Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• A deputy with the Denton County Sheriff's Office shot and killed a man last night who was fleeing.  The Denton Record Chronicle's use of quotes seems to be an editorial comment. Maybe it's the combo of "allegedly" and quotes that got my attention. 
  
• Dear Wise County IT guy: You're doing great with the county's website makeover. Big fan. But could you fix the link at the bottom of this page? (It'll save the jail a ton of phone calls.)
• That's the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley: 
  
• "You can bring your own gun" is now a selling point for restaurants?
  
• In case you missed it, Sean Spicer debuted on Dancing With The Stars last night. He didn't do well, but later blamed it on the fact that he loves Jesus. These are strange days. 
  
  
• Random NFL note: Garrett Gilbert, who flamed out at UT and ended up with a mediocre stint at SMU, somehow made it to the NFL and is still there. He's the backup to Baker Mayfield in Cleveland. 
  
• "After five years playing in the minors, in 1955, Mariano finally made it to the big leagues.” - Donald  Trump giving Yankee's great Mariano Rivera the Medal of Freedom yesterday. Rivera was born in 1969. 
  
• Trump last night in New Mexico on Steve Cortes: “He happens to be Hispanic, but I’ve never quite figured it out, because he looks more like a WASP than I do. But I tell you what, there is nobody that loves his country more or is Hispanic more than Steve Cortes. . . . Nobody loves the Hispanics more. Who do you like more, the country or the Hispanics? [Pause] He says the country. I don’t know. I may have to go for the Hispanics, to be honest with you. We’ve got a lot of Hispanics. We love our Hispanics. Get out and vote.” Good lord. 
• I'd be a bad business guy. Case in point: Chicken Express over in Bridgeport has been closed a couple of weeks for a major renovation of the building. Both exterior and interior -- including great stone work on the outside. The only thing I can think of is: If that upgrade costs, say, $150,000, how many chicken breasts do they have to sell before they pay for that and then start making money again? 
• This Bret Kavanaugh news gives me Tired Head but at least it did cause the re-surfacing of the genius video edit mash-up of the confirmation hearings and Pulp Fiction. (Language warning.)
• Georgia -- being Georgia -- makes it a crime to move or eliminate monuments to the fight for slavery. One county got creative. 
  
• The Messenger's Joy Burgess-Carrico has a story on the history of the LBJ Grasslands (including a bizarre government sanctioned cow holocaust that I had no idea about) and it reminded me of something I've always thought: What's the purpose of that place? The answer seems, to me at least, is "not much." I'm a huge fan of state and national parks, but the grasslands doesn't seem to meet that criteria. (And I've always been confused in that the entire city of Alvord is in the Grasslands. Turns out the government only owns 37% of the land designated. It might be time to give it up.)
• The shoeshine stand always makes me uncomfortable.