9.28.2018

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here.












at 2:00 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




  • I forgot to mention an ICE raid in North Texas that engulfed the lives of 98 people who were caught. One was from Bridgeport and two from Jacksboro. No names given.
  • I predicted that the Mesquite officer on trial for aggravated assault would be found not guilty. I was close. There was a hung jury yesterday. 
  • The Kavanaugh hearings were historical yesterday. Random thoughts:
    • Dr. Ford was absolutely believable.
    • The widespread Republican response was that she must have been victimized but must have a mistaken memory regarding who did it. Riiiiiiight.
    • The "special prosecutor" for the Republican majority (who they abruptly booted) found herself in a position many trial lawyers have been in: She wasn't going to land a glove on the witness, Dr. Ford, so the only thing she could do was to treat the witness with respect, make what points she could (if any), and get out.
    • I don't believe Kavanaugh for a second, and I'm struggling to figure out how anyone possibly could.
    • To me, Kavanaugh acted like a spoiled rich kid prep school kid. He is James Spader from Pretty in Pink. It's almost like you could picture him being caught on a hot mic in a bus with Billy Bush. 
    • Man, two things that Kavanaugh did not want to talk about: (1) An FBI investigation, and (2) his yearbook which makes two sexual explicit coded references that he clearly lied about.
    • The video clips of Kavanaugh saying how much he "likes beer" are as funny as they are bizarre.
    • If everyone wanted to get to the truth, they would bring in Mark Judge - the alleged witness in the room. Heck, I'd take two FBI agents asking him questions and taking his statement. But that's not going to happen. (In a shocking twist which has received almost no publicity, his "statement" to the committee wasn't even signed by him. It was signed by his lawyer.) Edit: Shortly after writing this, the Committee refused to issue a subpoena for him on a vote of 11-10.
    • Having Alyssa Milano in the background all afternoon seemed bizarrely appropriate for America.
    • In the end, is Kavanaugh the very best this country has to offer for its highest court?
    • Just once in my lifetime I'd like to a Supreme Court justice who went to a public law school, had a career as a public defender representing poor people, and never made a lot of money.
  • Two guys decided to "take it outside" after getting into an argument at a JV game in Carrollton last night, went to the parking lot, and one guy ends up in critical condition with a gunshot.
  • Jane McGarry just killin' it last night:
  • Wait. Rudy thinks he was in the Senate?
  • "Chris in Decatur" made The Ticket this morning for spotting this funny description of a game played with an oblong ball in the United States:
  • Someone pointed out yesterday that no Vietnam vet has ever been President, and that perhaps all the great leaders of that generation simply died there. 
  • The Oklahoman just got hit with massive newsroom layoffs. Edit: Good lord -
  • Edit: Sen. Flake says he will vote to confirm Kavanaugh. He got an earful in the hallway.

at 8:36 AM

9.27.2018

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  • Yesterday was a crazy news day. It started with an explosive new allegation against Kavanaugh and ended with Trump on a crazy and rambling press conference. 
  • It quickly got bizarre as Stormy Daniel's lawyer -- who correctly exposed Trump's affair and cover-up with regard to Stormy and which ultimately led to a federal conviction of Trump's personal lawyer --  releasing an affidavit of a woman about Kavanaugh's past. This caused Trump to unwisely start a Twitter war.
  • I told you this week would get ugly.
  • I think I understand this, but it still sounds funny:
  • I mentioned the other day that college football players are now picking up and quitting if they are benched. Clemson's quarterback, who started the national championship game last year, announced yesterday he would transfer.
  • Back to Kanaugh. Look, I don't know what he did or didn't due in his younger years, but I now have serious concerns. It is by no means enough to want to convict him of a crime, but certainly enough to give pause as to whether to hand him a lifetime job promotion where he gets to shape American law for a generation or more.
  • And to all those that refer to someone else's word alone as "no evidence", there are literally thousands of people in prison who disagree. Like I said, I wouldn't convict Kavanaugh of anything, but if convicted no court would overturn it for insufficient evidence. Heck, Texas even has a statute that specifically says the uncorroborated word of a person victimized as a child is sufficient evidence to convict. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.07 (West Supp. 2016)
  • But I'm stunned by the Trump hardliners who have dismissed every allegation against Kavanaugh out of hand. Most seem to always say, "I have a hard time believing" the allegations to be true. That led to the following retorts yesterday (all of which I've stolen): 
    • I have a hard time believing that hundreds of gymnasts could be molested by a single osteopathic physician over decades and not report it
    • I have a hard time believing Catholic priests would molest boys for decades and we never heard about it.
    • I have a hard time believing Kevin Spacey was a predator for years and years yet continued to make films.
    • I have a hard time believing Bill Cosby drugged and assaulted women for decades and none of them said a word. 
    • I have a hard time believing a California doctor and girlfriend who have appeared on TV drugged and abused women.
    • I have a hard time believing Sandusky did that for years at Penn State and no one came forward.
    • I have a hard time believing there was a sexual assault problem under Baylor's Art Briles' watch and it took one prosecution for the flood gates to open. 
  • Watch this case out of Tarrant County. Something about it didn't sound right when the story first broke. Terri Moore is the defense lawyer. 
  • Gas prices are at a four year high.
  • Trump said yesterday he has grown to "like" the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Does he think we have forgotten that he used the parents of the Otto Warmbier, who died as a direct result of Kim, as props during his State of the Union speech?

  • I hate to harp on this Kavanaugh nomination, but this got buried yesterday when it normally would be front and center: Mark Judge's ex-girlfriend says that "Judge had told her ashamedly of an incident that involved him and other boys taking turns having sex with a drunk woman." This corroborates the affidavit released yesterday from alleged victim #3. That ex-girlfriend now wants to talk to the FBI and Judiciary Committee about it.
  • And local conservative Christian talk radio host lectures all you women out there on "basic decency". Women, I feel sorry for you. What a pig.: 
  • The scene has started:
  • And the papers are in rare form this morning:

at 8:32 AM

9.26.2018

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • Things like this make me fear a cyberattack: Verizon's network went down for most of the country yesterday, and Delta had to ground flights yesterday evening due to computer errors. 
  • Heard at the courthouse yesterday: Girl #1 "There ain't none of my exes that I'd remarry." Girl #2: "Me neither!!"
  • I'm ashamed that the U.S. was laughed at when Trump spoke at the U.N. yesterday, and equally confused that he didn't understand he was being laughed at. However, there's a tweet for everything.  Flashback to 2014:
  • Once again, Williamson County is in the news as a Republican legislator from Georgetown allegedly went all Joe Barton on a co-ed:
  • The New Yorker is on to us. The headline and byline throw out "right-wing zealots" and "crackpots." (It's written by Lawrence Wright so it's actually pretty good):
  • Robert Jeffress is neglecting his duties at pastor at FBC of Dallas again. This time he's being paid to speak at the sure-to-be-a-party Quartet Convention in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

  • Want to see a judge run down an African American woman in the hallway after she was denied a protective order because she didn't meet a strange 8:00 a.m. deadline? He resigned. 

  • The LSU band performs "The Office" theme.
  • There hasn't been a whole lot of news about an awful story of a woman murdered in Dallas after walking her dog. Her roommate was also attacked and put in ICU.  And they lived in a nice apartment complex.
  • Bill Cosby was sent to prison on the same day that President Donald Trump addressed the U.N. I pray that time travel exists and that someone from the 1980s just arrived yesterday and turned on a TV. (Of course, they spend five minutes asking themselves, "This skinny thing is a TV? Oh, come on!")
  • I've never seen West Side Story, Mary Poppins, or any of the Jurassic Park movies.
  • It's raining like a son of a gun at the time of this writing. I hope they remembered to put a tarp on the roof at Decatur High School. 
  • Paxton is wasting his time and our money on this? (And is it Texas's or Texas'?)
  • Speaking of Bill Cosby:
  • Here's Judge Kavanaugh's 1982 calendar they he kept in high school. No, really.
  • Messenger: Above the Fold

at 8:30 AM

9.25.2018

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts


  • "Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger, who fatally shot 26-year-old Botham Jean in his Cedars apartment, was fired Monday." I'm not sure I have a problem with that even though, like I've said, I don't think there is a criminal offense here. Nevertheless, I don't think you can have an officer on the force who made such a tragic mistake. 
  • There was a murder arrest in Wise County last week and, in another incident, a guy got arrested for Agg Assault in Decatur where the alleged victim was in critical condition at JPS. At first, they weren't sure he was going to survive. That would have been two murder charges in Wise County within a week. 
  • We've entered a weird time in our country when a Supreme Court nominee, while the confirmation process is still ongoing, goes on a friendly TV network to campaign for his confirmation. (And let's bring the wife along for good measure.) 
  • Hal Jay on WBAP this morning: "That interview didn't count." His bubba co-workers were in shock. 
  • I used to think the Cowboys were getting a great deal by only having to pay Dak Prescott what he is due from his small rookie contract. Turns out, they may only be paying him what he is worth.
  • One of the strangest aspects of the Kavanaugh story is his yearbook from that high tone prep school that he attended. The whole publication appears to have been edited by students without any faculty oversight whatsoever with references to beer drinking and partying scattered throughout. For example, he was "Treasurer" of the "Keg City Club." 
  •  But someone noticed that at least 13 male students, including Kavanaugh, made reference to being a “Renate Alumni” or "Renate Alumnius". What the heck did that mean? The New York Times figured it out: "It is a reference to Renate Schroeder, then a student at a nearby Catholic girls’ school." You get the idea. Oh, my! Here's a group photo with the shocking "Renate Alumni" reference underneath it. Kavanaugh is pictured next to Mark Judge, the man who allegedly was in the room during the alleged assault of Dr. Ford. 
  • Everyone of those guys from Georgetown Preparatory School remind me of James Spader's character in Pretty in Pink.
  • I had forgotten that when Kavanaugh was first introduced by Trump that he fired off this big lie right off the bat: "No president has ever consulted more widely or talked to more people from more backgrounds to seek input for a Supreme Court nomination."
  • I still think this cop will be found not guilty. 
  • There is a rash of college players walking away from their teams. Oklahoma State's leading receiver from last year announced he would transfer since he doesn't like the way he was being used this year. It's the new, "Play me or I'm leaving" mentality.  Baylor had it happen last week. Arkansas had one yesterday, too. 
  • Ted Cruz got harassed out of a D.C. restaurant. (Video.) I want to feel badly for him but I just can't.
  • Sports Illustrated has a story (which takes half a day to load) about the new atmosphere at UT football games. It included a video which included a gal who just happened to have two flasks.
  • Anyone could walk into a baseball dugout with no other coaches and with no notice and still lead a major league team to a victory. "Guys, just go play ball." Get thrown onto a football sideline with no other coaches and tell your team, "Guys, just go play ball" and you'd get slaughtered. 

at 8:30 AM

9.24.2018

Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • Decatur High School is closed for three days after the building took on water. (Facebook video from last Friday as it occurred.)  "One of the wettest we've ever seen from the standpoint of water." 
  • It was wet in Irving on Friday night.
  • And a tree in Plano did not take kindly to the wet soil. (That would make me sick as a homeowner.) 
  • That seat on the Supreme Court which Kavanaugh is nominated for has quite a history. He will (likely?) replace Kennedy who only ended up on the court because Bork's nomination was shot down. And then Bork's proposed replacement didn't survive due to this horrendous sin: 
  • The Rangers' firing of manager Jeff Banister on Friday was just weird. Getting past he had nothing to work with, why not wait a handful of games until the season was over? Something is going on behind the scenes.
  • I watched the Cruz/Beto debate on Friday. I think the only thing that will be remembered is Beto saying, "True to form" after Cruz ended the night as a jerk when he was supposed to say something nice about Beto.
  • For old time Southern Baptists only: I was channel surfing on Saturday and came across once famed DFW evangelist James Robison in a TV studio with his wife interviewing a guy. Old time religion? Nope. He was selling amino acids.   
  • The Evil Empire sure did make sure TCU's band had good seats on Saturday:
  • In what was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen, some guy bootlegged the overtime of a great OU/Army game, which for some reason was only on pay-per-view on Saturday night, for the nation to see. He just turned his camera to the TV on his wall. 
  • Speaking of that game, the OU crowd applauded Army as it left the field and Army, well, did what Army does: 
  • I mentioned a couple of weeks back that the pylon rules are far more complicated than anyone knows. For example, did you know the pylon is inbounds in the NFL but is out of bounds in college football?  I might get Board Certified in Pylon Law.
  • Weirdest "Friday" high school game: Lancaster trailed Mansfield Legacy 8-7  with 3:53 remaining when the game was postponed at 45 minutes after midnight. When it was resumed on Saturday afternoon, Lancaster started with 4th an 1 at its own 18. They went for it, made it, and went on to score and win the game. 
  • The #1 reason you shouldn't be a fan of pro football: You care more than the players and coaches do.
  • Told you Sean Lee would get hurt.
  • They gave him what?
  • Trump only had three tweets yesterday. This was one of them: 
  • Oddity of oddities: Stormy Daniels' lawyer calls out the head of a private school in Arlington for obscene language and offers proof.
  • Messenger: Above The Fold.
  • I don't know if any allegation are true nor do I automatically doubt them. Regardless, this is going to an ugly week:

at 8:30 AM
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