12.24.2021

It's Christmas Eve -- Let's Get Out of Here

at 2:30 PM

Random Christmas Eve Morning Thoughts




It is Christmas Eve, so the shareholders of Liberally Lean have ordered that I not mention politics, criminal justice, vaccines, weather, Wise County news, the way things used to be,  college football, Above the Fold, or anything to do with day numbering.  So with that, I'll take the morning off and simply wish you all a Merry Christmas. 

'ppreciate ya, pal. 

- The Hardest Working Man in Show Business™

at 8:29 AM

12.23.2021

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




Upon reflection, I stand by that. Also, 10 years ago this week, the National Weather Service gave us hope for a White Christmas with temperatures also falling into the 20s:

  •  The Aggies have had to pull out of the Gator Bowl against Wake Forest not only because of COVID but (and this should be a bigger part of the story), its star players have either left the team to enter the draft or enter the transfer portal and there have been injuries.

    • Athletic director Ross Bjork didn't hide that this just wasn't a COVID issue: "We had over 40 guys out between COVID, season-ending injuries, transfers and opt-outs. We just didn't have enough. You can't put the other players that are healthy at risk."
    • So it sounds like they had enough players, they just didn't want to do it.
    • But they didn't have a single quarterback left after their starter entered the transfer portal and the backup got COVID.  

    • (I won't mention that Baylor beat North Carolina in the Citrus Bowl in 2015 without playing a single quarterback because of injuries. They lined up WRs in the backfield and ran the wildcat all night.  It was insane and fun. Baylor ran for 645 yards with a wide receiver rushing for 299 of them.)
    • The Gator Bowl game is scrambling to find another opponent for Wake Forest. I'd love to see Coastal Carolina play them who just played in, and won, a bowl game last Friday. That would end up being a great trivia question. 
  • This Craig Carter story keeps getting weirder. 
    • Here's new details from the police affidavit about the aggravated assault case which originated at an apartment complex near Buc-ees in far North Fort Worth. It allegedly involves an estranged wife and a gun. 

    • His "conspiracy" that he blames for the incident as well as a fatal traffic accident months earlier, seems to be related to an earlier claim about an unnamed Nocona family. This is from The Bowie News which is doing a great job here for a small town paper (click to enlarge):

    • Edit: Oh, man. If you are interested in all of this, a reader just pointed out this report posted moments ago. It's got a video which was shot before the cops got there showing the wife's friend escorting him off the property at gunpoint. It's wild!
    • I've said over the last couple of days that Carter ran against Rep. David Spiller earlier this year. I  was right, but what I didn't know was that he's running against him right now, too. 

    • Thanks to the faithful reader who has been all over this story. 
  • If you've ever wondered why that portion of 380 in Decatur is named "James 'Poncho' Bennett Memorial Highway" here is the original Messenger story from the main day of the trial on July 30, 1980 (click to enlarge):

    • That's our current district judge in the sketch (right) when he was D.A. 
    • You don't see many typed confessions these days. 
    • That case got to trial shockingly quickly. The murder happened on April 3, 1980.
    • Edit: Wait a second! That first sentence says the DA said, "The defense rests." Huh?
  • The new variant of COVID definitely is not as severe as Delta and far less likely to put you in the hospital, but it's finally beginning to take off in Texas over the last few days. New cases:

  • We pay her $174,000 a year.

  • Whatever happened to empty shelves and a shipping backlog? 
  • Before gun boats on the Rio, DPS and the Texas Rangers were battling booze via the air. (Hey, doesn't that look like our current Sheriff? Larger photo here.)

  • And another:

  • Hey, maybe I could be a Medical Examiner.
    • On Tuesday:

    • Yesterday:

  • Man, Ted Cruz actually sounds like he'll run for President next time. Video.



  • I haven't been over to Denton in a while but it sounds like they've fixed, somewhat, the entrances and exits for I-35 and University . . . 
at 8:31 AM

12.22.2021

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts






I filed a Motion for Continuance in a driver's license suspension case because I wanted to go to the Alamo Bowl. And I admitted that was the reason why in the Motion. It was granted with two handwritten notations. Practice tip: Always know the general nature of your judge before you do something like that. (The last printed paragraph was just boilerplate language if you are thinking I got chastised. I wasn't. He got a kick out of it.)

  • The guy who State Rep. David Spiller faced in the run-off spoke about being arrested for  aggravated assault, and it got a little bizarre. You might remember that his daughter and mother-in-law were tragically killed on I-35 in a car accident early this year during the campaign. Now he says his arrest was a "setup" and also claimed the "organization" behind that setup was "behind the fatal car accident." "Carter said the motive of the accident and this setup are both tied to his run for office."  Huh?

  • Loop 820 around North Richland Hills/Haltom City this morning. It is now closed: 



  • We almost had a trifecta of peace and understanding yesterday after the President's address about the Omicron variant:
    • Grace:

    • Appreciation:

    • And then there's Fox News:

  • Apparently I'm not the only one conflicted about this case. 

  • Called out. 

  • In Southlake yesterday:


  • Between this guy and the Jewish Laser QAnon Congresswoman, America has reason for concern. 

  • I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to do a "deep dive" into the case of the trucker sentenced to 110 years in prison. Well, lo and behold, Kim Kardashian (who somehow just passed the bar exam in California) said the exact same same thing later in the day. Let me tell you something: Her meaning of "deep dive" (which turned out to be seven short sentences) and my meaning aren't even in the same ballpark.

  • Charts I stole from the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning reveal that America's population didn't grow at all last year, but we did move around some with most people moving to Texas. 


  • In watching the John Adams mini-series on HBO which came out over 10 years ago, there were some scenes which seemed especially relevant today:

    • Twice the Adams family had to move out of town to escape disease engulfing their city.
    • Adams announced the votes of the Electoral College as Vice President and his fellow statesmen would have ripped him to shreds if he were to have suggested there was something wrong with the vote by the people. 
    • A woman never wants to get a mastectomy, but you dang sure didn't want to get one in 1810. 
    • Oh, and is there any chance that the "Framer's Intent" school of constitutional interpretation is a bunch of bull? I mean, in 1791 the First Amendment was ratified which plainly and simply said that Congress could make "no law" abridging Freedom of Speech. Pretty clear, right? Well just seven years later Congress passed the The Sedition Act of 1798 which made it illegal for anyone to express "any false, scandalous and malicious writing" against Congress or the president. And additional language punished any spoken or published words that had "bad intent" to "defame" the government or to cause the "hatred" of the people toward it. Good lord. And everyone just said, "OK, sounds good." 
  • Yesterday was the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century. 
  • Random high school football nugget:

  • Random college sports note:

  • Messenger: Above the Fold is not available. (Their website has been down all morning. I'll link to it once it is up.)

at 8:30 AM

12.21.2021

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




Yes, that's an awful reminder from ten years ago, but I may tear up again because this 
was the headline yesterday:


   
  • The unvaccinated who insist on "taking their chances" will certainly get that opportunity as Omicron has just been added to their schedule.  Everyone is going to be exposed to it. (It's still yet to explode in Texas, but it will.)

  • The kid involved in the wrong way driver crash out of Rhome lives in Northlake, but he must have some kind of Wise County connection. He was previously arrested by the Sheriff's office for "Minor in Consumption - Alcohol" on March 27, 2021.

  • We've got three juries deliberating right now in three high profile cases all involving female defendants: The tazer/gun case of Kim Potter, the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, and the Elizabeth Holmes case.
    © 2021 Liberally Lean Graphics Department

  • Watch Kyle Rittenhouse get introduced last night at the crazy Turning Point USA event. Video. We live in strange days. 

  • Oh, come on. 

  • The "autopsy results ruled out any obvious trauma as the cause of death." I'm guessing carbon monoxide poisoning, but I'm no ME. 


  • I wasn't familiar with this story. 

  • I've been seeing headlines about this for a week. I keep promising myself to take a deep dive into it because there must be something else to it beside "brakes failing." At least I hope there's more. Meanwhile, the prosecutors (one of whom graduated from law school two years ago) are getting roasted online for their post verdict celebrating. 



  • As the year comes to a close, I think I found this year's Wise County speeding winner in cause no. CR-21-00816-3.

  • It's the shortest day of the year. Sunset is at 5:28 p.m. 
  • We had our refrigerator go out last week, went a week without one, and when the new one was delivered and being installed yesterday some water connection got snapped which prompted an explanation of "we gotta call a plumber because we're not authorized to fix that", so the new krillion dollar fridge (that's what they cost these days) is now set up temporarily in the garage. Merry Christmas to me. 
    • Edit: I wrote that before I found the "Ten Years Ago" subject at the top. I don't think I have anything to complain about now. 
  • Baylor is getting a new basketball arena along the Brazos to go on the opposite side of I-35 across from the football stadium. 

  • You know what that "money laundering" story is about on the front page below? Gambling. Yep, gambling in East Texas.  It's a regular Casa Blanca in the piney woods. And they got hit with $1 million bonds.  (The criminal justice system is the real crook here.)

at 8:30 AM
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