Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

TEXAS, MY TEXAS!: I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!

---

• I don't think people fully realize what happened last night:
• Gov. Greg Abbott - Gone
  
  
  
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick - Gone
  
  
  
• There is a new Democratic Attorney General ("MAGA" Mayes Middleton lost)
• There is a new Democratic Land Commissioner
• There is a new Democratic Comptroller
• There is a new Democratic Agriculture Commissioner
• There is a new New Democratic Railroad Commissioner (Bo French got blown out. )
  
  
  
• All four Republican Supreme Court Judges up for re-election - Gone
  
  
  
  
• Three Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge positions: All Republicans gone. 
• And maybe the biggest shocker at all: Democrats will now control the House in the Texas Legislature. (This graphic is unofficial.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Wise County (and parts of Denton County) sent Rep. Any Hopper back to the statehouse. But if the guy can't even get a simple water bill passed when Republicans controlled Austin, he might as well not leave his office in the upcoming legislative session.
  
  
   
• My prediction was wrong. Kalshi was right. Texas elected a Democratic U.S. Senator for the first time since Lloyd Bentsen.
  

  
  
  
• Tarrant County was a complete Democratic sweep:
• County Judge Time O'Hare - Gone
  
  
  
• District Attorney Phil Sorrells - Gone
  
  
  
• Longtime Republican District Clerk Tom Wilder - Gone
• The Republican County Clerk - Gone
• Every Republican district judge who had an opponent - Gone
• Every Republican county court judge who had an opponent - Gone
• And I haven't even mentioned Congress yet!
  
• The House
  
  
  
• The Senate
  
  
  
• LOL.
  
  
  
  
  
• And this finally came true. If the normal and conservative Republicans don't rid themselves of the MAGA crazies, they may never win again.  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• It's amazing what, in less than two years, a needless Iran war, needless tariffs, and a cartoon character in the White House who lies to the American people every time he opens his mouth will do. 

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

And here is one of the dumbest things I've ever done.  Ten years ago, when I left the comments here open, there was a guy who always posted in all caps who was my online nemeses. Fortunately, he never took me up on this bet. (To this day, I don't know who he was.)

---

• News was a little slow to trickle out about this but 10 people were sent to the hospital after a multi-vehicle crash on 380 on Saturday night. 
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
• Video here.  And that was a lot of people standing right by it.
  
   
  
  
  
• The fireworks guy at the Seahawks' stadium almost shot down a military helicopter last night. Video.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• At the New York Marathon on Sunday. Life is short. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• It's election day, and I think the prediction market at Kalshi is way off base here.  My bold prediction is that Paxton will win. 
  
  
  
  
• Trump's Justice Department just announced the locations where they will be sending "election monitors" today.  In Texas, it just happens to be counties which vote Democratic.  This is not normal. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• There are local elections as well. Be sure to vote for someone who is able to read a weather forecast for the next day. 
  
  
  
• Then again, the FBI can't even get the date correct. (This is real.) 
  
  
  
• The identities of the those involved in the Learjet crash have been released. Side note: That 20 year old female co-pilot did a brave and heroic job in relaying the flight conditions to the tower during the emergency. She was professional even when she knew it was all over. 
  

  

  
  
• Update on the Deep Ellum shootings: For some reason the U.S. Attorney is running towards the cameras at every opportunity even though these are clearly state crimes. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Quite the contrast from above. 
  
  
  
• And Trump's support of Russia keeps getting weirder and weirder. Overnight: 
  
  

  

  
  
• With less than 24 hours before the polls open, Trump gave one of the weirdest speeches he's ever given yesterday. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Trumpism:
  
  
  
• Trump went to the Supreme Court yesterday to try and interfere with the elections in California.
  
  
  
  
• And look it the wiggle words in the Petition to the court: 
  
  
  
  
• In watching the election returns tonight, there is a 100% chance that Talarico will jump ahead of Paxton by 7:30 p.m. because the first thing that is released is the early voting in the largest and most Democratic counties.  Then the rural vote will start to come in more slowly. 8:30 pm. will look much different than 7:30 p.m. (This is exactly what happened in Beto vs. Cruz.) 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

On October 29, 2016, cheerleaders from Greenfield-McClain High School in Ohio displayed a banner reading "Hey Indians, Get Ready for a Trail of Tears Part 2" before a high school football game against the Hillsboro High School Indians

---

• If you go to Deep Ellum, you're nuts. "The shootings occurred about 12:20 a.m. in the 2600 block of Elm Street, 1:05 a.m. in the 2600 block of Main Street and 1:35 a.m. in the 200 block of South Crowdus Street, according to a preliminary police investigation."
  
  
  
• In Lake Highlands.  And the forehead tattoo would certainly add to the shock of it.   
  
  
  
• Gift link. 
  
  
  
• I'm sure you've seen the shocking video of the Lear jet, headed from Austin to the Bahamas, coming down like a rocket in Florida with nine people on board. And the audio between the pilot and the tower is chilling. No IDs yet. 
  

  

  
  
• Former Cowboys cheerleader, former contestant on The Bachelor, and the winner of Dancing with the Stars winner Melissa Rycroft Strickland has been arrested in Southlake on Halloween on a second-offense DWI charge.  And it sounds like she was on probation for the first DWI when this arrest occurred. 
  
• An ICE agent now faces state charges for running over a man.  (Side note of legal nerdy stuff : There seems to be a really good chance the agent can move the case to federal court.)
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
• But the following is unheard of: The U.S. Attorney for that district goes after the local D.A. for pursing the state indictment.  (Typos and all.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Oh, no! What hope is there for the rest of us?
  
  
  
• Ken Paxton spoke to a small crowd in Fort Worth on Saturday, but a bus from Runaway Bay transported these folks to be a part of it. 
  
  
  
• Trump decided to body-shame the reporter again over the weekend.  Trump. Body-shame.   
  
• He's almost gone from your TV. 
  
  
  
• The Texas Supreme Court, all elected and/or appointed Republicans, protected their own on Friday. 
  
  
  
  
• Prosecutor (and NBA) news. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Embattled Federal District Judge Ada E. Brown failed to show up for her misconduct hearing in Fort Worth on Friday.  (Transcript of the proceeding  here.)