about The Saints campus?

2010-08-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

I am excited about downtown Amarillo's downtown progress and the momentum that continues to build toward an eventual revival.

But I'm troubled by the lack of discussion about what to do about a particular piece of property: the old St. Anthony's Hospital site on Polk Street and Amarillo Boulevard.

It's been vacant for a long time. Its demise began when St. Anthony's merged in the mid-1990s with High Plains Baptist Hospital to become Baptist-St. Anthony's Hospital. Everyone packed up and moved to the BSA site at the medical center complex off Coulter Street.

What's left now on the northern fringe of the downtown district is a weed-infested, deserted complex of buildings.

I spoke at length this morning with Mike Callahan, the new head of the Harrington Regional Medical Center, about a number of health-related topics. The discussion turned briefly to the Saints campus. He doesn't know what will become of it. Callahan said a developer purchased the site "for a song."

But with all the talk about various parcels in our near the downtown district, why hasn't the old hospital complex been a topic of public discussion and debate?

It's too big of a piece of real estate to just let rot.

Someone at City Hall, Center City or Downtown Amarillo Inc. -- or at all three agencies -- needs to get this conversation started.

No sign of signs

2010-08-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

It took me a few days to figure it out, but I found a not-so-obvious difference between Amarillo and the place where I was vacationing for the past week with my wife.

We didn't see a single billboard anywhere in Hawaii.

OK, we're aware of the clear differences between the High Plains and the Island Paradise: We have, um, the big sky; they have heavily forested mountains that obstruct the view of sunsets and sunrises. We have sparse rain and relentless sunshine; they have abundant rain and intermittent clouds day and night. We have wide boulevards and miles and miles of straight-line driving; they have hair-pin turns and narrow two-lane roads that turn into one-lane roads.

We also have billboards that advertise everything. Hawaii gets along quite well, apparently, without them.

I actually thought of Bill Ware, the big-time Amarillo banker who also is a well-known advocate for limiting billboards and other outdoor signage in his hometown. I'm guessing he's been to Hawaii already, so he knows of which I am writing.

I didn't miss the billboards. They would have messed up some very beautiful scenery we saw for the week we were tooling around the islands.

And I wouldn't miss them here at home if they tore them all down immediately. Our big sky also is quite easy on the eyes.

Perry to avoid editorial boards -- again

2010-08-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hey, whatever works ...

Gov. Rick Perry has announced that, just as he did in the primary campaign, he will not speak to newspaper editorial boards while he seeks re-election to his third full term.

Perry raised plenty of eyebrows early in the year when he swore off the interviews. He said then he had better things to do than speak to newspaper editors who would question him about why Republican voters should renominate him.

An interesting thing then happened: Virtually all the papers in the state endorsed his major primary opponent, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. From Amarillo to McAllen, and from El Paso to Beaumont -- and all the places between -- papers spoke glowingly about Hutchison's credentials as a senator and the dedicated service she has given to the state.

What did that get her? Well, she lost the primary by more than 20 percentage points to Perry.

So, the governor must figure that what worked in the primary can work in the general election.

Perry's Democratic challenger, former Houston Mayor Bill White, spins the refusal quite differently. In a statement issued today, White spokeswoman Katy Bacon said, "It's no wonder Rick Perry doesn't want to meet with editorial boards. He has a lot to answer for, from his spending and the $18 billion budget deficit to a lack of ethics and abuse of state government as his own self-serving, partisan political machine. Texans deserve a leader who's not afraid of tough questions."

Bacon does have a point. It's been a tradition for politicians to meet with editorial boards and to answer pointed questions from ink-stained wretches. Bill White no doubt will get the treatment when he comes calling later this year. It goes with the territory.

But as the governor proved during his winning primary campaign, this is shaping up as an unconventional election year.

However, the National Conference of Editorial Writers is having its annual meeting next month in Dallas. One of the featured speakers will be, um, Rick Perry.

I wonder if he'll take questions.

Those durn rocks ... grrrr!

2010-08-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

I spoke too soon. Shame on me.

I had thought I had dodged a bullet because the seal-coating operation under way in my southwest Amarillo neighborhood wouldn't affect me much because of our rear-entry driveway. And I said as much in an earlier post on this blog.

Well ... I was wrong. I went brain-dead and forgot about the street behind our house from which we enter the alley that leads to our driveway and garage.

I went home last night and found that gritty asphalt-covered gravel all over the street behind our house. It splattered the undercarriage of my car.

Then, this morning, I awoke early (as usual) and headed down the alley for my morning workout. Then it happened.

The car began howling from a noise underneath. I guess some of the seal-coated rocks had gotten into the brakes, causing that hideous whining sound.

At least that's what I hope happened.

Amarillo streetscaping takes shape

2010-08-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

A notice was hanging on our front door the other day. It was from Amarillo street department, telling us to prepare ourselves for a slight inconvenience this week. The city is going to lay down some seal coating, which comprises asphalt-covered pebbles.

I mention this because I heard this past week some faint grumbling from residents in the Estacado neighborhood near where we live. Their streets have been treated already and the residents don't like it. The gravel gets kicked up onto their driveways, sidewalks and it gathers along the curb. Plus, some folks have said, the gravel plays havoc with their vehicles' undercarriage.

Knowing about the grumbling, and having just received the notice, I took a brief walk Saturday morning along my street -- which is all of two blocks long. It has cul-de-sacs on both ends and I joke all the time that the only people who drive on our street either (a) want to be there or (b) are hopelessly lost. I walked to one end of the street, then to the other. I looked for flaws in the pavement. I didn't find any.

Indeed, the city just laid down some asphalt just about three, maybe four, years ago.

I know what the city's response is to the gripes: Laying this coating down protects the street; if we don't do it, City Hall officials say, the pavement will buckle, crack and will be harder on our vehicles.

But here's the saving grace: We live in a neighborhood with rear-entry driveways. I don't have to drive on this nasty stuff while it's settling.

But the current street surface in front of my house looks to be in nearly mint condition. I'm still wondering why the city needs to do it so soon after the previous work on it.

Hiroshima, 65 years later

2010-08-06T07:55:00.001-07:00

Let's say you're the president of the United States. You've been in office just a few weeks, having replaced a beloved man who had served for 12 years; he had just taken the oath for his fourth term before he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Then your braintrust comes to you and says, "Mr. President, we want to tell you about something. There's this project out in New Mexico we've been working on that we think is going to end the war -- quickly." You agree to take a look at the information on this secret matter, called the Manhattan Project.

Then you learn about a very big bomb that can kill tens of thousands of people in an instant. You ponder what you have just learned for a few moments and then say, "OK, let's do it. We have to end this war before we kill many more thousands of our guys and possibly millions of theirs."

That was the situation facing President Harry Truman in mid-1945. He didn't know about The Bomb until he took office. Then, 65 years ago today, he ordered a B-29 Stratofortress to take off for Japan. It carried a single explosive. The plane, piloted by Army Air Force Col. Paul Tibbetts, dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb fell on Nagasaki. And just a few days after that, Japan threw up the white flag of surrender.

The war was over.

I have a particular stake in this event. My father was in the Philippines at the time preparing -- along with hundreds of thousands of other servicemen -- to invade the Japanese homeland. Dad had seen his share of combat already in the Mediterranean theater -- North Africa, Sicily and Italy. His naval duty put him in harm's way countless times.

I cannot say this with absolute certainty, but given all he had seen in the Med, it well might have been that Dad's number would have been up had the United States invaded Japan. All the conventional wisdom on the planet at the time suggested that perhaps millions of people would have died in the attempt to subdue the Japanese. Were that the case, and he met his end, well ... that would have precluded yours truly from ever entering this world.

Dad survived. He came home, got married -- on Aug. 24, 1946 -- and started his family.

I have owed President Truman my gratitude ever since for stiffening his backbone and making the toughest decision of his life.

We can debate until we run out of breath over the rightness of the decision. As the son of someone who stood at the gates of hell preparing for the fight of his life, I have no particular interest in such an intellectual exercise. My interests in what President Truman did are more, um, personal.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Who cares about this milestone?

2010-08-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th career home run Wednesday and what does he get? A collective yawn from the sporting public, unless you live in and around New York City.

Is there any surprise? Of course not.

A-Rod has admitted using steroids back when he played for the Texas Rangers. Well, he's hitting dingers for the New York Yankees these days. He became only the seventh player in major league history to pass the 600-HR mark, but no one seems to care.

He cheated to get there.

I recall the day when such a milestone created almost a national holiday. Willie Mays hit No. 600 and we stopped in awe. Hank Aaron's 600th and then his 700th career HRs were cause for dancing in the streets.

These days? Big deal. A-Rod's 600th is seen by millions of fans as just another home run.

I used to truly root for Rodriguez to break Barry Bonds' career home run mark of 762. But that was before he admitted to using 'roids -- after denying it for many years prior to that.

Now? I don't give a rip.

Wait'll next time -- maybe

2010-08-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

To no one's surprise, certainly not mine, my jury summons ended with a recorded phone message last night that told me I need not report this morning to the Randall County Justice Center.

All jurors summoned for duty were excused until the next time we're called for duty, the recorded message said.

Call me out to lunch, but I have been waiting for years to serve on a trial jury. I keep getting these directives to report for jury duty, but far more often than not the litigants all settle before these cases go to trial.

Once, not long after moving to Amarillo, I did get a summons and reported for duty in Canyon. I sat in a jury impaneling room for most of the morning. In walked then-47th District Judge David Gleason, who thanked us for taking time out of our day to report for duty. He then told us are services were no longer required.

Drat!

I still got paid $6 for my half day of "work" on behalf of the state's criminal justice system.

I'm hoping my moment will arrive -- one of these days.

How about this question, governor?

2010-08-02T13:14:00.001-07:00

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-news-sunday/#/v/4299765/sarah-palin-on-fns/?playlist_id=86913

Check out the link here. It shows former half-term Alaska Gov. Sarah "Barracuda" Palin declare that President Obama lacks the "cojones" to enforce federal immigration law.

Her appearance on Fox News Sunday was interesting as well in the question that the show's host, Chris Wallace, didn't ask her to follow up on her statement about the president's manhood.

Imagine this question:

"Governor, you say that President Obama isn't man enough to enforce federal immigration law. But in fairness, governor, this illegal immigration crisis didn't begin with the current president. His immediate predecessor, George W. Bush, faced the same problem. So did his predecessors: Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, you name 'em. This list covers both political parties. Did these men lack the same qualities you say is lacking in the current president?"

Jury duty calls -- maybe

2010-08-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

Jury duty awaits me ... at least I hope it does.

But I'm not holding my breath.

I got a summons the other day from Randall County District Clerk Jo Carter's office. I've been assigned a juror number and a panel number. I'm going to call the clerk's office this afternoon, after 5, to see if I need to report Tuesday to the County Justice Center in Canyon. They might cancel the whole thing, which has happened the past few times I've been summoned for jury duty.

Unlike many of us, I actually want to serve on a jury. District and county clerks all across Texas lament the no-show rate of those called for jury duty. Their gripe is an understandable one, given that they are charged with summoning citizens to perform this important rite of citizenship. But some of us don't take it seriously enough.

I'm not placing myself on some pedestal here. It's just that I've always wanted to serve on a trial jury just because the process always has fascinated me. Do the jurors argue among themselves? How do they reach a unanimous verdict? What kind of arm-twisting goes on?

However, I've found that my occupation often precludes such an event from occurring. I guess journalists are considered "too knowledgeable" about certain cases to qualify them for a spot on an actual civil or criminal trial jury.

Well, I'll hope for the best when the time comes later today. And in my case, the "best" means realistically that I'll report for duty -- even if it means I'll likely get disqualified.

Barbs from the left and the right

2010-07-30T05:05:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have one of those days?

I recently had one of them ... in which I wondered how two people with vastly different political philosophies can sound so astoundingly alike.

Two contributors to our Opinion page have been sniping at me in private. They're both Amarillo residents. One of them is an arch-conservative; the other one is an ultra-liberal. I've had friendly relations -- off and on -- with both of them over many years.

The righty recently accused me of pandering to the left. He said I set a different standard for his submissions than I do for others of the liberal persuasion; I am stricter with him than with the lefties, he said. He said the newspaper's Opinion page tilts too far to the left, at which point I informed him that conservative columnists outnumber liberals week in and week out. At this moment, the righty and I are on good terms. But that could change.

As for the lefty gadfly, he says I pander to the right-wing "nut jobs" in Amarillo. He, too, says I set a different standard for him than I do for those on the right. He accuses the aforementioned righty of having some kind of "hold" on me. The lefty vows to meet with me only in the presence of a third party, which he identifies as either a "lawyer or a priest." We are on unfriendly terms at the moment.

I told the righty that he sounds just like the lefty in his gripes with the way I do my job. I said the two of them are "mirror images of each other." He asked me, "We both can't be right. Which one of us is right?" My answer: I don't know, or care.

I've told the lefty the same thing, that he sounds just like the guy at the other end of the spectrum. I don't think he believes me.

So, the way I look at it, if both of these polar opposites think ill of me, I must be doing something right.

There. I feel better already.

Where have you been, Kinky?

2010-07-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

I miss Kinky Friedman.

I just heard him tell a TV interviewer that the nation's first order of business is to secure the border. True enough. But then the humorist, author and former Texas gubernatorial candidate -- he ran for governor in 2006 as an independent candidate -- went a step further.

He opposes building a fence along the southern border, an idea getting some traction among Republicans. Why not build a fence? "The way things are going in this country," Friedman said, "we may want to get out."

Looking 'em in the eye

2010-07-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Randall County Tax Assessor-Collector Sharon Hollingsworth wanted her employees to look their "bosses" right in the eye when they talk to them.

So what did the county do? It elevated the floor behind the counter at the tax office to -- shall we say -- level the playing field.

The tax office is in newly remodeled digs across the street from its old digs next to the 1909 Courthouse building. The North Annex will be razed as soon as crews remove asbestos. The new tax office, on the second floor of what used to be the DA's office and the county jail, is shiny and new.

It also features an elevated floor that puts tax office employees at eye level with constituents who come to pay their taxes, renew their auto registration -- or complain about their tax bill. In the old office, customers stood over employees, which Hollingsworth hinted was a bit intimidating for tax office staffers, especially if a taxpayer became agitated.

The new office is much more customer- and employee-friendly.

And when we're talking about the public's tax money, every little bit of comfort helps all around.

Shame on U.N. tribunal

2010-07-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

The list of Death Row inmates in Texas who have found religion is virtually endless. Most of them have met their end while proclaiming their innocence and their love of the Lord.

A sentence handed down in the case of a notorious murderer in Cambodia, however, just boggles the mind. He goes by the name of Duch. He was responsible for the murder of an estimated 14,000 Cambodians in a prison that once was the home of a school, Tuol Sleng. It sits in the heart of Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. I have a bit of a personal interest in this matter. I've visited Tuol Sleng twice -- once in 1989 and again in 2004. The testimony to the brutality that occurred there is as stark and horrifying as anything I've ever seen. Indeed, it is eclipsed only by the killing fields I've toured on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, where the Khmer Rouge buried their victims in mass graves.

A U.N.-back tribunal gave Duch a 19-year sentence for his role in the Khmer Rouge's brutal genocide against Cambodians. It actually sentenced him to 35 years in the slammer, but knocked 16 years off the sentence for "time served" while awaiting trial.

Duch has become a born-again Christian and proclaimed extreme remorse and regret for his role in the killings. Does that sound familiar? It should. Again, Texas has heard many condemned inmates declare their innocence and their discovery of God's grace -- only to have their lives snuffed out by the executioner.

Well, Duch deserved at least as severe a punishment for his role in the torture and murder of Cambodians, many of them children.

The Khmer Rouge butchered Cambodians from 1975 to 1979. Then armed forces from Vietnam invaded Cambodia, revealing to the world what had been suspected all along -- that the Khmer Rogue, led by Pol Pot, had been systematically eliminating millions of innocent victims.

And now we have a gross injustice in the shamefully light sentence granted one of the worst of Pol Pot's goons. What a disgrace.

Part of a story runs wild

2010-07-23T05:09:00.000-07:00

Most journalists understand a time-tested adage related to their craft: If your mother says she loves you ... check it out.

The Shirley Sherrod story, which has dominated the news cycle of the past few days, shows what can happen when the media don't follow that bit of wisdom.

A right-wing blogger, Andrew Breitbart, took a heavily edited videotape of Sherrod, a U.S. Agriculture Department field officer, addressing a NAACP gathering. The video contained language that suggested that Sherrod is a flaming racist and that the NAACP endorsed such bias.

The video ended up on the "fair and balanced" Fox News Channel, which then reported what the edited video showed about Sherrod. At that point, the stuff hit the fan.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asked for Sherrod's resignation, which she delivered. The White House endorsed Vilsack's action, declaring that racism has no place anywhere in the federal government.

One big problem emerged right away: The video told only a fraction of the story. It turns out that Sherrod's remarks were in fact a testimony to a remarkable journey she has taken in her life. It also turns out that Sherrod has many friends in rural Georgia, where she works, who have benefited from her help with issues that have arisen over many years.

And oh yes, many of those friends are white farmers and ranchers. Some of them rushed to her defense when the media began reporting the story.

This is a prime example of the Internet run amok. It also is an example of how so-called "advocacy journalism" needs some serious self-examination.

To his great credit, Vilsack apologized on live TV for acting prematurely. He didn't offer that maddening passive-voice "mistakes were made" admission. He took personal responsibility for acting without knowing all the facts.

The cable network that reported the incomplete version of the story -- the version that did all the damage to Sherrod's reputation -- has turned its fire on the White House and USDA for its hasty decision. It hasn't yet apologized to Sherrod for fomenting the firestorm that erupted.

And the blogger? Well, he no longer needs to be treated as a serious purveyor of information. He's a hack.

Sherrod says she considering a defamation lawsuit against Breitbart. Part of me hopes she goes for it. Another part of me wonders whether it's worth it. Her reputation has been restored now that the edited video has been exposed for what it is: a hatchet job.

Don't cry for Tiger Woods

2010-07-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

I surely hope Tiger Woods is a glass-is-half-full kind of guy.

The golfing great's earning power has dropped 30 percent in the past year. His endorsement income fell by that amount in the wake of the sex scandal that, since November, had been the talk of the planet -- until Lindsey Lohan got into all that trouble.

But before you break out the crying towels for Woods, consider this: He earned $128 million in endorsements in 2008, according to Sports Illustrated; but his estimated endorsement income for 2010 weighs in at a "paltry" $90 million.

What's more, his estimated endorsement income still is tops in the sports world.

Where I come from, 90 mil is still an obscene amount of money just for putting one's name on a product.

By my calculation, Woods could walk away today and never play another competitive round of golf ever again and he'd still wouldn't have to worry about where his next meal is coming from.

That assumes, of course, that he behaves himself.

A long-ago random act of kindness

2010-07-20T06:26:00.000-07:00

Many of us in Amarillo think we're a community of courteous and thoughtful people. It's gratifying when we hear from visitors who say the same thing.

This note came to me overnight from Verona, Wis. It's from Rick Tiedemann, who told a story about his aging father's long-ago trip through Amarillo at the end of World War II.

To wit:

"I had the honor of assisting my father, a World War II veteran, to Washington, D.C. We were on Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization to help veterans see their Memorial before it is too late. You might be familiar with it and there were several Texans attending with him. It was a weekend that I know I will remember forever. You see my father, Lloyd Tiedemann, is of failing health and 88 years old; this is his last trip.

"Let me get to the point of why I'm contacting you. I got to hear many stories from my dad about WWII and his experiences, many for the first time. One of them was about your city.

"My father was a sailor aboard the USS Essex in the Pacific front. It is always eye awakening to hear what people went through in that war 65 years ago. When the war was over his ship came back to Seattle and he was discharged. He and some buddies decided that rather than go home they would take a little adventure trip around the country. Being from the little town of Belmont WI (population 800) he had not seen much of the world until WWII. So he traveled down the west coast of California, into Nevada and eventually ending up in your city. You might ask how he did it well the old-fashion way of hitch hiking. For many that seems like a strange word but it was a different time. He hitched a ride from a guy in show business that was headed to New York and was driving across the country from Los Angeles. They stayed in a motel on the edge of Amarillo for a night. The next morning he remembers they were in a hurry to get on the road. It was a few hundred miles down the road before he realized that he forgot his wallet under his pillow. He was in a panic because he had all his discharge papers and pay in that wallet close to $1,000. Stopping to telephone, he was able to remember and contact the lady that owned the motel. When asking if anyone had found a wallet she said they had and it was already being mailed home. Not a single penny was taken from his wallet and it got to his parents' house before he did.

"The first thing my dad did after getting his wallet back was send that lady from Amarillo a dozen red roses.

"Well it doesn't sound like much of a story to some but for him it was a reminder of how people are good, honest and respectful. It was a different time yes but I still believe like my father that people are good.

"I will always have a sweet spot in my heart for you folks in Amarillo, Texas. I know my dad does."

Well, Rick, we still have nice folks just like that lady at the motel. Thanks so much for sharing your story.

And thank your dad for me for his service to the country.

Greene could become 'anyone'

2010-07-19T12:24:00.001-07:00

Mom and Dad told me once when I was very young that "anyone can become president."

I believed them, even though I've since learned that it's not entirely true. The "anyone" they had in mind needs some help along the way: some connections, a good bit of money and unrivaled ambition and ego.
But taking that logic down a notch, to the U.S. Senate, I'm guessing that the truism is more realistic. Take Alvin Greene, the Democratic nominee for the Senate from South Carolina.

I'm beginning to pull for him just a little bit.

He emerged from the S.C. Democratic primary as the winner, even though he didn't campaign for the office. He didn't spend a nickel. He made zero speeches, issued zero position papers and held zero campaign meetings. But he conquered a field that included a South Carolina legislator.

Now he's running against Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, who once declared that the angry health care debate would be President Obama's "Waterloo," and that it should be Republicans' goal to ensure that the president fails at anything he sought to do. A real patriot, eh?

DeMint's a smart guy, so I guess he played the calculation correctly in South Carolina, a state that is almost as reliably Republican as Texas.

But Greene, thought of around the country as a first-rate doofus, is now starting to actually campaign. He's an unemployed veteran who lives with his father. He managed to pony up 10 grand to file for the primary, but the Democratic Party isn't concerned about how he got the money.

It would be fascinating to the max to see this guy make a competitive race against DeMint. And were he to win -- well, he becomes the "anyone" to whom Mom and Dad referred so many years ago.

Good Gulf news, but ...

2010-07-15T19:31:00.001-07:00

The good news today from the Gulf of Mexico notwithstanding, BP still has plenty for which to answer regarding the oil spill.

-- Why did crews on the Deepwater Horizon reportedly ignore warning signs before the platform blew up on April 20?

-- Did the company take shortcuts regarding the casings used to seal the shaft it had sunk deep into the sea bottom?

-- Why didn't the company have a ready-made action plan drawn up in the event of such a catastrophe?

-- Why did BP keep insisting that it would pay "all legitimate claims," using language it should have known would enrage Gulf coast residents whose lives have been shattered by the oil spill?

Those are just for starters.

But today came word that the company had stopped the oil flow into the Gulf. The coast isn't out of the woods yet. BP has more testing to do on the containment cap. Then we'll wait for the relief wells to be finished, and then the company will pour cement into the blown-out well to plug it for keeps.

Meanwhile, the company had better get its "answer men" up to speed. There will be plenty of questions to answer in the weeks to come.

Red-light cameras ... once again

2010-07-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

Red-light cameras are back in the news.

A study has come out that seems to give ammo to those who oppose the cams because they haven't made our streets safer. Injury accidents at intersections are up a bit in the two years since Amarillo City Hall deployed the cameras as a deterrent against those who run red lights.

But am I ready to call for a wholesale retreat from this initiative? Not even close.

The data don't prove anything conclusively. If anything, they suggest that the city needs to do a better job of bringing the cameras to the driving public's attention.

For example, I drive routinely along Coulter Street, which has red-light cams at its intersection with Elmhurst. Do I notice the sign warning me of the cameras every time I drive by? No. State law requires the city to place the signs 300 feet in front of the intersection. But after awhile, they kind of become part of the scenery -- not unlike Stanley Marsh 3's ubiquitous lawn signs.

The cops said we have a problem with red-light runners. The mayor heard the police concerns and, along with the City Commission, acted in a way designed to make our streets safer.

I'm willing to give the experiment more time.

In the meantime, can't there be a way to elevate the streetside warnings' visibility to motorists?

Goodbye, county courthouse

2010-07-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

Texas has 254 counties. Almost all of them are run by governments with headquarters in county courthouses, many of which sit on squares in the middle of the county seat.

Not so in Randall County, the second-most populous county in the Texas Panhandle.

The county courthouse, which used to house the government, is rotting on the inside. Its exterior, though, looks nice and spiffy. But the guts of county government has just finished its move off the courthouse square and into the County Finance Building. The Commissioners Court now will begin meeting in the finance structure, leaving the courthouse square to the vacant 101-year-old building formerly known as the county courthouse.

This is a major quandary for the county. It no longer needs the courthouse building. It has moved everything off the square. The criminal justice offices -- including courtrooms, prosecutors and clerks -- operate in the Justice Center more than a mile northeast of the courthouse square.

The old county courthouse no longer is a functioning part of life in Randall County.

One day -- let us hope soon -- someone will find a use for the courthouse building. The new tenant will have to find a way to fix up its interior to a condition matching its exterior. It just doesn't look as though it's going to be its former occupant: county government.

Hate spews forth

2010-07-12T07:06:00.001-07:00

An Amarillo "Vietnam veteran and his wife have had enough" of President Obama and his "radical Chicago thugs." They sent a letter to be published in the newspaper. It won't see print. But I thought I'd share a bit of it here, unattributed.

"Those of you that have never been in the military may not know that an American flag flown upside-down is a distress signal. As of today, our flag will be flown upside-down ... Amarillo, it is time for Americans to stand up and fight for your country ... Let it be known that Amarillo is a city that wants its freedom back ... "

Well.

This hate-filled screed begs at least two key questions: What freedoms have we lost? What are Americans unable to do today that we were able to do when Barack Obama took the oath of office in January 2009?

The correspondents said that "we are Americans, Obama and his thugs are not. Those of us that have fought for our freedom will not give it up now because a band of thugs from Chicago do not believe in our traditional way of life."

One tradition is to disagree respectfully. What has become of civil discourse?

Resisting the temptation

2010-07-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

I am engaged in a titanic battle against temptation.

Tonight is the LeBron James Special, to be shown at 8 p.m. on ESPN. He will announce where he'll play basketball until his next contract expires. The world is holding its breath. Not me.

Well, not exactly.

My biggest curiosity is how ESPN will fill the first 59 minutes of the hour-long special, before James announces whether he'll stay in Cleveland to play for the NBA Cavaliers, or move to some other city.

Thus, the temptation to actually tune in.

This stuff drives me a little nutty at times.

I don't care one bit about LeBron James' basketball future. I care even less about his unprecedented display of ego.

But still, the temptation to watch this bizarre event is taxing my strength of will.

Frankly, for me a bigger story this week was former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr turning 70. Where was the TV special for a guy who helped raise a generation of graying baby boomers?

Non-story gets big play

2010-07-07T08:18:00.001-07:00

It happens every year, right about now.

Summer sets in and it gets hot in places like, oh, New York and Washington, D.C. Then the media, realizing that it's hot in their neighborhood, report it with the kind of zeal reserved normally for really big stories, such as the Gulf oil spill.

As someone who lives in an area of the country that knows summer time heat, I have to ask: What's the big deal? The cable networks are all over the heat. Why? Well, my guess is that it's because the networks are based in NYC and DC. Thus, a local story becomes a national story because the media hounds and talking heads must deal with what the rest of us out here in places like the Texas Panhandle deal with every year at this time.

Yes, a couple of people reportedly have died from the heat. That's tragic, for sure. But is the casualty list mounting rapidly? Well, no.

If the heat wave was happening in, say, February or March, then I'd understand the enthusiasm over this event.

But it's summer, man. It gets hot in the Big Apple and inside the Beltway every single year.

If the media pack wants to chase a story, I can think of other events that deserve at least as much attention as the weather is getting this week.

Last time I checked, the oil was still spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.

Learning a new language

2010-07-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

Technology is introducing us to a new language.

Specifically, it's turning nouns into verbs.

Two such terms stand out.

The first one is "text." It used to mean a body of type. Text was a noun. Today it's become a verb, as in, "My boyfriend, like, texted me just a minute ago and, like, he was so cute trying to tell me he was doing it while driving his car down the freeway at, like, 80 miles an hour."

OK, "texted" is the past tense of the verb "text." But you get the point, right?

Now comes the newest version of a common word: friend.

My wife and I were having dinner one night this past weekend with a young couple with whom we are friends. I informed the young woman that I had just opened a Facebook account. "Oh, really?" she said. "Now I'll have to 'friend' you."

Huh?

The term "friend" used to mean only someone with whom one is quite close; the person to whom you can tell the truth. You share secrets with that person, who knows more about you than you know about yourself.

Now it's a verb, which describes the act of becoming a friend on a Facebook network.

I was hoping that "parent" would be the last noun to become a verb (e.g., "I am learning how to 'parent' my kids"). I never imagined what technology would do to the English language.

I'm sure there'll be much more to come.

Local GOP silence is deafening

2010-07-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

I'm mystified at the silence of the Panhandle's faithful Republican residents, the folks who gave John McCain 80 percent of their vote in the 2008 presidential election.

They've been silent on the latest gaffe by their party's chairman, Michael Steele. National Republicans, such as Weekly Standard editor William Kristol and Sen. McCain himself have called for Steele's head over remarks he made the other day in which he described the Afghanistan war as President Obama's "war of choosing" and said the war was all but unwinnable, given history's record of failed military efforts in that primitive land.

Steele's utterance, of course, shows tremendous ignorance at a couple of levels. First of all, it wasn't Obama's war to begin with; the war began on President Bush's watch. And it surely wasn't a war of choice, since the first hostile act came from terrorists headquartered in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, national Democrats are keeping silent. They aren't saying anything about whether Steele should remain as head of the RNC. They no doubt want the GOP's human gaffe machine to stay right where he is.

But out here, in Flyover Country, where Republicans rule the roost, our rank-and-file electorate remains amazingly quiet over Chairman Steele's latest bout of foot-in-mouth disease. The many Republican partisans throughout the Panhandle who are so quick to criticize the Democrats in Congress, and the one in the White House, need to speak up now.

Do they want Steele to stay or go?

This is no man of Steele

2010-07-03T17:28:00.001-07:00

Watching the Republican Party leadership try to "clarify" its chairman's remarks about the Afghanistan war is making me laugh almost out loud.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele said this week that the war is of President Obama's "choosing." Furthermore, the chairman said the war is virtually unwinnable. Party loyalists have jumped all over Steele, saying that no RNC chairman should declare anything but unqualified support for our troops in the field. Many in the party have called on him to resign.

What the party hacks aren't acknowledging, though, is that the Afghanistan war didn't even start on President Obama's watch. It began nearly nine years ago, when President Bush was in charge. And it surely wasn't a war of choice. Bush sent the troops in to go after al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

What's interesting in the fallout over Steele's stupid remarks -- made at a fundraiser and caught on video -- is what the loyal opposition isn't saying.

If the Democratic Party chair, Tim Kaine, had said something similar to what Steele said, the GOP opposition would accuse him of hating our brave soldiers fighting for our freedom. So far, we aren't hearing such nonsense from Steele's political adversaries.

But oh yes, Chairman Steele has made a terrible mess that he's going to have trouble cleaning up.

Gubernatorial dogfight looming

2010-07-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

A horse race for Texas governor? Can it be that we actually might have a competitive contest for the state's most visible elected office?

Let us hope.

The most recent polls show Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic challenger Bill White in a virtual dead heat. White, the former Houston mayor, has closed what had been a double-digit lead to next to nothing.

What's going on here? White has been pounding away over the governor's pricey rental house, where he and his wife are living while crews repair the fire-damaged Governor's Mansion across the street from the Capitol Building. White's press releases refer to Perry routinely as a "career politician," as in, "Career politician Rick Perry said ... "

So, in a way White is hanging the label that Perry hung around the neck of his chief Republican primary rival, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Perry pounded Hutchison for being a "Washington insider" and whupped her soundly in the GOP primary.

So, now comes White -- who presents himself as a mild-mannered policy wonk -- to slip on the brass knucks and draw blood from the tough-as-a-boot incumbent.

The last truly competitive governor's race was in 1990, when Democratic Treasurer Ann Richards beat West Texas oilman Claytie Williams in a race that Williams was supposed to win. So, two decades later, we're in the middle of another potential donnybrook.

Bring it on, boys.

A seat at the table

2010-06-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

Amarillo has just gotten a seat at a table full of powerful political leaders.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst today named state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, as chairman of a select committee on redistricting.

You'll remember the last time the Legislature sought to redraw congressional and legislative boundaries, after the 2000 census. Lawmakers didn't do it quite to the liking of then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who swept into the state and persuaded Gov. Rick Perry to call a special session to redraw the lines to create a more heavily Republican congressional delegation. Democrats didn't like that, they bolted, fled the state and sought to freeze the process.

Their rebellion didn't work. DeLay got what he wanted. And the rest is history.

Now it's 2010 and the next Legislature will be tasked with redrawing the boundaries again. This time, we have one of our own from the Panhandle at the center of the storm.

It remains to be seen whether Seliger's presence as select committee chairman will help us protect the region's political clout. No doubt, Seliger will be feeling the heat from throughout the state.

But it's good to know that one of our own has a leadership role to play in this most partisan political exercise.

One man's pork is another's treasure

2010-06-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

The late Robert Byrd was a pork-barreler -- and proud of it.

The longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history died this week. His legacy is complex. Byrd was a master of constitutional detail. He knew the history of the Senate like no other. He once was a member of the KKK, but transformed himself into a leading civil-rights activist. Byrd also was able to funnel billions of dollars into his home state of West Virginia.

It's the last description that, in its way, is most admirable.

Byrd didn't hide behind some high-minded rhetoric that sought to justify locating dozens of federal offices in West Virginia. He called himself the "Big Daddy" of congressional spending. He was proud of all the pork he ladled into his state. He made no apologies for it.

And for all the money Byrd guided into his state, his constituents loved him for it. They sent him back to the Senate during the course of nine elections. But, man, he surely got others around the country to grind their teeth in disgust.

Mac Thornberry is one House member who speaks ill of the earmarks that made people such as Byrd famous -- or infamous, depending on your point of view. He wins high praise from his constituents for the criticism he lays at the feet of House colleagues who spend so much of our tax money on these pork-barrel projects.

It all makes me wonder: Would we begrudge our own House members, or own our senators if they did they very same thing for us in Texas, or in the Panhandle?

My guess is that we'd change our tune in a heartbeat.

Robert Byrd, D-Pork Barrel

2010-06-28T06:42:00.000-07:00

It can be said of the late Robert C. Byrd that his picture belongs next to the entry "term limits" published in any political journal.

The veteran Democratic U.S. senator died early today at age 92. He had served 51 years in the Senate and six years in the House. That's 57 years in Congress. Yep, he was an institution.

He's also become vilified in many circles because of all the money he channeled to his home state of West Virginia. A good many lawmakers who forgo the earmark process in federal budgeting -- including Republican Rep. Mac Thornberry of Clarendon -- often cite Byrd's "talent" for bringing federal money home to his constituents.

One of the more, um, interesting plums in West Virginia is a Coast Guard office. How he managed to put a Coast Guard office in his landlocked state speaks volumes about the man's clout on Capitol Hill.

The term-limits crowd tries to make the case for limiting lawmakers' length of service by citing Byrd's five-decades plus in Congress. Fine. Tell that to Byrd's bosses, the voters of his state, who kept sending him back to work on their behalf every six years.

They didn't mind being represented by someone who knew how to work the system.

It was, after all, their call to make -- just as Texans have elected our share of pork-barrelers over the years.

It's raining there, but not here

2010-06-25T14:46:00.001-07:00

Rain, rain everywhere -- or so you'd think.

But that's not the case.

Rick Husband International Airport recorded 1.4 inches of rain over two days this week. But at our house across town, we got only a sprinkle. Our rain gauge recorded next to nothing.

What's more, Lake Meredith's levels continue to fall. It's at 44 1/2 feet -- and receding. I looked recently at a local television Web site and read an explanation of just how the lake could return to its historic levels, about double where it is now. It would have to flood in Fritch, pouring enough water into the lake to bring it back up to where it used to be. Goodness, I would hate for that happen to our neighbors in Hutchinson County.

I received a note this week from a Hansford County commissioner that thanks Texas transportation officials for their response to the horrendous torrent that fell across that region.

So here we are, nearly halfway through the year and the year-to-date moisture levels are considerably greater than normal at the National Weather Service station at AMA.

Why, though, does it still seem so dry?

A different side of Thornberry

2010-06-24T12:08:00.001-07:00

Republican U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry of Clarendon isn't known for snarkiness -- unlike, say, Democratic U.S. Rep. Barney Frank or U.S. Sen. Al Franken.

But he unveiled a different side of himself Wednesday when commenting on the Changing of the Generals announcement at the White House. Stanley McChrystal is out and David Petraeus is in as commander of allied forces in Afghanistan. McChrystal got into serious trouble when he and his senior aides were quoted criticizing White House and Pentagon officials over their conduct of the war in Afghanistan. Vice President Biden was the target of some of the sarcastic comments from McChrystal's staff.

"General McChrystal said some things he should not have said, and his staff engaged in immature banter -- all in front of a (Rolling Stone) reporter," Thornberry said in a statement. "It was poor judgment. There was never any indication of insubordination or of policy differences, however. Even the president admitted that."

"So it came down to personalities and political embarrassment," Thornberry said, adding this:

"If every person in government who has made fun of Vice President Joe Biden is forced to resign, there will be few people left."

Bingo, congressman.

A victory not worth winning?

2010-06-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

John Isner has just defeated Nicholas Mahut in the longest tennis match in the sport's history.

Good for him -- I think.

Isner, the American, defeated Mahut, of France, by a score of 70-68 in the fifth set. The match lasted more than 11 hours over three days. Usually these five-set matches end in tiebreakers. Not at Wimbledon, however.

So, now Isner goes on to the next round, but only if he can pull himself out of bed. Both men claimed utter and complete exhaustion. No kidding?

Allow me to make a couple of predictions:

-- Inser and Mahut are going to become best friends for the rest of their lives.

-- Sports historians will link them forever, the way they did Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, and Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

I was telling friends and colleagues Wednesday that I would hate to be the guy who actually won the match. Isner won't have anything left for the next match. Mahut, however, can take as long as he needs to sleep it off.

Wow!

Words to live by

2010-06-22T13:14:00.001-07:00

This might be my all-time favorite roadside marquee message. It's at Southwest Church of Christ, at 45th and Cornell in Amarillo.

It reads:

Honk if you love Jesus, text while driving if you want to meet him.

I added the emphasis on the words "text while driving," for reasons I hope you'll understand.

Way to go!

Beware of roadside distractions

2010-06-22T05:19:00.000-07:00

I had a horrifying thought this morning as I was driving north along a major west Amarillo thoroughfare en route to work: My effort to read the other side of a marquee as I was traveling along the street could have resulted in a tragic accident.

It was early this morning. I noticed the sign, then realized that the rest of the message was on the other side of the marquee. I turned my head to read the "punchline" on the other side. I was distracted for, oh, about three seconds. I was traveling about 35 or 40 mph, which means I traveled quite distance in a short period of time.

Given that traffic was very light at 6:30 a.m., I had no particular worry at that moment of hitting a car in front of me.

But what about the morning rush hour, when the street is clogged with northbound traffic? Or how about the evening rush hour, when the southbound lanes are full of vehicles? What if someone cranes his or her neck to read the sign, as I did this morning? You've taken your eyes off the street, and the traffic, for a moment. Then a critter -- or, heaven forbid, a child -- darts out into the street. The driver in front of you slams on the brakes. You hit the car and, thus, you are liable for the wreck.

I enjoy reading clever signs as much as the next guy. I also fear auto accidents.

Therefore, I plan to take more care to keep my attention focused on the road.

And business owners perhaps ought to rethink the wisdom of putting two-sided marquee messages out there to tempt motorists into taking their eyes off the street in front of them.

Republican Madden backs Democrat White

2010-06-21T13:55:00.001-07:00

The cat's out of the bag downstate, with reporting today in the Houston Chronicle that Wales Madden Jr. is crossing the partisan divide to support Democrat Bill White's candidacy for Texas governor.

Madden is a longtime Republican stalwart who supported Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's gubernatorial bid in the GOP primary. Hutchison lost and now Madden is backing White, a mountain-climbing pal who has worked with Madden on nuclear issues relating to the Pantex arms assembly and storage plant in Carson County.

Madden has been a longtime lawyer and businessman in Amarillo. He's a big hitter in this part of the state and he joins a number of other Republicans who are crossing over to support White's challenge of GOP incumbent Gov. Rick Perry.

The question of the day, though, is this: Will this support among the movers and shakers translate to actual votes among Republicans in November?

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7059718.html

John Glenn: still a legend

2010-06-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

I just watched John Glenn being interviewed on TV and have concluded the following: This man still could suit up and fly into space.

The former astronaut/senator argues that President Obama shouldn't discontinue the shuttle program. Keep it flying, he says, because it's basically going to cost the U.S. as much to use Russian space vehicles to fly men and women to the International Space Station as it would to use our own space ships.

Glenn flew twice into space, once in 1962 and again in 1998. The 36-year gap between space flights is -- by far -- the longest such span in U.S. or Russian space travel history. When the shuttle Discovery lifted off in 1998, the space flight communicator announced to the world that "we have liftoff of the shuttle Discovery, with six American heroes -- and one American legend."

Oh, my. I get goose bumps whenever I think of that moment.

I, too, remember when my mom and I would awaken early on many mornings and wait for the Mercury and then the Gemini flights to take off from Florida. Glenn's first flight was postponed several times before finally taking off on that measly three-orbit fling around the planet.

Today, the senator/spaceman proved once again that he has as much mental acuity as he's ever had. He's sharp, knowledgeable and speaks with tremendous credibility.

John Glenn's a legend, all right. And he's still my hero.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37817608/ns/technology_and_science-space/

To debate or not debate

2010-06-18T13:36:00.001-07:00

It's a bit mind-blowing to think that Gov. Rick Perry might not debate his opponent for the governor's office, Bill White, during this campaign.

But I'm hearing such nonsense downstate.

Perry's aides are being somewhat cagey about whether the Republican governor will appear with his Democratic challenger before the Nov. 2 election. It's causing some folks to wonder if Perry is looking for a reason not to debate White.

I cannot believe that.

The governor acquitted himself quite nicely while debating a formidable primary opponent, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who he trounced in the GOP primary in March. As for White, he is emerging as a competitive Democrat in this Republican-heavy state. The latest Rasmussen poll has Perry up by 8 points, 48-40 percent. But this is still just June. The election is a long way off -- and much can change in either direction between now and November.

One of the game-changers might be a debate, or a series of debates. Perry can put White with a sparkling televised performance. Then again, White could flatten Perry just as easily.

Hmmm. Maybe it's the uncertainty that's giving the governor some pause, if that's indeed the case.

The two men need to face each other on statewide TV, and not just a single time, either.

A series of join appearances would serve Texas voters well.

Come on, governor. Sign on.

Lost in translation

2010-06-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

So ... just how intense are feelings these days along the Gulf Coast?

Consider this sequence of events:

BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, a native of Sweden, declared that he feels badly for the "small people" affected by the catastrophic oil spill. The reaction was immediate -- and very angry.

My question is this: How come? Svanberg's native language clearly isn't English and he likely isn't well-schooled in American idiom. He well could have meant to say "the little guy," which in this country means something far different than "small people."

Gulf Coast residents who are devastated by the spill's effects all but called Svanberg out back to duke it out. One guy went on TV to declare that "small people kicked (the British) butts" during the War of 1812.

Oh my. Everyone understands the anguish. But let's take a deep breath here.

The BP chairman's statement clearly got lost in the translation, so to speak.

The late -- and insanely rich socialite -- Leona Helmsley, who once said that only "little people pay taxes," knew better than to say something so crass. English, after all, was her first language.

I'm not so sure that Carl-Henric Svanberg is guilty of such arrogance.

And the hits keep on coming

2010-06-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

We pay the president 400 grand a year, let him and his family live in a nice house for four -- or maybe eight -- years, give him access to the best possible public transportation and supply him with a staff that opens doors, answers his phone and serves him meals.

And it's still not enough to compensate him for the job we ask him to do.

President Obama went on TV last night and, to my ears, said a whole lot of the right things, in the right tone and with the right inflection in his voice. But today he's getting hammered by those in the opposing party.

The guy can't buy a break.

He vowed to make BP pay for the cost of cleaning up the hideous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; he has ordered the establishment of an escrow account, to be administered by a third party (BP agreed today to place $20 billion into the account); he has pledged to devote every asset at his command to fight the spill; he made a pitch for alternative energy research and development to wean us of our addiction to oil; he has sought the deployment of National Guard and reserve troops to aid in the cleanup; he has vowed to make the Gulf Coast whole; he has told families and business owners that he will be by their side "for as long as it takes" to repair the damage done by the oil spill; he invoked his faith in God to see us through this crisis and urged all Americans to rely on their own faith and to pray for those who fighting so hard to fix what is wrong.

But he's getting hammered by those, such as Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, for "holding the Gulf hostage" to cap and trade legislation. The first words in Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's response were "It is deeply frustrating that neither BP nor federal regulators had the plans in place to prevent and respond quickly to this tragedy." Well, no kidding, senator. Weren't you on duty as well as the president? Where is the shared responsibility here? We do have "co-equal branches of government," correct?

I give the president credit for speaking out and for giving assurances to those who are suffering the most that he intends to throw the full weight of the government behind this effort.

Yes, this is a crisis of monumental proportions. It's only the latest in a string of crises that the administration has dealt with since taking office.

A friend at church told me the other day that although he isn't "much of a fan of Obama," he's "beginning to feel sorry for him."

These are times, no doubt, when even the stoutest of men and women must wonder: Why did I ever seek this job in the first place?

I'm thinking President Obama is asking himself that very question.

Big 12 lives on

2010-06-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit bummed out today after learning that the University of Texas has decided against joining the Pac 10.

The Big 12 has been given new life. This morning it remains unclear what Texas Tech is going to do, although it now seems a good bet that Tech regents will vote to stay in the Big 12 along with Texas ... and Oklahoma ... and Oklahoma State. I don't know yet what the Aggies will do. The Southeastern Conference courted Texas A&M quite vigorously, but was told that the Aggies are staying put.

Why am I bummed? Well, I'm a Pac 10 guy, having grown up in Oregon and watching the Ducks and Oregon State play football since I was a kid. I hate Southern Cal intensely, mostly because the Trojans beat up on the Ducks and Beavers with regularity for too many years. Now, though, the tide has turned and both Oregon teams have exacted a good bit of revenge.

I would have enjoyed seeing a super-duper Pac 10, with eastern and western divisions. The idea was to have the traditional Pac 10 schools comprise the western half, with Arizona and Arizona State joining the eastern division along with Colorado, UT, A&M, Tech, OU and Okla State.

But alas, it's not to be. UT has played the system well, getting a huge boost in TV revenue, and permission to form its own TV sports network, something the Pac 10 apparently was unwilling to allow.

It's not as though UT is hurting for money. The school routinely vies with A&M and Harvard as the most richly endowed school -- in the world! But it's clearly true that you cannot have too much money when there's more out there.

Many fans of the Big 12 are happy at today's news. This Pac 10 fan isn't so cheery.

Oh well. What could have been ...

South Carolina is in a political pickle

2010-06-14T06:41:00.001-07:00

Alvin Greene will not be elected to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina. Why? Because the political world has wised up to this guy. He is utterly, completely clueless about governing.

But here's the problem: Greene is the Democratic Party nominee in the race for the high office is seeking. He will run against Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint.

He won the Democratic primary the other day, shocking everyone who was watching this race, although apparently not very closely. Greene is an unemployed veteran, yet he plunked down $10,400 while filing to run for the Senate. Where did he get the dough? He isn't saying and apparently no one in the Palmetto State sought to inquire about him weeks ago.

Oh, but there's more. Greene has a felony obscenity charge hanging over him. A female college student has alleged that Greene showed her some dirty pictures online and sought to enter her dorm room.

My question is this: Where was the vaunted statewide media during this campaign?

Greene didn't campaign. He didn't spend a nickel on his campaign. He held no rallies. He had no town meetings. He did zero meet-and-greets with voters. He published zero campaign literature. Yet he won his party primary! His post-primary interviews have been exercises in futility for the questioners. Greene's answers to policy questions make Sarah "Barracuda" Palin sound like a Rhodes scholar.

How does this happen? And why didn't the media in South Carolina -- or anyone whose job is to examine these races -- see this coming?

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, says Greene is a Republican "plant." He's called for an investigation into his candidacy. He says his campaign is smeared with "elephant dung."

A lot of folks have egg on their face on this one. S.C. Republicans long have had a reputation for playing dirty, and often with each other. If they've crossed the party line into messing with Democratic politics, then the state political machine has a whole other set of problems.

The late U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen used to say that "politics in Texas is a contact sport." Ah, and we thought Texas politics was tough.

Silly us.

Red-light cams vs. cell-phone rules

2010-06-11T11:57:00.001-07:00

I had an awakening the other day.

It came in the form of a phone call from a local nut job, who called to gripe about "waste" in city government. He was yapping about perceived waste in several Amarillo municipal departments. I didn't pay much attention to him because, well, I am aware of some "issues" that have plagued him over many years.

But then he said the following: If the city is so concerned about traffic safety that it installs red-light cameras at several intersections, why doesn't it ban cell-phone use while driving?

That, dear friends, is when the awakening occurred. The light bulb flickered on as I realized that even nut jobs make sense every so often.

I told him I agree with the city's view on red-light cams. I, too, think they improve motor vehicle safety. The caller disagreed with my view on that one.

But I also agree with his assessment that Amarillo City Hall ought to make up its mind on whether it's going to intrude on motorists' lives. It says it won't enact an ordinance banning cell phone use while driving -- unlike many other cities in the country, and even some in Texas. Yet it stands firm in its belief that red-light cameras should take pictures of cars running red lights at intersections, enabling the city to cite the registered owners of the car for a traffic violation.

The city is right on the cameras, and wrong on its reluctance to impose rules against cell phone use while driving.

Thanks for the pearl of wisdom, Mr. Caller.

Bring back helmet law

2010-06-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/061010/new_motorcycle.shtml

Helmets save lives. They reduce the rate of traumatic head injury. They can reduce the number of people disabled fully -- and permanently. And yet the state of Texas doesn't require all motorcyclists to wear them.

Astounding.

Texas used to have such a law. Then the Legislature repealed it some years back, knuckling under the ethos that Texans are so independent that we don't need the state to dictate how to protect ourselves ... from ourselves.

I remember one guy who scolded me for pitching a fit over the Legislature's repeal of the helmet law. I was living in Jefferson County at the time. This guy lived in neighboring Orange County. His argument was he had the right as an American and a Texan to "feel the wind in my hair" while riding his motorcycle. Those darn helmets restricted that feeling of freedom, he said. He also argued that helmets actually posed a greater danger than riding without them. Why? They restricted his field of vision and his neck-and-shoulder mobility.

I don't know whatever happened to that fellow. I trust he's still with us, riding his motorcycle without a helmet.

But the link to the story at the top of this post noted that an 18-year-old Amarillo man, Aaron Carter, is alive today precisely because of the helmet he was wearing. "It had to be the full-face helmet," said Amarillo Police Sgt. Steve Davis in marveling how the young man survived the crash.

State law does require minors to wear them. Motorcyclists without helmets must have accident insurance.

For my money, that's not enough protection.

A word of warning to Nevadans

2010-06-09T11:24:00.000-07:00

The picture you see here is of the future mayor of Portland, Ore., my hometown.

It became a talking point in a campaign for the mayor's office when the then-incumbent, Frank Ivancie, sought to portray the gentleman in the photo -- Bud Clark -- as just a bit loopy and too "out there" to be mayor of a growing, progressive city such as Portland. Clark challenged Ivancie in 1984 -- and won. Why? Because the residents of the city were taken aback by Ivancie's attack against Clark, who used to run a popular watering hole/eatery near Portland State University, where I attended.

This picture was part of a promotion for art. It ran with the caption "Expose Yourself to Art." It became all the rage in Portland that election year. Mayor Ivancie, I guess, thought the picture was in poor taste and sought to make a campaign issue of it. The voters in Portland thought quite differently.

I bring this up as a cautionary tale to Nevada Democrats who are going to portray Republican U.S. senatorial nominee Sharron Angle as too much of a political gadfly to be taken seriously in her race against incumbent Democratic Sen. Harry Reid.

Angle is a Tea Party favorite. She is the consummate "outsider" who is a champion of low taxes and smaller government. She also has said some goofy things, such as suggesting -- albeit rather obliquely -- that we ought to outlaw such "drugs" as alcohol. Dare we bring back Prohibition?

But the warning is out there to Nevada Democrats: Be careful how you go after Angle's nuttiness. The voters in your state very well could react the same that voters in my hometown did when an establishment candidate for mayor, the incumbent, sought to demonize the upstart challenger.

Niceness rules the day

2010-06-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

Watching local politics in the Panhandle has left me with this nagging feeling: Voters here don't seem to like politicking that even approaches negativity.

It's gotten so nice that there seems little separation among candidates. There is a bit of a reluctance, it seems, for candidates to spell out differences -- which by definition cast the other guy in a less than positive light.

The recent campaign for Randall County Precinct 2 commissioner offers a bit of a case study.

The winner of the April Republican runoff, Mark Benton, took office today. County Judge Ernie Houdashell appointed him to fill the vacancy created by former Commissioner Gene Parker's retirement. Benton had won the runoff over Doug Hershey, who actually had finished first in the March 2 primary; but since Hershey didn't reach the 50-percent-plus-one-vote margin needed for outright victory, the top two candidates had to go one more round in the runoff.

During the campaign, Hershey sought to cast himself as the candidate who would vote on all issues before the commission, unlike Benton. Why the contrast? Benton works for Western Builders, a general contractor company that often bids on local government construction projects. Benton pledged to have no input in discussions involving his company, or vote on any matter involving Western Builders. Hershey sought to make something of that pledge, declaring he would be able to vote on all matters, given that he didn't face any potential conflict of interest.

Benton won the runoff handily.

I don't know if Hershey's campaign tactic played a role in his losing the runoff. All I do know is that I've witnessed voters reject any hint of negativity on occasion. Anette Carlisle tried to go negative in her legislative race in 2006 against state Rep. David Swinford; she fell short. So did Jesse Quackenbush in his earlier challenge against Swinford. An upstart challenger to Congressman Bill Sarpalius, however, did succeed -- in 1994 -- with his negative attacks against the incumbent's voting record; Mac Thornberry has been serving in the U.S. House ever since.

Can it be that we're just too nice around here?

Wheels up to Memphis

2010-06-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

It's difficult to overstate the importance of a new air carrier coming back to Amarillo.

Delta Airlines, which used to fly from AMA to Dallas-Fort Worth airport, is about to start service between the Panhandle and Memphis (the one in Tennessee). The airline will commence with three flights daily between here and there, connecting travelers to points in the Midwest and the East. Delta also has non-stop service from Memphis to Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Why is this so important? Well, it stamps Amarillo as a place with still-tremendous growth potential. The airport reconstruction project is well underway. City Hall, which runs the airport, hopes to open a shiny new terminal in the summer of 2011 before knocking down the old one -- which, to my eyes, doesn't look all that bad.

Amarillo's air service compares quite favorably with Lubbock, the other West Texas commercial/cultural/financial center. Delta's return cements our city's standing as a good place to do business.

I've always told folks that we're just one stop away from any destination in the world. Delta's return now gives Amarillo another one-stop getaway to Western Europe.

I'm betting we're going to hear more good air travel news in the months ahead. Given all the grumbling about air travel these days, that should be welcome news indeed.

So long, Helen

2010-06-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

Helen Thomas said what? That the Israelis should "get the hell out of Palestine"? That they should go "home" to, um, Poland, Germany and America?

Well, the so-called "dean of the White House press corps" has announced her retirement -- under extreme duress, it should be noted. It's time.

Thomas was wrong to say such things about Israel, which has come under intense international criticism for seeking to protect a blockade against weapons being smuggled into Gaza that terrorists have used against the Israelis.

It's been said in recent days that Thomas, a longtime United Press International White House correspondent who has been a columnist for Hearst Newspapers in recent years, may be suffering from some form of dementia. Why else would she say something so offensive?

My guess is that she's alert, but that she's gotten even more cantankerous. She long ago blurred the lines between commentator and objective reporter. As a reporter, she never should be allowed to reveal her own bias. And even though she's been a columnist of late, she continued to sit in the White House briefing room -- in her front-row seat -- and pepper White House press aides with often-pointed questions.

Thomas' recent intemperate remarks, of course, ignore history. Israel was created in 1948 by those who had fled the Holocaust. They had gone "home" to their ancestral origins.

And home is where they should remain.

Israel gets bum rap

2010-06-04T14:43:00.001-07:00

Just about a year ago, I was wrapping up a month-long journey through Israel as part of a Rotary International exchange. Our Israeli hosts opened their homes, and their hearts, to a team of us from West Texas, and their hospitality was something that will stay with all of us forever. We talk often about that adventure, and about the love we all received from our hosts.

I am troubled by the criticism being heaped on Israel these days in the wake of that commando raid on a flotilla of ships seeking to bring "relief supplies" to the Gaza Strip. Why troubled? Well, part of our trip through Israel took us to Gaza's doorstep. The proximity of Gaza to Israel is stunning. I mean, it's close, man. Real close.

And remember: It was from Gaza that Hamas terrorists have lobbed rockets and mortars into Israeli towns near the border. Hamas has sworn to eradicate Israel, believing that the Israelis are occupying land that belongs rightfully to the Palestinians. The Israelis, of course, see it all quite differently.

Israel has this nutty notion of wanting to protect itself against enemies. Thus, when ships steam toward Gaza, the Israelis feel compelled to board these ships and search them for weapons of war. This is what the commando raid the other day sought to do. But the so-called "peace activists" aboard the ships resisted the soldiers' efforts, and lives were lost.

The United Nations, which I generally have supported over many years, has been quick to condemn Israel. President Obama has been fairly quiet, but many within his administration have said the Israelis made a mistake. How can that be? Israel has been under siege since its creation in 1948. It's gone to war several times -- and never fired the first shot in any of them. The fighting always has been initiated by its enemies.

The nation deserves to protect itself -- from Hamas in the Palestinian Authority, from Hezbelloah in Lebanon, from Syria and from Iran. And does anyone in Israel really trust fully their so-called "friends" in Jordan or Egypt? I think not.

I wish my Israeli friends well and worry about them during these difficult times. Their country is always fighting for its life. The critics around the world ought to take stock of that fact before they fire off their criticism.

A perfectly blown call

2010-06-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

I'm an old-school guy when it comes to baseball. I hate the designated hitter rule. I detest artificial turf and playing the Grand Old Game under a roof.

And until Wednesday night, I opposed the notion of allowing instant replay review of blown calls. Now I'm having second thoughts about that.

First-base umpire Jim Joyce's call of a runner being "safe" ruined Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga's perfect game. The call involved the 27th hitter the pitcher faced. The previous 26 batters had been retired. The hitter hit a grounder to the first baseman, who had to cover some ground to field the ball; he tossed it to Galarraga, who was covering the bag. The throw beat the runner to the base by about a third of a step -- but Joyce called the runner safe.

The call didn't ruffle the pitcher. He smiled, obviously in disbelief, and then retired the next batter to end the game. Joyce viewed the replay after the game and did the unbelievable: He admitted his mistake and apologized to Galarraga, who then accepted Joyce's apology by telling him "Nobody's perfect."

Have I changed my mind completely on the instant replay? Not entirely. I'm just giving it some thought, whereas before I would dismiss the notion out of hand.

But here'a another thought: Maybe Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig can consider reversing Joyce's call. Reversing the call would have no impact on the outcome of the game. The next batter was out anyway. Just remove the final batter's at-bat, take away the hit that was erroneously awarded by the umpire's big mistake.

The 3-0 Detroit victory over Cleveland still stands -- and a gracious young man gets his perfect game.

Cheney's silence is deafening

2010-06-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has shown himself to be quite quick to criticize President Obama since leaving office.

He's been critical of the president's foreign policy, particularly where it involves the war on terror.

But why hasn't he joined the chorus of critics -- on the left and the right -- who've been blasting the daylights out of Obama over the White House response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill?

Oh! I forgot. He once ran Halliburton, the giant firm that supplies oil companies, which has been linked to the disastrous spill. Yep, the former veep's silence on this one has been deafening, even though the president's tepid response to the spill has drawn deserved criticism -- from both ends of the vast political spectrum. Those on the left have blasted the administration for relying too heavily on British Petroleum's expertise; those on the right have pounded the president for failing to mobilize federal response teams.

It's good to know that Cheney's political antenna remain finely tuned. He wouldn't dare mouth off about this disaster when he knows all too well what a hands-off approach to oil-drilling regulation can produce.

We're watching the tragic consequences unfold right now.

Save the gripes for another day ... OK?

2010-05-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day has arrived -- and given the tense political times we're enduring, so has the usual carping.

It's coming from conservatives who are angry that President Obama didn't lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery. He assigned that duty to Vice President Biden, who did a nice job this morning at the solemn ceremony.

One reader, from Pampa, believes it's unforgivable that the president didn't honor the memory of our fallen warriors at Arlington and said that the media have hidden the story. Two points need to be made.

One is that the media have been all over the story today. They were reporting that Obama would make remarks at the Lincoln National Cemetery in Illinois, where the president was visiting with his family. The media also have noted the criticism that has been directed at the president from conservative groups, and from veterans organizations. What's more, if the media were covering up the story, how did the critics know about it?

The other is that Obama isn't the first president to forgo laying a wreath at Arlington during Memorial Day. President GHW Bush, a WWII combat vet, didn't do it. President Reagan rarely took part; indeed, the media have noted that one year Reagan was vacationing at his California ranch during one Memorial Day. President Clinton -- who famously avoided service during the Vietnam War -- foresaw the vilification he would have suffered if he stiffed the ceremony, so he made a point of laying the wreath throughout his presidency.

This day isn't about what presidents do to honor our fallen warriors. It's about the men and women who have died in service to the country.

We can save the carping for another day. Heaven knows there's plenty to keep us angry.

Are you ready for some f-f-f-football?

2010-05-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

The Super Bowl is going to New York in 2014. Outdoors. In the cold. Maybe it'll be snowing, sleeting and raining all at the same time.

Good deal.

The NFL awarded the Big Game to the Big Apple in what is a first for the league: the first Super Bowl to be played in cold-weather elements.

The crying has begun already. More of it will come from the big-time moguls who go to the game to party. They care little about the game. They prefer the tropical climes in, say, San Diego or Miami -- or perhaps the dry heat of Phoenix.

Hey, the game was meant to be played in the ice, snow, mud and rain. The players have to endure such weather at various times throughout the season. Moreover, the players and coaches make enough money that they can play just one more game in the cold before calling it a season.

I think the NFL has done the spirit of the game a great service by sending it to New York in early February. Kick it off into a howling sub-freezing wind and let the players slug it out on a snow-covered field.

That's football, friends.

But what are they going to do about those superstar half-time shows? Who cares? It's all about the game.

Rain gauge fills -- finally

2010-05-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

I've arrived at a moment that I haven't anticipated for a number of years: My backyard rain gauge is full and I'll have to empty it tonight.

It filled nearly to the top late Monday and early Tuesday during a whopper of a rain and hail storm that swept over Amarillo. Our gauge showed a 3-inch accumulation overnight, which is fantastic by any measure. Some neighborhood playas are overflowing. McDonald Lake's water level had just about spilled over its banks this morning, nearly reaching the paved walk path that surrounds the lake.

The bad news is that my wife's veggie garden took a bit of a beating from the hail, but after examining it this morning she is hopeful that the sunshine will let her still-infant crop recover.

This is all worth noting because the weather forecasters -- who take their share of abuse from residents, much of it deserved -- had predicted a wetter than normal spring. And so it has developed just about as they said it would.

El Nino gets the credit. It's that Pacific Ocean current that washes moisture ashore; it then travels east across the desert, the mountains and down onto the plains. Thus, we're getting drenched this spring.

I cannot forget to empty the rain gauge when I get home this evening. I'm anxious to watch it fill up once again.

How do they get away with this?

2010-05-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

Austin, we have a problem.

A state law is supposed to require motorists to be insured. But we now have learned that one in four Potter County drivers are uninsured; one in six Randall County drivers fall into that category.

What gives? We have to produce proof of insurance when we get our car inspected. Each year when we go to the county tax office, the clerk calls up our record to confirm that we have insurance. If we don't have insurance, we can't get our car inspected or get our auto insurance renewed. Failure to do either may result in our getting busted by the police.

Is enforcement lacking? How do these people get away with driving without insurance?

Well, one of the Panhandle's very own state reps, John Smithee of Amarillo, is in position to do something about this problem. He chairs the House Insurance Committee -- and may get that assignment when the next Legislature convenes in January.

Methinks the chairman needs to begin researching ways to fix this matter. Quickly.

Scandal crosses partisan divide

2010-05-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

Political shame showed a distinctly bipartisan stripe this week. Ah, what a great week it was.

Former U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, an Indiana Republican, became a champion of sexual abstinence. He would lecture teenagers about the dangers of sexual activity. He pontificated about the dangers of extramartial sex. Why, he even did a public service announcement with a young woman who "interviewed" him about why abstinence is such a valuable weapon in the fight against sexually transmitted disease and unwanted pregnancy.

But, d'oh, he's a hypocrite.

Seems that Souder was philandering on the side -- with the very same young woman with whom he appeared on that PSA. This one might rate as my favorite political sex scandal to date: Righteous pol preaches moral rectitude all the while behaving in precisely the manner he said others should avoid.

He quit his House seat on the spot. Good riddance.

Now we have a Democrat who was caught lying, and that's what we'll call it, about his military service record.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had said repeatedly over many years that he had served "in" Vietnam. He made some remark about being spat upon as he returned from the war. Nope. Didn't happen. He served "during" the Vietnam War. But he never set foot in country while the bullets were flying. Now we have learned he received several student deferments and enlisted finally in the Marine Corps Reserve to avoid going to war. Hey, I don't begrudge him for that. I surely do begrudge him, though, for lying about his record.

Blumenthal -- who's running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Christopher Dodd -- says he "misspoke." Huh? But why didn't he correct the record when media would report over the course of many years that he had served "in" 'Nam? He didn't. He let the lie fester and grow.

Then he lashed out at the messenger, namely the New York Times, which broke the story, for "impugning my record of public service." No one did anything of the kind, Mr. Attorney General. The Times merely looked up his service record and found that it didn't square with what he'd been saying about himself over a span of many years.

Vietnam veterans, such as yours truly, are outraged. But they shouldn't be alone. The outrage also belongs to Connecticut voters who have been deceived in a most dishonorable way.

Watch 'em like a hawk

2010-05-19T12:05:00.001-07:00

Memo to the Amarillo City Commission: We'll be watching you like hawks.

The commission has decided to conduct a national search to replace former City Manager Alan Taylor, who has worked his last day as the city's CEO.

Why the need for vigilance? Well, the commission promises complete openness as it goes about the search. Sadly, in this cynical age, elected officials' word too often just isn't good enough. The public will need to keep a sharp eye on the process.

We'll need to know a host of things about this search: the name of the consulting firm the city will hire to help it in the search; its cost to the city; the process it will employ; the names of the finalists who emerge from what likely will be a large pool of applicants.

City Hall has done the right thing. It should have conducted a serious national search when John Ward retired as city manager in 2004. It went through the motions before elevating Taylor to the top job. Taylor did well in the post, but it would have been better for him -- not to mention the city -- if he had competed against a top-drawer field of applicants.

The city is making the right moves so far. But we have to remain alert to ensure that it makes good on officials' pledge for transparency.

Gingrich ... out on a limb

2010-05-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is a smart guy. Don't take my word for it. He'll all but so say so himself.

But the one-time Georgia Republican firebrand-turned-speaker isn't a fortune teller. He has told Politico.com that President Obama has a 20 percent chance of being re-elected in 2012. And, by golly, he might run for the GOP nomination against the president. Gingrich also suggests he could be the one to send Obama packing.

Hmmm. I will respond with two words: Ronald Reagan.

President Reagan was standing guard over an economy in 1982 that was in horrible condition. His poll numbers were in the tank. Joblessness rivaled today's numbers; inflation was out of control. The mid-term elections that year ended up costing the Republicans many seats in the House and the Senate -- a circumstance facing Democrats in the upcoming mid-terms this year.

Oh, what to do? Democrats licked their chops at their prospects in 1984 of retaking the White House. They nominated former Vice President Walter Mondale at their convention that year.

What happened next ought to serve as a cautionary tale for Gingrich and all the know-it-alls today.

Reagan not only won re-election in '84, he came within about 4,000 votes of scoring a 50-state sweep over Mondale, who barely carried his home state of Minnesota.

It was "morning in America."

Now ... will history repeat itself in precisely that fashion in 2012? I'm not smart enough -- unlike Newtie Gingrich -- to make such a prediction. I will say, however, that it's foolish to suggest today -- more than two years from the next presidential election -- how it will all turn out.

President Mondale surely would agree.

Remembering a mountain

2010-05-18T07:03:00.001-07:00

"Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!"

Those probably were the last words ever uttered -- 30 years ago today -- by a young geologist, David Johnston, who was blown into oblivion by Mount St. Helens. Johnston was manning an observation point not far from the volcano when he radioed those words to the U.S. Geological Survey office in Vancouver, Wash.

There are some things one never thinks he'll ever witness. A volcanic eruption is one of those things that, for me, I never imagined I'd be able to remember. I grew up in Portland, Ore., about 50 miles southwest of Mount St. Helens. I was still living there when the mountain exploded on Sunday morning, May 18, 1980. It's kind of one of those days for Pacific Northwest residents you remember -- kind of like where you were when JFK died or when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. On that day, it was overcast, so we didn't actually witness the blast from our Portland home; we did, however, watch a similarly spectacular ash cloud in July of that year. But still, the live pictures of that moment on our TV screens were as good as being there.

Thirty years ago today, Portlanders' vision of the world changed forever. It was expressed to me several times in the years immediately after the eruption how upsetting it was to look along the city's northern horizon and see Mount St. Helens with its top blown off. For those of us who grew up awestruck at the mountain's snow-capped symmetry, the sight of the mountain today remains quite a blow.

The mountain was supposed to look as it always did.

But alas, human beings cannot control many things. We're such pipsqueaks when compared to the unfathomable force of Mother Nature.

Price goes up -- and stays there

2010-05-17T12:32:00.001-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37192337/ns/business-oil_and_energy/

The above link is a story about how the price of oil has plunged 20 percent since early May.

Is that a surprise to you? It was to me.

It never fails to amaze me how the price of gasoline somehow, mysteriously, doesn't move as quickly downward as it does upward. When the price of crude spikes up, Amarillo gasoline dealers are oh, so very quick to increase the price at the pump instantly, or so it seems. Oh, but when the price of oil nosedives -- which the Associated Press says has happened -- the price stays up.

The pump price has lingered at $2.79 per gallon, or thereabout, for as long as I can remember.

What goes up, then, doesn't necessarily come down.

Is he a RINO or a DINO?

2010-05-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

I'm chuckling over the anti-incumbent angst getting credit for the probable defeat Tuesday of longtime U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Specter served for three decades as a Republican. Then he changed parties in 2009. He became a Democrat, just like that. Give the man credit for being honest: He didn't stand a chance of being elected as a Republican, so he changed parties -- and admitted to it!

So now he's run into a Democratic buzzsaw in the form of Rep. Joe Sestak, who has presented himself as a real Democrat, not a pretender like Specter.

TV ads have shown Republican President Bush endorsing Specter's re-election in 2004 and Democratic President Obama proclaiming his "love" for Specter in 2010.

I'm not convinced that anti-incumbent fervor is at play in Pennsylvania. What Keystone State Democrats are suggesting is that they don't trust Specter, and they dislike his jumping onto their party bandwagon for purely self-serving reasons. He wants to stay in the Senate and voters are seeing this move as a cynical attempt to cover his rear end.

It's true that Specter, who once was a Democrat before he became a Republican all those years ago, has been called a Republican in Name Only (RINO). Democrats now are labeling him a DINO -- which translates into calling someone a politician without principle.

In the eye of a political storm

2010-05-14T05:20:00.000-07:00

I feel as though I'm sitting in the eye of a political hurricane -- you know, where it's dead calm while everything else is being blown away.

Incumbents are beginning to drop like flies, and more are going to bite the dust.

Utah Republican Sen. Bob Bennett failed to win renomination to a fourth term in the United States Senate; Pennsylvania Democrat (and former longtime Republican) Sen. Arlen Specter is in the fight of his life for his new party's nomination against a retired three-star admiral and current member of the House, Joe Sestak; a veteran West Virginia congressman was decked in the Democratic primary this past week.

Meanwhile, in the Panhandle, two House members are skating toward re-election with virtually no opposition. Clarendon Republican Mac Thornberry, who vanquished his Democratic challenger by 56 percentage points in 2008, is a shoo-in, as is fellow Republican Randy Neugebauer of Lubbock. No such thing here as "anti-incumbent fever."

It is true, of course, that one longtime West Texas incumbent, state Rep. Delwin Jones of Lubbock, lost his Republican primary fight in March, to a Tea Party favorite. But that's the rarest of events in this politically calm region.

The local races present the same picture. Incumbents are unopposed throughout the Potter and Randall County ballots.

One Texas incumbent might face some trouble down the road. Republican Gov. Rick Perry holds a slim lead over Democratic challenger Bill White, who's beginning to spend some serious campaign ad money to deliver his own message. But as has been demonstrated so far this election year: Never count Rick Perry out. The guy knows how to win. Still, it will be interesting to watch this campaign unfold, while seeing whether Perry's national ambitions (if he truly harbors them) get thrown over by a well-financed challenger.

Meanwhile, it still seems awfully quiet out there.

Bring on all perspectives

2010-05-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Of all the things that commend Elena Kagan to a spot on the U.S. Supreme Court, one issue stands out for me: her penchant for seeking a diversity of opinion.

Kagan's tenure as dean of the Harvard Law School included an initiative to bring in more conservative faculty members. Her idea was that that Harvard was becoming too much of a liberal echo chamber, with too much sameness among faculty members. So, she recruited professors with a different point of view on legal matters.

This has drawn howls from the left, who think that President Obama has selected a closet conservative to sit on the highest court in the land.

No, the president has chosen someone who relishes good debate, intellectual stimulation and a wide range of thought.

I'm baffled as to why such a thing is seen by some as a negative. It should instead be seen as a compelling reason to confirm her.

She'll get pummeled by those on the right for a number of issues: lack of judicial experience, her career in academia, whatever. Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican, has sent a strong signal of skepticism about Kagan over her lack of bench experience. Perhaps that criticism might be moderated somewhat if he considers her intent to bring more right-leaners onto the Harvard faculty.

The issue here isn't that she sought more conservatives. The issue actually is that she honors the tradition at a fine university as a place where all views are welcome. Universities should be places that give all perspectives a thorough airing.

Eating their young?

2010-05-10T05:24:00.000-07:00

The late state Sen. Teel Bivins of Amarillo used to say that redistricting, when legislators have to redraw state and congressional district lines, is an event in which "Republicans eat their young."

Well, the Republican Party isn't waiting for the next reapportionment to consume one of its own.

U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett went down in flames this past weekend, losing the Utah GOP race for another term in the Senate. Why? Bennett isn't conservative enough, to which I say, "What the ... ?"

Bennett is one of the more reliably conservative senators on Capitol Hill. He was running for a fourth term in Utah. I checked his voting record first thing this morning. I learned this from the Almanac of American Politics:

* Political action groups rated Bennett's record as 66 percent "conservative" in 2008; the previous year, he voted with the right on average about 70 percent of the time.

* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- a bastion of business conservatism -- gave Bennett a 100 percent rating in both 2007 and 2008.

But he'll be out on his ear at the end of 2010. Utah has an unusual way of nominating party candidates. They do it by party convention. Bennett didn't make the grade, losing renomination to a Tea Party favorite.

How does this bode for the Republican Party? It might that the party is making itself more ideologically pure and pushing aside all semblance of moderation. Witness the defection recently in Florida, where once-Republican Gov. Charlie Crist left his party to run for the Senate as an independent. Crist's "crime"? He gave President Obama a brief man-hug a year ago while endorsing the president's economic stimulus package.

Bon appetit, Republicans.

It was no "act of God"

2010-05-07T13:14:00.001-07:00

An "act of God"?

That's what Gov. Rick Perry called the blowout and cataclysmic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Interesting. I've always thought acts of God constituted things such as tornadoes, hailstorms and droughts -- events with which most Panhandle residents are acquainted. They also involve hurricanes and monsoon-like rain, which pummel our neighbors on the Gulf Coast. They also involve gorgeous sunrises and sunsets -- once again events that are pleasing to our eyes here on the High Plains.

But the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf, killing 11 workers and which is still spilling oil into the water isn't an act of God as most of us understand the term.

Gov. Perry, though, struggled to defend his remark, telling the Houston Chronicle that the phrase has been used "in legal terms for a long time in this state." Huh?

Maybe the governor is suggesting that since the Almighty governs every activity in the universe, that human error is an act governed by His all-powerful hand.

I'll stick with my own understanding of the phrase.

What happened in the Gulf is an act of humankind. And human beings are going to be held responsible.

Thoughtfulness, yes; blowards, no

2010-05-06T09:12:00.001-07:00

Still, if you're somebody who only reads the editorial page of The New York Times, try glancing at the page of The Wall Street Journal once in a while. If you're a fan of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, try reading a few columns on the Huffington Post website. It may make your blood boil; your mind may not be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship..."-President Obama, U of Michigan, May 1,2010

The above is part of a comment replying to an earlier post I wrote about Rush Limbaugh and his expected criticism of the federal government's arrest of the suspect in the failed bomb attempt at Times Square.

That the respondent, named "Anonymous," would send this comment to me implies that I don't read opinions with which I disagree. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I read them all the time.

I love reading well-written opinions, from thoughtful and responsible people who have something important to say. Whether I agree with their views is irrelevant in that context.

What infuriates me, though, are the audiences who tune in to these talk-show entertainers and then accept what they say as gospel.

And I actually agree with the president's view that getting one's blood to boil helps stimulate your thought processes. However, I'll pass on the blowhards' overheated rhetoric.

Transparency is on display

2010-05-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

I am acutely aware aware that local government entities operate independently of each other.

But one of them, Amarillo College, is setting the standard for accountability in the selection of a key administrator. Three educators are taking part this week in what amounts to a public audition for the job of vice president of academic affairs. AC officials invited them to meet with faculty, students, college staff and the public. The college is letting the taxpaying public size up these folks.

West Texas A&M University usually follows this model, to its great credit as well.

Contrast that with the way local school districts do these searches. Too often, districts don't tell anyone the identity of the finalists, contending that doing so would compromise the applicants' standing with their current employers. Interesting. I guess that the three people seeking this key administrative post don't have those worries. Why doesn't it matter for these folks, when it seems to matter -- a great deal -- to those applying for positions with local school districts?

Cities and counties in the Texas Panhandle aren't any better in this regard, either.

AC President Paul Matney, whose former job the school is seeking to fill, gets it.

Maybe he can persuade his fellow public institution CEOs -- and the governing boards -- to follow suit.

Rain brings its payoff

2010-05-05T11:51:00.001-07:00

My wife and I drove this past weekend to Lubbock and noticed something we hadn't seen in some time.

Almost every acre of range and pasture land we saw was a vivid green, courtesy no doubt of the ample rain that soaked the High Plains during April. Man, it was a sight to behold. It had been just a few weeks earlier that I had made the same drive, but the land still was still brown and barren in the wake of winter's grip on the region.

I mentioned what we saw to a friend of mine, Jimmy Wells, who farms in Moore County. He put a farmer's spin on what he, too, witnessed on a recent trip downstate.

"The area had its postcard face on," Jimmy said. "The land was green, the ponds were full of water, the bluebonnets were beautiful, the cattle were fat and the wheat fields near Vernon were waist-high and waving in the breeze. It just doesn't get any better than that."

And who says this area ain't pretty?

Silence would be golden, indeed

2010-05-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

It's tempting to turn the radio dial over to KGNC 710 AM to listen to Rush "Daddy Dittohead" Limbaugh as he bloviates against the Obama administration.

I'm going to resist the temptation, because I fear that Big Daddy is going to find some pretext to criticize the administration's handling of the failed Times Square terror attack -- and the arrest of the suspect who apparently is singing like a canary to his captors. If I were to hear such idiotic rantings from this clown, I just might go apoplectic -- literally.

President Obama cannot buy a break with these right-wing blowhards. They find fault even where none exists.

Let's see: Surveillance cameras catch grainy images two days ago of some guy acting nervously in front of his vehicle in NYC's Times Square. He scurries away. Police swoop in and discover a bomb on the vehicle, which is loaded with physical evidence to help the authorities track down the suspect.

The Justice Department calls in its crack FBI terrorism unit. The good guys run all the traps quickly and then apprehend the suspect at JFK airport as he was preparing to fly to Dubai. He's a newly minted U.S. citizen who was born in Pakistan; the would-be bomber's motive is not yet determined.

Well, I give the administration extremely high marks for nabbing a suspect so quickly. Indeed, the president has made it clear since the beginning of his administration that he intends to pursue bad guys just as relentlessly as President Bush did. And yet, none of that seems to matter to his critics.

We have responsible critics, people with important public service jobs -- such as Rep. Mac Thornberry. Then we have the entertainment yahoos, such as Daddy Dittohead.

I won't listen to Limbaugh. Perhaps he'll keep his trap shut on this issue, given that he might not have anything critical to say about Obama. Indeed, Limbaugh turns an old cliche on its ear by adhering to the notion that "If you can't say anything bad about someone, don't say anything at all."

May he suffer in golden silence.

'Drive now, text later ...'

2010-05-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Texas transportation officials have a new fan: me.

They've posted a no-cell-phone-while-driving message on those Amber Alert signs over Amarillo's two interstate highways.

The Texas Department of Transportation has now joined forces with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, who has taken the cell phone/texting/driving issue seriously enough to launch a national campaign against this frightening practice.

TxDOT's message urges drivers to "drive now and text later," and urges the motoring public to turn their vehicles into a "no phone zone."

My wish is that TxDOT would keep the messages flashing only unless the police have a missing person to locate. Then TxDOT could replace the cell phone message in favor of the more urgent message. Then once the missing-person case is resolved, TxDOT can put the cell phone message back up.

My friends and family members are well aware of my intense dislike of those who yap on cell phones while driving their 4,000-pound motor vehicle. And don't even get me started on those who "text" while driving.

The state has banned the practice in school zones; it has made it illegal for school bus drivers to talk on cell phones while they're transporting children. Some cities in Texas have enacted ordinances to ban talking or texting while driving. Amarillo has yet to join that chorus.

My sense is that it is time, given the increasing percentage of drivers who operate cell phones while maneuvering their Hummers through busy traffic.

Meantime, you go, TxDOT!

Not yet a 'heck of a job'

2010-04-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not a bettor, but I'll wager this: We aren't going to have a "heck of a job, Brownie" moment as President Obama looks for a way to stop that huge oil spill off the Louisiana coast.

Brownie, of course, is the former Federal Emergency Management Agency head, Michael Brown, who drew high praise from President Bush -- while he was making a mess of the recovery in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's savage attack in August 2005 on the Gulf Coast.

The president's comments have drawn widespread scorn ever since he uttered them. Brown quit his FEMA job and New Orleans -- which suffered the brunt of Katrina's fury -- hasn't recovered fully yet.

Now a new president is facing a mammoth manmade disaster off the Louisiana coast. Barack Obama generally is more careful with his language than his immediate predecessor. He'll need to be more than just circumspect, however. He'll need to pull together all the forces he can, along with the neighboring states and the oil company (British Petroleum) that owns the rig that exploded and collapsed, to stop this ecological catastrophe.

Events such as this make me absolutely certain that the 400 grand we pay the president each year isn't nearly enough.

Judicial litmus test

2010-04-29T14:03:00.001-07:00

Picking the next 47th District judge well might be a pro forma procedure for three political leaders, the Republican chairmen of Randall, Potter and Armstrong counties.

It was explained to me this afternoon by one of them:

The party chairmen are going to interview all the candidates for the judge's seat. They are seeking to replace the late Hal Miner, who died in March. The chairmen will choose one of the candidates, or they might recommend two or more of them. They'll send the name or names to Gov. Rick Perry's office. The governor then will have the final say on who gets picked.

OK, suppose the best candidate of all time also happens to have been a supporter of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who lost to Perry in the bitter GOP primary for governor. Well, that candidate -- who could be the second coming of John Marshall -- would be passed over. Why? This person did not support Perry in the primary.

So, the appointment of next 47th District judge will fall on the governor's shoulders. The party chairmen have been hamstrung in their search for the best candidate possible for this critical job. They're limiting their search only to Perry supporters, rather than being able to find the best possible candidate for the job.

I asked this chairman if the political realities create a litmus test for judicial candidates -- you know, the kind of thing that politicians say they never apply. He didn't deny it.

He also then said that a Hutchison supporter who doesn't stand a chance of getting the appointment can run for the office in four years.

But until then, political loyalty matters more than judicial qualifications or philosophy in selecting someone for this critical state district judgeship.

What a shame.

Why wait to fill spot?

2010-04-28T14:26:00.001-07:00

Mark Benton says he's ready. Gene Parker is leaving his office at the end of the week.

Yet the Randall County Commissioners Court seems to be in no hurry to fill Parker's Precinct 2 seat.

Why wait?

Benton won the Republican primary runoff earlier this month. He has no Democratic opponent in the fall. Thus, he is the commissioner in waiting. After Parker tendered his resignation on Tuesday, Benton was asked if he is ready to go. His answer was "yes," and that his employer, Western Builders, has agreed to allow him to spend every other Tuesday in Canyon hanging out with commissioners and County Judge Ernie Houdashell.

For his part, Houdashell says he wants to ask commissioners their feelings about a selection and that this is the first time he's had to replace a commissioner since becoming county judge. So, ask 'em, judge. If they say seat Benton, then do it.

The county needs a full complement of commissioners on board as quickly as possible. If the commissioner-to-be is good to go, swear him in.

A force of nature, for sure

2010-04-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

Dusty McGuire is a force of nature.

And that description is intended precisely because of what is going to happen on Arbor Day, which falls on Friday. We note Arbor Day often by planting a tree. But this year we'll honor it by dedicating a section of Ellwood Park for neighborhood residents to use for their recreation.

McGuire is a driving force behind the walking and jogging and exercise area near the retirement homes on the east end of Ellwood Park. The area also will include an Amarillo Police Department substation, which will be staffed by officers on the lookout for potential trouble.

Ellwood Senior Park will be dedicated at 10 a.m. Friday. It will include a welcome from Mayor Debra McCartt, who also will present an Arbor Day proclamation. State forester Brian Scott will present the city with a Tree City USA Award. The event will feature tours and demonstrations of the exercise equipment that's been installed at the park.

All in all, this is a wonderful addition to Ellwood Park. And Dusty McGuire, who's been working tirelessly for many years to Keep Amarillo Beautiful, deserves high praise for her effort.

Look this way, Mr. President

2010-04-27T05:21:00.001-07:00

President Obama is facing a huge decision soon. He'll get to select another justice for the U.S. Supreme Court. Sure, he's getting lots of advice, most of it unsolicited. Here's some more, Mr. President.

Don't pick yet another Ivy Leaguer for the court. Look beyond -- way beyond -- that axis for the next court appointment. He's already been getting advice from Texas to look, ahem, at the Lone Star State's myriad law schools and courts for the next justice.

The current court lineup contains justices with Harvard and Yale pedigrees. They're great schools, right? But the University of Texas has a great law school, too. Same for Texas Tech, Southern Methodist University and St. Mary's University.

The decision confronting the president is somewhat similar to those facing governors, such as Rick Perry, who have to pick Supreme Court justices from time to time. Perry a few years ago broke through the Interstate 35/45 "cabal" on the Supreme Court when he reached out to Amarillo to select Phil Johnson, chief justice of the 7th Court of Appeals, for a spot on the high court. That decision illustrated Perry's understanding that not all legal knowledge resides in that swath of real estate between those two major north-south interstate highways.

President Obama needs to look all across this vast country to find the next justice, replacing John Paul Stevens, who is retiring this summer. We're rich in intellectual firepower, Mr. President.

Go get 'em, Las Cruces

2010-04-26T12:35:00.001-07:00

I don't condone cities breaking state law, but there's something appealing -- to me, mind you -- about Las Cruces, N.M. officials continuing to operate red-light cameras at intersections controlled by the state of New Mexico.

The New Mexico Transportation Commission voted recently to give cities two months to remove the cameras. Las Cruces isn't budging, apparently. Good for the folks there!

Texas transportation regulators haven't yet done such a thing here, which gives Amarillo the authority to operate the red-light cams if the city deems that running red lights poses a safety hazard for motorists.

I concur with the city's assessment that, yes indeed, red-light runners are a menace. Therefore, the city has acted in an effort to deter the motorists from running the lights. Traffic engineers have placed the cams at six intersections around the city.

I'll admit to one close call at the corner of I-40 West and Coulter. I was making a left turn once onto Coulter and got stopped in the middle of the intersection by traffic that had stalled in front of me. I made the turn while the light was turning from amber to red. I saw the camera light flash behind me, but the city must have caught the guy in back of me sneaking through the intersection. Good for me; bad for him.

It's troubling that the state deems it necessary to govern how cities seek to control local traffic problems. If Amarillo City Hall determines it has a traffic safety issue to resolve -- and it installs red-light cams to correct the problem within its corporate boundaries -- then the city has the right to act on its own.

Therefore, I applaud Las Cruces City Hall.

R.I.P., Bruce Beck

2010-04-23T05:21:00.001-07:00

Bruce Beck had a standard greeting for those he would meet.

"Whatcha know?" he would ask. I reckon he wanted an answer of some kind. My rote response usually was something like, "I don't know it."

But this I know today: I am profoundly sad at the loss of my colleague and friend, with whom I worked for the past 15 years at the Globe-News. Bruce died last night after a valiant battle against cancer.

Bruce's friends all across the Panhandle and beyond are processing their loss today. This one will take some time to work its way through.

I want to share this tidbit about Bruce. He used to describe himself as "perky." He would say it out loud and actually once wrote that description into one of his columns. I hit the ceiling when I read it. "Marines aren't 'perky,'" I scolded Bruce. He smiled and put on a fake stern jarhead look and said, "You're right. But what's it to ya?" He would cut me some slack, even though I had served in the Army -- which he didn't hold against me.

Many hearts are broken today. They'll heal over time.

This good man was a treasure. I will miss him.

Godspeed, Alan Taylor

2010-04-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Alan Taylor seems like a mere interloper compared to the two men who preceded him as Amarillo city manager.

Of course he is anything but such a thing. Taylor announced his retirement Wednesday after "only" six years on the job. The two men who came before him -- John Stiff and John Ward -- both served two decades each in the hot seat at City Hall. Thus, Taylor's relatively brief time at the helm seems like a eye's blink.

But he did a great job running a $200 million a year "company," the city of Amarillo. He has put up with the grief that comes with the job. He has persevered through difficult economic times. But all the while, the city achieved unprecedented financial standing a year ago when it received the highest bond rating in the city's history. How did that happen? Through sound fiscal management -- which makes Taylor proud, and justifably so.

The city has made huge strides in preserving its water. Its police and fire departments work well. The streets are relatively well cared for. Our park system has grown. Downtown redevelopment is under way. The city has cracked down on those who don't do what they should to maintain neighborhood cleanliness.

So, I want to wish Alan Taylor well as he embarks on the next phase of his life, which will take him to the Central Texas community of Georgetown.

Well done, Mr. Manager.

Severe weather annoyance

2010-04-21T05:09:00.000-07:00

This came in overnight from a reader and (apparently) an avid TV viewer.

"I am getting sick and tired of a couple of the local weathermen trying to prove which is the smarter and better one at forecasting bad weather. Because of their competition we get inundated with way too much detail about the weather possibilities. For the past year I have observed a disturbing trend in weather forecast interruptions.

"Because of new technology we get inundated with interruptions about potential weather related disasters that don't happen. Last year it even caused an unneccessary tornado siren warning. The new technology allows weather television personnel to go ON AND ON ad infinitum about details of potential weather and just missed bad things and those to come MAYBE. What we really need to know is simply where is it headed, what might it do, what we should do, and then shut up and let us go hide. Quit going on and on making us think we can wait until the last minute and know seconds before disaster strikes how to protect ourselves. Most people don't care about the new technology's every detail.

"What happened when the little boy cried wolf too often?"

My first reaction was, "Yes!"

The storms Tuesday evening that swept through the Amarillo area -- and produced tornadoes near Bushland and Umbarger -- could have been far worse than they turned out to be, so I suppose the writer/viewer's gripes are based on what didn't happen on his or her particular street or neighborhood. But what if an F-5 twister blew down the writer's street, tore all the houses off their slabs, killed dozens of people -- and no one knew about it in advance? I'm guessing our correspondent would have something quite different to complain about.

But I have to admit to some frustration, too, with the TV weather folks, especially when they break into TV programming to tell us that the storms are winding down, or that the "threat" is diminishing, or that there's really nothing to worry about. Yes, I've actually heard words to that effect coming from the forecasters when they interrupt my favorite TV shows.

But let's cut them just a bit of slack here. The unpredictable storms that march across the Panhandle require intense vigilance. I just wish the commentary that comes with the "Severe Weather Bulletin" wasn't so repetitive.

I also might add that at times the Amarillo TV weather forecasters get a bit too technical in their detailed explanation of what's happening out there. Hook echo? Who cares what it's called? And spare me all the meteorological jargon.

All that concerns me is if the weather outside is going to kill my loved ones or me.

Welcome home, Discovery

2010-04-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Some months ago, I posted a blog item that talked about the launch of the space shuttle and how I freeze when I hear the words "Go at throttle up," at which point the Challenger blew up in January 1986. Those words still make me stop what I'm doing during launch.

Today, the shuttle Discovery came home. It streaked across the United States en route to a safe landing in Florida. The shuttle program only has three more missions before it comes to an end in September.

These landings do much the same for me as the launches. I now stop what I'm doing when the shuttle is coming home, recalling what happened that terrible day in February 2003 when the Columbia broke apart over Texas on its way home after a 16-day earth orbit mission. The mission commander was Amarillo's own Rick Husband.

Both events, the destruction of Challenger and Columbia, remind us of how dangerous these missions always have been. They've never been "routine," yet we've become bored by these missions. How sad.

I truly wish we could rediscover the excitement of those early Mercury and Gemini missions and the first half of the Apollo program; you'll recall that NASA canceled the moon missions after Apollo 17 because the nation no longer was interested enough in space travel to justify the expense of sending crews to the moon and back.

This morning, I felt the excitement -- as I always do -- when a space ship came hurtling out of orbit toward a feather landing in Florida.

Am I going insane?

2010-04-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

There are times when I sometimes question my own sanity.

Today is one of those times. I wrote a column for the newspaper about the birther movement, the cult of Americans who believe President Obama hasn't proved sufficiently that he was born in the United States and, thus, is qualified to hold the office he'll occupy at least until Jan. 20, 2013.

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/041810/opi_opin2.shtml

Read the responses to the column (see attached link) and you might get a sense of why I think I have rocks in my head. It's not that I disbelieve what I wrote. It's that most of the responses suggest I would have better luck arguing this point to the tree stump next to my driveway.

For the record, the birthers are entitled to their opinion. The First Amendment guarantees them the right to speak their mind, no matter how mindless their argument -- which includes their insistence that the president produce "proof" that he was born in August 1961 in Honolulu, just as he has said.

But you can lay down the original birth certificate, you can interview the doctor (were he still living) who brought young Barack into the world, you can obtain every possible shred of physical evidence there is, but the birthers will find some pretext to dismiss it all as a fraud. "They'll find something wrong" with the evidence, my colleague Jon Mark Beilue said.

Yes, and what they don't find, they'll fabricate.

Litmus test looming?

2010-04-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Several Amarillo-area lawyers, and at least one sitting judge, have let it be known they want to become the next 47th District judge, replacing the late Hal Miner.

Their names have been forwarded to the Republican Party chairs of Potter, Randall and Armstrong counties. More names could surface before the filing deadline.

But there might be a catch for whomever the chairs select.

This gets a little complicated, but I'll try to explain it.

Only Republican chairs will take part, given that no Democratic candidates are on the ballot this year; GOP Judge Miner was running unopposed for re-election when he died this past month. The chairs will get to select someone to run for election this fall.

But Gov. Rick Perry has the authority to appoint someone to serve the remainder of the term, which he very well could do.

The word on the street is that Perry would pick whomever the party chairs choose, allowing that person to serve as judge while running for election as the incumbent. But then again, he might veto that choice.

Why? Because name of the person chosen by the chairs could show up on a campaign contribution list for one of Perry's GOP primary opponents, namely U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Thus, is the governor going to appoint someone who gave money to his chief primary foe?

Yeah. That'll happen about the time cattle start flying out of our feedlots.

Thus, it just might turn out that the county party chairs are going to be sure that their chosen successor has supported the "right" candidate for governor before publicizing his name.

Then comes the questions: Are they going to select the most qualified person for the job? Or will they be hamstrung by political loyalty?

Biking around town

2010-04-14T14:18:00.001-07:00

Amarillo ought to be a great bicycling city.

It isn't, at least not yet.

Our weather is quite good most of the year -- the recent wind notwithstanding. Our terrain is relatively level, which is good for bicyclists with bad knees. Most of our streets are relatively wide, giving motor vehicle traffic sufficient room to maneuver past slower-moving bicycle riders.

But the city hasn't yet turned into a bike-friendly city.

City Parks Director Larry Offerdahl is talking now about improving the city's biking image. The city Traffic Commission will get revisions to the city's bike plan that could add to the city's 26 miles of striped bike lanes.

I've noticed a few of the city's bike lanes near my neighborhood. To be candid, they don't make a lot of sense. The bike lanes start, make a few turns around some blocks and then end. The lanes around Windsor Elementary School, for instance, don't seem to have any rhyme or reason.

I am hopeful that Offerdahl and his parks staff can put together a comprehensive bike plan that creates a friendly atmosphere for those who want to get out of their air-polluting cars and enjoy the outdoors atop a bike seat.

But there might be a major educational initiative in the works: The city should aim it at motorists who don't want to share the road.

Lunacy is alive and well

2010-04-13T05:47:00.000-07:00

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! What's Sarah Palin doing criticizing Barack Hussein Obama's NUCLEAR policy experience when she is so ignorant that she doesn't even know how to properly pronounce the word? Notice, that I refuse to address Obama as President until I see a copy of his (long form) birth certificate. It would proove that he was born in Hawaii and not Kenya, as many sources claim.. I have seen a "Certificate Of Live Birth" but, according to credible sources, that could easily have been obtained by Obama even if he was born in Kenya. I took an oath when I entered the military to "support and defend the Constitution" and that Constitution requires that Obama proove that he is a "natural born citizen" in order to occupy the office of President. I have seen nothing that prooves that fact. Until I see the proof, I refuse to recognize him as President.

The above note came to me this week. It's from an Amarillo resident who writes letters to the editor of the paper on occasion. It won't see print, but I thought I'd share it here -- without attribution -- to illustrate the lunacy of some of our friends and neighbors. Alas, this guy isn't the only person who believes this malarkey.

This note made me curious about something. The writer insists that President Obama prove his U.S. citizenship. Have we ever asked such a thing of any of the men who preceded him? Has anyone ever seen George W. Bush's proof that he was born in Connecticut, or any record of Bill Clinton's birth in Arkansas? Was Ronald Reagan really and truly born in Illinois?

Electing judges? Fiddlesticks!

2010-04-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

I've never been a big fan of electing judges, but that's what we do in Texas.

Today's runoff for the Texas Supreme Court offers a Grade A example of why it's a bad idea. Rick Green, a former legislator from Dripping Springs with no judicial experience, is running against Debra Lehrmann, a 22-year veteran of the bench from Fort Worth. Why this contest even went to a runoff is beyond me.

These two candidates were the top two finishers in a crowded Republican primary; Justice Harriett O'Neill is retiring at the end of her term, thus the open seat brought out a number of challengers.

Green arguably may have been the least qualified of the bunch, but here he is in the runoff.

Texans have been watching over many election cycles good judicial candidates getting beat by inferior opponents for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with qualifications. Most of them have lost because merely because they're Democrats, which is the curse of political death in such a Republican-leaning state. Others have lost because they have "foreign-sounding" surnames; that's been the case in Republican primaries.

Electing judges is the Texas way. But surely we need to do a better job of educating ourselves as to the qualifications and philosophy of those who seek to do the serious job of adminstering justice in a fair and impartial manner.

Monotone commentary?

2010-04-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

We're going to publish another letter in a couple of days from someone who doesn't like one of the columnists who appears on our Opinion page. The target of the latest letter once again is Leonard Pitts Jr.

Pitts is a noted liberal columnist; he won a Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for commentary. His essays appear on our page because it's important to present a wide range of opinion to our readership. But some of our readers don't like reading his views. Why? Well, the crux of their argument is that he offends the sensibilities of the Panhandle's conservative majority.

Hmmm.

So, it would be better for these fine folks to read only those opinions with which they agree. What a boring world that would be.

We seek on our Opinion pages to present conservative and liberal views -- and opinions that fall somewhere in the vast middle ground. Pitts occasionally gets people's dander up. Good for him. I guess the fire that flares off the keyboard of some of our more conservative contributors -- Michelle Malkin comes to mind -- doesn't offend them. That's all right with me.

As for me, I actually like reading opinions with which I disagree. I seek out good writing and good thinking wherever I can find it, even if it makes me angry.

I look at these essays as being good for my heart health. My blood gets oxygenated whenever I hyperventilate after reading something that I find truly outrageous.

Indeed, it does irritate me mildly when I read complaints from readers who want us to toss aside a columnist because he or she thinks differently from the vast majority.

But we're happy to publish them.

Et tu, Billy?

2010-04-08T18:39:00.001-07:00

I've been stewing about this all day.

Billy Payne, the chairman of the Augusta National golf club board, chewed the daylights out of Tiger Woods. I admit he's entitled to his opinion about the misbehavior of the world's greatest golfer.

But the tongue lashing he delivered the day before Woods teed it up to start his 2010 golf season after all the scandal that has engulfed him for the past five months baffled me.

What did Payne say that hasn't been said by thousands of pundits already? What new insight did he provide? What was the point of the lecture?

Woods' problems are among the most documented of any athlete/celebrity in the past decade, or longer. The whole world, it seems, has an opinion of Woods' behavior, his dalliances, his infidelity, his incredible arrogance. None of it is favorable to Woods.

So here comes Billy Payne to weigh in at the last minute. Why?

Payne has taken some grief from those who contend that he has no moral standing to lecture Woods about anything, given that Augusta National includes zero women among its members and only recently desegregated its ranks. That criticism has merit.

But my concern is that he said nothing that hasn't been said already. He regurgitated the litany of well-deserved condemnation that has been heaped on Woods already. Had the chairman remained silent, he wouldn't have exposed himself and his organization to the criticism they're getting now.

There. I feel better.

Now, back to golf.

Recycling gets boost

2010-04-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

Good news for those of us who think green.

Allied Waste is installing additional recycling bins at a new drop off site on Plains Boulevard, near the Hastings Distribution Center.

The new bins make it easier for residents in central Amarillo to take waste products for recycling, rather than tossing them into the Dumpster, and eventually ending up in the landfill.

I like to recycle. I grew up in Oregon, the founding capital of the U.S. environmental movement. I haven't been as recycling conscious since moving to Texas more than 25 years ago. But my family and I adapted nicely to a curbside recycling program that Beaumont instituted some years ago. Much less garbage ended up in the landfill while the program was in effect.

To that end, it still baffles me that Amarillo hasn't instituted a curbside program. I know it's costly, but the energy savings accrued from using recycled products -- rather than making them from scratch -- is significant over the long term.

The addition of the bins at Plains Boulevard is a welcome addition to the city's recycling infrastructure.

Do as the RNC says, not does

2010-04-06T12:59:00.001-07:00

I've been watching the trouble brewing with the Republican National Committee with a bit of amusement.

The party that blasts the daylights out of those big-spending Democrats -- with good reason -- now has been caught spending a bit lavishly as well. RNC Chairman Michael Steele likes to live large. He travels in pricey limos, rakes in big money with speaking fees, sleeps in posh hotels and lavishes donors with lots of perks and goodies.

And all the while, his party preaches moral rectitude as part of its political platform.

And then comes the latest: It seems that a staffer arranged for some donors to visit a strip club in Los Angeles that features lesbians and "bondage." Hoo boy.

I'm not concerned much with how the Republican political leadership spends its donors' money. None of it comes from my pocket. (Full disclosure: I don't give to the Democrats, either.)

What does pique my interest is how one major party can portray itself as the protector of family values and fiscal responsibility while behaving in a manner that is quite contrary to the message it is delivering to the masses.

We toss the word "hypocrite" around a lot these days. Many politicians of both parties have been branded with the word: John Edwards, John Ensign, David Vitter and Newt Gingrich are four who come immediately to mind. Gingrich is my favorite hypocrite, having blasted President Clinton for his dalliances while at the same time cavorting with a much-younger House staffer behind his own wife's back.

The RNC has some serious housecleaning ahead of it, starting with what to do about a chairman on whose watch all this nonsense has occurred.

A real leader would accept responsibility -- and then quit.

Missing the point on threats

2010-04-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

The threats of violence against those members of Congress who voted in favor of President Obama's health care reform law have been beyond disgusting. They're downright scary if you believe that in the civility that is supposed to be a hallmark of political discourse in this country.

But some of the response to critics of those who were lobbing the threats has been, well, a bit strange.

Consider this nugget from U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Panhandle's senior member of Congress. Yes, he has condemned the the threats of violence and the racial slurs. Good for him.

Then he said this: "I do get somewhat of a feel that some Democrats are trying to use these incidents to smear everybody who opposed health care and that's not fair."

He is right, but he's also missing the point.

So what if Democrats are using the slurs and threats of violence against the health care foes, who happen to be mainly Republicans? That's what happens in this rough-and-tumble political world.

And surely the congressman, a decent and intelligent lawmaker, doesn't believe that Democrats somehow possess a monopoly on boorishness. If the tables were turned and Democrats were leveling this kind of hateful speech at their foes, Republicans would be all over them in precisely the same manner and most likely would try to lump all Democrats together. The parties may differ on matters of policy, but their humanity -- and human fallibility -- bind people of all political stripes together.

So, let's just stick to the relevant issue. The racial slurs and homophobic epithets thrown at health reform supporters never should have occurred in the first place.

Taking back a promise

2010-03-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

I don't begrudge Kay Bailey Hutchison one bit for taking back her promise to leave office.

Why should she leave now? The senior Texas Republican senator got thumped in the March GOP primary for governor. Yes, she had said she would leave office "win or lose" in March. But she has gone back on it, saying today she will stay in office until the end of her term, which expires in 2012. What are Texans going to do -- fire her?

It does stall the ambitions of some high-powered contenders for the Senate seat she has occupied since 1993. Two of them are coming from the Texas Railroad Commission -- Republicans Elizabeth Ames Jones and Michael Williams. Another candidate, who also once served on the RRC (as well as the state Senate and as state comptroller), Democrat John Sharp, also wants to serve in the U.S. Senate. Those are the three big hitters, and there likely will be many more stepping forward at the appropriate time and place; I keep hearing the name "David Dewhurst."

I'll give Hutchison credit for this: She at least made up her mind quickly and declared her intentions publicly in rapid succession, unlike earlier when she dithered and dawdled over whether to resign her seat prior to the primary -- which might have contributed somewhat to her defeat at the hands of Gov. Rick Perry.

Here's a final word of advice: Don't change your mind, senator, about leaving the Senate when your term is up. You've made yourself quite clear on that point. Taking back that pledge might be more than Texans can handle.

We all pay for helmet-less riders

2010-03-30T10:24:00.001-07:00

A report today of a motorcyclist injured critically in an accident in north Amarillo has me wondering -- yet again -- why the state repealed its law requiring helmets for people operating a motorcycle.

The man wasn't wearing a helmet. Amarillo police say speed may have played a part in the wreck. His head injuries reportedly are quite severe. No one knows yet whether he'll recover.

But I have to ask: What if he doesn't recover fully? What happens if he has suffered permanent brain damage, meaning he cannot work? He then falls under the care of the state for the rest of his life. Suppose he lives a long time. How much money will the state spend on his care? Will it run into the millions of dollars over a long period of time?

It's this possibility that has me wondering why the state decided in the 1990s to allow motorcyclists to ride without a helmet. Yes, the state requires casualty insurance. I believe the amount is $10,000. Anyone who's spent more than 48 hours in an acute-care hospital knows that the 10 grand is eaten up almost the moment you check in.

But applying the time-honored -- but nevertheless odd -- Texas logic about independence and freedom of choice, the Legislature determined that it should not interfere with motorists' desire to expose themselves to the kind of injuries apparently suffered this morning by that unfortunate motorist in Amarillo.

I pray for the man's complete recovery.

Spending money we don't have

2010-03-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is a good guy, a fine lawyer and a dedicated public servant.

And that makes me wonder why he is wasting his time, and Texans' money, on a lawsuit aimed at overturning the just-passed health care reform.

Abbott is one of about a dozen state attorneys general who have joined in this action. They don't want the federal law foisted on the states. So they're seeking to have it thrown out on the basis that it's unconstitutional. The federal government has no constitutional authority to mandate health insurance for Americans, the attorneys general contend. I guess they skipped over the part of the Constitution, its preamble, that empowers the government to "promote the general Welfare." I kind of believe that health care falls into that broad category of federal responsibility.

Well, there's much about the health care reform that makes me nervous. It's costly; it's punitive; it's an overreach; it's likely to drive up many costs across the board, such as insurance premiums.

But the state of Texas is facing a significant budget shortfall in the next biennium. Estimates place it as much as $17 billion. Why is the state spending money it doesn't have on a lawsuit that could turn drag on for years? If the AGs win, the feds will appeal; if the feds win, the AGs will appeal. It could find its way to the U.S. Supreme Court -- eventually.

The only apparent positive element I can find in this is that Texas is in better fiscal shape than many other states. But that doesn't mean we're not about to feel some pain once the Legislature convenes next January.

AG Abbott can find other, more constructive cases to litigate.

Davis deserves no special attention

2010-03-26T13:26:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure how much more of this kind of news I can take.

The Texas State Board of Education, intent on revising our state's public school curriculum to fit a certain political profile, has -- among many things -- mandated the studying of a Civil War president's inaugural address. It's not President Lincoln's speech.

No sir. The speech the SBOE wants our children to study was delivered by Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America.

Say what you will about the merits of the Confederacy's cause, Davis was a traitor to the nation. The cause of the war is being debated to this day, nearly 150 years later, by those who argue over whether it was about "states' rights" or slavery.

This point is beyond dispute: Davis led a band of states in an armed insurrection against the federal government. That, by definition, characterizes him as a traitor.

His words need not be studied by Texas students. It's OK to study the armed conflict that the nation fought against itself. That's an important event that must be examined -- and we must allow our students access to all the well-documented reasons that the war erupted in the first place.

But Jefferson Davis doesn't belong in the same league with the man who served as president of the United States while he (Davis) sought to destroy the Union.

Let's cool off

2010-03-25T12:51:00.001-07:00

I guess the folks who oppose health care reform are taking their defeat seriously.

Some of them are saying some hateful things to members of Congress who voted for the legislation promoted heavily by President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders. Oh, but it gets worse.

Some anti-reformists are actually threatening members of the House and Senate with physical harm.

Yep, it's getting personal.

Democrats are blaming Republicans for failing to speak out against the threats. Republicans, meanwhile, are blaming Democrats for fomenting the outrage and using it as a campaign tool.

Meanwhile, back here at home, our congressman, Republican Mac Thornberry of Clarendon, hasn't said much publicly about the anger being expressed. He ought to speak out -- sooner rather than later.

Thornberry, to his great credit, hasn't been a bomb-thrower since being elected to Congress in 1994. He's a thoughtful guy who speaks intelligently about his opposition to the health reform legislation that has become law. But he has allied himself with others who aren't so circumspect.

If congressional leaders of Thornberry's ilk -- including the veteran Panhandle lawmaker himself -- were to speak out against the rage being expressed, then perhaps we can return to some semblance of civility.

Yes, I know. That's a stretch. But it's worth a try.