Thumbs up, down

Federal judges sing out; Cornyn finally speaks up, sort of; sports bar hits sour note.

The federal trial and appellate judges in Houston and Galveston decided to have some fun, adapting the song “You’ll be Back” from the musical “Hamilton” to let lawyers know that while jury trials and in-person hearings have taken a COVID break, they’ll return before you know it. “We’ll be back, time will tell. You’ll remember that we serve you well,” U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge (who’s got a gavel and some pipes) sings in the video making the rounds on social media. “Pandemics rise, then they fall. We will see each other through it all,” Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals also croons. The judges have earned a hearty thumbs up for their creativity and flair. Why, we haven’t been this excited over Texas judicial hit makers since El Paso native Sandra Day O’Connor joined The Supremes. Speaking of justices, former member of the Texas Supreme Court John Cornyn, who was recently elected to his fourth term in the U.S. Senate, is on a ( gentle) tear this week, pushing back (lightly) against President Donald Trump, straying from the party line not once, not twice, but (tactfully) thrice. Cornyn, whom we have faulted in the past for not standing up to the president, (cautiously) rebuffed Trump’s assertions of widespread voter fraud. He also (thoughtfully) disagreed with Trump on his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Iraq by January and over his firing of Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It’s good to see Cornyn take some decisive ( baby) steps to growing some backbone.

Spoke too soon. On Thursday, Cornyn played into Trump’s dangerous game of claiming election fraud, saying he couldn’t call Joe Biden “president- elect” until the results were certified. Pressed on why he managed to call Trump president- elect a day after the 2016 election, Cornyn said it’s different this time. “It wasn’t a particularly close election as I recall. This is a very close election,” he told reporters. We would remind the senator that not only did Trump lose the popular vote, but he also won with razor-thin margins in swing states. But of course, Cornyn knows that. He just likes to irritate Thumbs because he knows that as long as Ted Cruz is our other Texas senator, we can’t stay mad at him long.

This week, Cruz called U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, “a complete ass” after the Democrat chastised Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, for not wearing a mask on the Senate floor near staffers who have little power to complain. Cruz said there was plenty of social distance between the senators and that Brown’s own mask use was “an ostentatious sign of fake virtue.” Cruz should check his assumption of safety with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which advises mask use in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household — and with 87-year- old Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who was in the room at the time and announced a day later he had tested positive for COVID-19. Oh, well. They say when you assume, you make an ass out of you andme, but when Cruz assumes, it’s a oneman game.

Sen. Brown has the right idea when it comes to wearing a mask. Even if you’re socially distanced and risk is low, it’s important for leaders to consistently model good behavior. It’s all about perception. Speaking of which, what are we to perceive from Texas sports bar chain Ojos Locos, which is running a “sexy first responders” theme week for its scantily clad staff? At a time when real nurses are struggling with rising hospitalizations and deaths — some likely the result of folks irresponsibly going to sports bars — maybe don’t have a sexy nurse slinging beer. The strongest backlash has come in El Paso, where first responders are under constant strain from an out- of- control pandemic, and where the dress-up feels like a mockery of those on the front lines. Ojos Locos is used to showing skin. It needs to show some class.

You know who wouldn’t stand for those shenanigoats? Texas Gov. Matthew. David. McConaughey. The actor and People magazine’s 2005 Sexiest Man Alive sparked some excited speculation this week after he told radio host Hugh Hewitt that he hasn’t ruled out a gubernatorial run. “It would be up to the people more than it would me,” he said. Consider us intrigued, as well. Think of it, our own Texas McConaissance taking us from the talent-wasting depths of “Failure to Launch” to the Oscar-winning heights of “Dallas Buyers Club.” Not to mention “Dazed and Confused” would seem like perfect training for the Capitol. McConaughey said this is not an immediate possibility, though, so Gov. Greg Abbott can probably breathe easy, but Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick better start doing some crunches for the inevitable shirtless debate.