Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Want to see a cop beat a guy in a hospital bed? The cop is now going to prison. 
  
• Not that I care, but why are Rangers off today? And why will they play a day game in August in 110 heat?
• We've learned the Mueller Report is over 300 pages. (Barr's summary quoted 101 words of it.) Within the Report will be evidence that caused Mueller to say that he could not exonerate Trump from an Obstruction allegation. Let's see it. Why not?
  
• The Liberally Lean Leader Board.  (For you Red Raider fans, you've got a 37% chance to win tomorrow against Gonzaga and get to the Final Four. I'd take that every single year.)
  
• My well placed sources tell me the hung jury in the Tarrant County murder trial this week was 10-2 for not guilty.
• The Chico AD/Coach situation got messy yesterday with the coach issuing a statement and a school board member firing off his own -- with one sentence standing out. (Side note: I've learned that the guy from Dave Campbell's Texas Football is buddies with the coach which kind of explains why he decided to sound off on the whole situation on Sunday.)
• I mentioned yesterday that Texas was going to kill a guy and deny his request to have a Buddhist clergy be with him. The U.S. Supreme Court shut it down last night to review the issue. However, all Texas had to do to go forward with the execution was get a Buddhist reverend to be present and Texas could have even chosen who it was. Nope. We're going to take up this ridiculous fight. 
  
• I've always wondered about the history of this house that sits south of Decatur all by its lonesome.
  
• The guy who punched the woman in Deep Ellum will now have the proposed charge upgraded to Aggravated Assault, a second degree felony. Why? He committed regular misdemeanor assault (he struck her causing pain) with the aggravating element of "uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the commission of the assault" (he had a gun in his hand.)
  
• You're probably sitting there thinking that the Aggravated Assault definition is a good law because it's broadly worded enough to encompass an incident like in Deep Ellum. But what if a guy is out bird hunting in mixed company and gently slaps a female on the rear end but she is offended by his actions? That's felony Agg Assault. He committed an assault (a Class C assault of "offensive touching"), and he exhibited a deadly weapon (he's holding a shotgun) while he slapped her on the butt. 
• "I am shocked—shocked—to find that . . . . " 
  
• 2010 Flashback: A lot of people wanted the Justice of the Peace job back then.  I had forgotten Chad Hightower made the runoff but lost 684-557.
  
  
• This is an actual screen shot from yesterday. I'm insane now.
  
  
• More proof this Administration is a daily train wreck of incompetence. These tweets were six hours apart. I thought it was a joke. They both even list Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in the same sequence.
  
  
  
  
• Wait. There's more. Yesterday Trump reversed the decision to cut funding for Special Olympics saying he had "just heard" of the cuts "this [Thursday] morning." This came the day after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos lashed out defending the cuts. (Bonus coverage of DeVos refusing to answer questions for two long and awkward minutes as she seeks protection via elevator.)
  
• I still don't know understand how being able to deposit a check via your phone doesn't give rise to a ton of fraud.