What fresh hell is greeting us today?

By George Smith

President Trump is still saying nothing about Russia offering a bounty on American soldiers in Afghanistan.

The bounty is not a hoax. It is not fake news. The intelligence community has interrogated prisoners, picked up rumblings on avenues of communications and followed the money.

It happened and may still be happening.

Not fake news. Read. Research. Analyze.

Yet our president is silent. Why? Think of the reasons why he has not condemned our global enemy, why he has not expressed his concern and why he did not bring up the issue in a call this week with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

None are good. None are reasonable. None are acceptable.

The president who is afraid of nothing…is afraid. Of something. Something big. Something ominous. Something so vile that he would rather show his Barney Fife persona in a public manner than directly confront Putin.

Whatever he’s afraid of is of such magnitude he fears its disclosure more than public ridicule.

Again, whatever the “it” is, it’s YUGE!

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It’s hard when you lose your identity

By George Smith

I seem, at times, to be losing my identity.

Who am I? What am I? Who cares who I am, what I am, where I have been and what I have done?

In what seems like a lifetime ago, I was a journalist and, at that job, like every other I ever had (except for hauling hay and picking tomatoes), I tried to be the best I could be.

There was a time when I felt defined by my work, which, to me, most of the time was never good enough. For more than 40 years I went to work at a newspaper here or there, determined to be the first person in history, the first editor and/or publisher to put out the perfect newspaper. Never happened and assuredly never will to any editor anywhere.

Putting together a million characters or so into a publication within a 24-hour period without making a single mistake, without a single misplaced ‘ or , or – or misspelled word, is impossible.

In the newspaper business you go to work knowing – KNOWING! – you are going to be less than perfect. That’s a reality of the situation. You just try to be the best you can be, and it’s never good enough.

What is a journalist?

Gleaned down to the bare basics, a journalist is a chronicler of history, an objective viewer of events and the secretary of record for a community, town, region, state, national, world. What is written and printed, for the most part, never goes away. An error in an obituary in 1867 can determine whether or not kinfolks ever meet, whether a family hero is ever celebrated, whether an evil ancestor is ever discussed in whispers around a homecoming brunch.

Journalists (particularly community scribes) cover everything from the ridiculous to the sublime, from births to deaths, from celebratory events to tragedies. And we are supposed to do it with an objective, all-seeing eye, one that rates events by the evaluated, subjective importance to the communities we serve.

We sit, we watch, we report, we take the hits for our product and we move on.

In that part of my life where I closely identified with journalism, I have viewed horrendous tragedies (“Eight crushed in I-30 accident”), astonishing events (“Teenage couple has triplets”), ridiculous examples of decision making (“Sheriff sends all-white deputies to dispel black protestors”), a bevy of “Say-huh?” incidents (“Judges whacks lawyer with gavel”) and a few unintentional laughers (“Fast-draw deputy shoots self in leg – twice!”)

While on the job, I covered the deadly actions of a serial killer, interviewed a real-life hermit in the 1970s, whose wife had run off with a Bible salesman “sometime in the ‘20s, I think it was,” and was threatened with death more than once if I printed a certain story.

I was fortunate to interview many politicians. I wanted information and they all wanted good press; it was a give-and-take relationship and I would like to believe I got the better of the deals and that my readers gained the rewards.

How crazy is the newspaper business? I once was threatened to receive “the beating of your life” by an irate man who didn’t like a picture I took of his dog. An elderly woman hit me with her crutch because “you screwed up my Harvey’s death notice.” The police once stopped a truckload of men in front of my house; they had shotguns and meant to do me harm.

A politician once called me out as a liar at a rally (“fake news” claims are not new, folks) and called me up on stage so he could lambast me in person. Of course, he didn’t think I would come; of course, I did. He started upbraiding me but didn’t say much after I pulled out my pocket recorder and played the portion of the statement in which he denied ever saying.

“Taken out of context!” he was screaming as the crowd started laughing.

Reporters are not supposed to be part of the story. But, and this “but” is as big as a Wyoming sunset, sometimes it can’t be helped.

The point is: Good reporters and editors do the absolute best they can on every issue. And the readers are the benefactors.

And, if anyone, especially an elected official, cries “Fake news!” about any story, my money is that it is correct in every detail.

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Joe Biden’s Choice For Vice President

By George Smith

Joe Biden’s choice for vice president will, in my opinion, determine the 2020 presidential election.

According to writers and commentarors, there have been more than 12 women in the running, a majority of which are women of color.

From former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to Georgia Democratic Party heroine Stacey Abrams, and from political warhorse and favorite target of President Trump Elizabeth to Florida Sen. Val Demimgs, a former Tampa police chief, the list is impressive.

My personal preference is Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth who brings a sterling array of untouchable attributes to the free-for-all.

Duckworth is a former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who was profiled in Vogue Magazine this way:

“There are so many firsts attached to Tammy Duckworth—she’s the Senate’s first member to give birth while in office, its first member born in Thailand (to an American father and a Thai mother of Chinese descent), and, of course, its first female amputee. It’s that last distinction that tends to overwhelm all the others. As a wounded veteran with a Purple Heart, she has introduced or cosponsored bills protecting the rights of veterans—and she’s been fearless in confronting the president over military and foreign affairs.
“Last January, when President Trump accused the Democrats of holding the military hostage over immigration, it was Duckworth who took to the Senate floor, declaring in a now-historic speech, ‘I will not be lectured about what our military needs by a five-deferment draft dodger.’”

Duckworth gave birth to her daughter Maile at age 50; she also is mom to daughter Abigail, 3.

She cuts an impressive figure wherever she goes, striding forcefully around the Senate Office Building on her two titanium legs or in a souped-up scooter. Imagine, just imagine, her in a debate with Mike Pence, who preaches patriotism but never served in the military. (However, more thsn once he has praised his father’s Bronze star and noted his son was a Marine.)

Duckworth was deployed to serve in the Iraq War in 2004 and lost both of her legs when her helicopter was struck by hostile fire. Duckworth became director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs in 2006, and three years later President Barack Obama appointed her assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 2012, she was elected to Congress, representing Illinois’ 8th District. Four years later, she was elected U.S. senator, thereby becoming the first disabled woman and the second Asian-American woman in the Senate.

Every woman on Biden’s VP list brings impressive credentials. Duckworth, however, covers a larger demographic appeal — woman of color, military veteran, decorated war hero, working mother, fiercely astute political asset and someone who would be difficult to attack on so many fronts.

My whimsical self can see this tiny package of dynamite in her first debate with up-tight Mile Pence. She is smiling, waiting patiently like an on-alert cobra, ready to strike a cautious mouse.

Finding A Theme Song

By George Smith

President Trump’s re-election campaign is having trouble finding a theme song that conveys the correct message of the past almost-four years.

Some suggestions fell by the wayside for various reasons, including threatened suits from songwriters and artists.

Thus far Trump has been told not to use “Rockin’ in the Free World” (Neil Young); “It’s the End of the World” and “Everybody Hurts” (REM); ”Rolling in the Deep” (Adele); “Rocketman” (Elton John); “We Are The Champions” (Queen); “Here Comes the Sun” (Beatles); “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (Twisted Sister);

And, “Happy” (Pharrell Williams); “Don’t Stop the Music (Rihanna); “Photograph” (Nickleback); “You Can’t Get What You Want” (Rolling Stones); “Purple Rain” (Estate of Prince); “I Won’t Back Down” (Estate of Tom Petty); and “High Hopes” (Brandon Urie).

The songs that might be considered by the Trump campaign are “Who Let the Dogs Out?” (Baha Men); “I Like Big Butts” (Sir Mix A Lot); “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” (Culture Club); “Broken” (Seether); “Bad Day” (Daniel Powter); “King of Pain” (The Police); “Hurts Like Hell” (Fluerie);

And, “Creep” (TLC); “Lying Eyes” (Eagles); “You Know I’m No Good” (Amy Winehouse); “It Wasn’t Me” (Shaggy); “Blame Game” (Kanye West); “White Liar” (Miranda Gilbert) and “You Know I’m No Good” (Amy Winehouse).

Lots to choose from. LOTS to choose from.

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Racism, much?

By George Smith

AFFH.

It’s a government acronym that may not be familiar to a lot of folks.
American Freedom Fighters for the Homeland?Affirmative Force For Humanity?Affiliation of …(you fill in the blanks)..

Actually, it’s a seldom used or seen acronym outside of the Washington-on-the-Deficit Beltway and it won’t be seen again if President Donald Trump has anything to do it.

AFFH is one of the most clumsy of all government acronyms: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH).

The AFFH act is a legal requirement that federal agencies and federal grantees further the purposes of the Fair Housing Act. In other words, this act is intended to ensure the federal government does what it’s mandated to do, ensure all Americans are treated fairly in the housing industry.

This obligation to “affirmatively further fair housing” was not of the Obama Administration era, as one pundit opined; it has been in the Fair Housing Act since 1968 and is under the umbrella that is the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

President Donald Trump Sunday announced it was his intention eliminate this part of the federal housing requirements.

Anyone surprised at his decision?

The Justice Department in 1973 sued Donald Trump, his father, Fred, and Trump Management in order to obtain a settlement in which Trump and his father would promise not to discriminate. The case eventually was settled two years later after Trump tried to countersue the Justice Department for $100 million for making false statements. Those allegations were dismissed by the court.

Normally, such an announcement about the AFFH would be made by the head of HUD, which in this case, is Dr. Ben Carson, the only black member of Trump’s cabinet. But this is a race issue, pure and simple, and when it comes to propagandizing the division of the races, no one upstages the president.

To make sure we’re on the same page, HUD’s AFFH rule provides an effective planning approach to aid program participants in taking meaningful actions to overcome historic patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, and foster inclusive communities that are free from discrimination.
As provided in the rule, AFFH means “taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.”

Trump is adamant the AFFH must go because its intent is to “destroy” the suburbs (read “white suburbs”).

It’s hard not to wonder why he hadn’t focused on this act previously, based on his feelings and his steady flow of weasel-words of encouragement to white supremacists; after all, he notoriously stated that there were “good people” on both sides of the furor over examples of abject racism in America.
Trump doubled down on the race issue this weekend by declaring his staunch opposition to renaming military bases named for Confederate generals. In his famously inarticulate manner, Trump declared bases named for Confederate generals

(like Fort Bragg, North Carolina), should not be renamed because, as he said, the U.S. won two world wars — “beautiful word wars” — with soldiers from those bases.

What Trump does not say, and neither will his Trumpuppets, is that those bases were named for Confederate generals in the 20th Century, many in the 1920’s, during a resurrection of the Ku Klux Klan in the South.

Those bases were named for traitors, and glorifying their memory by having patriots to the United States train under their names to fight to protect this county, instead of attempting to tear it asunder, is simply unacceptable.

Racism much, Mr. President?

(Whispered answer: “Every chance I get. Every chance.”)

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Links To Others Stories

Here are a set of links to other stories and website that you might enjoy.

10/2/2020***Harrison County reports 9 new COVID-19 cases, free testing offered

Harrison County gained nine new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and saw three more recoveries.

County Judge Chad Sims noted that of the cumulative total of 913 positive cases for the county, 35 have been fatalities, 834 recoveries and 44 are considered active cases.

Read story at: https://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/covid-19/harrison-county-reports-9-new-covid-19-cases-free-testing-offered/article_edbb22c2-0449-11eb-aebb-e3c4aff0bb8c.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

7/29/20***Rep. Louie Gohmert, who often went without a mask, tests positive for coronavirus

Gohmert was in close contact with lawmakers and others on Capitol Hill, including Attorney General William Barr, on Tuesday.

Harrison County gained nine new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and saw three more recoveries.

County Judge Chad Sims noted that of the cumulative total of 913 positive cases for the county, 35 have been fatalities, 834 recoveries and 44 are considered active cases.

Read story at: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-louie-gohmert-who-often-went-without-mask-tests-positive-n1235215?fbclid=IwAR1qggq8piBDE209Ek_Cx3FtuAIdfVnPM2DWj6Gx-qDI2-7-ODiYBH05Ihk

***Visit the “iExposed.us” website — Art, Entertainment and Travel — http://iexposed.us/index.php

***Voices from the Pandemic
‘No mask, no entry. Is that clear enough? That seems pretty clear, right?’

Lori Wagoner, retail clerk, on trying to enforce a state requirement to wear masks

Read story at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/18/covid-pandemic-store-clerk-north-carolina/?arc404=true#

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Embrace Good Traditions

Editor’s note:
George Smith is a co-founder of Marshall’s Wonderland of Lights. He recently sent me this article. It’s something we should all think around.

Traditions, good traditions, the ones that make us smile, that give our kids and grandkids pleasure, that bring back fond memories should be cherished and protected and embraced, revered even.

Marshall has such a tradition, one that is more than 30 years old and has brought more people to this city and produced more smiling faces than any other event…ever.

The Wonderland of Lights is not another festival; it is an institution that must be preserved, changed to fit the times and cultivated with love and reverence.

When Wonderland of Lights was conceived, Marshall was in the midst of the worst economic period since the Great Depression. There were more empty storefronts downtown than were occupied buildings; 18 of the top 22 retail establishments had given up and locked their doors.

From Day 1, the Wonderland of Lights was never about “lights”; it was about the spirit in the hearts of the special people in a special place called Marshall. As co-chairman with J.C. Hughes, Jr. for first five years of the holiday lighting festival, I have a personal bias in making sure the festival not only stays viable…but grows as it glows annually.
A vast majority of the citizens embraced the concept of Wonderland from Day 1. And from the onset, the Chamber of Commerce, Tony Bridge at the radio station, and the News Messenger pushed the idea because it served as a beacon of light in a dark era of the city’s history.

What was so special about Wonderland of Lights?

One night in the first year, I was going around the square, replacing burned out bulbs and talking to visitors. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a woman and four children get out of a car. Something made me watch them. The kids, 10 to about four years of age, were running around under the lighted trees and staring gawk-eyed at the courthouse with its 100,000-plus lights.

The woman watched them and, suddenly, slumped to the ground. I ran over to check on her. “Are you okay?”

She looked up and big tears were coursing down her cheeks. “This is just so beautiful. This is just so incredibly beautiful.”

Her story tore through my heart.

Her husband had left, walked out of the marriage a few weeks before; she had no job, no money and four small children. And Christmas was less than a month away.

She looked up at the lights. “This is our Christmas! I bring the kids up every night and let them run and play and marvel at the beauty.

“It’s all they’ll have this year for Christmas.”

I turned away on the pretense of getting something to write on which gave me time to wipe my tears away.

I got the lady’s contact information that night and the next day started a “telephone tree” to see if folks could help.

Within 48 hours, the spirit of Marshall rose up: The lady had a job, free day care for the kids, enough money to keep the rented house outside of town and utilities, groceries, and abundant Christmas presents and clothes for all the children. This newspaper gifted her with a Christmas tree, lights and ornaments and a shopping trip to local merchants.

The spirit of Christmas. The spirit of Marshall.

Fast forward a few years. There was an incredibly likable high school girl who volunteered to help string lights and work at the old city hall stage on the intricate task of making light panels in chicken wire.

She was happy, helpful, diligent and hard working. She always carried a smile on her face to share with others.

One night she didn’t show up to work; we learned she had been killed in a car wreck.

The day after her funeral someone put up a small decorated Christmas tree at the gravesite; one of her friend, knowing she loved teddy bears, put a small bear in a glass jar by her gravestone.

The tree and the bear were stolen.

Within a couple of days, there were five small, decorated Christmas trees and more than 10 teddy bears in jars surrounding her gravesite.

The spirit of Christmas. The spirit of Marshall.

Of course, there were detractors for the projects, aginners who didn’t like change, who didn’t like the Chamber or the newspaper and went out of their way to make their feelings known. One lived in a very nice neighborhood and when all his neighbors decorated their houses and landscaping…this resident held on to an intense curmudgeonry with a fierce determination.

About the first of December that year, the resident left on a family vacation and returned to find the house and landscaping ablaze with thousands of tiny white lights, courtesy of his neighbors, who even ran extension cords to their homes to provide power.

The spirit of Christmas. The spirit of Marshall.

Wonderland of Lights is not about Christmas lights; it never has been. Don’t let the special spirit diminish. Embrace and enhance this tradition that only Marshall possesses.

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President Donald Trump Attacks Dr. Anthony Fauci

By George Smith

For President Donald Trump and his hinny-snugglers to attack Dr.. Anthony Fauci is as dumb as…well, ingesting Lysol to combat COVID 19.

Fauci, an American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, should have a “hand’s-off” policy from all-things-Trump.

To two-thirds of American voters:

— If Fauci was a television journalist, he would be Walter Cronkite; if plying his trade on the print side, Bob Woodward.
— If he were an historian, he’d be A-listed with Jon Meacham and Doris Kerns Goodwin.
— Fauci is the Tiger Woods, the Serena Williams and the Lionel Messi of infectious diseases

When attacking a credible icon who is painfully truthful and whose intentions are above reproach, you better have proof of his shortcomings.

Fauci is the most vocal critic of the nation’s response to the coronavirus and no one —NO PERSON — has the credentials, the experience nor the passion to tackle this pandemic than
Fauci.

Trying to minimize his extreme words of caution about the pandemic’s trends is an act of abject stupidity. Dr. Fauci IS the expert on record about this pandemic killer; his words, his beliefs, his recommendations should be embraced, not diminished by hired, partisan tongue/waggers.

Instead Fsucimis sidelined and maligned and diminished in a coordinated effort to suppress his less-than-rosy prognosis for regional, national and global recovery from this highly contagious virus.

This is not only a abjectly asinine political move by Trump and Company but one which will cause unneeded suffering and death of U.S. residents.

Fauci wants to curb the pandemic as quickly as possible and save lives. The president snd his sycophants want business and schools open…economic concerns trump (pun intended, thank you) the health, the very lives of countless residents.

Trump is losing it…his status, his re-election chances, his following, and, it seems, any touch of reality he might have remaining.

Using Fauci as an economy vs. health of citizens punching bag is a no-win strategy.

Prediction: Trump gets knocked out in three (months).

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CORONAVIRUS INFO PROVIDED BY DR. JIM HARRIS – 7/13/2020

July 13, 2020

No matter what, wear your masks and keep lots of distance.

At this point, our area including Tyler and Longview is accumulating more cases but has plenty of ICU beds available at this time. The Valley hospitals are in trouble as is Houston. Dallas is doing alright, probably, but the case numbers are climbing in what is a heavily populated area. I expect we will have to shut down many things for a while yet. Harrison County and Marshall are well led and are managing nicely at this point.

Attached is a chart showing ICU availability in various areas.

I’ve reattached the TMA Risk Chart in case you missed it yesterday. It is also attached.

I hate how funerals are always at 9 a.m. I’m not really a mourning person.

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Words and Phrases I Thought I Would Never Use

By George Smith

Words and phrases I thought I would never use to describe any person, much less the president of the United States.

1. Compulsive liar.

At some point in time, it is my belief, every politician bends the truth, omits information or downright lies to create a picture of competence and invincibility. Trump lies knowing he will be caught…and doesn’t care if he i. He simply lies to excuse the lies.

2. Feral pleasure.

That’s what President Trump appears to feel when is on the attack. There is a lack of basic humanity, of empathy, of soulful emotion as the man attacks opponents or anyone, really, who challenges his errant thoughts and actions. Otherwise, how can his attack on women, minorities, the disabled snd even Gold Star families, his serial lustfulness deigning his marriages be tolerated by his supporters?

3. Greedy beyond redemption

In TrumpWorld, everything — EVERY SINGLE DECISION — boils down to money. Trump’s actions are all geared toward enriching himself, his family and his “friends” to the point that corrupt acts become a part of business-as-usual. His goal in every venture, from building resorts and casinos to setting up a charitable, non-profit foundation to starting a “university” built on a platform of fraud, lies and deception, is to take money from anyone and put it in his pocket. To him that is his water, his air, his life,

4. Corrupt to his core

Every decision Trump has made as president has a bar code blaring “corruption”. Two examples: Immigration — Private companies, many donors to his campaign, have made hundreds of millions from this self-declared “crisis”.

Trump’s “Wall” — Again, contracts awarded to private companies connected to donations, and corruption-squared in undermining environmental concerns for a birder barrier which has already been proven does not work.

5. Overt racist:

Donald Trump identifies with white privilege and does little to hide his disdain for minorities, the poor,’ and immigrants from “s***hole countries.”

He identifies with “white” groups — White Power, White Nationalists — and has made public statement shoring up his unsavory views.

6. Ignorance is a virtue

Having an ego-centric personality is not an attribute. To Trump, it (along with power and money) is what drives him. He prefers ignorance over experience, subject matter experts and facts; he believes his “gut” decisions are better than any data, facts or historical reference. Trump utilizes the “Big I” philosophy: “I” know all and know best. It is hard to imagine him NOT kissing his image in the mirror the start of each day.

This is the man running our government. And, President Trump is being propped up and enabled by supporters that either believe his churlish spiel and juvenile behavior is appropriate for the nation’s highest office or they have a personal agenda that is benefitted by his being in office.

Either way, this president is a global embarrassment who has almost single-handedly undermined democracy, destroyed his political party and torn the always-fragile national social fabric asunder.

Hopefully, after November’s election, Donald Trump will be just a presidential footnote to history. May we learn from this busted experiment in political theater and never, ever feel a compulsion to repeat it.

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