3.01.2019

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













at 2:00 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts


  • Shawn Oakman was found not guilty yesterday of sexual assault by a jury in Waco. (I told you there were proof problems. It started off badly with the government's medical witnesses contradicting the alleged victim.  The case got muddy in a hurry once it was learned they left a bar together and she was admittedly drunk causing memory issues.)  This is the case that led to the floodgates opening down at Baylor.
  • Side note about the case: Visiting Judge Michael Snipes out of Dallas had one priority based upon trial reports: To make sure he (the judge) wasn't inconvenienced. The trial had a feel of lets-give-him-a-quick-trial-so-we-can-convict-him.  (And I can't get a handle on his background. He's a "retired" district judge but just last year he was a prosecutor in the Dallas D.A.'s office.)
  • I learned this week up at the courthouse about Momo trying to kill our kids . I was sucked in just like the people who told me about it had been sucked in. The Alantic has the story of how this happens and how stories like that routinely catch fire. It's basically the quick creation of modern day urban legends. If you don't want to read it, Saturday Night Live had a skit parodying the phenomenon a few years back.   
  • Edit: Watch that Saturday Night Live skit and then watch this 37 second clip from CPAC this morning! It's a shockingly perfect example. 
  • The "Illegals Are Voting! The Illegals Are Voting!" scam that Texas officials tried to pull off is over. A federal judge even killed the Secretary of State's attempt to have local voter officials contact the people on "The List" and plainly said "there is no widespread voter fraud." And yesterday Gov. Abbott blamed the head of DPS for the whole fiasco. 
  • Uh, Jussie Smollett wrote a check.
  • Samantha Gannon is joining Mike Doocey on the pretty funny "Free For All" show on at 10:30 on Fox 4. She better be witty, or this won't work. 
  • And Another (Denton Guyer High)
    Yep, same person.
  • I cannot possibly approve of Baylor fans mocking UT with a picture of Rick Barnes during their basketball game this week . The Evil Empire fired him, but he is now having extreme success at the University of Tennessee.
    That's a quality bit!
  • Johnny Football's wife cheated at a half-marathon, and the work Deadspin put into the story is admirable. 
  • Last night the government of Texas executed a 70 year old for a crime that he committed three decades ago. He didn't seem to be all there.
  • Trump is on a Russian Collusion rant and Michael Cohen rant this morning. He's had enough self-inflicted wounds this week so I'll leave him alone. 

at 8:30 AM

2.28.2019

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  • The DFW media was in Wise County yesterday for a hearing on whether the kids from the Kids-In-Cages story will remain in CPS custody for now. The obvious answer occurred: Yes. But a couple of cameramen got to film the top of the courthouse. 
  • The Texas Open Meetings law was struck down as unconstitutionally vague yesterday. Here it is: 
  • A faithful reader corrected me by noting the Texas high school basketball finals are now in San Antonio and not Austin. The Liberally Lean staff regrets yesterday's error. 
  • Buddy, you care way too much about a professional football team from 25 years ago:
  • Trump and Rocket Man's nuclear talks abruptly broke down and Trump left early. #TheArtOfTheDeal
  •  But before he left, Trump gave Kim a complete pass on the death of Otto Warmbier. Why? Because Kim said he he had nothing to do with it. (Reminds you of Trump saying he believed Putin when he said there was no Russian tampering, and the Saudi Prince over the murder of the journalist.)

  • There's a former Baylor football player on trial for sexual assault in Waco, and I'm not sure how it is going to turn out because it seems to have some proof problems. But a reporter, who is following the case, tweeted the following yesterday which got my attention. It was the first day of trial. Listen, judge, if you've got something better to do while a guy is on trial for his life, go do it and let someone who cares take your place.
  • Michael Cohen delivered high entertainment yesterday. But Fox News looked less than interested based upon the detail given to their graphics.
  • The hearing had moments of drama when it felt like it was right out of The Godfather 2 and low points when Republican Congressman were printing off tweets from third parties that were made during the hearing and asking, and being allowed, to place them into the record. 
  • I take it back, the low point came when Rep. Mark Meadows trotted out a black Trump employee as a prop to combat claims of Trump racism. (Meadows once proved he himself was color blind by saying that "2012 is the time we are going to send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it is!"))
    "I'd like to mark this black person as Exhibit A."
  • To show how insane it got, Rep. Ayanna Pressley fired back: "Would you agree that someone could deny rental units to African-Americans, lead the birther movement, refer to the diaspora as 'shithole countries,' refer to white supremacists as 'fine people,' have a black friend, and still be racist?" (Video.)
  • I'm tripling down on my Kyler Murray NFL prediction: There is no way I'd take him with a first round pick. I don't know if I'd take him with a second round pick. (I'm not saying that won't happen. I'm saying it's a mistake if it does.)
  • Our 22 pound cat is down to a svelte 18 pounds. (That's one of our dumb dogs beside it. And he's not a puppy. He's a good sized dog. )
  • I present to you the greatest country song in the history of ever. Parked By The Lake.

at 8:30 AM

2.27.2019

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts


  • I didn't need to start my day by seeing this on my TV from WFAA.
  • The Messenger is making changes. They are doing away with the free All-Around Wise which was published mid-week and going to two regular paid weekly papers. They are running a special for $15 a year for both weekly issues which you can subscribe to by going here (see page 14.) Online subscribing is not currently available. (This is not a paid ad, but I've stolen so much from them over the years I feel guilty.)
    (The first headline could have been worded better)
  • The kid is probably just doing a bit to get a rise out of everyone, but if the school bans anything selectively based upon certain content, I'll support her. (I've seen different reports about the school's policy. ) 
Naive Person (Left)
  • We will all be reminded today of who the character of the person who sits in the Oval Office (when he shows up for work.) 
  • And Cohen will even produce an installment check Trump wrote to him while President to reimburse him for paying off Stormy Daniels. Here's a timeline and the check:

  • This Congressman possibly broke federal law yesterday with this intimidation. He has since "apologized" and deleted it. (And it's a weird strategy to defend Trump by calling out someone's supposed sexual and marital infidelity.)
                                     
  • I mentioned I was reading a book on Texas history, and I'm at a point which coincides with the anniversary of the Alamo siege.  Even a book which tries to put Texas in its best light makes it clear that our sanitized version of  what led up to "The Alamo", as well as the defense of it, is not what most believe.
  • I don't really follow Decatur basketball that much, but they may end up in Austin for the state tournament if they keep it up. They crushed Burkburnett 79-42 in the playoffs last night. 
  • There was a murder on Twitter this morning by John McCain's daughter. (And how a guy who faked bone spurs to avoid Vietnam can send out that tweet is mind-boggling.) 
  • Dallas Cowboy (now free agent) David Irving has probably violated the NFL's drug policy again. 
    "Who me?"
  • A club in Wichita Falls is being sued for not paying licensing fees for the music they play. "The average cost to bars or restaurants is less than $2 per day for the right to play unlimited music at their establishments, according to [the Plaintiff's] news release."
  • I had a conversation yesterday with a Baylor lawyer about having to recite Rule 279 in law school. That means nothing to 99.9% of you. To the 0.1%, it is still the subject of nightmares. 
  • Messenger: Above the Fold. (Links above.)





at 8:34 AM

2.26.2019

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • Dak Prescott's dog bit someone which has made the news. Oddly, within the last 24 hours both Fox 4 and WBAP have aired viewer/listener complaints of, "This wouldn't be news if it wasn't the Cowboys quarterback!" First, who gets so bent out of shape to even make that complaint? Secondly, both news organizations had an odd reply (Steve Eagar from Fox 4 and Steve Lamb from WBAP) by saying "Of course, we would!" Uh, no, you wouldn't. You might do a story about a dog mauling but not a dog bite which has to happen every single day in the metroplex.
  • I was over at the Denton County courthouse yesterday going through security when some cute county employee comes down to pick up a Jimmy John's order. It was high comedy when the Jimmy John's guy asks her to sign for the order, and the courthouse employee asks, "Does anyone have a pen?" At that moment, at least three Denton County deputies raced to produce a pen for her to use -- all holding their pen out for her choice. She then did the cute-girl-laugh.
  • Some of the Waco Biker cases are now in the hands of special prosecutors. Three more of those cases were dismissed yesterday. "The prosecutor called the way the McLennan County District Attorney's Office handled the 2015 deadly shootout a 'harebrained scheme' that was 'patently offensive' to him."  I've just always called him, "The Dumbest DA In The State."  That whole cluster will be a documentary one of these days. 
  • Well I guess, like land, "they ain't making any more of it." ("But why at gun shows?" I ask rhetorically.)
  • Overestimate is one word. 
  • It's hard to figure out where this Administration comes down on "when life begins" these days. It can't possibly be different based upon nationality or skin color, right?
  • Lady Gaga was on MTV's Boiling Point in 2005.
  • I'll never understand Robert Kraft walking into a "spa" for 14 minutes in Jupiter, FL on the morning of the AFC Championship game in Kansas City later that day. There's so much going on there. 
    Literally later that day.
  • There's another "Does Roundup cause cancer" case (it doesn't) going on in federal court in California. The Plaintiff's lawyer is in big trouble when the judge issues an order immediately after opening statements are delivered. (I've got a lawyer buddy in Abilene with the last name of Wagstaff, and I prayed it was him. It wasn't.)
  • A former Bridgeport High graduate is now a head football coach in Tyler. 
  • From the Wall Street Journal this morning. That "documents" thing got my attention. 
  • Little Rocket Man is in Vietnam to meet with Trump. Get this: He traveled 2,485 miles by train. 
  • BagOfNothing got a ticket for parking slightly on his own grass in his alley! He violated City Ordinance 15-134b! I can understand an HOA violation, but to have the government make the conduct illegal is amazing. I have no idea what the constitutional standard is -- perhaps the "takings clause" when the regs are so onerous that your property loses value? -- but this seems very heavy handed. I know the government regulates things like chickens in your backyard. And it can prevent you from putting up billboards on private land you own by a highway so long as the ban is not content based. It's not an area I dabble in.




at 8:30 AM
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