Opinion

1 Comment

By Tony Farkas
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There are times when I cast about for column ideas, scanning pop culture, news, social media, etc., for inspiration.

Many times when I do that, though, I’m regaled with what can only be evidence of the decline of civilization and a return to barbarism, while at the same time finding that common sense on a variety of subjects has left the building.

Here’s a few things that have drawn out the heaviest sighs from me this week.

•In Memphis, there was another death of a suspect in custody at the hands of police officers, members of some sort of special Scorpion Unit or whatever, that is flying under the radar because it doesn’t fit the well-crafted narrative: Black police officers allegedly killed a Black man, who was pulled over for the audacious crime of suspicion of reckless driving.

While the details are still forthcoming, the five officers were fired and now face murder charges.

This tragedy is again one that never should have happened, but perhaps it will serve as a catalyst for change, both in how police behave with suspects and that there really needs to be some effort put into finding the cause for the increase in violence on both sides.

It really doesn’t help to call this racism or claim it’s rooted in white supremacy, either. That narrative won’t hold water.

•A Taco Bell customer in Wales, England, who was upset about something, was laid out by an employee. There’s video, which again shows how something so simple escalated into something that required police, ambulances and altercation.

I’m finding that talking about things, and learning to come to a compromise, have become a thing of the past, and anyone with hurt feelings can be justified in their rage response.

Whatever happened to “Make Love, Not War?”

•When Joe Biden took office, gas prices were below $2. Shortly thereafter, and ever since, the prices, while fluctuating, have stayed above $3 and sometimes even more.

In the last week, I’ve watched the price go up. Again. So how is it that our vaunted government officials claim that this sitting president has lowered gas prices? Why does our elitist snob leaders insist that we have the memory of gnats and need them to Newspeak us into joy joy?

•In the past two weeks, there have been two mass shootings in California that have resulted in the death of 14 people.

California. The land where no gun law is unappreciated.

The response has been predictable in that there’s calls for more gun laws. However, anyone with any kind of ability to read and connect dots can see it’s not about the guns. There’s a definite pendulum swing in society making it more violent and angry.

I think it’s long past time to focus on root causes, and for my money, start with morality. Without a moral base, laws are essentially just words. A deeper connection with a deity will definitely help, and a country like ours that spends as much time as it does fighting the very thing that will help, what with separation of church and state and banning prayer and religious displays everywhere, will only descend farther into madness.

Can’t fill a God-sized hole with feelings and wokeism, no matter how hard you try.

Write a comment

On Jan. 25, 1839 the official flag of Texas was adopted by the Third Congress of the Republic of Texas. It specified the look of the iconic Lone Star Flag that we know and love today. The colors were chosen to signify certain attributes: red for courage, white for purity and liberty, and blue for loyalty. The Texas flag is the only flag of an American state that previously served as a flag for an independent country.

Here are five things happening around your state:

Starting pay at state hospitals and state-supported living
centers increases

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) announced it is increasing salaries and starting pay at state hospitals and state-supported living centers to combat staffing shortages and bring hospital beds back online. HHSC said there are 700 state hospital beds offline due to a shortage of staffers. The commission is hoping to recruit and attract workers, reduce vacancies, and bring more beds back online. There are approximately 1,805 openings in state hospitals and 2,137 openings in state-supported living centers. Registered nurses with three years’ experience could have starting salaries as high has $90,000 per year. Psychiatric nursing assistants and direct support professionals would start between $17.50 and $21.00 an hour depending on experience. Current employees are also receiving salary increases.

Bill filed to make
catalytic converter theft a state felony

Sen. John Whitmire and Sen. Carol Alvarado jointly filed Senate Bill 224 which seeks to increase the criminal penalty for catalytic converter theft. For the past several years, there has been a marked increase in thefts of catalytic converters. Even when thieves are caught in possession of stolen catalytic converters it can be difficult to prove the case. This bill seeks to increase the penalty for stealing catalytic converters to a state jail felony and makes it easier for law enforcement to charge those who possess catalytic converters unlawfully. The bill adds additional penalties for criminals who stole catalytic converters while in possession of a firearm. Criminals engaging in catalytic converter theft have become violent and there have been many stories from around the state of Texans being injured or killed during the theft. It is time to give law enforcement more tools to combat these violent crimes.

Senate committee assignments announced

This week Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick released committee assignments for the 88th Legislature. I was honored to be reappointed as chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and remain a member of Senate Finance, Business and Commerce, Local Government, and Redistricting Committees. The Senate Finance Committee will begin holding hearings next week to start the budget process. Each state agency will come before the committee and discuss their appropriations request with the committee. Members of the committee will have the opportunity to ask questions and get further clarification on details of the budget before further deliberations begin.

Afghan soldier
arrested as U.S.-Mexico border has federal immigration charges dropped

Abdul Wasi Safi is a former Afghan special forces intelligence officer who worked directly with U.S. forces in Afghanistan. During the collapse of the Afghan government, he was unable to escape the country on any of the U.S. military flights out of Kabul. He became a target of the Taliban once they took over the country. He went into hiding for months before he trekked across countries and continents to make it to the U.S.-Mexico border in an attempt to join his brother who lives in Houston as a U.S. citizen. He was apprehended by federal authorities and charged with a criminal misdemeanor. He has spent nearly four months in a detention center, but now an assistant U.S. attorney asked the judge this week to dismiss the case against him in the interest of justice and the judge agreed. He will now continue on his journey toward asylum and will hopefully be released and reunited with his brother soon.

Jim and Margaret Perkins honored for higher education initiatives

This week it was my pleasure to honor Jim and Margaret Perkins on the Senate floor for all of their contributions to our communities, specific in higher education. This year, they were recognized with the 2023 Texas Higher Education Distinguished Service Award. Leaders from more than 100 institutions of higher education chose them for their work supporting East Texas students, institutions and communities. Starting in 2014, the Perkins worked with Tyler Junior College to establish a scholarship program for local high school graduates known as the “TJC Promise” which has supported hundreds of students pursue post-secondary education. Congratulations to the Perkins for this tremendous achievement.

Sen. Robert Nichols represents Senate District 9, which includes Polk County, in the Texas Legislature.

Write a comment

 This week we celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was a visionary leader and made an invaluable impact on our country.

Here are five things happening around your state.

Budget filed in both the House and Senate

Now that the members are sworn in and both the governor and lieutenant governor are sworn in, the legislature can begin the work of the people. The first step is the filing of the budget by both the House and the Senate on their respective ideas of what the budget should be.

This week, Rep. Greg Bonnen and Sen. Joan Huffman each filed their versions of the budget in their respective chambers.

The senate budget, Senate Bill 1, includes $15 billion for additional property tax relief, including $3 billion to increase the homestead exemption to $70,000, fully funding public education, $3 billion in additional funds to invest in the state’s mental health resources, $600 million for school safety initiatives, $500 million for Gulf Coast Protection District projects, and much more.

This document highlights the priorities of the legislature. The process of building the final budget takes weeks of committee hearings and deliberations between the Senate and the House and will likely take most of the session to complete. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the budget for the next biennium.

Houston Astroshonored in Senate

This week, the Senate hosted the Houston Astros to celebrate their World Series championship. Members of the team were honored with a resolution on the Senate floor and they also brought the World Series trophy.

The Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to win their second championship. The final game of the series was played at Minute Maid Park in Houston last November. The series was also notable for having the first World Series no-hitter since 1956.

A combined effort from four Astros pitchers achieved the feat in Game 4. Congratulations on an amazing season and World Series win.

TxDOT makes $250 million availablefor transportationalternatives

TxDOT announced the agency is making $250 million available for sidewalks, bike lanes, shared-use paths, and other projects to enhance walking and biking transportation options across the state. The federal funding is aimed at reducing the number of pedestrian and bicyclists’ fatalities, which have risen in past years.

The funding will help communities plan and build walking and biking infrastructure. TxDOT is hosting virtual workshops to help municipalities and organizations as they apply for this funding. To learn more, visit https://www.txdot.gov/business/grants-and-funding/bicycle-pedestrian-local-federal-funding-programs.html.

State parks celebrating 100 years

This year is the Centennial Celebration of Texas State Parks. To commemorate 100 years, every state park will host at least one special event in 2023.

In January, many state parks in North Texas and on the coast are hosting fishing events for kids. There is also a photo contest with a new theme for each season of the year. Participants have the chance to win a State Parks Pass, a $100 H-E-B gift card and more. The Bullock Texas State History Museum is also hosting a new traveling art exhibit that features more than 30 Texas State Parks.

Thirty notable Texas artists were commissioned to create works celebrating parks across Texas. The exhibit runs in Austin from January 7 to April 30 and will then travel to several museums later this year and next year. It will be on display in Tyler in 2024.

There is also a commemorative book that highlights the collection and is available online to purchase. For more information on events happening at parks near you, visit www.TexasStateParks.org/100years.

DETCOG helps challenge federal broadband map

Recently, the Federal Communications Commission released a broadband coverage map that suggests most of Deep East Texas has access to broadband. Members of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments have encouraged the community to challenge the maps, as they are misleading and do not accurately reflect the reality of broadband access, especially in rural areas.

The map was compiled by using data from internet service providers in the area. The coverage map will help determine how much funding states receive from the federal government for broadband projects. It’s important that the maps accurately reflect access in the state. Challenges can be issued based on whether if a provider denies your request for service, has a waiting list longer than 10 days, or requires extra fees for installation.

For more information, to see the map, and to verify and challenge coverage areas, go to https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home.

Sen. Robert Nichols represents District 3, which includes Trinity County, in the Texas Legislature.

Write a comment

So this week for my scrawling on this page, I’m trying a different approach with things.

Our esteemed friend Gary Borders, the award-winning newspaperman and essayist, is the current curator of the weekly Capitol Highlights column, courtesy of Texas Press Association.

In the column, Borders follows a great tradition of breaking down current stories of statewide interest into brief bits of news. Read any of Borders’s weekly columns, and you’ll have a working knowledge of important issues facing Texans on any given week.

In following that sterling example (no pun intended…Borders’s predecessor is named Ed Sterling) I’ve decided to take the same approach with news stories that have stuck out to me but marinated in some of that Chris Edwards special commentary sauce you’ve grown to love (well, all three of you who read my rantings).

So here goes. This may be the only time I do this, but then again, it might just stick.

AG wants more power to prosecute election crimes

Last week, it was reported that Attorney General Ken Paxton wants more power to prosecute election crime, and several bills in this current legislative session would give it to him.

Although no evidence of widespread voter fraud has been found, Paxton has been actively pursuing election-related crimes since he took office in 2015.

How about a bill signed into law forbidding anyone under federal criminal indictment from serving as AG?

Abbott prioritizing budget surplus, schools and power grid

At his inauguration last Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott emphasized that this legislative session will be centered on the state’s historic budget surplus, parental rights in schools and public safety.

Additionally, Abbott said in this session “we will build a grid that powers our state – not for the next four years, but for the next 40 years.”

The aforementioned topics, as well as meaningful property tax reform, are issues that actually mean something to Texans. Stick to this, legislators, and deliver for your constituents and leave the culture-warring nonsense to the cesspool of social media.

Keyboard culture warriors react to Pink Floyd

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its legendary and mega-selling album Dark Side of the Moon, the band Pink Floyd changed its Facebook profile image to a prism outlining the number “50” and a rainbow color scheme inside of the zero.

The reactions to some of the band’s Facebook followers was nothing short of ridiculous, with some commenters making such solid gold replies as “are you going woke with rainbows, is there a straight flag, I want equal representation…” (yes, Facebook culture warriors are big fans of run-on sentences and bigotry).

Never mind the fact that the album’s iconic cover image features a rainbow color prism.

How exhausting it must be to have a knee-jerk reaction to turn everything into a political talking point as one’s super-power.

M&Ms replace “spokescandies”

In another example from the “everything’s a political talking point” frontier, Mars, the candy giant, announced on Monday that it is replacing its M&Ms “spokescandies” with the former Rentals keyboardist/former SNL cast member Maya Rudolph. This move came after right-wing criticism that the company’s anthropomorphic candies’ makeovers had gone too far.

For example, a new purple M&M was added to the roster, to represent inclusivity. The orange M&M was made to be an avatar for those struggling with anxiety.

So is Critical Candy Theory the new thing everyone should be up in arms about?

Santos continues to rankle

Embattled Empire State congressman George Santos (if that is actually his name) continued to draw controversy last week.

The newly sworn-in lawmaker has admitted to, um, reinventing large swaths of his resume, but in spite of that, he wound up with committee assignments, and insists he will only step down if the voters turn against him.

Recently video footage turned up of Santos as a drag performer. The silver lining here is that Saturday Night Live now has a fully formed comedic character that the show’s writers won’t even have to get that creative with in order to spoof.

Another good yearfor Dem Boys

Another 12-win season and respectable post-season showing from the Dallas Cowboys ended on Sunday with a fight-to-the-finish loss against the long-irrelevant San Francisco 49ers. Tough loss, to be certain, but it was a good season with an improved roster.

What are the haters and fans, alike, to do with their lives now?

Sullivan celebratesmilestone

Woodville icon and ace raconteur Fred Sullivan just celebrated a milestone birthday. If you happen to find yourself in downtown Woodville, drop on by Sullivan’s and wish Fred a most happy of happy birthdays.

If the world had many more folks like Fred in it, then the world would be a much kinder, more intelligent place.

Happy birthday, good sir!