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- The Board. It finally happened.
- Texas. (I have reclaimed the title of Dr. Fauci of Wise County. Just as I predicted, we have a massive two day increase after the holiday weekend.)
- Wise County: Total 45. Active 11.
- There has been an arrest. All we know is that it is a juvenile.
- I'll never understand rioting, but I understand history. And this is right out of the 1960s. Well, the 1960s without the mask.
- The destruction of property bugs me to death. Then again, where did the conservative Tea Party get its name?
- I'm old enough to remember when the federal government threatening to shutter free political speech would send shock waves throughout the country. It was way back in, oh, 2016 and every year before that. (Side note: Any executive order limiting how Twitter runs their private company won't be worth the paper it is written on. The First Amendment doesn't protect Trump from Twitter -- it protects Twitter from Trump.)
- I'm seeing rumors that he'll try to modify section 230 of the Communications Decency Act which provides protection from silly lawsuits. Am I missing something, or didn't Congress used to have a say in lawmaking? Does that not matter any longer? Heck, who needs Congress when you have a wannabe Führer, right?
- Trump threatening Twitter is like an addict threatening his drug dealer. And, buddy, if you didn't lie all the time this wouldn't even be an issue.
Did they notice that 100,000 number yesterday? - The headlines of a ruling late yesterday by the Texas Supreme Court drove me nuts. "Texas Supreme Court Blocks Absentee Voting." That's not true at all. Let me explain.
- All you need to do in order to get an absentee ballot is to check a box. Are you 65 years old or more? Check the box and you get a ballot. Going to be out of town of election day? Check a box and you get a ballot. Do you suffer from a disability? Check box. Get ballot. (Get your application here.)
- So what did the court rule? That you don't suffer a disability just because, without more, you fear getting the coronavirus. Ok, fine. (This is a good time to note that all the judges are working from home because they fear going to the office.)
- But that doesn't mean you have to lie about a disability to get the ballot. The court made it real easy to justify requesting the ballot: If you fear the coronavirus and there's anything else (i.e. any pre-existing condition of any type and of any degree which in your mind qualifies as a disability) you get the ballot you can legally get the ballot.
- And here's an additional kicker: When you check the disability box, you don't have to say what your disability is and officials don't have the responsibility of questioning it. You check. You get. You vote. The State conceded that, and the court acknowledged it.
- The Texas Tribune is the best at getting the headline right.
- As Texas turns Blue, those in power sure do fear making it easy to vote.
- This is an odd twist on "Let them eat cake." And isn't it a hallmark of modern day America that we don't stand in line for anything? It better be immediately available or we want it delivered to our door.
- I've learned the Decatur graduation ceremony, like Southlake's, will begin at 8:20 p.m. That's still too late, but at least they don't have a million diplomas to handout.
- The Tarrant County Sheriff, the same one who referred to undocumented immigrants released from his jail as "these drunks who will run over your children", doesn't know how to run a jail -- and that's his main job. Over the last month, an inmate committed suicide on April 26th, a coronavirus death occurred on May 23rd which the Sheriff didn't bother voluntarily disclosing, and an inmate had a baby last week without anyone noticing. Oh, and the State of Texas just temporarily revoked the jail's certification. Look at this twitter thread and related story by the Star-Telegram's Nichol Manna who is doing a great job trying to pry information out of the Sheriff.
- They just keep coming despite the court shutdown: 20 new Class A and B misdemeanors filed yesterday.
