Digital dialogue for Feb. 3, 2015

Staff Writer
Amarillo Globe-News
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Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel gets reacquainted with the Red Eye Air Defense System while touring Oro Grande, N.M., where he received his basic training in 1967. At right is Hagel's son Ziller Hagel.

¦ (AMARILLO GLOBE-NEWS DIRECTOR of Commentary Dave) Henry: Don't phone it in for the US military ("(Mac Thornberry), the new chair of the House Armed Services Committee, by the way, says that a personal cellphone is better than what Uncle Sam sometimes provides our soldiers. If this doesn't show the need for improvement in how the U.S. military buys goods and services, then maybe the Taliban really aren't terrorists."):

Thornberry is now a committee chairman with seniority over a number of other members, and in a position to make a mark. Now is the time to watch Mac and see what he is able to accomplish. Now is the time for Mac to show what kind of a leader he is ... I elected Mac to represent my and this district's interests to the best of his abilities. If that means getting term limits, then do it. If term limits do not pass, then I demand he operate to the best of his ability under the existing rules.


The reason Congress requires that the military's weapons (the V-22, for example) have bits and pieces built all over the country, then major assemblies built here and there, and then finally everything is put together in Amarillo, is to insure that enough congressmen have enough voters whose jobs depend on the V-22 to insure that the unnecessary stuff the military does not need gets support in Congress and built anyway. It's all make-work politics to create a false economy so people feel good. But like addictive drugs, it always takes more to maintain the good feeling. This business-as-usual politics will one day kill the economy, but the politicians will not care because they already have theirs. After all, Congress did not get to be part of the 1-percent on congressional salaries.

old time farm boy

¦ EDITORIAL: IS AMARILLO satisfied? ("This week's news about the demise of the city of Amarillo's master developer for downtown couldn't have come at a worse time for the current mayor and city council. It is just the latest in a series of problems that have seemed to be plaguing city leaders and staff for quite a while now."):

Good (editorial), but we can elect anyone from Mickey Mouse to Ronald Reagan to our city commission - this is largely about staffing. Amarillo desperately needs experienced professional staffing in city hall, with a strong track record (from the outside). Whether this commission or anyone who might replace it can make such a tough call is the issue.

r stephens

Just wanted to thank (the AGN) for outlining the history of the recent problems with Amarillo's city government. I have had repeated conversations about the inadequate leadership of the city manager, and now have a printed time line. No, I am not satisfied, and I believe that changes need to be made. Let's get a broom after city hall and clean up the city manager's office first.

Leslie McCleskey



This city has its head in the sand, and the problem is not with elected officials (but the mayor needs to go) as much as the non-elected leaders, they really pull the strings.

William C Kearns


¦ AGN TV: EX Power Ranger Ricardo Medina Jr. arrested for murder. According to law enforcement, an actor who appeared in the "Power Rangers" franchise is being held on $1 million bail in the stabbing death of his roommate in their Palmdale, Calif., home.

Go go straight to jail jail!

Michelle Reither


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