Unbelievable! 

The GOP Harris County Commissioners continue to stay away from Commissioners Court meetings. Off the Kuff has a very good take this morning here:

At this point the pattern is clear. They’re just going to keep staying away, at least until after the election. At which point one can hope that one of them will have a more permanent vacation from these duties.

For those of you who like to bring up the Democratic legislators’ quorum busting from last summer, I will say again that these two have the right to do what they are doing, per the law and the rules of the chamber. That doesn’t mean they’re free from being criticized for it. I will also note that for a variety of reasons, the quorum-busting Democrats eventually came back, and the thing they were trying to stop got passed by the legislative majority in place. Also, for those of us old enough to remember 2003, the Legislature made some subsequent rule changes to make it harder to break quorum, and there were some penalties in terms of committee assignments and other bureaucratic matters in the next session. Assuming there’s still a Democratic majority on the Court in 2023, it would be well within their rights to see about making life a little less pleasant for whichever of their Republican colleagues are still there. I hope someone is at least thinking about that.

Like I said, a very good take by Charles. Here is all of Off the Kuff: Just keep staying away, Commissioners – Off the Kuff.

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Here is the end of a sports section column in the Seattle Times on yesterday’s stunning walk-off Astros win:

The truth is, the Mariners aren’t going to get another chance like this. They put up six runs on the best pitcher in the American League, added a seventh, and then relinquished a four-run lead in two innings to a team that won 106 games. 

The Astros are breathless due to one of the most clutch moments in playoff history. The Mariners are breathless due to the constriction around their necks.

Oh, well.

Blown away!  I never gave up yesterday. I always thought if Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel, Trey Mancini, Jeremy Pena, or Kyle Tucker came up with a chance and our backs to the wall, it was very doable. When Yordan stepped into the box, I knew I would not be surprised if he walked it off. Still, it blows you away.

One of the TV postgame analysts summed it up best. He said the game was 3 hours and 39 minutes long, and the Mariners were winning for 3 hours and 38 minutes.

What a way to start the ALDS!