Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Found this from an old post. It was from the first ever Bridgeport Index published in 1910. Don't worry about that bank, they said, if they rounded up every cent they had there would be $187,000

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• I saw some pundits last night and this morning saying that the Senate might not confirm this talk show host for one of the most complicated jobs in the world. Are you kidding me? They will rubber stamp anything Trump wants. Plus, Trump's already told the Senate that he wants recess appointments so that he doesn't need their approval at all. 
  

  

  
  
  
  
• That story overshadowed a bigger story that broke in the afternoon.  Now Trump wants to make sure the military is only full of yes-men. Like wanting to bypass the Senate, it's all about consolidation of  complete and absolute power in one branch.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Also announced last night: A made-up department which requires two chiefs and is named the "Department of Government Efficiency" has a very Monty Python feel to it.
  
  
  
• This guy's influence is getting weird. 
  
  
  
  
• Get ready. It's the beginning of modern day concentration camps. And private prisons will make money off of it (of course.) 
  
  
    
  
  
  
• No. He's not the right kind of American. 
  
  
  
• Ted Cruz even turned on him (again) this morning. 
  
  
  
• Predictable breaking news from the Times this morning. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• A Baptist minister will be ambassador to Israel.  You think he'll care about the carnage that Israel is doing to Gaza or its incursions into the West Bank? He has said, "There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
• With "little Marco" Rubio nominated to be Secretary of State, there are strong rumors floating around that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will appoint Laura Trump in his place as a Florida senator. And look who weighed in on it: 
  
  
  
• A bullet of point about sports seems quant. But I'll do it anyway: This was a wild experiment in the 1980s. Notre Dame chose a high school coach with no college experience to lead the Fighting Irish.  I knew it didn't work out well, but he actually had a winning record (barely) over four years. 
  

  

  
  
  
  
• Didn't I just say that Democracy dies gradually, then suddenly? 

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Everything about the above seems like a long time ago. 

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• A 26 year old Chico woman pled guilty, without the benefit of a plea bargain, in district court to Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in August and was to be sentenced on November 18th.  But I noticed she was sentenced last week, perhaps as part of a plea deal worked out at the last minute, to 50 years. If that's a plea bargain, it might be the longest one I've ever seen here.  Or it could be that the sentencing hearing before the judge was moved up. I'll find out. (Cause no. CR25070.)
  
  
  
• Locally: Say what?
  
  
  
• Nationally:  Say what? "Ryan Borgwardt disappeared on Aug. 12 after he took out a life insurance policy and communicated with a woman from Uzbekistan, the Green Lake County sheriff said."
  
  
  
• Haiti isn't exactly a vacation destination these days.
  
  
  
• The fact that the Michelin restaurant rankings (which apparently are a really big deal) are associated with the tire company might be one of the most confusing things ever. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• With Trump's naming of these two guys, if you think he was kidding about a mass deportation/roundup, you are sadly mistaken. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• New this morning: The dog killer got a job - and its Homeland Security. 
  
  
  
• The only election denier who can't win again is Kari Lake. But it's probably because she is so unlikeable as opposed to being a MAGA nut.
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• Texas prosecutors, get in line. 
  
  
  
• I thought cancel culture was over?  Side note that I've said this before: I don't know when it became in vogue to put your hand over your heart during the National Anthem.  We never did it in elementary school or at football games in high school back in the day.  Pledge of Allegiance, yes. National Anthem, no.  It was perfectly Ok to stand as a method of showing respect. 
  
  
  
• Here's a video still from Jerry World regarding what I mentioned yesterday. 
  
  
  
• Former Cowboy great. 
  
  
  
• Sun Bit. The Cowboys put up a a device to block the sun for the press conference yesterday. 
  
  
  

  

  For comparison. (I don't know who that guy is
  by the way.)

  
  
• If you ever start making it a point to pay attention to every ad you are bombarded with from all sources, you'll loose your mind. 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

You may have to download this image of an old Bridgeport Index from 1955 and then enlarge it in order to read about the murder trial of a Bridgeport barber, but it's well, well worth it. And after reading it, you might be surprised to learn that he was found not guilty after the jury deliberated past midnight.

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• The Hardest Working Man in Show Business -- at least for now. I'm entertaining serious thoughts of finally winding this blog down.  I've written it for a long, long time. 
• I never saw an update on this. 
  
  
  
• Dear Wise County Sheriff's Office: The pdf of your jail roster is still not being update. It's going on six days.
  
  
  
• This is weird for McKinney. And that's not far for the downtown area. A 17 year old and a 22 year old are dead in the incident which occurred around 6:00 p.m. 
  
  
  
• It was a Starlink satellite on Saturday night which are all designed to fall back to earth and disintegrate once they reach their end of life.  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• I'm not sure why this was worthy of a report on WFAA. It was due to a water main link, not contamination. 
  

  

  
  
  
  
• This is not normal.
  
  
  
  
• The vote for new Senate majority leader is Wednesday. It will either be the "establishment" candidates of John Corny or John Thune of South Dakota or, now, a new wild card Trump yes-man candidate in Rick Scott out of Florida.  Watch this.  If Rick Scott wins, it is because the Senate fears Trump's wrath. 
  

  

  
  
  
• The MAGA Tarrant County Republicans officially came out against Texas's own John Cornyn. According to them, he's not the right kind of American Republican. 
  
  
  
• This is weird.  A recess appointment would allow Trump's 1,000+ needed appointments to get to work without required Senate confirmation if the Senate is is recess -- and continue working for basically two years.  Although recess appointments are guaranteed to the president in the constitution, they still practically need the Senate's approval of the process because they can always declare themselves to be in session (like they did under Obama and continue to do today.) 
  
  
  
• But the Senate will be fully in Trump's back pocket with at least a 53 person majority. Why does he need recess appointments?
• In any event, all three men currently vying to be the Senate majority leader fell over themselves saying they would agree to recess appointments. Trump runs it all now.
• As expected, Jack Smith took the first steps on Friday to dismiss the federal prosecutions against Trump. 
  
  
  
• And another aspect of that prosecution begins. 
  
  
  
• There is even pilot audio of having to return back to the airport.
  

  

  
  
  
  
• Random Cowboys thought:  There is way to much talk about the sun at Cowboys stadium.  That is 1% of their problems. 
  
  
  
• Per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News: "The first coach in Cowboys history and  WWII veteran was recognized for his service during a video montage during today’s game. The name, as it appeared on the video board: Tom Laundry." I haven't seen a video still of it yet.