Random Friday Morning Thoughts - Special Edition

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Link to video if it doesn't work. (And it should appear below this post as well.)

• I'm doing things a little different today because I'm angry. 
• But first for what I am not angry about: For over a year, I have represented Aric Maxwell on charges of Capital Murder. Yesterday, all charges against him were dropped because a DNA report exonerated him. 
• My full press release about the case is here. If you care about Wise County, read every word. The background on what has happened is insane. 
• I'll admit to going full throttle in that press release, but what I read yesterday after the dismissals were signed is what has put me even further over the edge this morning.
• Yesterday I read in horror the comments of Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin in the Wise County Messenger where, despite the D.A.'s office taking the unprecedented action of dismissing a capital murder case, he refused to acknowledge the travesty of justice he and his office had committed. He said: “We’re not saying this clears Maxwell. It still doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. It means there’s another person of interest, and we need to find out who that person is.” Edit: The comments may have been made by the D.A. which Akin acquiesced in. Akin, like the D.A., implied it was a consensual encounter. (This was a joint effort by them to get in front of the story on Wednesday when they met with a Messenger reporter before the formal dismissals.)
• I'm livid. 
• There is a DNA report exonerating Aric. He was indicted on the charge of murdering her while sexual assaulting her. The DNA was unquestionably left at the time of the murder. It is the kind of bombshell evidence you see all the time which allows people wrongfully imprisoned for years to go free. And what's worse, the Sheriff's Office had that DNA report since last September but didn't know how to read it. 
• His office screwed up this investigation, they didn't know how to read a DNA report, and when people tried to explain it to them, they still didn't understand.  And while the Sheriff was  slapping himself on the back after the wrongful arrest, a killer slipped through his fingers. A killer that, based upon his comments, he doesn't seem to be particularly interested in now finding. 
• You want to know what a cluster this is? His office arrested Aric without even waiting for the results of the DNA report on the sperm cells! And, coincidentally, the Sheriff just happened to announce his re-election campaign on the same week that Aric was arrested. 
• Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin's malfeasance is going to cost Wise County an untold amount of money for what he has done to Aric. And his continued assertions that Aric might be guilty are only going to cause Wise County to add extra zeros to the check they are going to write. The Wise County Commissioners and their legal advisors would be wise to protect the taxpayers from further damage by our Sheriff by telling him to stop talking. He's done enough harm. And after that, they might want to tell him to find the killer of Lauren Whitener. 
• Yep, I'm angry. 
• As for the video, here's what you are seeing. The first part is Aric's last interview with a Texas Ranger at the DPS office in Decatur. The Sheriff's Office already had the arrest warrant in hand. They could have simply and easily arrested him in the DPS office, and he would have certainly cooperated. Instead, they allowed him to get into a truck with his elderly father and ambush him just feet away from that DPS office. When you see Aric walk through the jail door at the end, he would not exit for almost six months. 

 

The Wrongful Arrest and Prosecution of Aric Maxwell

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

 

• Wise County active cases: 14 (Alternative headline: "Wise County reports 75% Increase In Cases in 24 Hours!")
• Texas hospitalizations: -97.
  
  
  
• The Alvord Bulldogs game was cancelled early yesterday and then Chico High soon followed. Unless I'm wrong, the largest schools in the state just started practicing. Get ready for a wave of cancellations from them in the next two to three weeks. And if that happens, the UIL will shut the whole thing down. 
• It's stuff like this that freaks people out. 
  
  
  
• I've learned that a Wise County Sheriff's deputy was reportedly fired after getting into a over the top verbal confrontation with an agent from the Census Bureau who came to his house. This wasn't just a census "worker" but a census "official." The official was not to pleased with the incident and reported it. 
• So Trump knew that the Coronavirus was incredibly lethal in February but he intentionally downplayed it because he "didn't want to panic" us?  He thrives on panicking his base. Imaginary caravans coming to the border. MS-13 waiting outside your door. The black man (gasp) coming to the suburbs (gasp). 
  
  
  
• Flashback for Liberally Lean old-timers: Back in the wild west days when there used to be comments on here, didn't we have a big player on here named "Rage?" Do I have that name right? I never knew who he was, but he and WordKyle would get into the massive wars. I miss those days. And I don't. 
• This really is amazing: On the exact same day that Trump was freely admitting to Woodward that he was downplaying the COVID virus despite knowing it was deadly, Joe Biden was pointing out the New York Times story that Trump had been, uh, downplaying the virus and misleading the public.
  
  
  
• Some wonder why Trump would be dumb enough to be recorded for hours with Bob Woodward. Fox News, instead of relying on Occam's razor,  has decided to blame Lindsey Graham for "brokering the deal."  But I guess since they can't blame "anonymous sources" that someone has to be sacrificed at the Trump Alter. 
  
  
  
• Meanwhile, let's check in on Lou Dobbs audition tape last night for North Korean State TV.
  
  
  
  
• I don't care about baseball but look at this real score from last night: 
  
• Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit was released on this day 29 years ago. Some say that began the transition of alternative radio stations from new wave to grunge, and that was certainly true for DFW radio. Look at the playlist for The Edge back then. I loved the new wave stuff. And The Edge's playlist was littered with a wonderland of bands you had never heard of. (Side note: I can't figure out the three columns on the right. They can't be popularity ranking nor can they be "weeks released.")
  
  
  
• Just for fun, here's a 1989 clip of Deion Sanders returning a punt return for a touchdown when with the Atlanta Falcons. 
  
  
  
• Great photo:

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

 

• Wise County active cases: 8. (Huh? We dropped to 8?)
• Texas hospitalizations: (+164. My "it's leveling off" theory stays alive.)
  
  
  
• Baylor/La. Tech, which was Fox's national noon kickoff game on Saturday, has been postponed due to 38 Tech players getting the COVID. They'll never get this college football season in, right? And this news will probably have them tap the brakes even harder: 
  
  
  
• According to the Update, the Alvord High School football team has been hit with Friday's game now in jeopardy. This is about to happen all over the state, right? I'm stunned we haven't seen a tidal wave of games being postponed or cancelled. 
• With the resignation of Reneé Hall, the cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington and Decatur are all looking for future police chiefs. I turned on Hall after she came back from her unexplained medical leave and had her own cameraman waiting for her in the parking garage when she returned to work. She pretended to be surprised by the camera as she gave a prepared remarks. It also bugged me that she had a driver and sat in the back of the SUV. (Yes, weird things bug me.)
  
  
  
• When I saw this headline, I didn't believe it. I have never heard of an assistant DA in Texas having a side gig as a judicial clerk for the judge who hears cases that he prosecutes. But get this: Midland County Assistant District Attorney Ralph Petty was not only the judge's clerk, he earned $1,700 for advising the judge how to rule on matters directly related to this death penalty case he was prosecuting!
  
  
  
• Last night Trump told the most gullible people in the world, his hard core base, that Mexico was actually paying for the (non-existent new) wall with tollbooths. (Spoiler alert: There are no tollbooths.)
  
  
  
• This is about as relevant as the past naked pics of the First Lady.
  
  
  
• Remember my bullet point yesterday about the fake story going around about a sex-trafficking ring? I've got an addendum. Here it is: Oh, for [expletive deleted] sake: 
  
  
  
• Hey, I take everything Michael Cohen says with a grain of salt but Trump did choose him as his personal lawyer and fixer. He was on Rachel Maddow last night for this:
  
  
  
• Luby's is dead. Fuddruckers is dead. Fun fact: The last time I ate at Fuddrucker's I made a dramatic life altering decision. I would attend its funeral if it had one. We go way back. 
  
  
  
• Moments ago, Trump was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. I'll let it go with no snark. The man could use some good news. 
• Messenger: Above the Fold

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

 

• Wise County active cases: No idea. We haven't had an update since Thursday.
• Texas hospitalizations: -178 (My "it's going to flatten out" theory isn't looking very good.)
  
  
  
• Oh, my! Alvord ISD is closed today. I remember asking about a month ago as to what the procedure will be if a random  student tests positive. Thus far, I have my answer: The reaction is wildly different depending on the school district. 
  
  
  
• The TEA is collecting COVID data on all school districts in Texas beginning this month, but I can't find the results anywhere.
• The vehicles damaged at Boyd ISD property that I mentioned yesterday was due to the "keying" of automobiles. 
• So our military leaders (not the politicians) want to see their young men die in wars for profit? (Video)
  
  
  
• You ever wonder what happens when a whole generation is humiliated by not achieving the "American dream"? 
  
  
  
• I don't know how the NCAA makes it through football season. After TCU/SMU was cancelled on Friday because of a COVID outbreak, yesterday officials had to postpone "for a week" the game of Oklahoma State and Tulsa due to cases in Tulsa. 
• Snowflake?
  
  
  
• Saw this lie being spread around everywhere over the last couple of weeks. It was all started by a sensational headline from a government press release. The devil was in the details. 
  
  
  
• Trump has sent out over 60 tweets before 9:00 a.m. EST this morning. Every single one of you which lives from paycheck to paycheck has too many responsibilities to engage in that much of a time waste. 
• I saw Karen Carpenter was trending (the masses are debating great voices), and I was/am a huge fan. She died at 32 of an eating disorder. Which made me think that we don't hear about anorexia as much as we used to. And with the cesspool that is social media beating everyone down, you would think it would worse.
  
  
  
• I took out my protractor, compass, and maps yesterday, and I feel pretty good about this little Liberally Lean Weather Take It To The Bank Forecast: It will be cooler when you wake up tomorrow (around 70°) but around 2:55 p.m., as it hits a high of only 74°, it'll start heading down to an overnight low of around 63°. It's no bone chilling cold front, but it'll be nice for a day or so. 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• The hardest working man in show businesses even on Labor Day.
• Wise County active cases: 24 (last updated on Friday)
• Texas hospitalizations: -360 since Friday
  
  
  
• You think a cool front and a temperature drop is coming from mid-week? Just look at Boulder, Colorado and other parts of that state and the change from yesterday to tomorrow. This is crazy:
  
  
  
• That's a heck of a picture from the Trump boat parade that sunk five vessels on Lake Travis on Saturday. 
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• Worst press release ever. "Sure I abused my ex-girlfriend but not that bad and, by the way, we were all liquored up in the hot tub and she's no angel."
  
  
  
• Trump really got rocked by The Atlantic article revealing how he thinks those which died for our country are "losers." After it even got confirmed by Fox News (Trump called for that reporter to be fired), they had to roll out Melania to try and defend him. And it's perfectly normal, of course, to ask his base to attack a widow because of it.
  
  
  
• I'll always have respect for the conservatives who saw Trump for who he was from the very beginning. You know, Bill Kristol, George Will, Max Boot, etc.  Matt Drudge is on that list and he is relentless.
  
  
  
• And Kristol reminded us what Junior thinks about when he sees the graves of veterans. This was from Junior's own book. He put it in writing. 
  
  
  
• And speaking of Micheal Cohen's book, this is insane. And he has pictures.
  
  
  
• Not sure exactly what happened in Boyd. 
  
  
  
• The what? (Yep, it's real. And it's in Texas.)
  
  
  
• When I heard about the top seed at the U.S. Open being ejected for hitting a line judge with a ball, I thought it had to have been some kind of borderline assault-like situation. Uh, it wasn't that bad. Watch it. 
  
  
  
• This case went to the Supreme Court a couple of years ago and it is jaw-dropping amazing. The very same Mississippi prosecutor tried this man six times and all six were overturned. Two for prosecutorial misconduct and the other four because he kept excluding blacks from the jury. 
  
  
  
• Following up on that case, I loved Justice Alito in oral arguments when he basically asked the State why they couldn't have just thrown the racist prosecutor off the case at some point and let someone else take over?
  
  
  
• A weird Jack County case was affirmed on appeal late last week.