3.05.2021

It's Friday -- Let's Get Out of Here

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




I had to work to remember this one since the Channel 8 link didn't work.  The mother was Krishonda Townsend, who actually had gone missing in July of 2010. Her skeletal remains would be found southwest of Mineral Wells in October of 2011.  This case remains unsolved, and I never could find a cause of death.  But the Weatherford Democrat has referred to her as a "murdered teen."
  • That case reminded me of another unsolved murder case out of Midlothian -- the one involving Missy Beavers who was killed in the very early morning hours at a church in 2016. You would think that mystery would have been resolved.

  • Big Wise County news yesterday where a juvenile female shot and killed a man in a "domestic dispute within the family" in Cottondale, and law enforcement seems incredibly tight lipped about the case. The most we got is that the sheriff said, "It's a sensitive situation."  That's all a little strange and gives rise to speculation. 
  • Early indications are that the ice/snow storm has caused a ton of bush and shrub death. 
  • A Dallas police officer, Bryan Riser, was arrested yesterday on two counts of capital murder. It looks like he was a possible suspect since 2019, but they kept him on the force and didn't tip him off. I guess the big question is why it took two years to develop enough evidence for a warrant.  

    • One very weird part of that story was that Riser was arrested for domestic violence in 2017. Here is this sentence from the Morning News story: "The outcome of that case was not immediately clear; it does not appear in Dallas County court records."
  • We now know the federal charges that prompted the FBI to arrest a Denton PD officer two days ago: Child porn. 
  • Wild video out of Southlake PD:

  • This "cancel culture" may not be too bad: Dr. Seuss publisher voluntarily decided to stop printing just six of his books, and feels comfortable doing so in part because Dr. Seuss' estate made $33 million last year putting him at #2 on Forbes "The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2020" list. 

  • The Wise County Sheriff's Office public database is down this morning. I assume it's only a momentary glitch, but I recall they were hit with a ransomware attack one time. Edit: It's back up.
  • This is a Bloomberg story, and the "watchdog" is hired by the State of Texas: 


  • Maybe the conservative Fort Worth Business Press is right when it said a couple of days ago that Gov. Abbott is a "moron." Now he wants the government to be able to control what a private company can and cannot say. And he's even holding a press conference today to promote this. (He actually knows better than this -- he's just feeding red meat to the masses.)

  • You know, Gov. Abbott is a horrible public speaker. I never really noticed this until the last couple of years where mass shootings, COVID, and the Deep Freeze have forced him to speak in front of the cameras. 
  • Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler died this week. I think the last time I mentioned him was when one of his deputies accidentally shot himself and then possibly lied about it in 2018. The original story of a third party shooter caused a massive investigation.  Fowler's reaction was only that the case was "now closed." Edit: I've learned that the deputy filed a products liability case in Parker County against the holster manufacturer.
    Even the feds were brought in to look for evidence of an "attempted murderer
    of a cop" who did not exist. 

  • If you got a lot of free time, here's the 37 page Inspector General's report revealing the past misconduct of Wise County's congressional representative Ronny Jackson: 

  • Not sure how I missed this since it's right in my wheel house: News of the World stars Tom Hanks as an ex-confederate soldier passing through Wichita Falls in the wild territory of North Texas "who assumes the dangerous task of returning a ten-year-old girl who has been taken captive by a band of Kiowa to her family in South Texas." I'm in. It's on demand on Amazon Prime or Google Play. (The film is based on a book by Paulette Jiles who was interviewed by Texas Monthly about the novel in 2016 here.)

  • 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: 609 days.
  • Messenger: Above the Fold


at 8:30 AM

3.04.2021

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




I only post this one to remind everyone it was 10 years ago when Charlie Sheen started acting crazy. Those were the days of "tiger blood", "warlock", and "winning." Yep, he threw around "winning" almost more than Trump ever would. (Here's a video compilation of Sheen doing just that.)     
  • Congress shut down today because of a crazy QAnon theory that Trump will be installed as the 19th President of the United States because all presidents since Ulysses S. Grant have been illegitimate. You may not know it, but you constantly come in contact with people who believe this. 

  • Mystery charges: A Denton patrol officer has been arrested by the FBI but they haven't told us why yet. Side note: He earned $83,807 as of two years ago. 
  • Well, I got my answer as to whether the $870,00 Man would survive: 

  • President Biden has a couple of words for the governors of Texas and Mississippi about ending the mask mandate:

  • Austin PD shot and killed a man earlier this year, but they have a creative reason as to why they can't release the video of the incident. Does the video need to thaw out? 

  • To whichever Wise County Justice of the Peace who has been setting bonds at $10,000 for the penny-ante drug charge of Possession < 1 gram: Stop it. 
  • Speaking of bonds, the Texas Attorney General and Houston Police Chief sparred about the subject:

  • One person on the last Rhome City Council meeting via Zoom was pretty casual. Video. (Thanks to the Faithful Reader for the tip.) 

  • We've got another amazing video from a church in Frisco. This time is is Keith Craft of Elevate Life Church who dropped a P-Bomb during a sermon. Video. 

  • An amazing 23 people will be on the ballot to replaced deceased Congressman Ron Wright out of Fort Worth. Here's a list of their names and occupations. 
  • Can cops get a search warrant looking for evidence connected with a "crime" so small as "reckless driving"? Yep. It's easy to do because they system has been ridiculously skewed to allow the government to do whatever they want.  And probable cause has been reduced to "we've got a hunch" where judges across the country routinely just give their rubber stamp of approval. 

  • Fifteen of of President Biden's predecessors had subjected themselves to a press conference by now. Biden has not. That's a problem. 

  • Every contestant incorrectly answered the Final Jeopardy answer yesterday. Sometimes the best bet to place is no bet at all: 



  • UNT students need to be on the lookout for this sinkhole near Union Circle. (Photo from last night). 

  • Another Elon Musk rocket blew up yesterday. He's doing great. 

  • Random tweets less than 24 hours apart:


  • Healthy teachers and school staff are now immediately eligible for the vaccine everywhere. (Unhealthy teachers already were eligible.)


at 8:28 AM

3.03.2021

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




The pastor was Clint Dobson. One year later, Steven Lawayne Nelson, 25, was convicted of capital murder in Tarrant County and sentenced to death. The conviction was affirmed in 2015, but I think he's still on Death Row. (As far as the Midlothian City Councilman, I won't mention his name but there is no question he is still suffering repercussions from being falsely accused and indicted.)     
  • No mask mandate and Texas is 100% open!  Come to Texas where if the freezing weather doesn't kill you, the COVID will.

  • Now we get to start the unnecessary confusion as to when you do have to wear a mask despite the governor's announcement. The rule is pretty simple: If you go on someone else's property and they require it, either put one on or leave.  But I'm guessing those establishments still requiring masks today will give up the fight within the next 30 days because everyone will be ignoring their request.  
  • There were 429 new COVID cases and 14 new deaths in Tarrant County yesterday. Spring break is coming up. Doesn't it seem like Abbott jumped the gun a little bit? But make no mistake about it: This was all above votes. 
  • CVS is now offering free COVID vaccines for teachers. 

  • The Department of Defense inspector general will release a report today about Wise County congressional representative Ronnie Jackson. 

  • In a eye-brow raising auto wreck, 13 people were killed in a two vehicle collision in California where 25 people had been crammed into a Ford Expedition. 

     

  • There's a weird case out of Hutto, Texas involving a missing woman where there is lots  of circumstantial evidence against her husband, but they've only charged him with Tampering with Evidence so far. Yet police claim they found a letter of confession in his kitchen but which he claims was only part of a book. I'd like to see the "letter." 

  • Amazon unveiled a new app icon but then quietly changed it after people pointed out it looked a little like Hitler. 

  • This is how Fox News covered FBI Director Wray's testimony yesterday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about how the Trump Insurrections on January 6th constituted "domestic terrorism":




  • Waco has now become the hotbed of patent litigation, and it will even become hotter after what happened yesterday: A $2.1 billon dollar verdict against Intel.  Two notes about the case: (1) It was jury of seven which only deliberated a little over three hours -- so everyone feel comfortable that they understood everything?, and  (2) the lead lawyers weren't from Texas -- one was from Los Angeles and the other was from Boston. 

  • I think things like this are interesting: Here is the jury panel questionnaire for the upcoming trial of Officer Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. (Yep, they are about to have a trial in Minnesota.)
  • For the first time in my life I bought a leaf blower simply to help clean out the garage. I've never owned a leaf blower. Verdict: This is the greatest invention in the history of ever. How have I not known this? 
  • In 1983, Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw checked into a Louisiana hospital for surgery under and alias. The name he used? Tom Brady. 

  • Messenger: Above the Fold 


at 8:31 AM

3.02.2021

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts





The youtube link for the video is still good.     
  • Gov. Abbott is going to a Mexican restaurant in Lubbock today to make an announcement. He's either going to discontinue the "mask mandate" or announce that he is a big fan of fajitas.

  • As he has always done, Texas AG Ken Paxton ignored the law and filed a lawsuit just to placate the masses and seek publicity.  Griddy did nothing wrong. Everyone who signed up with them knew exactly what they were getting into. Yet, Paxton will sue them to get headlines. 

  • The first head has been lopped off in wake of the Texas Energy Fiasco with the resignation of the top person at the Public Utilities Commission, DeAnn Walker.  It'll be interesting to see if $850,000 a year guy  Bill Magness, the president of ERCOT, survives this thing. You know, he just might.  If there is one thing we've all learned after a major political screw-up is this: Just ride it out, let a little time pass, and you may survive. 

  • In a growing trend, Dallas PD no longer cares about the state's dumb laws of making it a crime to possess less than 2 ounces of marijuana and will no longer enforce it. Note: This isn't just Dallas police wanting to implement a "cite and release" law which allows them to simply hand a person a notice to appear in court instead of arrest them. Nope, they will neither arrest nor give a citation to appear. Fort Worth PD announced the same policy in November. 

  • Yesterday alone, there were four people arrested in Wise County for being in possession of marijuana under 2 ounces. That's it. There were no other companion offenses. (One guy was arrested by Bridgeport PD, one by Decatur PD, and two people by DPS.)
  • A convicted felon is running for mayor in Arlington, and he may or may not be eligible to do so.  But I got side-tracked by the highlighted statement below in the story. Grand juries don't convict anyone of anything -- they just hand down indictments. 

  • The Republicans in Georgia, in light of the last election results, are now trying to make it as hard as possible to vote. Things like this are happening all over the country. 

  • As America gets back to normal in this post-Trump era, the fencing has come down around St. John's church across from the White House.  

  • NFL Reporter Jane Slater got dogpiled on Twitter yesterday for promoting "unpaid" internships. She was oblivious to the fact that the only people of privilege can afford to work for free.  






  • Legal stuff: Yesterday the New Mexico Supreme Court heard an appeal of the largest wrongful death verdict in state history: $165 million. I noted that one of the issues, but not the main one, was the judge had an ex parte (one sided) communication with one of the lawyers. But, in the judge's defense, he handled it as best he could: 

  • Nerdy legal stuff: I was hoping the Supreme Court would agree to hear a pending case as to whether cops illegally prolong a traffic detention by simply running someone's criminal history. It's an open question.  Last week, the Court decided not to answer it for us. (I don't think the facts were as clean as they would like to decide the issue.) But for those who are interested in this area, here's a link for some of the great briefs filed in that case. 
  • There's is no way I give JJ Watt $23 million in guaranteed money on a two year contract like Arizona did yesterday. In addition to being on the decline, he's injury prone at this stage in his career. He played in only 3 games in 2016, 5 games in 2017, and 8 games in 2019. This season will be his 11th year in the NFL.  

  • Very random political thought: Whatever happened to Sen. Phil Gramm? 

at 8:30 AM
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