Why, Britney?

OK, here goes something I might regret saying.

I well might be the only living, breathing American who does not give a rip, not a single solitary ounce of it, to the goings-on regarding Britney Spears and the conservatorship she has severed with her father.

And yet …

The media are full of stories about the progress of this dispute.

The pop star has been “controlled” by her domineering daddy for 13 years. She wants out. She wants to be happy. I want her to be happy, too.

I just don’t want to listen to every detail of this battle.

Why are we being subjected to this nonsense? Is it because of her celebrity status? That she’s an attractive white female singer/dancer … whatever? Is her story so unique that no one else on Earth has ever gone through this kind of relationship severance?

I am puzzled.

There. Now I feel better.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Civility: still MIA

I wrote a blog nearly nine years ago the death of Sen. George McGovern, a man I admired greatly.

He was a war hero and a patriot. He fought for his progressive causes with gusto, but not with rancor toward his conservative foes.

He made great friendships in the U.S. Senate with noted conservatives, fellow World War II veterans Bob Dole of Kansas and Barry Goldwater of Arizona.

I lamented in October 2012 of the lack of civility in the current political discourse. It has gotten far worse since then.

Here is the blog I wrote then. I just want to share it with you once more.

highplainsblogger.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/civility-has-lost-another-champion/

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Those girls … are they still missing?

There once was a time not many years ago when the world was aghast, appalled and astonished at the kidnapping of girls and young women in Africa by a notorious terrorist organization known as Boko Haram.

The first lady of the United States at the time, Michelle Obama, was among the world leaders crying out for their safe return. From what I remember, some of them did come out; some were released by their captors, others escaped.

Every now and then we hear about kidnappings occurring in central Africa, where Boko Haram operates primarily. The outrage we heard then? It’s gone!

I know we’ve moved on to other crises. I guess the world cannot sustain its anger for too long on some matters. Right?

Well, to my way of thinking the women and girls who were kidnapped and possibly subjected to all manner of torture by their captors need to remain on the top of our worldwide attention span.

I need to ask: Where are they now? Are they safe? Can we ever get them out from wherever they are being held captive?

johnkanelis_92@kanelis2012

Why mess with debt ceiling?

Let me speak with all the clarity I can muster: I do not understand many of the motives that course through politicians’ occasionally thick skulls.

One of those matters deals with the debt ceiling debate that is all the rage in the White House and on Capitol Hill.

Congress came up with an 11th-hour plan to keep the government running until December. Now our lawmakers and President Biden are turning their attention to the debt ceiling. Democrats want to raise it; Republicans reportedly oppose doing so.

I ask myself: Why would a politician risk throwing the nation into a depression, forcing investors to sell off funds and deprive Americans of their retirement nest egg, cause an economic calamity the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Stock Market Crash of 1929?

Forecasters are projecting that kind of outcome if Congress refuses to honor our debts. We would default on them for the first time in our nation’s history. The result would be disastrous!

Why play this game of economic chicken?

Senate GOP leader — and obstructionist in chief — Mitch McConnell said the other day we must approve increasing the debt ceiling. In the very next breath he said he won’t join Democrats in that effort, saying that it is their fight, not his or those of his Republican caucus. What the fudge is wrong with that clown?

The debt ceiling brouhaha must be settled correctly. The consequences of failing to act are too awful to ponder. Why, though, doesn’t that register with the numskulls who comprise the Republican congressional caucus?

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

You go, YouTube!

A social media platform has earned a high five, a shout out and an atta boy/girl for a decision it has made regarding COVID-19 vaccine disinformation.

YouTube has banned those who convey lies about vaccinations designed to protect us against a killer virus. I applaud YouTube’s decision to get tough with the lying, deceit and hypocrisy being peddled by those who dismiss the vaccines — and who spread lies about phony symptoms and hazards to our health.

The numbers tell us all the truth we need to hear about the value of getting vaccinated.

Far more than 90 percent of recent COVID-19 hospitalizations involve those who have not been vaccinated. The death rate mirrors that figure. Those numbers are firm. They come from health care professionals, those who are sworn to “do no harm” to the public they serve.

Yet so much lying remains prevalent. Social media have contributed to the spread of those lies and to the prolonging of the misery we all are suffering as a result.

There needs to be even more controls placed on those who spread potentially harmful lies.

To that end, YouTube has stepped up.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

AG Paxton: sleaze personified

Ken Paxton is the poster boy for being a member of the right political party at the right time.

The Texas attorney general got elected to his current office in 2014. The next year he got indicted by a grand jury in Collin County on felony charges relating to securities fraud.

Paxton hasn’t yet stood trial. Five-plus years later, the case has been bandied about, moved from one jurisdiction to another. Now it’s back where it likely belongs: Collin County. He represented the county in the Legislature before being elected AG.

This is just one of the legal difficulties facing the AG. Several key legal eagles in his office filed a whistleblower complaint with the feds, accusing Paxton of conducting himself badly while working as AG. They have alleged bribery, for crying out loud, as one of the misdeeds he allegedly has committed.

That’s two matters: a pending state criminal trial on allegations of securities fraud and a possible federal indictment if the FBI determines it has enough evidence to merit one.

I still scratch my noggin over how Paxton got re-elected in 2018, given the indictment hanging over his head. That brings me to my point, which is that Paxton is a Republican serving in a heavily Republican state.

It won’t surprise anyone to realize that I want Paxton out of office. I don’t care if he loses the GOP primary this coming spring or gets drummed out in the fall by a Democratic opponent. Truth be told, the best electoral shot we have at getting rid of this clown is in the Republican primary.

Two GOP candidates have risen to the challenge: George P. Bush is one of them; Eva Guzman is the other. They both pose significant political challenges for the (alleged) crook they intend to defeat. I’m going to withhold judgment on which one of them to support. I do know already that Texas can do a whole lot better than we have done with Ken Paxton occupying the AG’s office.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Lies develop immunity against truth

Man, it is as clear as it gets.

Lies have a shelf life that makes the truth whimper helplessly. How do I know that? Think of The Big Lie that continues to grow legs, even though there isn’t a shred of truth to its existence.

The Big Lie, of course, is that President Biden earned election in 2020 because the process was “rigged,” that he stole it from the 45th president of the U.S. of A.

He didn’t do anything of the sort. Joe Biden was elected POTUS fairly and squarely. Yet The Big Lie continues to grow legs, wings and other forms of conveyance. The Big Lie won’t die. It cannot die as long as its chief purveyor — the aforementioned 45th POTUS — keeps repeating it.

What is even more troubling that the ex-POTUS repeats The Big Lie is that there remains so many millions of Americans who actually believe the nonsense that the ex-POTUS keeps repeating.

I am at a loss as to how to put down The Big Lie. How in the name of truth-telling does one persuade the gullible among us that The Big Lie harms our democratic process? POTUS 45 is inflicting damage on our democracy every time he insists that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him. Good grief, man. It wasn’t stolen! Not only that, the ex-Liar in Chief doesn’t reveal a single, solitary shred of evidence to substantiate The Big Lie.

The Big Lie has more lives than the proverbial cat in the back alley.

Hey, I am just sitting here in the peanut gallery. I cannot seem to change anyone’s mind that The Big Lie inflicts grievous damage to the system of government we all say we cherish.

You know what? That won’t deter me from continuing to keep harping on this fundamental truth: The Big Lie and those who foment it are nowhere close to being the “patriots” they claim to be.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

It worsens with each utterance

Every single time I hear some of the Republican nitwits in Congress pretend that 1/6 was not a threat to our democratic process, well … the angrier I become.

I watched U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, one of the major apologists and insurrectionist deniers, say once again that the riot at Capitol Hill was just as tame as a group of tourists walking through the nation’s seat of government.

I wanted to toss something at my TV set. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. I want to slap the living daylights out of that moron.

The House of Representatives has seated a select committee to get to the truth behind what happened on that day. We know that the 45th president exhorted the riotous mob to “take back our government.” We know that it did as the former Insurrectionist in Chief implored them to do.

We know about the injury. The damage to the halls of government. The feces on the floor. The shouting of “Hang Mike Pence!” emanating from the mob.

That was just like a tourist group strolling through the Capitol? Holy cow, man!

It wasn’t. It was a riot. It was a dangerous event that could have ended much worse than it did.

And yet Congress is full of deniers, such as Andrew Clyde, who cannot even call the event what it was: an open revolt against the democratic process that these members of Congress — all of them — took an oath to protect and defend.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Spare me the back-slapping

Let’s hope for the best and Congress can find a way to keep government running for a few more weeks … until the next crisis arrives.

If that happens, and I am not predicting it will, I do not want to see Democrats and Republicans high-fiving each other, slapping each other on the back, praising the other side — and themselves — for the “great work” they did.

Spare me the self-indulgence.

Good grief, man. This process isn’t how you govern effectively, efficiently or with any sense of organization.

We go through this all too often. Yes, I have some skin in this game.

I am a retired fellow. My wife is retired, too. We’re on the proverbial “fixed income,” some of which comes from the federal government. I have heard that Social Security payments aren’t affected by a possible shutdown of the government. Good deal. They’d better keep their grimy hands off it.

As for good government, this ain’t it!

Don’t you dare, members of Congress, heap any sort of praise on yourself for doing something you never should have forced yourselves to do in the first place.

Difference in tone

It occurs to me as I watch the congressional hearings on Afghanistan and the withdrawal of our troops that the tone of the questioning from members of Congress differs depending on which side of aisle congresspeople are sitting.

I am struck particularly by the tributes paid today to Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Mark Milley and Central Command CO Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie from Democratic House members. Republican House members aren’t offering any thanks for their service or for the work they did to secure evacuation of thousands of Americans and Afghans who wanted out of the chaos.

Republicans are intent on focusing exclusively on the mistakes that occurred during the evacuation. Democrats are taking a moment to offer a word of thanks for the service of the men sitting before them. Indeed, Gens. Milley and McKenzie have earned high praise for the service they have performed on behalf of the nation they both serve; allow me, too, to include Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who recently wore an Army uniform that carried four stars on his epaulets. All three of these gentlemen have earned the respect being shown by some members of Congress.

I would hope that all members of Congress would take a moment during their questioning of these men to offer a word of thanks for the service they have performed way above and beyond the issue at hand during these hearings.

Hey, that’s just me. Is it too much to ask that all members of Congress demonstrate just a touch of civility before launching their attacks?

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com