- Yep, I'm here. I'm busting into 2021 prepared to defend my crown as as The Hardest Working Man in Show Business™.
- Texas hospitalizations: The year ended with the same nasty attitude. We blew past 12,000.
- The local hospital has informed me they have indeed received 1,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine. Below is the procedure to get in line. While the shipment was "unexpected" they "were thankful" and noted that at the current time "we are not receiving advanced notifications for future shipments."
- Once the vaccine is issued, can we at least have people wait indoors and avoid this situation in Tarrant County yesterday?
- Let's talk about my no snow forecast. For those of you who went to bed early and woke up late, I'd like for you to take a look out the window and be amazed at my accuracy. You may now go on to the next bullet point. As to those who stayed up late and just happened to look out the window around 11:00 p.m., I'd like to say that I was wrong.
- Gov. Abbott wasn't exactly "law and order" last night as he directly told Austin restaurants to defy a closing order by the Austin Mayor and Austin County Judge. This occurred despite a state district judge earlier in the evening upholding the closing order. (It was also later upheld by the Austin Court of Appeals.) Never before in my entire legal career can I remember a year of federal and local officials just telling people to ignore court orders.
- I'm no master politician or mathematician, but that 2,240 number below isn't anything to brag about as a year long accomplishment.
- The Times Square "ball drop" was turned basically into a Kia commercial.
- There was a brawl at the the end or the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth yesterday. If you want to see a quick loading video of the entire incident along with the fantastic and funny commentary by Jomboy, here you go.
- This made me laugh.
- Yesterday, 10 speeding cases in a row were filed in JP1 all alleging the different drivers were going 80 in a 70. As a guy which monitors everything filed in Wise County, I can say that's weird.
- Based upon Wise County Jail records, there were two arrests last night for DWI and one for Minor in Consumption.
- Random Iowa Park news.
- You know, I've never met famed DWI Tarrant County lawyer Mimi Coffey out of Fort Worth, but yesterday she posted this which made me at least believe we are kindred spirits. We both don't drive expensive cars and both will drive them into the ground.
- Time which has passed since the Wise County Sheriff's Office has failed to solve the murder of Lauren Whitener in her home at Lake Bridgeport: 546 days
- Messenger: Above the Fold.
- On of the guys convicted in the Blackwater Massacre and pardoned by Trump is from Olney . . .
- Texas Hospitalizations: +217 and now knocking on 12,000. It has really ramped up when I was expecting a plateau by now.
- A faithful reader pointed out that this official state map shows that the local Wise County hospital has 1,200 doses of Moderna on hand. We both find that hard to believe. (If you go to the site, just click on the red dot in Wise County, and don't bother with the search boxes.) Edit: The hospital confirms to me this is, in fact, true.
- This was an actual tweet last night by one of Trump's greatest supporters (and from someone Trump has retweeted before.) They are all nuts.
- But there must be some truth to that because Lin Wood is a man of faith.
- I was in the Liberally Lean Weather Lab late into the night, and I'm now prepared to make my prediction: We will get no snow. Zilch. Nada. Most of the "experts" in DFW disagree. They are wrong. So let it be written. So let it be done.
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| Fake News |
- A lady named Susan Wright from the Houston area was released from prison yesterday. Her trial gave rise to one of the craziest courtroom stunts in Texas history with a female prosecutor straddling a male prosecutor on a bed brought into the courtroom. (The prosecutor, Kelly Siegler, was later found by a judge to have withheld evidence in a different high-profile murder case.)
- My Fox News nomination for "Image of the Year":
- Claimed by some to be the most prolific killer in U.S. history, Samuel Little has died. But some question whether his confessions can be compared to those of Henry Lee Lucas. Both cases have connections to Texas Rangers who live in Wise County. (James Holland and Phil Ryan.)
- I was thinking the other day that is has been months since we've heard about any Lotto jackpot getting so high that it becomes a headline. That's really the only time I pay attention to it. And I never pay attention to lottery scratch-off news. At least until . . . :
- I'm sure you heard that Dawn Wells has died. Only Tina Louis (Ginger) survives.
- Sports:
- There is no way OU could have made the playoffs after starting 0-2 but they are more deserving of being in the final four than Notre Dame. And they will be better next year. And the year after that.
- Arm bands gone wild:
- Watch Wisconsin accidentally destroy the Mayo Bowl trophy in the locker room.
- My greatest take-away from 2020 might very well be how it has revealed how truly bonkers a large percentage of the U.S. population is. People I used to think were normal are now folks I wouldn't trust to care for a penny. "How can that person be so dumb?" is something I've uttered a thousand times this year.
- There will be no Messenger Update today. (This note brought to you by THWMISB™).
- Texas hospitalizations: A major jump of +424 after setting a record yesterday.
- And don't forget that even though that's a Texas state-wide chart, it's right around us with a vengeance.
- We might want to pick up the pace. This isn't exactly, uh, warp speed:
- Not exactly the best news:
- So, as I understand the story, TABC is "training" guys who work for private entities as beer deliverers (we've all seen them) to look for "signs" of human trafficking and then report back. Why? TABC can then just walk in the door because they have unlimited power to do so. In this era where people almost got killed because of nutcase rumors in Pizzagate, what could possibly go wrong?
- Then again, sometimes even tips which seem really important lead to no action at all:
- Socialism! (But, since he's on a roll, can he push for $4,000 while he's at it?)
- Two more people have died at the Tarrant County Jail. One due to COVID and one due to suicide. That would bring the total to 17 for the year. Incredible.
- This is a great Jerry Jones recent quote that went under the radar about how he deals with the salary cap. It's all clear now, right? Lights on? Lights off?
- Don't talk to a Horns fan today. They'll tell you "they'rrreee baaaaack." Again. (Although that big man interception was most impressive.)
- An OSU wide receiver might have opted-out of a bowl game at halftime last night.
- Messenger: Above the Fold
- Texas hospitalizations: There you have it. We've been following this graph for months, and we've now reached an all time high.
- The House approved $2,000 for stimulus checks, but there's no way the Senate goes along with it. You'll be stuck with $600. But the Senate will override Trump's veto of the military funding bill to make sure we throw $740 billion at the business of war. Unless Bernie steps in . . .
- But if that military funding bill goes through with the override, say goodbye to confederate names on military bases! Oh, the horror! And our National Monuments will be torn down! What's worse, you won't even be able to complain about it over 5G because it'll be gone too! (Side note: Someone needs to alert the funny farm on this man.)
- Did you see that Southlake and Arlington Martin played a high school playoff game on Christmas Eve? And it was a night game. That's the only time they could fit it in?
- The amateurs in DFW are rolling out this map. I need to remind you that I've yet to make a prediction, but I appreciate them trying to intimidate me by putting the wet/snow line right over Decatur.
- Here's a Christmas present I received of college T-shirts. There is a riddle in there as to how they are all related in some way and it is has nothing to do with sports.
- The race to fill Drew Springer's now vacant Texas House seat has been set for a special election for January 23rd. And I would like to announce that Liberally Lean is being lobbied by the two announced candidates. I actually got a call from David Spiller from Jack County yesterday as he was out kissing babies and back slapping ranchers, but I've also been contacted directly by a family member of Jason Brinkley of Cooke County who tells me that they (the person who contacted me) is a "long time fan of your blog." Can I moderate a debate where I just get to relay wheels off questions from Liberally Lean readers who could not possibly handle the situation maturely? I've even got my expensive graphic departments working on it:
- Dumbest man in Texas?
- I've been keeping my eye on the Lottery Case on appeal out of Wichita Falls. To refresh your memory, that's the case where the guy was convicted of Aggravated Sexual Assault and received life in prison when his lawyers made the "strategic decision" not to put up any fight whatsoever. (I got locked in when I learned the guy's mom won the lottery and paid the lawyers, who were out of Plano, a reported $600,000.) Anyway, the case was appealed last December and another lawyer was put in place. So what's the status? That lawyer had a THIRD request for an extension of time to file the Defendant's Brief granted this month. It is now due in late March. (It was originally due in March 2019 but he got a six month extension back then.) The defendant is sitting in prison.
- I'm told not to call it a cult.
- Sports: This seems like a perfect time to bet on the Sooners, right? Warning: Sports betting is dangerous.
- Sports II: I see a recurring name.
- John Fetterman is the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, and he's on Twitter wanting Dan Patrick to pay up. In the immortal words of Teddy KGB in Rounders, "Pay the man his money."
- Google "Mimi Groves" if you want to have an internal debate with yourself.
- Be sure to bug everyone by asking, "How was your Christmas?"
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