Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• The Houston PD case where cops raided a house for heroin, found no heroin, and shot and killed a couple, is getting weirder. One of the cops has been suspended, and the Chief of Police acknowledges there are “questions regarding the circumstances surrounding the search warrant.” Oh, my. I asked the other day if it were possible there was no Confidential Informant and no undercover drug buy which was used as a basis for the search warrant. Great recap of the case here. 
• This isn't good.
  
• Here's  a pic from CNN of DPS and others "waiting" on the next "caravan". The whole involvement of DPS doing nothing but wasting taxpayers dollars there is embarrassing. First, that's a just a photo-op because no one on God's green earth believes anyone is crossing the border right there. Secondly, DPS shouldn't be involved in border security.
  
• With little fan fare, the Morning News' long time sports writer Rick Gosselin retired over the weekend. He was on The Ticket last week and didn't even give a hint about it.
• This was a huge loss by the Tarrant DA's office last week. They tried a woman for Capital Murder of Child, which carries with it an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted, and ended up with a conviction for the lowest level felony and a sentence of two years. 
  
  
• The Star-Telegram had a tremendous story about Alliance Baptist Church (off of North Tarrant Parkway in North Fort Worth) where a youth pastor was allowed to continue to be a member of the church after being indicted for a sex offense against a teenager, and the pastor didn't notify anyone in the congregation about the charges. And there were other instances of failure-to-tell.  As much culpability as the pastor may or may not have in not disclosing what he knew, I thought it was very odd that a judge chastised him when he testified at the sentencing hearing of the youth pastor. It is never the role of a judge to condemn a witness when someone else is on trial. Plus, the judge, Scott Wisch, was basically unintelligible based upon the transcript: 
  
• I can't believe I've waited this long to finally watch all of Season Five of The Wire. Cops. Prosecutors. Politics. The Media. It's perfect for me. 
• The Messenger's weekend edition had a front page story of over "100 pounds" of edibles seize by the Sheriff's Department. Thoughts: (1) It's a weird world when that can be purchased in Colorado legally over time but magically becomes a felony by traveling over a state line, (2) The drug dog hit on the weed which will 100% give rise to the legal question of: You didn't have probable cause to search but you called in the drug dog. Why? What's your reasonable suspicion to detain them for the dog?  Helpful hint: Out of state plates and being "nervous" isn't going to cut it. (3) The Sheriff expressed concern that some of the edibles were in the form of candy and are “prone to [accidentally] being abused by our children.” That ain't a problem. 
• The greatest block in NCAA basketball history might have occurred Saturday.
• Trump had a normal weekend: He expressed love for a ruthless dictator who continues to expand his nuclear program, and made a genocide Trail of Tears joke. 
  
  
  
  
• Elizabeth Warren fired back at a rally on Sunday: 
  
• Dude, you inherited a great economy, seven years of falling unemployment, and a country not at war. And you don't work hard. You spend over half of your "work day" in "Executive Time" watching Fox News and rarely get to the Oval Office by 11:00 a.m. (And, heaven forbid, you read a book about LBJ and hard work.)
  
• Grammy outfit of the night:
  
• I won't mention the insane Matthew Whitaker hearings on Friday, but there was a random observation by the CEO Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune, while Louie Gohmert was doing the "questioning", that both Gohmert and Texas Rep. Jeff Leach were both student body president at Baylor. (Good, lord.) Leach replied that he thought it must be a slow news day, and Evans fired back with a Twitter Assault (especially if you know the number of ridiculous resolutions introduced in the Texas legislature.)
  
  
  
  
• Messenger: Above The Fold.