9.23.2022

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




That was actually from August of 2012, but I passed over it last month. However, while I was in the prosecutor's office his name came up, and I was then informed -- corrected, actually -- that Travis is still with us. I didn't expect that because his wheels were really off 10 years ago. Good for him. 

  • Not that he cares about public pressure, but Ukraine might be feeling a bit like Vietnam for Putin.  But I bet, in the end, he still ends up with eastern Ukraine -- which is what he really wanted all along. 

  • A plane from Newark, NJ had sparks and debris fall from it and into a parking lot all of which was captured on video yesterday. But how would you like the pilot to tell you that you'll have to fly in circles around the Atlantic Ocean for two hours to burn off fuel before you landed "just in case" that landing didn't go well. 


  • Cops arresting cops -- for made up crimes, no less:

    • And someone tracked down this old photo of him standing next to a sign warning about potential prostitution arrests. 

  • The reason you haven't heard much about this case is because the bodycam of the confrontation in a convenience store parking lot was never released.  And it still hasn't been released. 

  • Alex Jones is about to get hit (again) for big money damages for lying about Sandy Hook, but I don't know what I think about the judge or Plaintiff's lawyer.  The lawyer is playing it up for the cameras a little too much. And yesterday, while he was "grilling" Jones on whether he called the judge sitting beside him a "tyrant",  the judge, instead being poker faced like she should be, glared at Jones while the question was asked. Video. 

  • You will see a story of a police officer getting arrested for DWI from time to time, but . . . . 

  • The Supreme Court isn't in session, but they still rule on emergency applications for a stays of execution.  It appears that Justice Amy Coney Barrett is very often voting with the Dirty Libs on death penalty cases. Not that it has any impact, however. 

    • But the guy wasn't executed three hours later because the State couldn't couldn't find a vein when they wanted to kill him. So they unstrapped him and took him back to his cell. The whole thing is so barbaric. 

  • Another high school football death. 

  • On a much lighter note, there was one of the all time greatest catches on Thursday Night Football last night. Quick video.

  • Legal nerdy stuff: In a COVID fallout case, the Fort Worth court of appeals yesterday reversed a misdemeanor assault conviction because the alleged victim, over the defendant's objections, wore a mask while testifying.  And here are the participants: 


    • More legal nerdy stuff: You can't get the case reversed unless the judge, on the record, denies your objection at trial. Look at how great attorney Mark Daniel is here in making sure the judge does exactly that. And I'll bet money that judge was smiling there at the end because he knew exactly what was going on. 

  • Time which has passed since the Wise County Sheriff's Office, despite having a full male DNA profile, has failed to solve the murder of Lauren Whitener in her home at Lake Bridgeport: 3 years, 80 days.
  • Messenger: Above the Fold



at 8:30 AM

9.22.2022

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts



With the presidential election nearing, Romney was secretly recorded while making this speech. Back then it was a big deal. Compare this to the "grab 'em by" video, and it seems laughable now. And nether video, in the end, meant anything at all. 

  • When you are out of options, what is your last defense to having classified documents in your home? We found out last night when Trump was on Hannity: "You can declassify just by saying 'it's declassified,' even by thinking about it." Video.

  • Trump suffered a setback last night as a panel from the 11th Circuit (comprised of two Trump appointed judges and one Obama judge) ruled in favor of the Justice Department in a very limited appeal related to the documents.  As I understand it, the only issue was Judge Aileen Cannon's weird ruling that the Justice Department could had to stop using the seized documents until the special master she appointed finished his review. The court ruled she couldn't do that. Opinion here. 

    • Legal nerdy stuff: I don't do federal criminal procedure, but it seems like a full appeal would gut everything that Judge Cannon has done, including appointing a special master. I mean, if she didn't have jurisdiction . . . .?

  • New Fort Worth ISD Superintendent's salary revealed:

    • Top salaries from around the state as of last year: Links

  • One year ago, I pointed out that the witness seat in the new courtroom for the Wise County Court at Law #2 was built wrong due to an obstructed line of sight.  I'm happy to announce that this month it was finally repositioned. 

  • Uh oh. The case was filed in federal court in Fort Worth. There is a "#MeToo Protest" on campus scheduled for today. 

  • We haven't had a death at Redneck with Paychecks near Saint Jo in a while. That has ended.

  • A bondsman cannot solicit business on jail premises. (Occupations Code sec. 1704.304) But what if the bondsman is in the jail against his will because he is confined there because of an accusation of an unrelated offense? Can the government restrict him from talking to other inmates who just happen to be in need of a bondsman? Seems like legitimate questions in this case.

  • At the risk of infringing upon Hints from Heloise, here's the greatest tip I've ever used for cleaning windows (especially if you have clear glass for your shower): Use the homemade mixture below and don't use a rag. Use a newspaper instead.  I'm not kidding. It's the most amazing window cleaning trick in the history of ever. 

  • It's the 15th Anniversary of maybe my favorite sports clip of all time: "I'm a man! I'm 40!" And props to Gundy, he's still at the same job at Oklahoma State. He took over as head coach in 2001. 

  • The Yankees' Aaron Judge is sitting on 60 home runs and is on the verge of becoming the American League all-time home run champion. His final four games of the year will be in Arlington with a double header on October 4th. 

  • Remember that new rocket that was supposed to take off last month and journey around the moon? It's still on the ground. But they will try again tomorrow morning. 
  • WBAP's Hal Jay has been off the air for two weeks due to an undisclosed illness. What's going on? 

at 8:30 AM

9.21.2022

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




The controversial Billy Gillispie resigned as Tech's basketball coach after just one season. He's coaching at Tarleton now. 

  • You've probably seen the incredible video of the 18 wheeler going off of Central Expressway in Allen yesterday but, if not, here ya go.

    • The video was recorded with a private dashcam. I've got one of those. It wasn't that expensive and the great thing is that it is automatically recording all the time, and I never have to mess with it. I literally forget that I have one. 
  • The current hurricanes are a little tricky to keep up with. Fiona, which dumped a ton of rain on Puerto Rico, is headed to Canada. Gaston is way out there. But there's a new one forming which will head to the Gulf. 

  • There was a false alarm of a shooting at a San Antonio high school yesterday, and the parents freaked out. Take a look at these photos.  The blood in one photo is because one parent tried to break a window and ended up cutting his arm. (Here's the video of that part of it -- that's a wild scene.)The other photo is just a good photo because of the nose ring and the facial expression.


  • Prosecutors often brag about being "the guys who wear the white hats." This guy wasn't just an assistant D.A., he was the elected D.A.

  • Trump has made multiple claims that he magically "declassified" the documents he improperly had at Mar-a-Lago. But his lawyers won't make that claim in court. The Special Master now assigned to the case wasn't putting up with it yesterday. 


  • If there weren't already enough suckers, Peloton wants you to shell out $3,195 for its new rower.

  • No, fentanyl will not be put in your kid's Halloween basket. Neither will edibles. Neither will apples with razor blades. 

  • In a game between Roby and Wichita Christian, the Roby team walked off the field with 8 minutes left last Friday despite leading the game. The reason was because one of their players got body slammed.  You might be able to see the video here. Honestly, that's probably a penalty but not wasn't bad. 

  • Slate has an article this morning which began with the paragraph below.  It's interesting around here because Tarrant County Sheriff Sheriff Bill Waybourn was one of the eight who attended. The actual agenda, which Slate obtained by Open Records request, is available at the bottom of the article.  


    • Here's an excerpt of the agenda and the strange "law enforcement" topics. I also note that the conference seems like an absolute thrashing because not only did they have to watch a movie immediately after a 30 minutes dinner, they whip them with a one hour lecture right after the movie beginning at 8:30 p.m. 

  • Weather report: I predict we go back to normal fall temperatures on Monday.
  • NFL quick hit: Free agent WR Cole Beasley will sign with Tampa Bay. I didn't understand why the Cowboys didn't think about bringing him back since they are wide receiver deprived. 
  • The Fed will raise interest rates today. 
  • Messenger: Above the Fold

at 8:31 AM

9.20.2022

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




She was actually indicted but the Tarrant County DA's Office dismissed the case after she paid "$1,900 in restitution and [wrote] an apology letter to the owner of the home which was reportedly defaced with toilet paper, food and markers in July 2012 as part of a prank." But the case got a little weird after that when she posted a different "apology letter" to her Facebook page denying responsibility. That made the D.A.'s office -- childishly in my opinion -- angry.

  • Of all the coverage of the Queen's funeral, it's the Corgis waiting on her that really got me.

  • These are being paid for by a PAC funded by West Texas oil money from the Christian Nationalists. At least one of them is in Wise County on along 287.   By the way, what exactly is the Alamo reference supposed to mean? 

  • The fact that I haven't mentioned this case doesn't mean it's not one of the craziest things I've ever seen.

  • The man who was the focus of the Serial podcast was released from prison yesterday. You can now rest assured that if you are wrongfully convicted because of prosecutors withholding evidence, and you are lucky enough to have a national following clamoring for your freedom, then you, too, will only spend 23 years in prison.  He was put in a cage at age 17.


  • I don't know if these three are related.
    • Texas leads the nation in book banning.

    • Fort Worth library system had a bomb threat last night.

    • Image from 1933 of a Nazis book burning event from Ken Burns current documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust.

  • Probably only interesting to Bridgeport folks: It took me forever to figure out where the new planned residential development in Bridgeport would be (the Messenger tricked me in a story last week by using the word "west of" 16th Street -- it's actually east of 16th Street.) 
    • In the graphic below, the yellow portion is only highlighted because that was the topic of rezoning for townhomes which was before the city council. But that's not the big story.
    • Look at the other homes which are also part of the bigger development which were revealed in documents submitted to the city council. My top notch graphics department outlined them in blue below. 
    • They are going to go in an area which would wipe out the thickest group of trees in Bridgeport. (I know. I grew up playing in them.) And they'll probably extend further east than what is shown since all of that property was sold in one big chunk earlier this year. 



  • I never thought this got enough coverage. The guy is accused of starting a fire of the billion dollar USS Bonhomme Richard which was docked in San Diego for repairs. It was totally destroyed and and had to scrapped. 


  • Not many people know of a federal law which prohibits someone from "receiving" a firearm if under indictment for an offense which has a punishment range of more than one year in prison. Not convicted, mind you. Just under indictment. Yesterday, a Trump judge struck it down. 

  • Random scene from Monday Night Football last night.

  • Legal nerdy stuff: A law firm respectfully asked that a second year law student at Yale be allowed to handle arguments before the Texas Supreme Court. Friday the court said "no."

at 8:32 AM
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