Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I spent more time and added more Christmas lights to the front house lawn yesterday. As I was on a rickety ladder to put up way too many tree lights and then walking across the street time and time again to take a look at my perfection, it dawned on my that I am Clark Griswold.
• I haven't been snow skiing in forever. And now I think I'm too scared to do so because I fear I'd break every bone in my body. (Colorado/New Mexico is about to be buried in snow, by the way.)
• There's is a commercial on the Ticket for a company which can remove load bearing walls in your home to create more space. But the commercial begins with Reagan famously saying, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." That's bad taste, right?
• A federal judge in Dallas denied a state of Texas request for a second temporary restraining order to halt the settlement of Syrian refugees here. I wonder if the Order read: "The court finds Texas Attorney General Ted Paxton is a moron. It is so ordered."
• Mark Cuban complained about the refs yesterday after another Mav's loss.
• One of TCU's offensive coordinators turned down an offer to take the same job at Texas with a raise. He said no.  Man, have times have changed.
• Bloomberg poll on Trump's "ban all Muslims" position: Republicans: 65% support, 22% oppose; Democrats: 18% support, 75% oppose: Overall electorate: 37% support, 50% oppose. Those last numbers might be the election results if Trump wins the GOP nomination. 
• The Supreme Court yesterday heard, once again, an Affirmative Action case regarding the University of Texas law school. Justice Antonin Scalia  suggested that "most black scientists in the U.S. benefit from not being admitted into top-tier programs . . . . They're being pushed into schools that are too advanced for them . . . . Most of the black scientists in this country do not come from the most advanced schools." 
• And then it gets crazier. The Twitter account of "@TexasExes" wrote: "Although we take no position on the Fisher case, Scalia's comments today were racist and offensive. #BlackTexasEx"." And then, out of the blue, a Texas Supreme Court judge (Jeff Brown who must not be very bright) tweeted, "@TexasExes You speak for too many Texas Exes to behave this irresponsibly. You've unjustly smeared a U.S. Supreme Court justice." (And did he tweet that on a government computer or government phone while the taxpayers were paying him?)
• Speaking of Austin, am I going to be forced to drive there tomorrow? Seriously?
• This is yesterday's cover, but I like it: