Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• We still don't have any reliable updates from the State regarding the number of active coronavirus cases in Wise County. (To be clear, I'm not blaming Wise County officials. They are just as in the dark as you and me.)
  
• Texas: We finally had a day where the current number of hospitilizations was lower than the day before. But it was still logged in as the second highest day ever yesterday. The number of total active cases had its typical weekend drop off but were still in the 5,000+ range.  The seven day rolling average of deaths, the only positive news we had had, is now on the upswing. None of this is good.

  

  Hospitalizations

  
  

  

  New cases per day

  
  

  

  Deaths per day

• It dawned on me that the official Texas position on the coronavirus last week went from "We are all set to fully reopen" on Tuesday, to "let's pause the reopening" on Thursday, to "let's cut those restaurants back to 50% and shut down all bars" on Friday. 
• I ordered takeout at a Wise County Mexican restaurant on Friday evening, and I'd like to report it was packed with no one wearing a mask other than the staff.
• A COVID testing site on Thursday in Dallas: 
  
• Mike Pence appeared at FBC of Dallas yesterday and has now taken the position that we all need to wear masks when we are out. Let's check in on the choir as he spoke: 
  
• There was a little publicized Black Lives Matter rally at the Wise County Courthouse yesterday. Based upon the comments about a live feed of the event broadcast by one of the protesters, it sounds like she didn't need to be the self-appointed spokesperson. (I don't have a link. I think its on Facebook, and I hate going on Facebook.)
• Trump had another stellar weekend.
• We learned that the Commander in Chief was briefed in March of Russia paying the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and Trump did nothing. The White House doesn't deny the existence of the bounty, but instead denies that Trump knew. 
  
• Trump retweeted a video of a man in a parade clearly yelling "White Power!" and commented that they were "great people." The White House denied that Trump heard those words. See a pattern here?
  
• Trump told us on Friday that he was cancelling his golf plans for the weekend to work on Law and Order (back when he was still using code language). He then instead went golfing on both days. 

  

  Friday

  

  Saturday

• The videos of this lovely couple "protecting their home" from peaceful protesters (who just happened to be black) walking by their gawdy home are wild. Quick loading videos are here and here. I'll promise you that I've had to defend multiple people on felony charges in Wise County for pointing a gun at another person in far more understandable circumstances. (The couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, are both personal injury lawyers who graduated from SMU.) 
  
  
• This blew up on Saturday night. I'll just put leave it here in case you haven't seen it. 

  

  "only way"

• Funny follow up to that:
  
• Greg Abbott is turning on the oil-money rich (and oily-in-general) SuperPAC Empower Texans. He is now endorsing the opponent of the son-in-law of Farris Wilks who is the major multi million dollar contributor to the PAC.
  
• We almost had a Confederate Youth Camp take place at the Sid Richardson Boy Scout Ranch at Lake Bridgeport.  But once the news broke on Saturday, the Longhorn Council, which runs the Ranch, very abruptly cancelled the event noting it was "extremely disappointed that this situation was ever allowed to happen."  (H/T Bud Kennedy.)
  
• I had to drive on I-35 back and forth through Denton on Friday. Man, even after construction, it's a major beating. Hot opinion: There's too many dang exit and entrance point for traffic. There's no wonder there's a crash a day over there.