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Now would be an interesting time to do a time-capsule. You could include a mask, hand sanitizer, a thumb drive of docs and photos (who knows if the technology will be the same), and all sort of current events stuff related to Civil War monuments and BLM. I’m sure a MAGA hat would have to be included and perhaps a vape pen.

There’s a new bombshell story about President Trump’s tax records, but it doesn’t matter because all his supporters and the Republican party don’t care about anything he’s had done or will do. He said it himself. He could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight and get away with murder. I suppose Senator Klobuchar speaks for the rest of us.

I’ll tell you this about Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Every time I hear her name, I think the person who says it is going to say Amy Farrah Fowler.

I’m stoked there’s a new season of Fargo but surprised they released two episodes totally almost three hours.

I noticed in both college and NFL football broadcasts, Fox Sports used an obnoxious in-your-face graphic every time a team scores a touchdown.

I have nothing to prove it, but there’s just something sketchy about Wayfair.

In an email newsletter sent to alumni, Hardin-Simmons included an article about putting together an emergency box to grab in case of a fire or immediate evacuation. They suggested items to include such as wills, powers of attorney, deeds, financial records, birth certificates, and social security cards. I thought this information would be a good idea twenty years ago, but I’m sure most folks have a digital record of most of these items and if you are like me, I store them in the cloud using the most secure method I know. You can print all that stuff easily. And sure, I agree sometimes copies of an item, like a Social Security card, aren’t sufficient and you need the real thing, but HSU has always had a problem being up to date.

Our school gave parents a deadline of last Friday to decide if we wanted to send kids back to campus for the rest of the calendar year. To make the best informed decision we could, we looked at the most up to date numbers listed on the Texas Health and Human Services website. Student cases continue to tick up, and that may be because some districts have staggered dates on when they allowed students back on campus, and teachers/staff have been ticking up but took an interesting downturn. The site should be updated later with updated data.

Sadly, another Texas child has lost his life because of a brain-eating amoeba. But this child wasn’t at a lake, river, or pond, but a city spashpad. Now, city officials are urging residents to only use the city’s water for flushing the toilet. 2020 continues to gut us.

Three water samples out of 11 taken tested positive for genetic material related to naegleria fowleri, including a test of a water hose bib at McIntyre’s home.

The other two positive tests were in samples taken from the civic center water feature and a fire hydrant, according to Lake Jackson City Manager Modesto Mundo.

Three local stores are on this list.

125 Black-Owned Bookstores in America That Amplify the Best in Literature

Military suicides up as much as 20% in COVID era

Military suicides have increased by as much as 20% this year compared to the same period in 2019, and some incidents of violent behavior have spiked as service members struggle under COVID-19, war-zone deployments, national disasters and civil unrest.

While the data is incomplete and causes of suicide are complex, Army and Air Force officials say they believe the pandemic is adding stress to an already strained force. And senior Army leaders — who say they’ve seen about a 30% jump in active duty suicides so far this year — told The Associated Press that they are looking at shortening combat deployments

OC sheriff’s deputies who lied on reports testify that they didn’t know it was illegal

Two fired Orange County sheriff’s deputies convicted of lying on their police reports testified recently before a grand jury that they didn’t know it was illegal to falsify the documents, transcripts show.

Joseph Anthony Atkinson Jr., 39, and Bryce Richmond Simpson, 31, had neglected to book evidence but falsified their reports to say they had. The once routine practice of sheriff’s deputies booking evidence by the end of their shifts, as required by department policy and state law, was ignored for years in hundreds of cases where evidence was booked late or not at all, an internal audit found.

If these ever show up in Texas, I think they would have a bigger impact if the first line said, “I’m Southern Baptist.” Sure, there are Christians who are voting for Biden, but “Christian” is a wide brush which can incorporate Catholics and liberal denominations, it’s a whole other meaning to say a Southern Baptist is voting liberal.

Here’s are some others: pic.twitter.com/R9Q9KBkFo8

— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) September 27, 2020

If you want the story behind the picture at the top of the post, here you go.

Folks, please point to me where any Democratic elected officials are currently talking about the nominee’s faith or children. Literally, the only elected people talking about it are Republicans.

— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) September 26, 2020

Go ahead and talk about her mama.

This had to hurt pic.twitter.com/8bEo7neHfh

— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) September 27, 2020

Well, well, well, Cinderella decided to bring a knife to the fight.

I’m a very loyal and proud member of USAA, but I liked them a lot more before they started an advertising blitz.

Four years ago, I felt strongly that Moscow Mitch should have held a hearing for Merrick Garland regarding the vacant Supreme Court seat left by Justice Scalia. He said that voters should have a voice, and I believed the voters did when they reelected President Obama. Four years later, I still believe McConnell should hold a hearing for the vacant seat RBG leaves behind, as much as I don’t like it. However, I think Moscow Mitch should be consistent with his actions, and his excuse for this opportunity differing from what happened four years ago is poor and hypocritical. Even though he may not have the country’s best interest at heart for the long term, at least how his actions will affect future Senate actions by creating precedent, I’ll give him this, he makes the most out of any opportunity given him and he’s a shrewd political party leader.

I’m reading John Dickerson’s new book, The Hardest Job In the World – The American Presidency. He quotes Lincoln as saying, “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

Dickerson also share’s this story, which proves Nixon had more integrity than McConnell.

1968 was the last time there was a court seat at play this close to an election. A group of Senate Republicans tried to block President Johnson, saying he shouldn’t be able to fill a seat in an election year, but the Republican leader Everett Dirksen blocked them. When those GOP Senators threatened to filibuster, Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon said they shouldn’t.

How about this Republican Senators: if you want to ensure a peaceful transition of power, and legitimacy of the elections, then don’t vote on Supreme Court nominee until after Election Day. If President Trump won’t accept election results, don’t approve of nominee.

— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) September 24, 2020

I actually remember these being in their restaurants. I think they also had small aluminum ones with the logo stamped in the middle.

Are you ready for #FatBearWeek? Next week, @KatmaiNPS holds its annual competition so you can judge which chubby cubby takes this year's title. Pic of last year's winner: 435 Holly #Alaska pic.twitter.com/eKjNAYYAJx

— US Department of the Interior (@Interior) September 24, 2020

Bank manager finds 9.07-carat diamond in Arkansas state park

Fed’s Brainard Seen at Top of Biden’s Treasury Secretary List

I didn’t realize that all of our nation’s treasury secretaries have been white males. She, ok course, would be the first woman.

People with large thighs or wide hips are less likely to die early, according to scientists https://t.co/62Kq0aMIg2

— The Times (@thetimes) September 24, 2020

Secret ‘Man Cave’ Discovered Below Grand Central Platform; 3 Subway Workers Busted

At least three MTA employees secretly turned a storage room below one of the platforms at Grand Central Terminal into a private “man cave,” complete with a futon, TV, exercise equipment, a fridge and beds, the agency’s inspector general said Thursday.

I’ve never seen Brian’s Song. It’s on that list of movies I’d like to watch but never made the effort.

There should be a law that if a federal holiday falls on a Thursday, declare the following Friday as another federal holiday. Maybe call it Citizens Day. A Reddit post which cited a similar Japanese law inspired this thought.

The New York town of Swastika votes to keep its name

A small town in upstate New York voted to keep the name Swastika, saying that the town founders named it after the Sanskrit word and not the hate symbol associated with Nazis.

The Trump campaign is reportedly ‘discussing contingency plans to bypass election results‘

President Trump’s campaign is discussing “contingency plans” that would involve bypassing the result of November’s election, reports The Atlantic.

The report delves into possible scenarios if Trump apparently loses the 2020 presidential election but doesn’t concede, noting that although we’re used to electors being selected based on the popular vote, “nothing in the Constitution says it has to be that way.” Citing Republican Party sources, The Atlantic says that Trump’s campaign is “discussing contingency plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority.”

The campaign would reportedly assert that this step was necessary due to claims of supposed voter fraud, which experts have noted is extraordinarily rare, ahead of the “safe harbor” deadline to appoint 538 electors on Dec. 8.

John Cornyn and MJ Hegar’s race is competitive in Texas, but they’re keeping a low profile compared to 2018’s Senate contest

I’m surprised Hegar isn’t further behind, especially when you look at the cash on hand. She has only one commercial and I think it’s horrendous. I really know nothing about her other than she’s a Democrat. But if I were trying to know who she was just by her commercial, all I know is that she’s trying to she has a Purple Heart, and badly so with the poor special effects displaying her downed helicopter when she’s unflatteringly sitting on a mountainside. Cornyn has three commercials and none of them have shown any diversity, so he’s definitely not trying to reach out to any minorities.

California to ban sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035

Don’t panic, nobody’s coming to take your car. As Newsom’s executive order outlining the new rules notes, existing internal combustion vehicles will still be perfectly legal to own, operate, buy, and sell within the state. The new rules only apply to new vehicle sales. That includes cars, minivans and SUVs.

Moose eloquently runs on water.

The most notable and visually stunning stuff starts at the one-minute mark.

The original film has been upscaled, denioised, and frame interpolated using artificial intelligence. This film was already shot in color, so all that was attempted here is upscaling to 4K resolution and bumping the frame rate from 24fps to 48fps. Some scenes did not interpolate properly, but seeing it in a higher frame rate is pretty amazing.

Bodyguards go through intense training to be ready to protect celebrities, CEOs, and politicians. Security firm Global Threat Solutions has protected the likes of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and hosts trainings for new bodyguards trying to break into the field. Business Insider followed five new recruits on a three-day training in Long Island, NY. As they learn formations, how to plan for emergency scenarios, and how to scout out locations before every security detail, they get ready to put their lives on the line for VIP clients.

Yesterday, Gordon Keith of The TICKET, stated Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol. Initially, I knew he was wrong because I remembered Rosa Parks had that honor. But technically, Parks was a citizen, and a citizen can only lie in honor. RGB was a government official, so she will lie in state. But before that, she will lie in repose at the Supreme Court. Repose is just a less formal distinction than state or honor.

The South Pole has no official time zone.

I always thought all college instructors, even athletic coaches, needed at least a master’s degree to be an employee. As far as I know, and I did a small amount of research, Deion Sanders, the new Jackson State head football coach, is not in possession of one.

Only female mosquitos bite.

An entire village lost its broadband at the same time every day for 18 months. Now we know why

For 18 months, residents of a village in Wales have been mystified as to why their broadband internet crashed every morning. Now engineers have finally identified the reason: A second-hand television that emitted a signal that interfered with the connection.

The cover to John Boehner’s new memoir is quite interesting. If he were wearing pajamas, he’d look like Hugh Hefner. It also looks like an ad for a steakhouse.

Used condoms cleaned and resold in southern Vietnam

Market authorities in Binh Duong Province have seized 324,000 used condoms that were about to be cleaned and resold in the market.

Besides the used condoms weighing 360 kilos in total, inspectors also found thousands of condoms that had been packed and readied for sale, without brand names.

Ngoc said around once a month, “somebody” delivered thousands of used condoms to her.

Her job was to clean, dry and sort the condoms before making them look fresh again for new customers.

I’m sure everyone’s initial reaction about this story is how gross this is, rightfully so. But when I look at the story, I think how poor that region must be for this to be a viable business. Then, my heart breaks when I think about the people doing this job. There are only doing it because they are being forced to, or they believe out of all the options they have to make money, this is the best. I guess I’m sympathetic because I have family in South Vietnam and I actually got to experience the poverty and witness a lot of things I didn’t want to. This story also reminds me of all those immigrants on the Vegas strip handing out call girl flyers. If you’ve been there, you know what I mean. It’s almost unbelievable how many of them there are, and how humiliating it has to be. Out of all the options they have to make money and provide ford themselves and their family, in the land of opportunity, they think that’s the best option.

Archaeologists unearthed 27 sarcophagi in an ancient Egyptian city of the dead. They’ve been sealed for more than 2,500 years.

Tempting – Amazon is selling a $499 Peloton knockoff called Prime Bike

The Prime Bike is Amazon’s first-ever connected fitness product, costing $499 — or roughly $1,500 less than Peloton’s flagship bike. Amazon’s bike has a similar look to a Peloton, but doesn’t have a screen to stream workouts.

The Prime Bike works with an app that streams fitness and cycling classes for a monthly fee. Prime Bike buyers getting a free 30-day trial. (Prime Bike users will need an iPad or laptop nearby to use the app for its cycling classes.)

It’s my understanding half of Europe’s garbage pickup is like this. This reminds of a story I’m sure I shared before. Some of you Mineral Wells folks may remember Coach Richardson, his wife was the French teacher. In his history class, he told us when he was in the military he served with a guy whose father came up with the idea of how a garbage truck picks up those large disposal bins. He had a card which allowed him to fly on any American Airlines flight for life. The only other time I heard of this was when Mark Cuban made a similar purchase.

Another Coach Richardson note. He was fighting cancer and wasn’t at school for a long while, but my father saw him somewhere out in public. He approached my father and told him that he was touched  that I stopped by for a visit and it was a real pick-me-up. Dad came home and bragged to Mom how proud he was of me. But the thing is, I never did that. As much as I wanted to soak in the praise, it wasn’t warranted and I just couldn’t accept it and told Dad he must have confused me for someone else. Dad said, no, he referred to me by name, but I still awkwardly argued he must have confused me for someone else.

It’s hard not to love someone dedicated to a bit. For the past five years, Demi Adejuyigbe has made a video in honor of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “September”. You can view all five of them on this YouTube playlist. Here’s the latest and my favorite from 2019.