2.10.2020

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




  • Baylor suspended 14 baseball players two games each for "hazing" last year. I'll never understand why one human being wants to inflict cruelty on another for "fun."  And I don't understand the Baylor press release telling us that it's "important to note" that drugs or alcohol weren't involved. I suppose it must be better to engage in ungodly acts while completely sober. 
  • The Dallas Morning News keeps promoting this story about the "tiny" skyscraper in Wichita Falls which was allegedly built after a con man duped investors by using misleading plans: It called for a height of 480" instead of 480'.  But the story then tells us "there's no documented proof" about the scam and that "no one has ever been able to disprove the story about inches and feet." 
  • Someone made an Open Records request to the Tarrant County DA's office, the DA's office complied, then the DA's office said we gave you some stuff that we weren't supposed to so give it back or we'll sue you. I'm not sure it works that way. 
  • There's not a criminal law practitioner with half a brain who doesn't have alarms going off with this one. And I know one Wise County prosecutor who has preached and preached to the cops about this. 
  • I went to an "Escape Room" this weekend and learned something: I'm not smart enough to go to an escape room. 
  • I also ended up in downtown Roanoke. Good lord. When did all that happen? It's the restaurant capitol of the Southwest proper. I remember when Roanoke had one grocery store and basically nothing else. 
  • Trump retaliated against impeachment witnesses Sondland and Vindman (who was escorted out of the White House) on Friday. I'm still waiting to hear if someone ended up with a horse's head in their bed. 
  • You might have missed this over the weekend.
  • The Ticket has a segment called Homer Call of the Week. The winner this year was the booth from Dumas High School in their 38-35 last second playoff win over Decatur. It has some "send 'em home", "thank you, Jesus", "shock the nation", a mysterious $5 bet, and Journey's Don't Stop Believing. (You can hear it here at the 8:00 mark.)  No Wise County school has a dedicated play-by-play and color man for any type of broadcast, right? 
  • And another. (Louisiana).
  • The case of the Yogurt Shop Murders in Austin is now almost 20 30 years old, and they still don't know who did it. (They got a couple of convictions based upon coerced confession but those men were later freed, and new DNA testing matched an unknown individual.)  I read a book about the case recently and was struck by the initial lead detective's position in the case when it was first assigned to him: Despite his standard being probable cause, he was going to take his time and wasn't going to make an arrest until there was proof beyond a reasonable doubt. He wasn't going to be wrong. He got thrown off the case, and a cluster of an investigation later followed which would ruin and taint the careers of many prosecutors and cops. (I thought about it again this weekend because the Austin American Statesman had a new story about the case.)
  • No way I'm watching any of the XFL. 
  • Messenger: Above the Fold.