Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

Still true. 

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• I don't know how you could drop your kids off at school yesterday without crying. 
• No one wants to say it, but it is becoming clear that the police response in Uvalde may have left something to be desired.  It didn't help that DPS Director Steve McCraw stammered and contradicted prior DPS spokesmen yesterday at the massive press conference.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• After crashing the truck, the shooter made his way onto the school property and "encountered" an officer. That officer was "wounded" but did not return fire. We know the shooter dropped a backpack at this point. I keep seeing this overhead shot of what looks like blood on the sidewalk and a backpack nearby. I have no idea if that is the scene of the first encounter. 
  
  
  
• We've got some footage of the shooter outside of the school all dressed in black and carrying the rifle. That's a man clearly with bad intentions. 
  
  
  
• He then entered the school and encountered two more officers. They fired and were possibly wounded in an exchange of gunfire. (But even this isn't 100% confirmed.)
• The shooter then makes his way into a classroom, which was connected by an inner door to another classroom, and barricades himself. There he massacres 19 kids and two teachers while police, contrary to what DPS had reported, waited a very, very long time (40 to 60 minutes) to enter the classroom. It sounds like they were gathering and assembling a "swat" like team during that time -- a team which probably was composed primarily of border agents. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Outside, parents yelled at police to enter.  Fox 4 News was even showing video of this this morning.   Edit: Here it is. 
  

• The small Uvalde PD somehow has its own SWAT team. I have no idea where it was.
  
  
  
• Look, this is tough. It might have been split second decisions with split second mistakes. But if there is security footage of all of this, I bet it won't be good. 
• Greg Abbott was horrible in his press conference yesterday in his attempt to try to relay facts. He shocked everyone by saying the shooter "posted on Facebook" (video cued up) 30 minutes before the murders that "I'm going to shoot my grandmother", then had a "second post" of "I shot my grandmother",  and then another one less than 15 minutes before the mass murder of "I'm going to shoot an elementary school."  And while the shooter did say that, it is false that he posted the messages on Facebook. They weren't public posts on Facebook for all to see -- and potentially react to -- but instead were private messages sent to a 15 year old girl in Germany.  All major news agencies ran with the "posted on Facebook" story before Facebook itself issued a press notice that it wasn't true. (The girl in Germany had already come forward with the texts.)
  
  
  
• Abbott also had two other questionable statements during his dog and pony show.
• "It could have been worse."
• What a horrible thing to say and, at this point, I'm not sure that's even true.
• As to whether he will attend the NRA convention, he said he hadn't decided because “I’m living moment to moment right now.”
• Good god. I know 21 people that aren't living moment to moment. 
• Beto interrupted Abbott's press conference after Abbott had concluded his remarks.
  
  
  
• Some critics call it a publicity stunt, and it may very well have been, but he was interrupting a publicity stunt. Every single guy on that stage is clowning us. They know they will never do anything about dead children, but they do this grandiose press conference to create the illusion that they care.
  
  
  
• And they seemed to be more upset and have a greater reaction to Beto than the slaughter of babies. 
• Based upon their deer-in-headlights reaction to an unexpected speaker, I don't think they would handle an active shooter situation very well.
• My favorite part was Abbott's DPS lapdog Steve McCraw sitting on his hands and oddly smacking his lips when it went down. Have I mentioned he makes $299,813 a year?
  
  
  
• After two years of nutcases screaming at school boards over masks and CRT, Beto looked downright reasonable. 
• Ted Cruz has a plan! Have just "one door"!
  
  
  
• Follow the money.  And he's still on the NRA's schedule this weekend.  
  
  
  
• I've always had an interest in front pages. 
  
  
  
• Four days, three purchases. Two AR-15 rifles and 375 rounds of ammo. All right after turning 18 years old.
  
  
  
  
• From Uvalde Police Department's Facebook page:
  
  
  
• Yep. She was one of the victims.
  
  
  
• Before the Miami Heat game last night and after the moment of silence, the PA Announcer urged voters to call the Senate switchboard and to vote to "make changes at the ballot box." (Video) The crowd roared.
  
  
  
• I'm on the verge of conceding the United States is not on a sustainable path.