Don't Miss the Real Lesson From the Texas Hill Country Tragedy

Also, find ways you can help the community.

family praying by a river bed, heads bowed, backs facing the camera

As flood waters began to swallow the Hammond family car in the pre-dawn hours of July 4, 17-year-old Malaya pried open a door that allowed her parents and siblings to escape. Malaya is said to have been singing a spiritual song while the current swept her away. After her body was found a couple of days later, Malaya’s family went back to the river to pray for her soul.

Two sisters, Blaire and Brooke Harber, were staying in a cabin with their grandparents along the Guadalupe River when the flash flood occurred. They did not survive. They were found holding hands, a pair of rosaries by their side.

The parents of Joyce Badon responded with unimaginable strength after learning their daughter had died in the flood. "God showed us the way we should go this morning!" Joyce’s mother wrote. "We found our lovely daughter who blessed us for 21 years!” Joyce had been staying with friends in the Texas Hill Country. “We pray to be able to find her three friends soon. Thanks to EVERYONE for the prayers and support. God is good!” Joyce’s mom concluded.

Renee Smajstrla's family took the time to think about others while announcing that their daughter had died in the flood. "We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday. She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic. Please continue to pray for the other families in Kerrville.”

A group of evacuated campers sang praise to God as a bus drove them to safety.

How many of us could find such strength and peace amid tragedy? It is a testament to having faith in something awesome and powerful, beyond the confines of this world.

Meanwhile, armchair quarterbacks sat safely in their dry houses or television studios, furiously searching for ways to politicize a tragedy. If Trump hadn’t made federal cuts, these people would still be alive, they claim. MAGA people in Texas voted for this, they cry. A doctor in Texas lost her job after wishing on social media that “all visitors, children, non-MAGA voters and pets be safe and dry.” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow started a segment somberly remembering the more than 100 people who have died, then quickly launched into a five-minute account of how Trump’s cuts to the NOAA might have made the situation worse than it needed to be.

Politicized tragedies turn victims into pawns for a scheme with no winners. The biggest losers are not the politicians facing the wrath, but the victims themselves. Anger over what a politician should or shouldn’t have done takes away from the care and compassion that people deserve.

The real lesson in the Hill Country floods is not that one political party is more effective than another. It’s that life can be very brief, so appreciate what you have for as long as you are gifted with it. That’s what the families experiencing great loss are teaching us. Are we willing to listen?

If you would like to help the Hill Country communities affected by flash flooding, here are some good options:

Samaritan’s Purse

The Salvation Army

Operation BBQ Relief

United Cajun Navy

Blueberry Hill Farm and Rescue (in memory of flood victim Eloise Peck)

Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country

Texans on Mission

You've Won a One-Way Trip to Iran!

Congratulations, Whoopi Goldberg. Of all the incendiary, uninformed statements you have made on The View, this one qualifies for a grand prize.

After fellow host Alyssa Farah Griffin said that living in the US in 2025 was very different than living in Iran, you shot back, “Not if you’re Black.”

Griffin pointed out that if she showed up in Iran wearing the knee-length dress she had on that day and without the hijab on her head, she would be in big trouble. She is aware that women in Iran have been imprisoned and even tortured for refusing to wear the hijab.

In 2022, Iranian Mahsa Amini died after being arrested and beaten by the morality police for not wearing her hijab “correctly.” In 2024, a United Nations fact-finding committee determined that Iranian authorities were responsible for the physical violence that led to her death. The committee also concluded that Iran used “unnecessary and disproportionate…lethal force” during the demonstrations that followed Amini’s death. More than 500 people were killed in Iran’s security crackdown during the protests.

Whoopi, you rightly pointed out that Blacks have faced horrendous abuses in the United States. Here you stand as a testament to how much Black women can achieve. Your story should inspire them to continue to dream big and overcome adversity.

One way of doing that is empathizing with people who experience hardships. Iran is far from the United States, but you could make their challenges known by sharing their stories and offering your support.

Another way is to recognize your good fortune and express your desire for others to have that, too. Did you know that if you were a female news personality in Iran in 2025, you would have to adhere to a strict dress code? And since the Iranian regime suppresses freedom of speech, you would not be allowed to say anything negative about the government?

Here are some facts about life in Iran, courtesy of Amnesty International, that you could share with your audiences:

“[In 2024, ] authorities subjected protesters, women and girls defying compulsory veiling laws, journalists, artists, writers, academics, university students, LGBTI individuals, members of ethnic and religious minorities and human rights defenders to violations for exercising their human rights…. Violations included interrogations; arbitrary detention; enforced disappearance; unjust prosecution leading to sentences of imprisonment, flogging or fines; and suspension or expulsion from education or employment.

“Authorities continued to treat women as second-class citizens, including in relation to marriage, divorce, child custody, employment, inheritance and political office. The legal age of marriage for girls remained at 13, and fathers could obtain judicial permission to subject their daughters to forced marriage at a younger age.

“From April onwards, the authorities implemented the Noor Plan to intensify their crackdown on women and girls who defied compulsory veiling, including through digital surveillance such as facial recognition technology, further violating women’s social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights and restricting their freedom of movement.

“Authorities used the death penalty as a tool of political repression against protesters, dissidents and ethnic minorities.”

If these facts do not convince you that life in Iran in 2025 is very dangerous, a free trip to Iran can show you firsthand how bad things are. Then perhaps you will give Iranians the empathy and understanding they deserve.

Follow-up on Terry Moran

The Critical Reader called it: He's already on Substack

Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash

On Monday, The Critical Reader published an article based on former ABC News reporter Terry Moran’s tweets about Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. Moran was suspended by ABC a few hours after posting and then deleting comments about Trump and Miller’s penchant for “hatred.” ABC News called out Moran for posting opinions rather than facts.

The Critical Reader sided with ABC News, arguing that journalists have a duty to provide unbiased, fact-based information to their audiences, whether they're reporting on a news site or commenting on social media.

On Wednesday, ABC News announced that Moran would not be returning to the network. Later that day, Moran reappeared on Substack, previewing a newsletter aimed at addressing “the important work that we all have to do in this time of such trouble for our country.” We can assume that this “important work” involves scrutinizing the Trump Administration in ways he may have felt unable to pursue while at ABC.

Good for Moran for breaking free from what he considered to be a constraining situation. Not everyone is able to deliver the news evenhandedly without letting emotions or political leanings interfere. Now Moran can focus on what matters to him—and what he believes he is obligated to share with his followers.

The Critical Reader seemed to anticipate exactly where Moran would land after leaving network news. Substack has become a haven for a wide array of writers and journalists. It’s the favored destination for reporters who have found mainstream media too restrictive.

Moran will likely attract a large following on Substack, but it will mostly consist of readers who already share his viewpoint. While they can rely on his years of professional investigative work, they can also expect his reporting to focus on what they already disdain: the Trump Administration. Just as some reporters concentrate solely on the missteps of the Biden presidency, such one-sided reporting rarely attracts new, curious readers. Instead, it further deepens the divide between “left” and “right,” isolating those in the middle who prefer to view the news from multiple perspectives.

That said, Substack offers a cornucopia of perspectives and ideas, with hundreds—possibly thousands—of writers, reporters, authors, and citizen journalists exploring an endless array of topics. It takes time to sift through these resources, which is why balanced news coverage from TV, radio, and newspapers remains critical.

We need to see the whole picture in order to make informed decisions. We must be able to argue respectfully and learn from other viewpoints. Above all, we must be encouraged to see the world—not just our corner of it. (At the time of this writing, Israel and Iran were embroiled in conflict.)

Moran will likely thrive on Substack. He’s thorough, passionate and intelligent. Hopefully, another journalist will step into his former role at ABC and provide the balanced, well-rounded news coverage that Americans both rely on and desperately need.

Should news reporters show their feelings?

Welcome to journalism in the age of social media.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

ABC News suspended Terry Moran on Saturday, after the veteran correspondent posted comments on X about Donald Trump and his deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller.

"The thing about Stephen Miller is not that he is the brains behind Trumpism,” Moran tweeted. “Yes, he is one of the people who conceptualizes the impulses of the Trumpist movement and translates them into policy. But that's not what's interesting about Miller. It's not brains. It's bile.

“Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He's a world-class hater. You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate."

Then Moran turned to Trump. "Trump is a world-class hater. But his hatred [is] only a means to an end, and that end is his own glorification. That's his spiritual nourishment."

Moran eventually deleted the tweets, but the damage had already been done. Just a few hours later, ABC News released this statement:

"ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others. The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards — as a result, Terry Moran has been suspended pending further evaluation."

Why can’t a journalist speak his mind when he’s off the clock?

Journalists are never off the clock if they have a social media presence (which most of them do). While some use the space to talk about their personal lives, others see social media as an extension of their reporting. And a few use platforms like X to give their personal takes on the news.

This is not so egregious if you’re on an entertainment-type news show like The Five, Hannity or The View because people already know where you stand. When you are a tried-and-true journalist, your job is to deliver the news with fair reporting. If you take to X to further discuss a person or an issue, you’d better back that up with facts.

A sentence like “He eats his hate” is not factual. It is a euphemism for saying that Miller is a vile human being. And that is a personal opinion. Other people can and do dislike Miller, but they are not professional journalists.

Moran’s job is to deliver the news and let the audience decide. If his opinion is based on what he has uncovered as a newsperson, he should let his investigative skills do the explaining.

This should not be something based on who sits in the White House. Anytime a journalist adds statements based on feelings rather than facts, they should be called on it.

What do you think?

Remembering a Forgotten Hero

Walking to our family plot at Calvary Cemetery in Youngstown, Ohio, my daughter and I found a grass-covered grave. We stepped closer to read the headstone. “Oh no, I said, “He’s a World War II vet.” We looked up at all of the graves with American flags beside them, including my father’s. Someone remembered to have them honored for their service.

Eugene Pautot did not.

He died in 1982. His gravestone says his name and “U.S. Army/World War II.” Was he a husband, a son, a father? Does he have cousins or friends living in town? Another headstone with the name Pautot, a female, stood several feet away. There seemed to be no connection between them except for the last name.

We had brought a small shovel to dig around family graves, so my husband cleaned around Eugene’s. Unfortunately, it was the Sunday before Memorial Day, so the cemetery office was closed. We couldn’t ask to have a flag put on Eugene’s grave. I looked at my father’s flag, and for a moment I thought about giving it to Eugene. In the end, I decided that my dad had served his country, too, and deserved a flag as much as Eugene. I would find another way to honor him.

A search of World War II Veterans from Youngstown revealed that Eugene was a staff sergeant in the Army in 1945. He received at least three medals during his service.

That’s all the information I could find, but Eugene deserves more than that. So here is my humble attempt to give Eugene recognition for putting his life on the line to keep others free.

Thank you for your service, Eugene Pautot. I will make sure a flag flies by your grave on the 4th of July and Veterans Day.