Good morning and happy first college football Saturday. Did you watch the presidential debate on Wednesday? We were wrangling kids and didn’t catch much of it.

I haven’t verified this myself, but it’s been reported that this is the first presidential race in 50 years without a Texan playing a leading role. Will Hurd is running, of course, but he was not on the debate stage. I think we still count it to keep the streak going.

Also, I happened to be in Austin when it rained on Tuesday. Here’s to more of that soon.

Quote of the Week

• It’s 73 days until the November 7, 2023 general election and 192 days until the March 5, 2024 primary elections.

• Only 10 days until the Texas Senate convenes for the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton.

• The average 30-year mortgage rate in Texas hit 7.12% this week, an increase of ten basis points over last week.

• A barrel of West Texas Crude Oil closed yesterday at $80.05, a 1.49% decrease over five days ago and a 5.77% increase compared to six months ago.

• Texas has 99 active wildfires affecting 10,597 acres.

• 96% of the state is in some stage of drought while nearly 34% of the state is in extreme to exceptional drought.

The Week’s Theme: The Arrival of Impeachment Politics

It’s been a wild week of daily developments in the Ken Paxton impeachment trial, which will commence in just ten days on September 5.

If this is the first time you’re hearing about this, then you should just stop reading. You are a normal person. You’ve risen above the drama. Protect your peace of mind. This is really written for that small group of professional busybodies that have done nothing all summer except read and listen to every single piece of available media regarding Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial.

So with that, here’s what the last week has looked like as we race to September 5.