Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

 

• Let me look out the window. Well, the courthouse is locked up tighter than a drum. The streets look vacant. Let me check for the Messenger's Update. Nope. It's not there. But, rest assured dear reader, the HWMISB™ is here even on Christmas Eve. 
• Texas Hospitalizations: +275. That's a huge daily jump. 
  
  
  
• "Law and Order"
  
  
  
• And, of course: 
  

  
  
  
• I heard there was a little controversy at the local Decatur hospital when the COVID vaccine was distributed to people in line a couple of days ago. 
  
  
  
• Here's the quick loading, yet long form, video of the Keller police pepper spraying a guy on the sidewalk. It's getting a little national attention after being featured in the Star-Telegram.
  

  

  
  
  
  
• BOLO. Police are after this Jacksboro guy who may or may not have killed a man he was living with. He was last seen yesterday around Weatherford after he drove away from cops. The Star-Telegram says he is a "Jacksboro man accused of dumping a body in Parker County and assaulting a deputy." (My own hard-hitting research revealed he spent two weeks in the Parker County Jail on a parole violation in late August. He gave a Godley address as his home at the time.) 
  
  
  
• I was able to find out about his arrest because Parker County, like Wise County, uses Tyler Technologies software.  It's good for online searches but can be a bear to use for county workers as Wichita County is finding that out right now: 
  
  
  
• And that company makes a fortune in monthly and/or annual fees it charges to counties (in addition to a service charge for online filings statewide which it also monopolizes.)  I pulled the most recent Accounts Payable printout for Wise County and found this: 
  
  
  
• Flashback: When Trump ruined Christmas for a seven year old. 
  
  
  
• Fort Worth lawyers Terri Moore and Mark Daniel have been hired in a capital murder case in Wichita Falls and the local paper is giving them the royal treatment: 
  
  
  
• I mentioned yesterday that attorney David Spiller of Jacksboro was running for the Texas House. Take a look at that wildly drawn district which does not include Wise County. Alas, my incredible political influence will be of no help to him. 
  
  
  
• I'm sometimes curious as the Messenger's decision making process.  On Tuesday they did the very rare news blast about the Wise County deputy shooting his neighbor's dog, but then there is no mention about the incident at all in the Wednesday Update.  What gives? (Side note: Here's the Facebook post that started it all.) 
• We've got a Poltergeist situation in Denton: 

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

 

• Texas hospitalizations: "Oh, my" again! The peak during the second wave was 10,893 on July 22nd. We are closing in on that number. 

• So late yesterday, after almost all of Congress had left D.C., Trump threatened either to veto or simply not sign the Stimulus bill (and the entire government funding bill that goes along with it) unless our check is $2,000 instead of the $600 currently allocated.  That put Republicans in a panic and Democrats throwing him their support.  It's anyone's guess whether Trump is bluffing. 
  
  
  
• An off-duty deputy with the Wise County Sheriff's Office shot a neighbor's dog in Alvord after it allegedly tried to kill his cat while reportedly on his own property. Was it justified? Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said, “We are going to look at the evidence, and we will make a decision based on the evidence.”  That, of course, requires an objective and fair investigation and an accurate interpretation of what is and what is not evidence. 
• This news broke because the dog's owner posted a video of the aftermath on Facebook. Anyone got a link? I'll update this if I get one.  Edit: Here it is. 
• Trump can pardon and grant clemency to anyone he wants, but to pardon the four wannabee soldiers in Blackwater's massacre at Nisour Square is sickening.   But I suppose I shouldn't be shocked that Trump would give a pass to four war criminals who just happen to be white guys for the killing of 17 civilians who just happen to be Muslim. 
  
  
  
• We've got some political news. I would endorse David, but I don't want to jinx him with the figurative kiss of death. Although I would like to point out that he is a faithful reader of Liberally Lean so this could be our big break with a direct pipeline to Austin!  (I noticed the Cooke County judge is running as well, but I bet he's a dirty Lib.) 
  
  
  
  
• Funny moment that I had to keep to myself at the time: As I was getting checked out by a health care practitioner yesterday, he was humming the lyrics of "I'll go crazy, crazy on you" to Heart's 70s hit which was playing in the background. 
• Say what?! That crazy talk sounds like something out of the Bible. 
  
  
  
• This is on my list to read because it might be about my favorite political moment of the year. It came out yesterday in New York Magazine.
  
  
  
• Forewarn Liberally Lean Triple Reliable Weather Desk Bulletin: Temperature drop begins in Decatur at 11:15 a.m. with winds heavy from the North. 
• Is it a bad sign when Citibank sent me a fraud alert while Mrs. LL was out Christmas shopping? I even had to call them. (I said all was good but told their sweet employee, Rose, to monitor her purchases very closely and give me a shout anytime.) 
  
  
  
  
  
• Random sports photo that got my attention: A BYU player laying out for a catch yesterday. Click to enlarge. Here's the video. 
  
  
  
• Messenger: Above the Fold 

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

 

• Texas hospitalizations: Oh, my. 
  
  
  
• A one vehicle rollover on 287 at the Tarrant/Wise County line shut down the highway for "several hours" last night around midnight. The driver was Joshua A. Daniel, 23, of Azle and passenger George Yawakie, 34, were both taken to JPS. 
• COVID stimulus bill news: 
  
  
  
• I'd bet big money that Ted Cruz will run for President again in 2024 even if Trump chooses to do the same. And he's studied and learned from Trump. Unlike 2016, he will be a crazy bull-in- the-China-shop in the primaries. He now knows what works. 
• The trade publication for Texas lawyers ran a story (behind a paywall) of the big verdict being taken away from a Decatur law firm. I'm not real sure how much this lady had to do with it -- it was a very short and simple opinion that reversed the case. And I know she didn't even do the oral argument although she did sign off on the bank's brief (along with four other lawyers from the firm.)
  
  
  
  
• And you think Shelley Luther had it bad because she had to spend a couple of days in the Dallas County hoosegow for violating shut down orders? Story.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Jamie Lee Curtis took out a full page ad in the Dallas Morning News on Sunday calling out the Dallas D.A. 
  
  
  
  
• I kept seeing this long story all over my Twitter timeline so I finally read it. It's pretty, pretty good. 
  
  
  
• We've got our first confirmed case of voter fraud where a dead guy voted -- for Trump. 
  
  
  
• Fox News and  Newsmax have been running pieces retracting their false allegations that the voting machine software led to false voting results.  They were threatened with a lawsuit and both backed down in record time.  I haven't seen one from OAN yet. 
  
  
  
• Another inmate has died in the Tarrant County Jail. Holy cow. That makes 15 people this year. Sheriff Bill Waybourn should be ashamed.
• The whole country is turning into a bunch of grifters. 
  
  
  
• Sports: TCU's offensive coordinator since 2014, Sonny Cumbie, has bolted for the same job at Texas Tech. The former Tech QB had been stripped of his play calling duties this season by Gary Patterson.  Sounds like returning to Tech is a no-brainer (and more fun.) 
• Sports 2: Former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene had died at age 58, but they won't tell us why.  That only fuels CTE speculation. 
  
  
  
• Sports 3: No Cowboys were named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in 31 years. Normally, you would next hear of about 20+ players opt out of the game because of "injury" which would cause a couple of dozen new players to suddenly become "pro bowlers." But that won't happen this year because there is no game so there's nothing to opt out of. 
• My number crunching tells me there about 20 people in the Wise County Jail who have been incarcerated for over 100 days which normally would have been processed through the system by now but for COVID. (Normally it's about 45 people at any given time who have been jailed over 100 days. The current number as of this morning is 68 and has been growing over the year.) 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Texas hospitalizations: There's been an increase in 13 out of the last 14 days. Any speculation about a plateau two weeks ago was definitively premature. 
  
  
  
• Dueling stories on Friday. Maybe Wise County doesn't quality as "rural": 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Trump was very Trumpy this weekend:
• After the Secretary of State (and everyone else and their dog) blamed Russia for the massive cyberattack, Trump defended the country. Didn't I just say that it sure seems like they have a compromising tape of him? It's flat out weird. 
  
  
  
• He then had nutcases Sydney Powell and Michael Flynn in the Oval Office where he asked about invoking the military to overturn the election. I'm sorry, if that is not treason, what the hell is? It was so crazy that Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Gen. James C. McConville, the Army’s top officer, released a joint statement that said: 'There is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election.'" But we just go on about our Christmas shopping like this is no big deal. 
  
  
  
• Crazy attorney Lin Wood is still out there filing election lawsuits but the one he filed on Friday had a Freudian declaration at the end. 
  
  
  
• After the State fought compensating a man who was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned, the Texas Supreme Court finally issued an Order on Friday telling them to pay the man his money. But just look how it all happened: A prosecuting attorney intentionally didn't turn over evidence which would have revealed the man was innocent. Haven't we seen enough of this every where in Texas? The heck with money and compensation, hasn't the time come for DAs and assistant DAs to be jailed over these crimes they are committing?
  
  
  
  
• Hey Aggie, Baylor knows your pain. From 2014: 
  
  
  

  

  The Committee watching the games on Saturday from
  the Gaylord Texas looked beaten down. 

  
  
• I'm still trying to wrap my head around the Rose Bowl game being played at Jerry World. 
• Tim Dunn's effort to buy a seat in the Texas Senate for Shelley Luther has failed. And she got crushed in Wise County, too, 2,066-1,296 (61.5% to  38.5%)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I'm reading a new book on Hitler's rise to power and on Saturday learned how he courted the Brown Shirts/Stormtroopers/Sturmabteilung in the very beginning.  Hitler preached Law and Order but supported those thugs in the streets.  Sounds a little familiar. Heck, the Proud Boys are just Stormtrooper wannabees.  (And, to bring it all home this Christmas season, it was the Brown Shirts chasing the Von Trapp family in the Sound of Music which played last night. I'm just puttin' a little Hitler into your Christmas this year.)
  
  
  
• I'm actually listening to that book via Audible and the reader, who has a tad bit of a German accent, pronounces "schedule" as "shed-yule", and now I want to do it, too. (Update: Ok, Internet research tells me that Brits pronounce it that way as well. I've watched British shows for years and have never picked that up.)
• Somehow is a statue of Robert E. Lee in the U.S. Capitol. Correction: There was one until yesterday. 
  
  
  
• Tiger's son was in the news this weekend as he played in a tournament with his father. Anyone else think that kid is going to be insufferable? 
  
  
  
• I don't know a thing about TAPPS football in Texas, but one final fame ended in a doozy. I'm not sure I've ever seen a tie game with 15 seconds left suddenly end with a Pick Six on the final play. Watch it. 
• For the love of all things holy, I hope the first thing that President Joe Biden does is kill Space Force. What a dumb publicity stunt. 
  
  
  
• The government has enough of your money for Space Force but, after a year of COVID, can only find enough to give you back a measly $600 in the new stimulus package.