10.22.2019

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • Jimmy Carter fell a couple of weeks ago which left a nasty bruise on his face. He fell again last night and fractured his pelvis.
  • The tide turned on Texas Speaker Dennis Bonnen in the last 12 hours as important Texas reps (and even Phil King and lap dog Jeff Leach) came out against him. He announced he won't seek re-election moments ago. It's funny because Empower Texans' Michael Quinn Sullivan thought his ambush of secretly recording Bonnen was going to work because Bonnen threw some Republicans in Austin under the bus with his "hit list." The ambush worked but not for that reason. It worked because of the disparaging comment about mayors and county officials. The now revolting Republicans feared local blow back if they didn't distance from that comment. Yes, Sullivan won with the ouster of Bonnen, but he was too dense to realize the real gold he was holding in the recording.
  • Tornado photo #1: I'm not sure I've ever seen a vehicle crushed so much. Can't use that in a tough-truck commercial.
  • Tornado photo #2: Two women armed with brooms ready to take on the damage. 
  • It was only a matter of time before Trump called the Constitution "fake news."  I wonder what all the flag waving I-keep-a-copy-of-the-Constitution-in-my-pocket crowd thought about that yesterday? 
  • He went there this morning. 
  • Texas Tech's Homecoming King is from Bridgeport?
  • Trump has given every indication that he thinks a "stealth" fighter jet means they are literally invisible, and he showed again last night that he doesn't quite understand the concept of drones. 
  • Any one else skeptical about the story of the manager of the Home Depot, which was damaged in the Dallas tornado, "sent all employees home early" simply because of a forecast of typically bad North Texas weather? Reports are that the tornado hit "about 30 minutes" after all customers and employees were told to leave.  No one seems to mention that every metroplex Home Depot shuts down at 8:00 p.m. on Sundays. The tornado first touched down shortly before 8:58 p.m. and didn't get to the Home Depot until well after 9:00 p.m.
  • I mentioned the other day that in football we aren't seeing first down measurements with the use of the chains on the field any longer. Here's an explanation from Junior Miller of The Ticket which I find shocking: After every play that results in a first down, the ball is moved up and spotted to the next full yard marker on the hash mark. Yep, he say it is "rounded up" to the next full yard marker. Doing so makes it simple to quickly determine if it is a first down if, say, on the next play the runner gets 9.75 yards. It would clearly be short of the next full yard line marker without the need of bringing out the chain gang. I'm going to start watching for it because if it is true, it's one of the biggest changes ever in the rules of football that no one was aware of. 
    Have you seen this happen this year?
  • Wise County Jail population this morning: 188.