9.24.2021

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts






Ten years ago this week the Pac 10 told Texas, OU, Tech and Oklahoma State they were not wanted. As a result, the Big 12 would continue, and they celebrated in Waco (above) because of it. I'm surprised it lasted another 10 years.  

  • As Texas COVID hospitalizations tale off, the number of deaths are now peaking with a heck of a number coming in yesterday.

  • Much to the chagrin on Insurrection lovers, The Big Lie will get a (needless) confirmation today.  The results of the Maricopa County, Arizona "audit" -- which was done by a fly by night outfit called Cyber Ninjas, hired by a group of Republicans, and headed by a conspiracy theorist -- will actually confirm that President Biden won with even more votes than the official tally. (But make no mistake about it, Cyber Ninjas was totally unqualified to run any type of audit whatsoever. And whatever they announce, it should be ignored and the official tally should be respected.)


  • The timing of the announcement is perfect.  Yesterday Trump, proving that he is still the Puppet Master, demanded that Texas be audited. In response and literally just hours later, Gov. Abbott leapt to attention and announced that four counties -- which Democrats won or are gaining strong ground in (Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Collin) -- would be audited by the interim Secretary of State. Incredible. 

  • We live in the dumbest times. (This is QAnon Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene from a couple of days ago.) 

  • There is now an arrest warrant out for Brian Laundrie but it is not for the murder of Gabby Petito.  Instead, it's for unauthorized use of her debit/credit card. Get this: They made this a federal, and not a state, charge. How? You just add the magic words in red below to invoke federal jurisdiction. 


  • Bad cop (allegedly): A constable in Fort Worth was purportedly caught on Walmart video not paying in the self-checkout line. Walmart is like Vegas watching gaming tables from above. 

  • I didn't read the story, but this Star-Telegram headline gave me pause. 

  • Caught my attention: This photo on the cover of the Dallas Morning News accompanying a story about the opening of the State Fair. That's one way to trick up a slide. 

  • Weird Thing I Noticed When Looking At The Wise County Jail List: Last night two people were arrested after midnight by the Runaway Bay Police Department for Public Intoxication. That's pretty rare in itself. What's odd is that one had the first name "Orlin" and the other "Orlien." And they are in fact two different people. 
  • It's behind a paywall, and I think I'm the only one who cares about it, but a big oil and gas scammer was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday. He's a former sponsor of the Mark Davis radio show podcast. 

  • Anyone else think it's weird that a Trump appointed judge to the Fifth Circuit spoke at a seminar last Saturday, sponsored by the ultra conservative Federalist Society, on how to sue the Biden Administration? (They actually changed this description days before he spoke.)

  • More Mark Cuban instigated chaos for the Mavericks. Recall it was just a few months ago that Voulgaris was cited in an article in The Athletic for causing all sorts of tension in the organization. Cuban immediately called the article a lie. Then the team's coach and general manager promptly quit/were fired. 

  • 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: 814 days.
  • Messenger: Above the Fold

at 8:31 AM

9.23.2021

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




I regret not keeping a list of all the things I've heard Wise County cops say on video over the years.    

  • I can't find it online, but WFAA/Channel 8 had a story last night on how COVID is running rampant in Wise County and overwhelming our hospital. It is as bad here as it is anywhere. 
  • And why wouldn't it be?  

  • I don't think he's "missing" but simply laying low.  And why wouldn't he?  There's no arrest warrant for him and an army of reporters would be watching his every move if he tried to go about his normal life. Who wouldn't go into hiding? 


  • As we deal with the Haitian crisis as the border, never forget the amount of money that DPS conned you out of to buy those gun boats.  They are 36' long with three 300 horse power motors on the back.



  • Bridgeport coming in cold this morning. 

  • In the past I've covered the case of the prosecutor moonlighting as a paid clerk for a Texas judge in the same death penalty case that his office was prosecuting. It was the very same prosecutor who opposed a Motion filed by the defendant to vacate his death penalty and, incredibly, actually wrote the Order for the judge denying the Motion. Yesterday, finally, the Court of Criminal Appeals set aside the conviction. 

  • "The teen has already gone through at least one surgery at Medical City Plano. But according to her family, so far medically, the chances of her walking again are slim."

  • I'm really confused about the "status" of booster shots. I got mine a couple of weeks ago despite being under 65 and not in a high risk group. And no one asked any questions. Practically speaking, if you want one, you can go get one if you know where to look. 

  • Some familiar Texas Republicans are supporting Liz Cheney in her re-election bid. Cheney has not shied away from the noble position of condemning the January 6th Trump Insurrection for what it was. 

  • The Dallas Morning News took a deep dive into the story that late last year a cougar or mountain lion killed a man near the small Texas town of Lipan.  It's basically a "who can you believe?" story which questions the  investigative skills of a small county Sheriff's Office, as well as the credibility of the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office which has basically been gutted since then due to publishing false autopsy reports. (Texas Monthly just did a similar long piece on this mess.)

    "Christopher Allen Whiteley, a chronic methamphetamine user with a long and violent criminal record, was found dead last December outside Lipan, a town of about 400. His autopsy — conducted in Fort Worth because Hood County doesn’t have its own medical examiner’s office — showed he was probably high when he died."

    "By the morning after they found Whiteley’s body, investigators began thinking 'outside the box'."

  • One of the greatest public information sites on the web is one administered by Tarrant County which publishes search warrant affidavits issued by police. Just look for those which have "affidavit" in their name after you perform a date search. It's hit and miss, but I've read some wild things.


at 8:30 AM

9.22.2021

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




That *was* funny. But it's amazing there was actually a presidential debate 10 years ago where Ricky Perry, Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain (R.I.P) were all on the same stage. I looked it up and there was also Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, and Rick Santorum.

  • Today the Messenger published in full Thomas Houchin's resignation statement as president from the Decatur School Board. (There are some very odd and confusing sentences in there.) But the resignation changes nothing. He's still on the board and part of a 4 to 3 voting block. I really don't understand why he did it. 
  • One of the best sentences from the Messenger story begins with "He repeated a claim, without providing evidence, that  . . . ."  That's a phrase we've become very familiar over the past four years. 

  • If it makes Decatur feel any better, there's school board chaos everywhere. 

  • This case is unusual. If I'm reading it correctly -- and reading between the lines -- it sounds like officers went into a hotel room after claiming there was consent to enter when in actuality they went and got a key from the front desk.   And I call it unusual not because of the officers' conduct, but because of the fact they would actually get in trouble for it. 

  • We can safely speed on Texas highways because all the DPS vehicles have been sent to the border. 

  • Whenever Gov. Abbott callas for the cameras, the head of DPS, who had become Abbott's de facto personal errand boy, is never far behind. It's really incredible how he is always there.

  • According to the Messenger, Texas House Rep. Phil King absolutely expects Wise County to be moved out of his district when the new map is released. (I'm not sure that's a loss.) And he expects us to be grouped with "other rural counties."  If I had to throw out a wild guess, that almost sounds like we would join David Spiller's District 68. His current district is below -- I had my highly compensated graphics department put arrows pointing out Wise County.

  • New Space Force uniforms have been unveiled.  Can we just kill this silly program already?

  • TMZ has video of a fight at the last Cowboys game in LA. Just like I'm not going to Deep Ellum, I'm not real hip on going to an NFL game these days. 

  • I ran across this guy in the middle of the night on TV. Of all the scamming TV evangelists I've seen, he might be the worst.  I was watching the crime of fraud happen right in front of eyes. He was literally promising people their "gift" would multiply in their own bank account. 


  • This is weird. He started four years at Baylor and then decided to transfer. Now he's gone. 

  • Eleven games left, and they are going to have to go 8-3 to avoid 100 losses.  

  • Messenger: Above the Fold



at 8:31 AM

9.21.2021

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts





Ten years ago I wrote (at length) about how the Fort Worth Court of Appeals had just reversed a conviction of a lady who had been sentenced to 35 years for dope in Wise County.  In looking for an update just now, I found that a year later the higher court in Austin reinstated it. In also doing a TDC search, however, it looks like she is no longer in a cage and has been released on parole.  

  • John Walsh, of America's Most Wanted fame, has gone off on Brian Laundrie and his family in interviews last night with Tucker Carlson and again this morning on Good Morning America. I understand completely that he (and most everyone) thinks Laundrie killed Gabby Petito, but tap the brakes a little bit, man. He's making stuff up. ("He beat her to death.")  And someone needs to tell him there is not yet an arrest warrant outstanding for Laundrie since he is urging viewers to give him tips where he is "and we'll pick up the guy."

  • I spoke too soon yesterday. Now there are two lawsuits against the abortion provider who penned an admission in an op-ed in The Washington Post. Both plaintiffs are from out of state and have no connection to the doctor or patient whatsoever. But the law gives the right to sue.
    • The first guy is a disbarred lawyer, a convicted felon, and a nut. Petition here seeking $100,000. And, yes, this is him: 

    • The second guy is a suspended lawyer who just wants to be a test case. But his two page petition here shows why he is probably suspended. He doesn't even ask for the minimim of $10,000 but just simply says the Texas law is "illegal." That's not the way you do it. 
  • Bridgeport needed a new fire station and the one unveiled is nice, but more than one person has asked me how it cost $2.3 million. 

  • There weren't many guys with a home videocam at the ready back then. This is a COVID death, by the way. 

  • When this school counselor in Bedford was arrested in 2018 the lede was a "33-year-old school counselor is accused of having sex with a ninth-grade student nearly a dozen times and even told the student's sister that she would leave her husband for him, according to an arrest affidavit." She is actually going on trial this week in Tarrant County. They couldn't work this out? Defense lawyers are listed as Steve Gebhardt, Andrea Towensend, and Chip Lewis.

  • Your reminder that there are people who actually watch Fox News in the evening. This is what they saw last night: 

  • The Texas AG issued a press release yesterday putting in words just how dumb he is. That statement is fundamentally not true and any high school civics student knows it. 

  • "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

  • Pro golfer John Daly visited the University of Arkansas basketball team yesterday.

  • One of the funniest emails I got compared the Decatur School Board Tapes to the secretly recorded (and expletive filled) car sales meeting of Bart Reagor in Lubbock. 


at 8:30 AM
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)