- That post above was about Prince not appearing at a Super Bowl party in Addison because he hadn't been paid as agreed. It was a disaster in that people who paid "$1,500 a ticket" or "$25,000 a table" weren't told about he cancellation which had occurred earlier in the day and showed up for the event. As outlined in later Dallas Morning News story years later, Chris Arnold was heavily involved.
- There are simply no words to describe what happened in Fort Worth yesterday. After watching the second video of the incident unfold, I was done. I didn't want to see any more. So far we know the identities of two of the six fatalities: Aaron Watson, 45, of Fort Worth, and Tiffany Louann Gerred, 34, of Northlake. The Medical Examiner puts the time of death for both at 6:13 a.m.
- Edit: One of the victims was Christopher Ray Vardy, 49, from Boyd.
- The story was on the cover of the The Wall Street Journal this morning:
- In my next criminal trial in Wise County, can I get that special deal where I meet with a couple of jurors halfway through the trial so they can tell me what they think I should do next?
- Headlines from the last hour: Republican Golden Girl Nikki Haley finally came to her senses and has turned on Trump:
- Anyone cocking an eyebrow at this story? "Van Duyne called police after she heard a shot and saw a body on her front walkway at around 3:45 p.m. [on Wednesday.]"
- Surprise: The government refuses to prosecute the government.
- Random bad cop news I saw this week:
- The White House this morning.
- Dave Ramsey with some loving words of financial encouragement. Good lord, man.
- I can't tell you how close the facts of this Idaho criminal justice disaster came to happening in Wise County in the Lauren Whitener/Aric Maxwell case: A murder/rape was committed, DNA was left behind who didn't match the guy the cops targeted, but a conviction based upon a coerced confession was obtained that put the man in prison. But 20 years later he was freed and the true killer, who had lived nearby, was identified by a familial DNA investigation. The only difference is that Aric Maxwell, in the Lauren Whitener case in Wise County, never confessed despite over 15 hours of interrogation spanning five different interviews. He was arrested, indicted and kept in jail for six months anyway. I'm still as pissed off about it now about as I was last year.
- Speaking of: 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: 588 days.
- Messenger: Above The Fold
- That's a pic of the security lines at Jerry World's Super Bowl.
- Holy crap, this is in Fort Worth this morning. I think that's I-35 at NE 28th Street. (Video in link)
- Edit: Found another photo . . .
- Edit: Here's a Facebook video of it happening. Incredible. Language warning.
- Edit:
- You cannot have watched yesterday's impeachment trial, be a patriot, and not think Donald Trump should be convicted. And even though Republican Senators will probably just sit idly by and allow this Trump led carnage to go unpunished, yesterday's proceedings created a historical record for all future generations to see just how close Democracy came to falling that day. They will read it, watch it, and study it in horror.
- We learned for the first time yesterday that the Trump Insurrectionists were on the verge of killing Mitt Romney had he not been directed away from where he was walking -- which was right into them.
- Trump's failure to stop the riot once it began cannot be understated. He loved it. He wanted it. He wanted to see the country burn all because he couldn't handled forever being labeled a "loser." And this moment yesterday from a Texas representative wasn't hyperbole.
- But the biggest news about January 6th occurred after the trial. Politico reported this morning that new Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, a Trump loyalist, inadvertently revealed late yesterday that he spoke directly to Trump during the riot and told him that VP Mike Pence was in danger and had just been evacuated. Shockingly, that was the same time that Trump tweeted out to the mob that Pence had failed him. Pence was evacuated at 2:15 p.m. Trump tweeted about Pence at 2:24 p.m. Trump was basically trying to get Pence killed.
- Sorry, girl, I don't believe you for one single second. Welcome to the world of personal responsibility and consequences.
- And another one from North Texas was arrested yesterday.
- <Record scratch sound>
- News that Bruce Springsteen was arrested for DWI broke yesterday, but there's lots of odd aspects to it: (1) It happened back in November, (2) His blood-alcohol concentration was only 0.02, and (3) it's a "federal charge" because it happened in a national park.
- Larry Flynt of Hustler fame has died. He gave us a great Supreme Court First Amendment case which held that Jerry Falwell couldn't recover money damages just because Flynt hurt his feelings and was mean to him. And he also brought us a fantastic movie starring Woody Harrelson where Flynt got to play a small part in as a trial judge.
- On of my favorite movie lines occurred in that film when Flynt's lawyer threatened to quit since he was such a difficult client. "You don't want to quit me," Flynt's character said, "I'm your dream client: I'm the most fun, I'm rich, and I'm always in trouble."
- Mark Cuban caved in record time yesterday once the NBA slapped him down about not playing the National Anthem. That whole episode was weird. Pick a fight, run your mouth, and then cower down all within 24 hours. Why do that?
- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, always looking for publicity when he's not committing crimes, proposed a law yesterday that the Dallas Mavericks shall play the National Anthem since the AAC was built with public funds. Why stop there? Why not force every game attendee to kneel, bow, and and worship the government if they drove on a public road to get there? Moron.
- I'm a little late to this: The daughter of a former backup Cowboys quarterback who has something to do with Star Wars is in hot water because she compared something to the Holocaust?
- Missed on that one.
- The impeachment trial of Donald Trump started off with a haymaker of 12 minute video. Every American should watch it. And after reminding us of the horrors, it ended with what should be a knock out blow:
- The caption has a typo, but that's actually Miami, Texas this morning (brought to you by the ABC affiliate in Amarillo.)
- If I hadn't fired my weather staff, I would tell you if Wise County schools and county offices will be closed tomorrow. It's looking dicey, but that's just my natural weather instincts kicking in.
- Yes, the Texas Cat Lawyer video is everything that it has been acclaimed to be. Watch it. Enjoy it.
- Some people are more upset about this than the Trump Insurrectionists attempting the coup on January 6th.
- Jerry Jones is preparing for bad weather -- spotted buying wine in a convenience store in Prosper.
- This headline is a little harsh.
- This story is a little wild. Throw in that his law firm has split up, a private jet has been repossessed, and the firm was sued in Tarrant County for $344,000 for unpaid marketing invoices, and things aren't going well. (By "opioid lawyer", the headline means his firm was retained by Bexar County to sue opioid manufacturers and retain a hefty a fee if successful -- a contract which raises its own questions.)
- Legal stuff: I had a bullet point the other day about a proposal to turn the fourteen Texas appellate courts into just four. I'm not saying it will be done, but check out this sneaky way of how it would come to fruition: House Bill 339 by Rep. Phil King has been filed which does nothing but cause some harmless changes. Read it. It's simple. But it would actually serve as a "placeholder bill" which would be drastically amended later on to create this massive 14 courts into 4 change.
- Call me grumpy, but I don't care about the answers of 415 strangers. Nor can I believe 415 people took the time to answer as if their answer matters to anyone but them.
- There's probably an innocent explanation.
- I've been preaching about how Tyler Technologies has made a literal fortune off of Texas government contracts for the last 20 years. Now they are expanding -- and they are paying cash:
- In the Messenger today, there's a Letter to the Editor from the founder of the new Wise County Conservatives group trying to clarify the question of the group's stance on secession. If I understand it, and I paraphrase, he says, "I don't know if Wise County Conservatives favors Texas seceding from the U.S. because we've only met once. As for my personal opinion, I wasn't asked." Fair enough. But I think the group should take a vote on the issue at its upcoming meeting and report back to us.
- Messenger: Above the Fold
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