Random Thoughts: I Can't Wait for the Presidential Debates

Tweets from September, 2020:

• 2020-09-03: I can't wait for the Presidential debates so I'll finally know who to vote for.
• 2020-09-03: Radioactive (2020): Biopic of Marie Curie. Rosamund Pike plays an unlikable character, a prickly genius. It crams 60 years into one movie, as well as peeks at future benefits and ills of nuclear energy. You'll learn a lot about history, an amazing scientist and kickass woman. B-
• 2020-09-07: An American Pickle (2020): Immigrant falls into a vat of pickle brine in 1919 and is rescued in 2019. Just accept the premise. Seth Rogan plays the immigrant and his great grandson. Touching story of reconnecting with family and culture. Not what I expected from Seth Rogan. B-
• 2020-09-07: When I "hide" an ad on Facebook (hoping FB will quit serving ads of this type to me), it asks me why I wanted to hide the ad, offering choices like "already purchased," "irrelevant," and "repetitive." Why doesn't it offer as a choice, "Insults my intelligence"?
• 2020-09-08: Neighborhood yard sign poll: 3 Colin Allred signs, 2 Genevieve Collins signs. So with 55 days to go, it's 60%-40% Allred.

After the jump, more random thoughts.

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• 2020-09-08: There's always a tweet. This one from March. Think about that!
• 2020-09-09: I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020): A surreal trip by a new couple into the country (and a blizzard) for her to meet his parents. Slow descent into her delusions, or are they his? The kind of movie that your college friends would tell you to watch high. Not for everyone. A-
• 2020-09-09: I read that Americans want to have, on average, 2.5 kids. That's what my goal was, too, but I struggled with how to get that last 0.5 kid.
• 2020-09-09: Kayleigh McEnany: Who are you going to believe, me or your own lying ears?
• 2020-09-10: Trump fundraising emails have reached a high of seven per day, including this from Eric: "I keep hearing that you're one of my father's BEST supporters." People say. "This is a one-time offer just for you, Mark. Your spot in the Trump Donor Hall of Fame is waiting." Just for me.
• 2020-09-11: Class Action Park (2020): Documentary of a wild 1980s amusement park in New Jersey. Owner cared more for thrills than safety and let kids run the place. The result was something like "Ayn Rand meets Lord of the Flies." Adults reminiscing have fond memories of acting stupid. C-
• 2020-09-11: 400 years of slavery and discrimination explain the man's cry of "Black Power." Responding with "White Power" is a cry to extend the streak to 500 years. Big difference.
• 2020-09-12: Ken Paxton's office of Attorney General seems to be a nest of vipers, starting at the top. Officials should demand his resignation. Voters should vote him out. He's the Attorney General, for heaven's sake.
• 2020-09-12: Why did Twitter flag this tweet for violating the Twitter Rules about civic and election integrity? This is literally the Attorney General of North Carolina trying to clean up false information. Come on Twitter.
• 2020-09-14: "Former Democrat Mayor Eric Johnson goes full Tea Party, giving "kudos" to right wing nut jobs Empower Texans, publishers of Texas Scorecard." -- Soraya Santos
• 2020-09-15: The Man Who Would Be Polka King (2009): Documentary of the rise and fall of Jan Lewan, a Polish Cold War defector who becomes a polka star and bilks his fans of millions of dollars. A short (69 minutes), low-budget film. Pay attention to his wife, a minor grifter herself. B-
• 2020-09-16: Polka King (2017): Biopic of rise and fall of Jan Lewan, a Polish Cold War defector who becomes a polka star and bilks his fans of millions of dollars. A PSA for gullible people. A Jack Black vehicle. He owns every scene, but his Polish accent just isn't up to the task. B-
• 2020-09-16: Seems fair. "Anti-maskers in Indonesia are being forced to dig graves for COVID-19 victims"
• 2020-09-18: Colin Allred race moved from "Lean D" to "Likely D".
• 2020-09-18: "The Non-Disqualifying Sins" would be a good name for a rock band.
• 2020-09-18: 2020 continues its string of gawd-awful news.
• 2020-09-19: Words of advice from someone who knows what it is to fight for democracy against the forces of authoritarianism.
• 2020-09-19: TIL: The Constitution really is a suicide pact.
• 2020-09-19: Given recent developments in Washington, corporate cronyism will have unfettered rule for at least a generation, maybe forever. Right now, I can't see "government of the people, by the people, for the people" ever making a comeback.
• 2020-09-19: Sixteen members on the Supreme Court, with staggered 16 year terms. That provides for an orderly succession. Barring deaths or resignations, a president can appoint 25% of the justices in his first term, and no more than 50% if he serves two terms.
• 2020-09-20: New York Times loses interest in pandemic deaths.
• 2020-09-21: Bullet train. I like it. Denton County has its A-Train. Dallas to Houston has its 2A-Train.
• 2020-09-21: Donald "The Art of the Deal" Trump gets played again (assuming he's not getting something on the side from China).
• 2020-09-21: "More conservative than Attila the Hun." Not a reckless insult by a Democrat against his Republican opponent. This is from a Republican senator's own campaign ad. Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, comparing herself to a mass-murdering despot from the Dark Ages. OK, then.
• 2020-09-22: Why is mental health a policing function?
• 2020-09-22: Harriet (2019): Long overdue biopic of Harriet Tubman, a fierce, uncompromising, determined American hero. Reason #101 for defeating Trump: so Harriet Tubman can take her deserved place on the $20 bill. Cynthia Erivo owns the role. More action scenes than speeches. A-
• 2020-09-23: Headline: "Republicans say they have the votes." Votes for whom? There isn't even a nominee yet. They are committed to approving literally any one. This isn't the way advise and consent is supposed to work. SCOTUS reform is sorely needed, for the sake of our republic.
• 2020-09-24: Headline: "Ted Cruz blocks Senate resolution honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg."
  Everything Ted Cruz does makes more sense when you realize he's running for President in 2024 as the Trump candidate.
• 2020-09-24: That's TX HD 112 (Richardson/Garland)'s own Brandy Chambers in the cover photo for this national story of the surge in Democratic candidates nationwide.
• 2020-09-24: Vote in the 2020 election. So there'll be a 2024 election.
• 2020-09-24: What will win over a Trump voter? "What are the democratic dreams of a nonunion Amazon warehouse associate putting in mandatory overtime with a fever and leaving her remote-schooled kids in the care of her elderly mother?"
• 2020-09-25: The Social Dilemma (2020): Documentary. Former execs from Facebook, Google, Twitter warn us of the threat from the addictive design of social apps, which has led to a spike in depression and suicide attempts by young people. But they struggle in saying what can be done. C+
• 2020-09-26: The public accepted the SCOTUS decision on Bush v Gore, even though it was a 5-4 decision by a conservative majority, because the public understood result in Florida was a coin toss. If 2020 is clearly a Biden win and SCOTUS decides it for Trump, public will not accept result.
• 2020-09-26: "Stewart Brand memorably wrote in the first edition of the Whole Earth Catalog in 1968, 'We are as gods and might as well get good at it.'"
• 2020-09-26: Colin Kaepernick was drummed out of football for taking a knee in 2016. Donald Trump exploited hatred of Kaepernick to get elected President. Four years later, it's commonplace. Even Florida and Ole Miss football teams are on board. Kapernick prevailed.
• 2020-09-28: There is always a tweet.
• 2020-09-28: Would you vote for a $750 billionaire?
• 2020-09-28: Which is more believable? That a billionaire legitimately owes only $750 in income taxes or that he's really a billionaire?
• 2020-09-28: Enola Holmes (2020): Sherlock's young sister's mother is missing. Enola runs away to find her. Sherlock and Mycroft search for Enola. Mystery and adventure ensue. Suitable for the whole family. Enola is smart, independent, and good with jujutsu. Young girls will love her. C+
• 2020-09-28: DMN: "we are less sure that Ramos would support teacher accountability and schools of choice."
  So if taking your tax dollars from your local public school and giving them to "schools of choice" is your thing, then Koop is your candidate.
• 2020-09-28: "I'm going to surround myself only with the best and most serious people." -- Donald Trump. Another Trump promise made and broken (too many times to count).
• 2020-09-28: Saber rattling by the Chinese. Is everyone confident that Trump can handle this, on top of COVID-19, the economic collapse, his tax/debt troubles, and his weekly golf game?
• 2020-09-30: My God this is awful. Trump won't let Chris Wallace or Joe Biden finish a sentence. Then he can't shut up for ten seconds. Trump bullies. Biden struggles to get a word in.
• 2020-09-30: Chris Wallace's first fact check. Trump interrupts more than Biden. True. Bigly.
• 2020-09-30: Biden: "It's hard to get a word in with this clown. Excuse me. This person." Fact check: True the first time.
• 2020-09-30: Biden: "He's a racist." Fact check: True."
• 2020-09-30: Did Biden try to insert climate change into a discussion of threats to the suburbs? Did Chris Wallace respond, I want to talk about law and order? Yes and yes."
• 2020-09-30: Chris Wallace to Trump: "Your campaign agreed to the rules." Biden: "He never keeps his word." Fact check: True."
• 2020-09-30: Chris Wallace: "We're done." Fact check: True.
• 2020-09-30: Did Chris Wallace survive this train wreck? No, he did not.
• 2020-09-30: Four losers in this debate: Trump, Chris Wallace, Biden, and most of all the American people."
• 2020-09-30: Americans always laugh at the raucous exchanges during question time in the British Parliament...For that, I humbly apologize to the British people after the American democracy on display tonight.
• 2020-09-30: If the rules aren't changed for the next debate, Biden ought to turn to the moderator and say, "Should I put a kettle on?"
• 2020-09-30: Joe Biden called President Trump a clown and a liar, a racist and the worst president in American history. Fact check: all true.
• 2020-09-30: In a 90 minute debate, "Trump interrupted former Vice President Joe Biden or debate moderator Chris Wallace at least 128 times." Trump even "interrupted in response to being asked to stop interrupting."
• 2020-09-30: Perry Mason (TV 2020): Gritty back stories for Perry and Della Street, Paul Drake, and Hamilton Burger. Perry is a hothead loser who plays fast and loose with the law. Matthew Rhys doesn't quite have the toughness needed. The resolution of the murder case is kind of messy. B-
• 2020-09-30: Instead of watching the debate last night, I decided to switch to Netflix and rewatch that hit series from earlier in the year: Tiger King. Oh wait. Maybe I didn't change channels after all.
• 2020-09-30: If my math is right, if we had 524 Representatives in the US House, each would represent 572,000 people, or the number of residents of our smallest state Wyoming. IOW, fair. Side benefit, Electoral College would be more fair as well, without switching to national popular vote. Congress has the power to enact this without requiring a Constitution amendment. It's time.