I Got a Lot of Problems With You People!
Please! Please! Give us a break from this.
It's the last weekend of winter, as I sit down to write this on Sunday, March 16th. It is so nice outside, I opened the door next to my desk and am enjoying the hi-60's temperatures, even though said desk will be covered with pollen by the time I finish. Yep, it's feather duster the furniture time in Texas.
Being the 16th and tomorrow my high-holy day, St. Patrick's, soon my coffee will be replaced with a mug of Guinness.
Or, it would be if anyone in this small, East Texas town carried it, so Shiner will have to do. Luckily, they do know what Jameson's looks like. That's for when I'm done.
Last year, when the weekly outrages of American politics were just too much, I wrote about St. Pat's and my wife's glorious idea of taking me to Ireland for my 40th. I promised my father I would try to find any family members in Cork, where we originated.
I mentioned in my last piece that my birth name was Gay, until my first news director told me to change it. I had to tell Dad that in the phone book I found an old lady, a priest and the Cork Gay Men's Health Center. Sorry Pop, the family has hit the end of the road.
Roger T. Gray
Then there was the year before when the same political fatigue made me want to talk about the upcoming season...
Roger T. Gray
OK, he isn't pitching for us anymore, but you get the idea.
But now, th0se outrages are coming so thick and fast, it's impossible to ignore. The stock market has retired to it's fainting couch with a case of the vapors worthy of that rudderless political weathervane, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-Tara). And frankly, is there a more timorous and pusillanimous member of what was once a fairly respected deliberative body? It's almost as though someone has something on him.
The economy has everyone worried. The preposterous trade war that must be the product of a Big Mac and Diet Coke fever dream has business at a standstill. How do you hire or restock when you don't know what the future holds? How do you price the vehicle you're producing if you don't know what the tariff will do to prices? And no, Europe isn't interested in our Silverados and Rams. That's why we buy their cars and they don't buy many of ours.
You see, as I mentioned last week, these guys don't understand how the economy works. Well, let me correct that. One guy doesn't, and the rest follow the Lindsay Graham model of, let's all say it together, kids. "You bet, boss! Whatever you say."
For example, Dumb Mussolini thinks a trade deficit is a subsidy from one country to another. He has lofted a $200 billion deficit with Canada, a number no one can verify, as a subsidy. It means we buy more of their stuff than they buy of ours, which is actually a tribute to US buying power, not a negative. The actual number is around $100-billion, and since they have one sixth our population, they are actually buying more per capita, but that sounds too complicated, doesn't it?
Canada is our second largest trading partner, but largest recipient of US exports. But his ignorance about trade is about to screw that up royally.
And of course, RFK Jr. will fiddle while measles run rampant. Pete Hegseth of the Department of Defense and Fine Wines and Spirits, will continue to erase from the web the achievements of black, Hispanic and female service people, no matter how heroic. Wait until Pete learns the EU tariffs will raise the price of alcohol from Europe. We might have our first cabinet resignation.
So, again, as I mentioned in other essays, these guys will certainly do their best to screw things up. Fortunately for them, the Democratic Party has ceased to exist so, there's a real load off their shoulders.
And of course, Co-President Musk will continue to slash budgets and fire as many government employees as possible and ultimately cut into Social Security and Medicare, until he makes room for $5-trillion in tax cuts that would otherwise explode the debt and deficit. Make no mistake, so-called "waste and fraud" is not what this is about.
Enjoy your Yosemite vacation this summer.
Let me remind you, in the 90's, Republicans and Democrats actually worked together on a combination of taxes and budget cuts and we got four years of actual budget surpluses. Yes, no deficit, in the black. It was done through careful study of the government, careful cuts and all through action by both Congress and the executive. Yeah, Bill and Newt.
But, to get to something that hit home with me today. Let me preface this by declaring in the mildest terms possible, in keeping with my denomination, I am an Episcopalian. Yeah, the church the great Molly Ivins once called, "The Republican Party at prayer."
The Bishop of the Diocese of Texas, C. Andrew Doyle, posted a video on Facebook featuring Michael Hunn, Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande....
I won't ask you to watch all five and a half minutes of this video, though if you do, it will enrage you. But here is a short description...
In this video, Bishop Michael Hunn of the Diocese of the Rio Grande addresses a recent letter from the Department of Homeland Security insinuating the diocese's involvement in illegal activities, including human trafficking. Bishop Hunn outlines the diocese's longstanding ministry efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border, including the operation of a shelter for legal asylum seekers in partnership with Homeland Security's Border Patrol and ICE. He underscores the legality and moral grounding of their work, rooted in Christian teachings and constitutional rights. Despite the scrutiny and funding withdrawal from FEMA, he reaffirms their commitment to borderland ministry and invites support through prayers and donations.
The Bishop describes working with both the Border Patrol and ICE in vetting and allowing them to care for genuine, approved asylum seekers for a few days, and sending them on to their hearings. Nothing was under the table or hidden.
And now, ICE, headed by the only potato ever to actually wear a suit, Tom Homan...
...is accusing them of human trafficking? The Bishop explains in great detail, the efforts made to work with the government, follow all rules, shelter only approved asylum seekers and keep the Feds apprised every step of the way. The Bishop confesses to feeling frankly insulted by the letter, and will obviously fight this nonsense.
Wait until he finds out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will also shoot his dog if necessary.
But, as with Co-President Musk, this is the product of simply rushing into things without due diligence. Hell, without doing any research at all. I'm sure this letter, for example, was as insulting as the "poor performance" letters all the fired federal workers, park rangers and Pentagon staff got. And, the DOGE crowd has had to backtrack so many times when they found they fired essential workers, the mistakes made in their haste were obvious. Looking at you, Mr. Big Balls.
My daughter is doing theatre in Washington State right now and told me there have been lots of layoffs at the Hanford Nuclear Production Site, which was part of the original Manhattan Project. It is being decommissioned, but many of that crew have been let go. A former TV colleague in Amarillo told me 50 people were laid off at the Pantex Nuclear facility, where they actually make the bombs. But they had to be hired back soon after when DOGE realized they were essential. Same with the USDA, Justice Department and other agencies.
Like that astonishing speech Trump gave at that same Justice Department the other day, it's all about personal grievances. Every day is the first day of Festivus for him.
Add the revenge motive in operation here, the lack of knowledge on display, the catalog of missteps in staffing and foreign policy, and you sadly, have a recipe for more articles like this.
My wife asked last night, "So we have 3 more years of this?" No, hon. It's only been 3 months. It only feels like a year.
As for me though, I'm pouring another Jameson's while dreaming of March 27th. It's Astros opening day.
Now, he is part of the Texas Outlaw Writers, and if this doesn't pan out, the outlaw part will still work as he will indeed resort to robbing banks.