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We are in a bit of a drought right now, but I'm guessing Gov. Abbott is a little gun-shy about
bringing up anything having to do with the weather.
- Derek Chauvin notes:
- It can't be stressed enough how Chauvin would not have been convicted but for a teenager with a cellphone video.
- If she had not had filmed it, the cops would not only have tried to cover it up but they would have also gotten away with it. In fact, that's exactly what they tried with their first press release:
- The person in charge of that press release is paid $110,000 a year in taxpayer money to spin the news in favor of the police. He didn't review the bodycam before he issued the above statement.
- Loyal followers of conservative DFW talk show host Mark Davis weighed in on the verdict:
- I don't understand how Chauvin can be convicted of three different felonies for the same act. In fact, I know he can't. Texas courts certainly wouldn't allow it under their interpretation of the Double Jeopardy Clause. (Minnesota law allows for Chauvin to only be punished for the most serious offense, but I still don't think he can receive multiple convictions for the same assault against he same person.)
- A lot of the national media focused on how this seems to be the "first" case with nationwide coverage where an officer has been convicted for wrongdoing. Maybe so, but we are used to it around here. We've had the recent convictions of Amber Guyger and Roy Oliver. And we've got the prosecution of Aaron Dean for the death of Atatiana Jefferson in Fort Worth already in the hopper.
- The judge in Chauvin's trial will take a mind numbing eight weeks before assessing the sentence. This is a reminder of how Texas is one of few states that allow a defendant to choose the jury to assess punishment. I think the only ones which allow it besides Texas are Arkansas, Kentucky, Virginia, Oklahoma and (kind of) Missouri.
- As we were awaiting the Chauvin verdict, an Ohio officer shot a 15 year old girl four times in the chest yesterday. It's on bodycam video as well, and the police released it last night. It appears the girl had a knife and was attacking the girl in pink so there probably won't be an uproar about this. (Then again, I was wrong about my predicted reaction to the Chicago shooting of the 13 year old.)
- Texas Democrat out of Williamson County:
- Remember that horrible Burleson case last week where a police officer was shot during a 4:00 a.m. traffic stop and then hours later a carjacking victim showed up at the Joshua PD station with gunshot wounds and later died? Well we now know how she got there: The alleged shooter
"crashed through" the PD's "back gate" and dumped her out. He then drove off and was arrested in Gainesville hours later.
- Folks, we're never going to even crack 50%. Heck, I'm no sure about even 40%. And it's not because of lack of availability of the vaccine. Nope. There are more than half of us who have made the voluntary decision not to get the vaccine. This makes my head explode. (Chart source.)
- Not that anything would ever happen, but churches can lose their tax-exempt status by expressly endorsing political candidates. With that in mind, watch how Gateway Church Pastor Robert Morris expertly skirted the rule last Sunday. He even put up the names of church members who were running for office up on the big screen while not endorsing them.
- What's this? (@PrezFarmer is the Weatherford College president who called the upcoming announcement a "game changer" this morning.)
- Messenger: Above the Fold (Link fixed)
