Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, July 13, 2016

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  • Loved this quote from former President George W. Bush yesterday at the memorial service, “Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions.” Everyone should read that twice and let it set in.
  • “Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions.”
  • “Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions.”
  • The memorial service was more light hearted than I expected. Former President George W. Bush made reference how one slain cop was a Rangers fan and got some laughs, Police Chief Brown started off talking about dating teenage girls, and President Obama got big laughs referring to Brown’s statement using Stevie Wonder lyrics to express his feelings and stating he’s glad he married Michelle, a big Stevie Wonder fan, before Chief Brown got a chance to meet her. And then it ended with Bush doing some dancing to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic“. At one point it looks like Laura is giving him the evil eye that a mother gives a child for misbehaving, but I really get a kick out of the end when he tries to point to someone in the crowd while holding hands. I had no problem with his actions, though I expected him to be more subdued, and it gave me a good laugh.

  • That man loves to dance – GIF1, GIF2, GIF3 – Good for him.
  • I don’t think I’ve seen Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas included in any of the recent memorial services. That’s very telling considering that church is in the heart of downtown. Senator Ted Cruz also seems to be very low profile, which is equally telling, though he rode on Air Force One with the President and sat on stage during the memorial service. Cruz was all over the scene and very outspoken during the explosion in West. Heck, Gov. Abbot had second and third degree burns and made an effort to visit.
  • I was very proud of how Senator John Cornyn was able to rise above partisan politics and give President Obama a very warm welcome. He went above what I thought was expected, and he had one hell of a line:
    • “Being ‘a Texan’ doesn’t describe where you’re from. It describes who your family is.”
  • Star-Telegram reporter tweeted yesterday that Arlington PD helped Dallas with security and traffic concerns. It’s a shame that wasn’t really reported, and a very cool thing Arlington did to help a neighboring city.
  • Pictures of what is supposedly the dead body (via blast from the bomb robot) of the sniper that killed DPD officers were floating around Reddit yesterday but has since been taken down.
  • I know many military folks choose to be buried in their military uniforms, but I have no idea if it’s that way for police and firemen.
  • I wonder how many times a sitting President and Vice President were in Dallas. Obviously, Kennedy and Johnson, and Reagan and Bush were here for the 1984 Republican National Convention, and now Obama and Biden. It’s pretty rare for both the President and Vice President to be in the same city for an event, other than the capital, of course.
  • This is about a week old but I just read about it – Texas to Require Burial or Cremation of Aborted Fetuses
    • Texas intends to require aborted fetuses to be buried or cremated come September, adding new abortion regulations after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s restrictive clinic laws. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state health officials to propose the changes, his office said Thursday, which were quietly put out for public comment this month.
  • What a time to be alive
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  • For you fans of all things LEGO and Disney, a $350 Disney castle set with over 4,000 pieces will be released in December.
  • Dallas was in the running, I think it was even a finalist, to host the Republican National Convention next week. If that would have happened, that overworked police force would really be overworked.
  • I have a feeling Trump’s VP pick will be Newt Gingrich. With Gingrich’s past infidelity problem, I thought it might keep Trump from using that card against his opponent and husband, but Trump isn’t conventional.
  • Miss Corpus Christi Latina loses crown over past 
    • Cifuentes, 25, was crowned June 11 despite having a criminal record and previous marriage, which should have disqualified her, according to a lawsuit six pageant contestants filed against the local contest’s director, last month.
  • Blue Bell to release new flavor on Friday
    • On Friday, the company will announce a new flavor to celebrate National Ice Cream month. According to the company, it will even begin stocking stores with the mysterious flavor the same day. There are currently 17 Blue Bell flavors available in half gallons.
  • I found a new local blog to follow, Obese Ninja. Here are two posts which stood out:
  • The best quote regarding Amazon Prime Day –
    • Sad that Prime Day has become all about mindless shopping rather than commemorating the birth of Optimus Prime.
  • Fox is making an X-Men TV series with movie director Bryan Singer
  • Scientists Create Successful Biohybrid Being Using 3-D Printing and Genetic Engineering
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11 Responses to Bag of Randomness for Wednesday, July 13, 2016

  1. RPM says:

    Have any of Blue Bell's executives been prosecuted for the Listeria scandal? No? Still not eating any.

    I was surprised Obama and Biden were in the same building. Thought that was against protocol.

    • towski says:

      They are in the same building literally almost all the time.

      • Geeding says:

        I'm sure you're correct they are in the same secure building in D.C., but for out of D.C. visits to non-secure buildings, that is, buildings that aren't routinely used for presidential visits and continually monitored, I thought there was a new protocol since 9/11 for them to be split up. It's most noticeable during the State of the Union. But I can be wrong.

        • Ben W. says:

          If by "most noticeable during the State of the Union," you mean "the VP is literally sitting directly behind POTUS on camera the entire speech," then yeah. 😉

          In general, the only prohibition that I could find is that POTUS and the VP don't fly together. And even that doesn't seem to be a written rule or law. NPR has more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor

          For the State of the Union, there is always one Cabinet member (the "designated survivor") not present, in the case of disaster. That dubious honor goes to a different person each year, I believe. In fact, one of the networks has a show premiering this fall based entirely on that premise. It's titled "Designated Survivor," and stars Kiefer Sutherland.

          But other than a few instances, the VP is always at the State of the Union, in part because he's the President of the Senate.

          • Geeding says:

            Man, I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that. Maybe it was those few times Cheney wasn’t there.

            • Ben W. says:

              In all fairness to you, the State of the Union is the time when it would make the most obvious sense, thanks to 99% of our government being in the same place, at the same time.

              FWIW, Tom Clancy addressed that problem in the mid-90s with his book Debt of Honor. It's how [[[SPOILER ALERT ON A 20-YR-OLD BOOK]]] Jack Ryan becomes POTUS.

  2. David Bryant says:

    Regarding Arlington PD – It is customary for nearby police or fire departments to provide coverage during funerals for police or fire personnel. A number of years ago a friend/Keller Firefighter passed away and the various surrounding communities provided fire/EMS coverage for the city of Keller during the time of the funeral. Always thought it was an honorable thing to do for ones 'brothers'

  3. John Mackovic says:

    Unfortunately, our President was unable to rise above partisan politics and decided to turn a memorial service into a political rally. The rest of the speakers did great.

    • towski says:

      You have got to be kidding.

    • Triple Fake says:

      I almost agree. Felt he spent too much time making a speech to a captive audience and not enough time eulogizing. Honor the fallen at the memorial service; rally the masses to prevent it happening again at a later date. Not really partisan politics – more like emotional politics

  4. Bryan says:

    WFAA ran a quick mention of Arlington and Grand Prairie PDs helping out Dallas on their 6:00 broadcast last night.

    I know George W. Bush has his detractors and I have my own issues with him, but I've never doubted his authenticity or his patriotism. That's an uplifting song and he reacted how he felt. I don't see how anyone could have an issue with that. Goofy? Yes, definitely, but that's who he is.

    I know he still likely has staff and publicists, but I wondered yesterday if he didn't write that speech himself. It had a less than polished tone that a workshopped speech wouldn't have.

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