Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Easier to vote and harder to cheat: that was the refrain Texas heard from Republican state lawmakers when they passed their sweeping election bill last year. Yet for some of the state’s most vulnerable voters, casting a ballot in the 2022 primary election has been anything but easy, and state officials are to blame. In Texas, only citizens age 65 or older and disabled or absentee voters in certain circumstances are allowed to vote by mail. One of the new requirements this year is that citizens who vote by mail provide an i...
USA track star Sha’Carri Richardson, is speaking an important truth loudly, and we don’t blame her. After Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was allowed to compete in the Olympics despite a positive test for an illegal substance, Richardson, who was blocked from running in Tokyo in 2021 because she tested positive for THC, took to Twitter to point out the double standard. “The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady,” Richardson posted on Monday. Well, that, and Valieva is on the Russian figure skating team, a g...
DALLAS - Other than removing his name from the Cowboys' marquee, a non-starter, Jerry Jones' best fan-friendly moves are fairly obvious: Fire Mike McCarthy. Hire Sean Payton. Of course, we're preaching to the choir here. Jerry loves himself some Payton. For all we know, the 58-year-old retiree, who announced Tuesday he's leaving the Saints three years ahead of his contract, had been holed up on Preston Road the last couple weeks, swilling Jerry's bourbon. At least it would...
ARLINGTON, Texas – The NFC East title was secured before kickoff. All that was left was the game. Dallas didn’t mess around with Washington. Instead, the Cowboys took charge early by scoring six first-half touchdowns, using that cushion to roll for a 56-14 victory on Sunday night. With that we have five things of note from the blowout victory: Defense, defense and more defense What more can be said about the defense? DeMarcus Lawrence had a pick-6, avoiding a sliding Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke from crashing int...
We’d like to thank Texas Republican state Rep. Matt Krause of Fort Worth for launching an inquiry into the books lining the shelves of public schools across Texas. No, really. Thank you. Sometimes we forget what it’s like to be a kid, driven by a bubbling curiosity and that indomitable impulse to do the opposite of what adults say. What more ingenious way to persuade students to read than to type up a 16-page list of books and tell schools that those titles are being investigated? It’s a clever move. We expect hundreds if no...
Journalism is a high calling. We’re not too meek to proclaim that. And our profession’s current chapter of disruption and misinformation hasn’t changed that truth. That’s why we’re celebrating journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for the courageous work that brought them a Nobel Peace Prize. Announcing the prize on Oct. 8, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen praised the journalists “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” Res...
Thoughtful news consumers might have read last month’s announcement of an audit of the 2020 election results in four Texas counties and pondered its purpose. Why would former President Donald Trump call for such an audit after losing badly in almost 100 previous recounts, audits and lawsuits aimed at finding widespread voter fraud? Why would he make such a play in Texas, a state he won? What’s the endgame here? Serious conservatives who are willing to put principle before politics — people like Tarrant County Judge Glen...
You’ve likely seen the headlines about COVID-19 killing radio hosts and activists who opposed vaccines and masks. Several of those headlines were about Caleb Wallace, a Texan who helped organize a “freedom rally” this summer to protest mask-wearing. Some corners of the internet reacted with ridicule to news of his death last month, sparing no thought to Wallace’s grieving wife and daughters. It’s important that we all resist the impulse to scream, “I told you so!” Yes, it’s maddening to find ourselves swept up in yet another...
WASHINGTON — Nearly two decades after Texas’ George W. Bush led the nation to war in Afghanistan to root out terrorists behind the Sept. 11 attacks, the Taliban were suddenly back in control Monday after a chaotic U.S. withdrawal. Texas politicians in both parties were pointing fingers. They decried the bungled drawdown and tragic miscalculations about the Afghan government’s ability to hold out against insurgents. For those who’d demanded withdrawal for years, the humiliation of a rout dampened the joy they’d expected...
The Public Religion Research Institute has released its latest snapshot of the American religious landscape with data from 2020. It shows that America is still majority Christian, and that, despite shrill voices of the most aggrieved, Americans broadly enjoy healthy religious liberty. Overall, America is still overwhelmingly Christian. Only 5.75% of Americans practice a religion other than Christianity. The second-largest belief system is not a religion at all. More than 23% of Americans are “Nones” or religiously una...
We know a couple of things about Cole Beasley, the former Dallas Cowboy turned Buffalo Bill. One, he’s terrific at making catches over the middle in tough situations. Two, he is not a doctor or scientist. When it comes to who we get our information from, we should always consider the source. And the best sources of information — the doctors, scientists and institutions we trust with our public health every day — have made it clear that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing the disease. We aren’t trying...
Last week, the family of Texas firefighter Elijah Snow paid their last respects, still unsure of exactly how he died in Cancun, Mexico. After receiving conflicting reports, they are understandably concerned about whether justice is being served, in addition to grieving the loss of a husband, father, son and colleague. Sadly, that murkiness is not uncommon in tragic cases that cross the border. Dozens of Americans die or go missing in Mexico every year, and their families are often left in limbo, with no one on the case. The...
LUBBOCK — Just call it Texit — with some Sooner separation for good measure. Texas and Oklahoma effectively served notice Monday to the Big 12, setting the stage for SEC membership and dealing a major blow to their former home. An 11th hour meeting Sunday with the Big 12 executive committee, including commissioner Bob Bowlsby, failed to deter Texas and Oklahoma from a plan assembled many months ago. Texas board of regents chairman Kevin Eltife was a key figure in the move. Texas president Jay Hartzell and OU counterpart Joe...
A Lubbock County sheriff’s sergeant was fatally shot and four other law-enforcement officers were wounded Thursday afternoon in an exchange of gunfire with a barricaded man in West Texas. The suspect, Omar Soto-Chavira, 22, was taken into custody around 11:30 p.m. Thursday at a home in Levelland, a city of 13,000 about 30 miles west of Lubbock, authorities said. He was injured and transported to a hospital in Lubbock for treatment. Lubbock County Sheriff’s Sgt. Josh Bartlett died from his injuries at a Levelland hos...
In 2012, Pew Research asked 1,008 Americans to describe then-Vice President Joe Biden in one word. The responses ranged from “Good,” the most common answer, to “Goofy.” But almost five months into his tenure, the word that perhaps most accurately describes him as president is “Shortsighted.” Time after time, Biden has been caught short by consequences of his policies that should have been obvious. Biden should have been able to foresee, for instance, that he would face a crisis at the border in his first year in office. The...
Texas has a lot to celebrate when it comes to growth and prosperity, and we can now add to that celebration the number two, as in two additional congressional seats that the state picked up in the 2020 census. Texas is entitled to the seats because we continue to add new residents to our state, either through birth or through their decision to come to their senses and get here as fast as they could. It’s a testament to reality that people and businesses want to be here. But as we perused the national press, we found more t...
Ten years ago, when power plants in Texas succumbed to freezing temperatures and triggered rolling outages, Texas lawmakers took action. They passed a law requiring power plants to file plans with regulators on their annual preparations for winter weather. The regulation didn’t prevent this week’s outages. As lawmakers again investigate power plant outages in frigid temperatures, they will likely think about tougher laws for power plant operators and grid operators, as they should. But we hope lawmakers will also con...
WASHINGTON – Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial ended Saturday with acquittal on a 57-43 vote, short of the two-thirds needed for conviction. Seven Republicans joined all Democrats in voting that the former president incited insurrection. “None of this would have happened without the president,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the lead House manager, told senators sitting in judgment in a chamber that was overrun by pro-Trump militants on Jan. 6. But he said, entreating them to bar the ex-president from holding...
Most Americans, in fact nearly all Americans, get around using vehicles that use gasoline. And nearly all of our goods are delivered in trucks that use diesel. If there’s no fuel, those vehicles don’t magically start running on water or banana peels or old gym socks or any other substance, natural or man-made. This is a hard, difficult truth that Americans must absorb as the White House seeks to cut greenhouse gas pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels. The administration is putting a fair amount of energy into str...
Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is right. A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Texas can limit counties to one mail ballot drop-off site. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that Gov. Greg Abbott’s order limiting drop-off sites was proper because Texans have other ways to cast their votes. Indeed, Texans have other ways to vote. Eligible voters can early vote in person or by mail, or show up at the polls on Election Day. But in a year when COVID-19, vot...
Earlier this year, South African-born comedian Trevor Noah hit at the heart of a serious problem hurting America right now. “Nuance doesn’t sell as well in America,” Noah said in an interview with CBS. “Nuance means you can’t just take a stand and fight the other person. Nuance means we have to talk a little bit more. And until the American political system can find a way to represent the nuance that exists within America, you are going to create this false impression that there is This or That.” In a nation sharply div...
The constant churn of our own politics has obscured a recent event that should have gotten more attention in the U.S. because it was a moment of hope for a more peaceful future. We are talking about the historic agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, a piece of classic diplomacy that signals progress toward lasting peace in the Middle East. The accord between the two countries promises full normalization of relations in exchange for Israel ending the contested plan to annex occupied territory in the West...
WASHINGTON — The president’s new campaign manager scoffed Friday at the idea that Joe Biden could beat Donald Trump in Texas, despite a raft of recent polls showing a dead heat and one that has the Democrat leading by 5 points. “I would love — I would invite the Biden campaign to play in Texas,” Bill Stepien told reporters in a state-of-the-race briefing call. “They should play hard. They should go after Texas really, really heavily — you know, spend a lot of money in the Houston and Dallas media markets. “I would invite th...
As protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer continue across the country, police procedures and budgets everywhere are coming in for a reexamination. Our advice in this debate is focus on a few facts. We need the police even as we also need to address underlying issues in how communities are policed and how and why progress leaves some communities behind. So beyond the rhetoric, proposed reforms shouldn’t center on disbanding police departments, but what they can focus on is reducing c...
The last time we flew out of Shanghai, China, it was 2015 and we stumbled across a sign hanging from the airport ceiling that seemed like an historical relic even then. It gave instructions — in English — for all travelers on domestic Chinese flights to head one direction and for all international travelers (which included those headed for Hong Kong and Taiwan) to head in the other direction. At the time, we smiled at the admission. The people of both places would appreciate that sign, but Beijing likes to think that bot...
