In a curious turn today, Rootin’ Tootin’ Rick Perry was named as the author of a text to Mark Meadows titled “AGRESSIVE STRATEGY” outlining how Trump, through a compliant Mike Pence, could steal the 2020 election for himself, overturn the will of the US electorate, and return himself to the office that he had just lost in a free and fair election.  A source knowledgeable about the investigation confirms that the text was sent from Perry’s personal phone.

With the misspelled title, I can believe it was Perry who sent the text, but I don’t believe he actually authored it.  Why?  Because Rick Perry is a dumbass who’s never had an original thought during his entire career.  I can believe that a staffer or right wing operative wrote it, and Perry sent it to get Meadows attention.  Perry’s office has already denied anything to do with it…next Perry will say that his phone was hacked a’ la Anthony Weiner’s denial of his dick pic.

Besides the poor spelling, it’s totally believable that Perry sent the text.  After all, after 4 years brown nosing and groveling to Trump, Perry fully expected another 4 years on the government tit before joining the ranks of lobbyists and wanted to stay in office himself.

I think I’m going to pop some popcorn.

Thanks to Horace down at the Phillips 66 for the tip.

So, investigators are looking into an email that Mark Meadows received the day after the election from a source they aren’t revealing.  However the text itself may have some clues as to who wrote it.

The text message reads:

“HERE’s an AGRESSIVE (sic) STRATEGY: Why can t (sic) the states of GA NC PENN and other R controlled state houses declare this is BS (where conflicts and election not called that night) and just send their own electors to vote and have it go to the SCOTUS.”

Golly, Bubba, who could have written that?  Gee wiz, cowboy.  Who would want to destroy democracy?

Boston College professor and historian Heather Cox Richardson found the text striking in that its author “wanted Republican-dominated state legislatures not even to wait to see who had won the election—none of those states had been called by November 4—but simply to ignore the will of the voters, choose their own electors, and hope that the Supreme Court would hand the election to Trump as he had been saying for weeks it would.”

The text came from a telephone registered to James Richard Perry. Yep, that’s Governor Oops’ full name.  It was also registered to the Department of Energy when Perry was there.

Hummmm … think it was the spelling?

Dr. Jeannie Stone recently resigned her position as Superintendent of Richardson ISD. Richardson, Texas is an urban school district just North of Dallas. Stone was voted 2019 Superintendent of the year, and for good reason. Richardson ISD a majority-minority school district, and 56.9% of its students are economically disadvantaged, yet Richardson ISD graduates 91% of its kids.

Dr. Stone first drew the attention of the angry crowd when she stepped up in 2018 and met with student activists who shared tales of racism and discrimination throughout their experience with Richardson ISD. In response, she released a video listing their demands and vowed to keep the list posted on her office door until these demands were met. This alerted some parents who oppose any discussion on race to begin actively opposing her ideas to protect her students of color and focus on providing them the best possible education.

Cue COVID-19. The nationwide trend of angry parents shouting ugly personal attacks at school boards and administrators did not overlook Richardson ISD. Karen Clardy, the RISD board President, abruptly resigned in September. Richardson ISD was one of the first Texas school districts to defy Governor Abbott’s prohibition of mask mandates.

While a majority of parents agreed with the mandate, a loud minority of parents (20%) began a campaign of threats and harassment that led to the resignation of Dr. Stone and Mrs. Clardy. The losers in this situation will be the students, long after the worst of the pandemic is over.

My children attend school in a neighboring district and we have had the same issues at our school board meetings. A student stood to testify that his grandmother had a pre-existing condition and he wanted to protect her from COVID-19. Anti-mask parents stood behind him and laughed, mocking the child for his compassion.

These anti-mask parents haven’t stopped there. Emboldened by their surging numbers and media attention, they’ve now gone after Critical Race Theory. Next, they’re demanding to ban books with any references to sexual activity or transgender individuals being presented in a positive light.

The saying goes “give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile.” The 24/7 right-wing outrage media has expanded its local operation, folks, and Texas is in the thick of it. As an active, engaged, mom – I can tell you that very few people oppose masks, racially accurate curriculum, or support banning books. Those of us that desire reason over manufactured outrage have to start showing up in numbers that rival the angry crowd.

Author’s Note: Today I am deviating from politics although some might be able to draw some obvious parallels. That being said, this is a bit of a warning before you read. This is not the usual social commentary.

The Jacksonville Jaguars fired their coach last night. He lasted all of 13 games. There have been numerous coaches that have only lasted one season. We can poke fun at them all we want, but I always take a step back here. Urban Meyer is the first coach in my lifetime to get fired before the end of his first season. Maybe it has happened before. Bobby Petrino famously quit before his first season was up so he could return to college. So, maybe that will have to do. The Houston Texans might be in the midst of a one and done season as well. Football fans will have to judge for themselves I suppose.

Deciding on the worst hiring is always subjective. I imagine I could levy insults, but it’s the holidays and I want to be nice. So, I’ll chronicle my own experience instead and hopefully draw some parallels. Suffice it to say, I judge based on the available information at the time.

I wasn’t exactly Ted Lasso. My sister still coaches and I coached a few years of volleyball at the freshman level. I coached for a few seasons at the club level. I even served as a successful varsity and junior varsity coach at a Catholic school. Making the jump to varsity at a 5A (now 6A competition) seemed like a logical leap. I had turned around the fortunes at the Catholic school, so maybe I could do it for the next school.

What I quickly learned is that everyone has a level of coaching/teaching where they are most comfortable and a best fit. As a coach, I was a good teacher. I could teach kids the basics successfully and those kids showed real growth. That made me a better fit for younger players. After my one season of one win volleyball, I took over as junior varsity coach and had a much more successful season.

That brings us to our combined stories of the day. Urban Meyer has been fired and David Culley feels like dead coach walking. Meyer is 187-32 at the college level. I doubt he ever coaches again after this, but you could have easily envisioned him taking another job after Ohio State at say USC or LSU and being highly successful. That’s only if he hadn’t decided to go to the NFL.

Culley had never been a coordinator in the NFL. Sometimes you get young guys that you just know will be great head coaches some day and jump the gun a little too soon. Culley is 66. If it hadn’t happened then it wasn’t going to happen. I know his position units often struggled, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was a really good position coach.

I think most people have had a job where they were a fish out of water. I’ve had more than one. You discover it pretty early on and you get to a point where you just want to bail. Who knows if that is where Culley is. In that regard I kind of feel sorry for him. I’ve been there and I know how overwhelming it is. Of course, I never had any job with the kind of checks he’s getting. So, that sympathy only goes so far. Besides, we are all responsible for our own choices. They offered the job. It doesn’t mean he had to accept.

On January 6, Donald Trump, Jr. sent an urgent text to his dad’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows.

From the Washington Post:

Trump Jr. to Meadows: “He’s got to condemn this … ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough.”

Of course, it isn’t the substance of the text message that is revealing – it’s that Donald Trump Jr. has to go through Mark Meadows to talk to his own father.

That’s really something, isn’t it?

Thelma called me this weekend and told me that there’s a whole new conspiracy theory that birds aren’t real. Yea, that’s what it’s called – the Birds Aren’t Real conspiracy theory.

And it’s got to be true because it’s on a billboard and the internet machine.

The theory goes like this: birds are being replaced with drones by the government and they are spying on you.

Yep. And the sad part is that it’s not even the most outrageous conspiracy I’ve heard this week.  I think the far left is just that crazy.

However, come to find out – it’s satire. And the kids made it up. Because they are brilliant.

You can read about it here.  And yes, it’s the New York Times and I do not want to hear that you don’t subscribe because the only answer is “I can’t afford it.” That’s caca del toro. Right now you can subscribe for $4 a month.  At the end of the year, it goes to $17 a month however, if you call the number to unsubscribe and tell them that you’re over 65 and you love the NYT but can’t afford that much, they will extend your $4 a month for another year.  So shuddup and support journalism.

The Washington Post offers the same deal and it’s even cheaper. Give yourself a damn Christmas present.