Your Bag of Nothing for Friday, October 4, 2024

  • I recently discovered Sharon McMahon, who feels comfortable labeling herself America’s Government Teacher. Her book currently tops the NY Times Best Sellers Hardcover Nonfiction list. What I think is the most prestigious category. I think she’s the real deal; she’s very earnest and non-partisan, though she comes across as a bit annoying for my personal taste. I like how she states that a lot of Americans confuse bias for being unfactual. Here’s a recent article on her from Time.
    • McMahon’s content offers no inside information or breaking news. She says nothing any mildly motivated voter couldn’t find on Wikipedia, or in a government textbook. But there’s something reassuring and refreshing about her midwestern earnestness, her crisp grasp of the subject matter, and the fact that it’s not easy to tell who she’d vote for. “I decided, rather than arguing with people who were confidently wrong on the internet, that I would just start making some very short explainer nonpartisan videos,” she says. “Not telling you who to vote for, not telling you why this candidate was better than that candidate, but helping you obtain the information you needed to be able to make an educated decision for yourself.” One popular recent post compared the economic plans from the Trump and Harris teams; another is a blow-by-blow dismantling of the saying that “the U.S. is a republic, not a democracy.”  
  • Some rightful justice was handed down yesterday. She was convicted of state crimes, so even if Trump is re-elected, it’s out of his jurisdiction, and he can’t pardon her. Only the Governor of Colorado would have the power to pardon or commute her sentence for these state convictions, and he’ll be in office for at least two more years.
    • Tina Peters is an American former County Clerk of Mesa County, Colorado, and the first election official in the U.S. convicted of criminal charges related to stolen election conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 United States presidential election.
    • She’s definitely eating some humble pie after laughing at the notion of being convicted and saying she would be on a beach.

    • I was surprised I listened to the entire 13 minutes of the sentencing. The judge was not falling for her antics. It just kept pulling me in, especially when the prosecution reminded the judge he missed one of the charges, and the judge slapped on another 15 months. I can’t imagine how defeating that must have felt, but it was warranted.

    • If Trump loses the election, get your popcorn ready. The amount of civil unrest and legal proceedings we’ll see until inauguration day may put the 2000 election to shame.
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Your Bag of Nothing for Thursday, October 3, 2024

  • The Astros won as many playoff games this season as the Rangers. Speaking of baseball, one of the all-time greats, the person with the most hits in their history, didn’t get a moment of silence or any recognition like you usually see when other greats, like Willie Mayes or Hank Aaron died. Come on, the guy gambled; he didn’t kill anyone. But hey, at least MLB and the Hall of Fame tweeted about it.
  • I was driving BoyGeeding to a friend’s house Sunday evening, and we passed the College Gameday trailer on I35 in Lewisville. I knew they were just in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and from what I found online, they were heading to Berkeley, California. I thought it would be odd for them to travel on I35, which goes south to north. But I plugged the two cities into Google Maps, and traveling through Lewisville, TX, on I35 is one of the preferred routes. Speaking of I35, this is what it’s like when you cross the border into Oklahoma from Kansas. One of those states doesn’t invest in taking care of their road.
  • Rudy Giuliani’s Daughter: Trump Took My Dad From Me. Please Don’t Let Him Take Our Country Too – “Nothing I have experienced prepared me for the very public and relentless implosion of my father’s life,” writes Caroline Giuliani, announcing her support for Kamala Harris.
  • I thought I knew the late John Amos well, but until yesterday, I wasn’t unaware he recorded a country album. Yup, you read that right. In 2009, he released We Were Hippies, an album of original country songs by Gene (cousin of Johnny) and Eric Cash. Here’s one of the music videos. His repeating “hip” at the start of 3:08 was stuck in my head all day.
  • The man was interviewed, and he said he still enjoys performing.

  • This guy does a really great Deion Sanders “Coach Prime” impression. Speaking of impressions: Haley Joel Osment should win an Emmy for his portrayal of JD Vance trying to buy a donut.
  • Interesting that these two significant athletes are gone.
  • That is a painful strikeout, physically and on the ego. Not only did he swing and strike out, but he got hit by the pitch he struck out on. Has that happened before? I guess that’s the only time a batter can get hit by a pitch but not take a base.

  • Here are some videos for you camera lovers.

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Your Bag of Nothing for Tuesday, October 1, 2024

  • I may have mentioned a while back that I think my dream job would be working at the LBJ Library. If this blog is a part of your life, then I don’t really need to explain why. Well, after meeting a girl who is a historian in academia, I’ve started to explore what it would take to land a job there or at a similar institution. In short, a person needs to be educated in archival stuff, and to my surprise, there are degrees and certifications for this, which can be pretty expensive. This is a developing story, I’ll keep you updated.
  • Dikembe Mutombo died. Many know him as an awesome defensive finger-waving basketball player with a thick accent. Sadly, when I hear his name, my thoughts go to a particular question he would shout entering a nightclub or party, which has been verified.
  • Pete Rose died.
    • It frustrates me so much MLB didn’t allow him in the HOF. My dad is from Cincinnati, so I always had a soft spot for their sports teams. It’s time to dig out my baseball collection and see how many of his cards I have.
    • Hey, every time I hear the name of the great actor Paul Giamatti, my immediate thought is about his father, the baseball commissioner who established the ban.
    • They told him all he had to do was admit he bet on baseball. He did, yet MLB kept its stance. Even his signing (and selling) baseballs and apologizing for his actions did nothing to move the needle.
    • MLB extended its condolences on Twitter, and the fans’ comments were as expected. Here’s one that stood out to me:

      “Gonna be awesome when he finally gets elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame presented by DraftKings Sportsbook on FanDuel Induction Weekend”

    • People my age know nothing more about Pete Rose than that he was a great batter who later became his team’s manager. He was found guilty of betting on baseball games, which prevented him from being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Any interview with him always centered around betting on the game and whether that should disqualify him from the Hall of Fame.

      None of us saw him play or watched a game he managed. We knew he was great because of the video highlight packages. Similarly, it’s the same with us Cowboys fans around my age. We all know Roger Staubach was great, but we never watched him take a snap in his playing days. You may think I’m nuts for bringing up Staubach. But what a lot of folks don’t know is that Staubach grew up in Cincinnati, as did Rose. Rose would often say the best athlete to ever come out of Cincinnati was Staubach and that he himself followed as the second.

      What’s frustratingly sad to me is that so many people thought Rose was nothing but a dumb jock who could do nothing but hit a ball with a bat. That’s why I want to end with this clip, to give the man a little dignity. The man was intelligent; he had a clever baseball mind. But no one ever asked him about baseball; they only asked him about the scandal. Well, in this clip, it’s abundantly clear the man knows the game, and he knows it well. It’s the first time I ever saw him go into “a zone” that he was extremely comfortable in, thoroughly and thoughtfully answering all of ARod’s questions and sharing baseball wisdom, strategy, and history.

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