Bag of Randomness for Tuesday, November 10, 2020

If there’s ever a chance the 25th Amendment is invoked, it’s gonna happen in the next 71 days. I’ve doubted Republicans and people of the Trump administration before when it comes to upholding Constitutional and American values before, but this time when the walls start caving in and the inevitable is going to happen and Trump still refuses to acknowledge a new president is going to be sworn in, they would rather spare the nation the embarrassment of literally throwing out a former president from the White House for trespassing.

Hell, I still find it amazing that people are still working for Trump at this moment with the crap he’s still pulling. I guess they value pride over any integrity. They will forever be associated with that tyrant. But, sadly, I’m sure they will all get high-paying jobs. Like this woman. She’s young and will forever be known as an enabler who lacked integrity when her country needed her most.

Kayleigh McEnany Gets Cut Off By Fox News Anchor During Press Conference For Spreading Election Misinformation

There was so much news last week that this story got looked over. A helicopter transporting a donor heart crashed on Friday on the helipad at Keck Hospital of USC. Rescuers were able to retrieve the heart, who then handed it to medical personnel, who then tripped and dropped the heart. Thankfully, the heart wasn’t damaged and stitched into the recipient two hours later, who will have an interesting story about how his heart survived a helicopter crash and then was dropped on the floor.

I’ve cued the video to start at the most important parts.

Well, since we’re on the topic of helicopters – Donald Trump’s Private Helicopter Worth over $1 Million up for Sale after Election Loss

Currently in storage at a hangar in New Jersey, the aircraft bears the Trump Organization’s distinctive color palette of black and red stripes and still carries the U.S. civil registration code N76DT in reference to its owner.

The listing, which appears via Aero Asset and Jet Edge Partners, does not give a price. However, according to a New York Times piece, the helicopter was valued at approximately $875,000 back in 2016.

After Trump’s election loss and the notoriety associated with his name, it is anticipated the aircraft has gained extra market value and could secure around $1.5 million, autoevolution suggests.

My favorite Trump helicopter story comes from Bill Gates, who was then the richest man in the world.

Gates said Trump had met his daughter Jennifer, 22, at an earlier event in Florida.

“He went up and talked to Jen and was being super nice,” Gates said. “And then like 20 minutes later he flew in on a helicopter to the same place. So clearly he had been driven away and wanted to make a grand entrance on a helicopter”

“So when I first talked to him it was actually kind of scary how much he knew about my daughter’s appearance,” Gates said, prompting groans from the crowd. “Melinda [Gates’ wife] did not like that too well.”

I wasn’t upset at President Trump accepting his party’s nomination at the White House. After all, it was during a pandemic. But, I was upset at the spectacle he made it, especially seeing his name appear in fireworks over the national mall.

But I will give credit where credit is due. It was the best fireworks display I can ever remember and pulled off perfectly. I thought there was no way it could be topped, and then Biden’s speech on Saturday happened and we got to see a pretty nifty lighted drone presentation spelling out his name and showing the outline of our nation. Even if it doesn’t top Trump’s fireworks, I see a lot of symbolism. The Biden spectacle not only had fireworks, a nod to the past, but it used new technology, a nod to the future.

Related – It was his deceased son’s favorite song – Coldplay’s ‘Sky Full of Stars’ was played at Biden celebration for a very special reason

Only two things could have made that Biden spectacle better. First, the drones should have spelled out “MALARKEY”. Second, since Biden is a proud Irishman, U2 should have been played. I think it may have been avoided because U2’s City of Blinding Lights was Obama’s intro music at similar events, and the campaign wanted to make a clear distinction this is going to a Biden presidency, not a continuation of the Obama’s.

Meet ‘Jo Baiden,’ the internet-famous mayor of a small Japanese town

Why Did the World’s Fastest Man Miss Drug Tests— and a Shot at the Olympics? – Christian Coleman was poised for a major breakout at the Tokyo Games this summer, but he was suspended for two years for missing drug tests. How did that happen?

The Significance of Kamala Harris’ white suit

The color white has long been associated with the women’s suffrage movement, adopted as a symbol of moral purity alongside green for hope and purple for dignity. It also signaled their ethos of nonviolence, an olive branch to those threatened by their then-radical calls for political equality.

Harris, the first Black and first South Asian Vice President-elect, was standing on the shoulders of Shirley Chisholm, who wore white as she became the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1968. She was standing on the shoulders of Geraldine Ferraro, who wore all-white to accept the role of Walter Mondale’s running mate in his 1984 presidential campaign. She was standing on the shoulders of Hillary Clinton, who wore a signature white pantsuit to accept the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

Harris’ pussy-bow blouse, too, carried historical weight. It evoked the power-dressing of Margaret Thatcher, who wore hers the way male colleagues wore ties, a fitting metaphor for how the UK’s former prime minister co-opted and remade the boys’ club rules of 1980s British politics.

The women of the Democratic Party have continuously used white in silent protest against a president whom they consider a threat to their rights. At Trump’s joint address to Congress in 2017, a group of female lawmakers synchronized their outfits to raise awareness for women’s issues, including reproductive rights and equal pay.

They did so again at successive State of the Union addresses, most recently in February this year, as lawmakers marked a century since the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote (though women of color would face voting barriers for decades longer). The sight of Nancy Pelosi in all-white clapping sarcastically behind the President a year earlier, while a great block of white-clad congresswomen sat before him, will also live long in the memory. Harris was standing on all their shoulders, too.

The name of the type of blouse, in all honesty, makes me feel uncomfortable to say.

There’s a trend on Twitter of recording Trump supporters removing their lawn signs and Trump flags with Taps playing in the background. It cracks me up. But don’t worry, I know one day my preferred candidate will lose and people will take pleasure in our defeat. What goes around, comes around. It’s also one reason why I don’t but any of that stuff on my lawn or stickers on my vehicle.

Another coal plant to close in East Texas

Four Seasons Total Landscaping, the suburban garden center where Rudy Giuliani held a bizarre post-election press conference, is now selling merchandise to cash in

The items currently for sale on the company’s website include stickers that play on Trump’s campaign slogans and patriotic hoodies and t-shirts with the company’s name and American flag on them. The hoodies are selling for $50, while the t-shirts have been priced at $25.

 

 

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Woman demands free Chick-fil-A after claiming she is an FBI agent, gets arrested

Cancer sucks. Alex Trebek recently succumbed to it. But he got to live the last eight-teen or so months hearing how much he’s loved and what he’s meant to people. Too often, people never get to know how much they are loved or appreciated and it’s only revealed after they are dead. In that way, Trebek was a very lucky man.

Interestingly, Trebek and Sean Connery died just a little over a week of each other. Everyone loved the portrayal of them on SNL’s Celebrity Jeopardy sketch. I was curious if the two men ever crossed each other’s path. Nope. At least we know how Trebek felt about the sketch. I couldn’t find anything about Connery’s thoughts on the bit.

Back in 2017, Alex Trebek opened up about his feelings regarding Saturday Night Live’s sketch spoofing his mega-successful game show. Trebek told the New York Post, “It doesn’t bother me. If they’re spoofing you, poking fun at you or mentioning you it’s because you’re part of American pop culture, and that’s a good thing, I think.” That’s a great way of looking at it!

So, what about Sean Connery and Trebek’s real-life connection? Apparently the two never got the chance to cross paths. “I have never met Sean Connery,” but he was very familiar with their banter-filled SNL portrayal. Trebek then joked if he ever did get to meet Connery, he would “punch his lights out.”

Sean Connery made the most impressive entrance ever on a late night show. It happened when he visited David Letterman for the first time. I’ve cued the video below for you. What a good sport he was for doing that bit. His second Letterman visit was also rememberable. After he was introduced he walked up to Dave and kissed and hugged him (11:17 mark).

 

 

 

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Bag of Randomness for Monday, November 9, 2020

Man, last was long and exhausting with a lot of stuff years in the making concluding on the weekend. There’s a lot of unpack.

First of all, Trump supporters have nothing to fear unlike liberals did four years ago. When Trump was elected, we had no idea what his administration was going to be like. It was going to be unlike any Republican or any kind of administration before considering his campaign rhetoric. His party also had control of the Senate and the House, liberals had no majority representation. Trump supporters will probably still control the Senate and have the likes of McConnell, Cruz, and Graham. Trump supporters have an idea of how Biden will govern because of his long record and his time as Vice-President during the Obama administration. And finally, there’s a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. There is no need to panic.

Last night we sat the kids down before bedtime for a talk about what school is going to be like now that we know the winner of the presidential election. We emphasized the golden rule, to treat others as you would like to be treated, and spoke about integrity and respect. Both the kids are supporters of Biden and think it’s really cool that Kamala Harris will be the first woman (and half-Asian) to be Vice-President. They’ve told us in the past of students who are big fans of President Trump bully others and speak harshly. We told them that as tempting as it might be tease them about their candidate losing, that they need to put themselves in their shoes and imagine how awkward it is for them to just show up at school today. They will have learned a lesson, and one day their candidate will lose and you will face the same awkwardness. As soon as we said that, BoyGeeding chimed in and said we should understand what Joe Biden said in his speech, “Our competition is not our enemy.” My boy impressed me, you have no idea how proud I am of him.

We finally told them that one major reason we all didn’t like President Trump was how he picked on people and called them names. And if they decided to treat their friends who are Trump supporters in any sort of mean or disrespectful way, they were going to be hypocrites and no better than Trump.

I bet some of you think I’m being hypocritical right now and acting like how I told my kids not to. Apples to oranges, buddy, apples to oranges.

Biden won without any major rally or gathering. Fascinating when you think about it. Inauguration is going to be interesting with the pandemic, and I expect it to be worst than it is now when the day comes. It will be a challenge controlling crowd size and space. The optics could make the crowds look odd, and I’m predicting then former President Trump to point out how many more he had at his inauguration. If I were to advise Biden, I would have him do a small ceremony inside the capitol like Reagan did for his second term. Reagan’s second inauguration was moved indoords because of bad wintery weather. Sure, Biden will be “robbed” of his moment and all the people who want to celebrate Kamala Harris’ place in history, but it would be a substantive and profound move. As Spock once said, “The need of the many outweigh the need of the few.”

Biden stuck the landing in his first speech as the president-elect. Any Christ-following person should applaud and feel comforted by it, especially how he ended it. His story of his grandparents telling him to not only remember the faith but to spread it was was fantastic. The optics were also great, a grandfather remembering telling a story about how his grandparents inspired him. I’m unfamiliar with the Catholic hymn “On Eagles Wings” but it fit in exceptionally well. I’m wary of politicians wearing their faith on their sleeve, though at times I find acceptable to reference when it doesn’t feel forced.

Folks, in the last days of the campaign, I began thinking about a hymn that means a lot to me and my family, particularly my deceased son, Beau. It captures the faith that sustains me and which I believe sustains America. I hope, and I hope, we can provide some comfort and solace to the 230,000 Americans who’ve lost a loved one due to this terrible virus this year. My heart goes out to each and every one of you. Hopefully this hymn gives you solace as well.

It goes like this. “And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, and make you just shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His hand.” Now together on eagle’s wings, we embark on the work that God and history have called upon us to do.

With full hearts and steady hands, with faith in America and in each other, with love of country, a thirst for justice, let us be the nation that we know we can be, a nation united, a nation strengthened, a nation healed, the United States of America.

Ladies and gentlemen, there’s never, never, been anything we’ve tried we’ve not been able to do. Remember, as my grandpappy said when I walked out of his home, when I was a kid up in Scranton, he said, “Joey, keep the faith.” And our grandmother, when she was alive, she yelled, “No, Joey. Spread it.”

Spread the faith. God love you all. May God bless America and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Obama would often quote from the Bible, but only referred to the holy book as “scripture,” saying things like, “Scripture says” or “Scripture tells us.” I have a feeling that never set well with conservative voting Christians because it seemed insincere and not personal. He really lost a chance to connect with people wording it that way. But,  I noticed in Biden’s speech on Saturday night that he simply called “the Bible.”

The Bible tells us to everything, there’s a season, a time to build, a time to reap and a time to sow, and a time to heal. This is the time to heal in America.

WifeGeeding’s mother is an exceptionally loving soul and does her best to love Christ and share the Gospel. As you may have guessed with this East Texan, she’s conservative and all her children and their family is as well, though WifeGeeding is more of an independent. I’m the lone liberal black sheep of the family and sometimes things get a little uncomfortable for me at family gatherings and I’ve asked to be removed from any of those email forwards. I work very hard biting my lip and just listening, learning to understand their perception of things. Though, from time to time, I respectively chime in, but it’s never as eloquent as I’ve hoped. I’ve been a part of her family for close to twenty years. When Obama won the election over McCain, she sent a message (either email or text) to all of her children and their spouses stating there’s a new president which is part of God’s plan, know that God is in control, take comfort in Jesus, and share grace.” She sent a similar message when Obama was re-elected, but oddly didn’t send one when Trump was elected. It didn’t bother me, I took it as an oversight. However, on Saturday, she texted another variation, which I thought was interesting. Feeling a bit mischievous, I replied.

Thanks for the message. I’m not replying all and hope you take this in the jovial manner it’s intended. But as long as I’ve been a part of your family, you sent a version of this message when Obama won, but didn’t when Trump won. So, you only need to remind us of God’s plan when a Democrat is elected to the White House? 🤔😉

Thankfully, she took it in stride and asked for forgiveness, which absolutely wasn’t necessitated.

Somewhat lost in all of this was that the Trump campaign had a press conference at the parking lot of the Four Seasons Total Landscaping instead of the Philadelphia Four Seasons hotel. I almost couldn’t believe the president’s tweet when I first saw it, but given the president, I could. Then, I heard in the direct vicinity of the press conference was a cremation center and an adult bookstore. I thought, no way, but a quick check on Google Maps verified it. Man, what a dumpster fire of a campaign and administration.

Jeff Leach is a Texas state representative, and unlike me, has a bag of something.

I think this guy is on to something. The next time Trump will be in church is for his own funeral.

Georgia is going to be the focus of the nation with their senate runoff election. The folks at CNN must be happy since their headquarters are in Atlanta.

I got a kick out of how exhausted some of the CBS News crew were on Friday. Ed O’Keefe, in New York, started a question to Reince Priebus in Miklawakee with, “Hi Reince, this is Ed O’Keefe with CBS Ne….oh, well, we’re all on CBS at the moment.” Then, the guy helping Major Garrett run their interactive board answered a qustion with, “It’s hard, it’s very hard, it’s like trying to run out the clock in a baseball game.” Everyone jovially called him out on it.

SNL had a funny skit about a guy named Keith. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Keith is just a terrible name and easily made fun of.

I suppose I should add her to my unkept Half-Asian Hall of Fame.

Kamala Harris’ Grandfather’s Indian Village Erupts in Celebration

Biden says he’s assembled a task force to help with our COVID-19 woes. I wonder how he’s going to do that without interacting with the current figures in charge Fauci and the current surgeon general.

Quality comedy.

Noon, January 20th, 2021

https://twitter.com/animal0lovers/status/1325436220780941312?s=09

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Bag of Randomness for Friday, November 6, 2020

It was odd that the current impeached president waited so long to speak to the nation since election night. But then again, it’s odd for a U.S. President to question our democratic process and its validity. I never thought anyone in that administration had any integrity. For those who may, they should have resigned after that speech last night.

The current impeached president really cares about ratings. I bet a concession speech would big in big, huge numbers. But, we’re not there yet. This must have ticked him off.

Broadcast Networks All Cut Away From President’s Election Remarks

For viewers—and for students of both politics and the news media—it was an extraordinary moment: first that a president would stand at the lectern in the White House and accuse his political rivals of committing fraud without any evidence, and then for the networks to decide it was a smarter decision to stop airing what the president of the United States had to say.

Last night I asked WifeGeeding the chances of a principal or headmaster making an announcement during school should the country finds out who becomes president. She doubted highly and said that many teachers will know by their phones or computers. She’s totally correct, but I got caught up in the moment thinking about stories my teachers told me when they found out JFK was shot. Some told me stories about how it was announced over the PA. Others stated they felt it was best to hold the news until school was out. This brought me back to when the Challenger space shuttle exploded. I had no idea until I came home from school as our teachers kept it from us. Times have changed. News is now delivered instantly and fewer and fewer people will ever experience what it’s like when national news is delivered via a PA announcement.

Twitter suspended former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, after he made calls to behead NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci in a YouTube video, which has also been removed.

Should Trump ever leave office and go back into the hotel business, maybe this sleazeball can run one of his properties.

AP sources: Texas AG’s affair tied to criminal allegations

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had an extramarital affair with a woman whom he later recommended for a job with the wealthy donor now at the center of criminal allegations against him, according to two people who said Paxton told them about the relationship.

“Being Accosted Was Really Distracting”: What It’s Like Counting Ballots Right Now – Chiara Clayton, a first-time ballot counter, wanted to do her part and help out with this year’s election. Then the angry protestors showed up.

It was tough to hear that Norm on The TICKET didn’t receive favorable news regarding his cancer treatment as two more tumors were found. This means additional surgery and chemical treatments. But, in typical Norm fashion, his spirits are high.

The title should have included the word “Legal” right after the word “First”.

Texas Sees Its First Hemp Harvest in 80 Years – Entrepreneurial farmers navigate state regulations and unsteady market, but still sees a bright future

2020 Aerial Photos Of The Year

This Sebastien Nagy piece won first place in Architecture.

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Bag of Randomness for Thursday, November 5, 2020

While the result of the election is tipping towards one direction, it’s a lot closer than I expected. I thought there would be more of a repudiation of the lies, moral character, and the handling of the coronavirus. Perhaps that’s because of what happened four years ago, many Trump voters where silent about their choice. I actually thought it would it would be opposite this year, that many traditional Republicans would be silent about their vote for Biden and that wouldn’t show in the polling data. Should Biden lose, it would be more than devastating for us Democrats. It would be so demoralizing, liberals would have thought what’s the point of voting. The participation and voter outreach was historical, and despite that effort and help from Bloomberg and the Lincoln Project, it would have still amounted to a loss. But then again, Trump and the Republicans still suppressed the vote and slowed the mail and still crying victim. But with a Biden win, the momentum to turn Texas blue along with Texas demographics is promising.

I’m waiting for President Trump to tweet something like the reason there are so many COVID-19 cases are because we are testing too much but put it in a voting perspective. Like, the reason he’s losing the election is because people keep counting votes.

We really need to do away with the Electoral College. Again, in Texas, my voted is always counted, but it never makes a difference.

I wasn’t too surprised McConnell kept his seat, though I was hopeful. But, I’m surprised that both Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins are returning to the Senate.

Something different I noticed many news stations were doing were displaying the difference between number of votes along with the traditional total votes and percentage we are accustomed to seeing. I appreciate them doing the math for me instead of me having to trust my mental math approximation. CBS News did that, but look at the horrible job they did. You can barely see above Trump’s total of 5,250,887 votes that “^177,221” appears. NBC News on the other hand did a great job of showing the difference, it’s easily visible bottom center.

CBS News also decided to move their election news headquarters to Times Square from D.C. Why? There was no change to the viewer and Times Square was empty. NBC no longer paints the ice at Rockefeller Center, that’s one bit that didn’t need to be retired.

Game of Thrones political humor.

Watch This Datsun 280z Get Its First Wash Ever

Imagine you crack open a barn that no one has touched in decades and finding a Datsun 280Z with a mere 350 miles on it. If you’re a car enthusiast, your brain is probably immediately roaring with ideas about what you’re going to do with this car. But before any of that, you have one task: Wash it.

North Dakota legislature candidate who died from COVID-19 wins election

‘Emotional support Canadians’ offer to help Americans stressed by U.S. election

Probably the Trump campaign to pay for the upcoming lawsuits.

Someone Just Emptied Out a Bitcoin Wallet With $964,000,000 In It – It’s not yet clear if a hacker made off with a gigantic payday, or if the wallet’s secretive and long-dormant owner just came out of retirement.

The Story Behind That Gif Of Bugs Bunny Sawing Off Florida

How Rotel Became an Essential Part of Any Queso

The story of Rotel, which is now available in different spice levels and chile types, dates back to 1943. It originated in Elsa, Texas from a vegetable canner named Carl Roettele. Evolving from chile con queso in 19th century Mexico, recipes for cheese dip with various veggies in the early 1900s called for an exhausting process of roasting, peeling, and chopping chiles, then sautéing them with tomato and onions and mixing them with grated cheese. By the 1920s, this type of chile con queso was a common menu item in Texas restaurants and home kitchens. However, according to food writer Robert F. Moss, the cooking process of pepper roasting and cheese grating was exhausting, leading Texans to wonder if there was a simpler alternative.

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