Bag of Randomness for Thursday, December 13, 2018

  • When I watch superhero movies I often wonder how comfortable are the actor’s shoes are boots. 
  • I always get a kick out of how R2-D2 is referred to as “Artoo” in print or captioning.
  • The first president I vividly remember is Ronald Reagan. He was president throughout most of my childhood and always seemed to be the focus on the evening news my father was watching. Because of this, when I think of “presidential”, Reagan often comes to mind. I think I really connected with him and understood the importance of the office when he addressed the nation after the Challenger explosion and I was a confused child. I never had a grandfather, but he comforted me like I thought a grandfather would, through the television of all things. When I grew older and looked back on history, I found I disagreed with a lot of his politics, but I always admired his character and how he set a great example for the American people. As I watch the evening news with my kids around, I often wonder what my kids think of the presidency and the current occupant and what lasting impressions they will have. For a while, I debated watching the news because of the negative rhetoric and such. Recently, top stories have revolved around the sentencing of Retired Lt General and former NSA Advisor Michael Flynn and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. The kids asked how can “bad guys” work for the president. I thought it was a good teaching moment to say no one who becomes president or works for any president is ever perfect, and betraying your country, even working for the president or a presidential candidate, even if you served as an important leader like a general, is above the law and lying, especially to the FBI and authorities, has major consequences. I also made sure to state that the president is only under investigation isn’t found to be guilty of anything yet, but a lot of times where there is smoke there is fire. 
  • When I was a student at Hardin-Simmons University, I was one of the first students to take advantage of the new Leadership Studies minor. Last week, the current crop of students traveled to presidential libraries, homes, and museums in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas. Y’all know my love of presidential history. I would have loved that trip.
  • If it hadn’t been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I’d been married a long time ago.
  • If you are a fan of Thomas Kinkade and popular Texas stores and restaurants, I found an Etsy page for you.
  • A GoogleMaps Christmas lights map.
  • The Fire Trucks Are Too Damn BigSmaller heavy-duty emergency vehicles could save a lot of lives, says a new Department of Transportation report.
  • A new tool by the Urban Institute maps the geography of car loan debt and delinquency.
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5 Responses to Bag of Randomness for Thursday, December 13, 2018

  1. John Mackovic says:

    I agree, the Flynn affair is a great teaching moment – never talk to the police.

  2. RPM says:

    LBJ was the first President I can remember. He looked and sounded kinda like my Granddad and he was a Texan so I liked him. Presidents used to go on TV and address the nation all the time, now they tweet.

  3. Jason A says:

    I agree about Reagan. His presidency coincided almost directly with the 1st-8th grade portion of my education. Just the other day, I was telling my own kids about how I miss certain aspects of that era, particularly Reagan’s talks to the nation from the White House. As a kid, I was always very interested in what he had to say. He was always reassuring: “Things are getting better with the Soviets.” Or, “This world leader did something evil, so we’re going to punish him.” (I’m thinking of Libya.) Like you, Keith, I look back and disagree with some of what he did. But I appreciate the respect he had for the office and the American people. It was certainly a different time.

  4. joe says:

    BS, What you say?

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