10.14.2022

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




Two points: (1) I did lots of "Hey Nows" like that back then which make me cringe now, and (2) I tracked down the movie she was filming, and it was something called Song to Song with an all-star cast. It made only $1.7 million at the box office.  There are lots of bombs with huge stars like that out there -- just turn on HBO. 

  • Brandon Chapman, a Newark resident and Denton Police Department Officer (who was on military leave) was arrested in Wise County on Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct charges on Sunday after allegedly being found half naked and trying to enter a residence which was not his.
    • The Denton Record Chronicle tried to get public information about the incident, but our Sheriff's Office is fighting them:

  • This story was in the Dallas Morning News today -- it's not a good week for Denton PD.

  • Another day in America. The shooter was 15 years old. 


  • Also America. This was in an elementary school cafeteria. 

  • The Parkland mass killer of seventeen people was sentenced to life in prison yesterday after three jurors were not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt to impose the death penalty. And if you can't convince all 12, no one should die at the hands of the government. And, no, jurors did not "let you down" -- they did their jobs. 

  • The Supreme Court yesterday summarily refused to help Trump in his Classified Documents Prosecution(?) that the Justice Department is pursing. 

  • He'll never comply.  And January 6th is beginning to feel more and more like "Remember the Alamo" to the MAGA crowd.  

  • What's America coming to if there is not a ready supply of amphetamine? 

  • If you want to see a stop down anti-Greg Abbott ad, here ya go. Oh, my. 

  • I'm pretty sure this will not lead to lower prices.

  • I'm also pretty sure everyone and their dogs have heard about Camp Lejeune. And all of these lawyers, trying to take a bite out of the free money that Congress authorized in the "Burn Pit" legislation championed by Jon Stewart, make me want to bury my head.

  • Two weeks ago, OU's quarterback suffered a concussion while sliding after he he was targeted by a TCU player. Last night the exact same thing happened to Baylor's quarterback at the hands of West Virginia.  Video. Both hits were about as bush league as you can get. Both players were ejected which almost seems like not enough. 

  • 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, 101 days.
  • Messenger: Above the Fold


at 8:31 AM

10.13.2022

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




Vice-presidential debate 10 years ago. 

  • Breaking: New inflation numbers are in this morning. It was expected to be 8.1% (which wouldn't have been good) but they came in at 8.2%. Good grief.

  • On the bright side for a certain demographic, this was announced moments ago  . . . 

  • The Dallas PD officer who was killed yesterday morning by a wrong way driver is an awful story. But it's interesting how I keep hearing that the other driver was "drunk." Hey, he may have been, and that wouldn't surprise me in the least bit if that turns out to be the case. But there has been no arrest. And there were no field sobriety tests done on him because he's in critical condition in the hospital, so we'll have to wait for the blood test. But watch how the story has quickly evolved: 
    • The origin of all of those claims is simply a memo from the Chief of Police to other officers who said the other driver "might" have been drunk. The police department later used the word "may" have been intoxicated in press release. From the Dallas Morning News.

    • But the local WFAA morphed it into a "suspected" drunk driver. 

    • Fox 4 flat out claimed that DPD "said the man was intoxicated." That's not true.


    • The CBS affiliate takes it one step further and says the it's "expected" that intoxication manslaughter charges will be filed. I'm not sure where they got that. 

    • Another example

    • And then social media randos just flat out make things up. This guy, whose account has all the hallmarks of a Russian troll, adds facts and then links to a story which says no such thing about an "undocumented immigrant."

  • Alex Jones is a miserable human being who preys on the most gullible and simpletons of our society. And I hope he dies penniless. But a lot of what he said is constitutionally protected speech, and I don't see all of this verdict holding up.

  • Will this county in the corner of Texas give this lady the death penalty after convicting her of a truly horrible crime?

  • New DFW metroplex teacher salary chart. I think they are all pretty close. 

  • A new long read from The Atlantic that looks interesting.

  • Random Russian politician Valentina Petrenko. 

  • Jerry Jones turns 80 today.
    Jerry was 45 in this pic.

  • The January 6th Committee holds its final hearing at noon today. 


at 8:30 AM

10.12.2022

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




That's a great picture. Braves fans were upset because the "infield fly rule" was called on a ball hit to the *outfield* in an elimination game in the playoffs. And here's a fantastic video of the play taken from the stands. (It's cued up on YouTube.) Still not sure I understand that one. 

  • For a man who is accused of recklessly impregnating women left and right, the nonsensical little anecdote he told yesterday is mind-blowing. Video. He might be the dumbest man in America.

  • The Supreme Court refused to hear this case yesterday. Three justice dissented. It feels like we are going back in time.  


  • Seems a little harsh for a death which wasn't intentionally caused. 

  • School superintendent calls out his own town.

  • Having a slight "cash on hand" advantage doesn't seem to mean much less than 30 days before the election when you've just been outspent by $20 million -- all of which seems to have gone to radio and TV ads for Abbott.

  • There hasn't been much news about the Oath Keepers Insurrection Trial, but I did notice that these are the two Dallas lawyers who are defending Stewart Rhodes in D.C.   "Linder is a Baylor law school graduate ['91], endurance cyclist, part-time municipal judge and former Dallas County prosecutor with 30 years of criminal defense experience. Bright an SMU graduate ['03], has served as president of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and practiced law for more than 25 years."

    • "Mother Jones has reported that a nonprofit formed by Dallas lawyer Sidney Powell helped pay for Rhodes’ legal defense."
  • Let's hear a little more about that second allegation.

  • I came across this picture of a no-longer-in-existence Jack County courthouse which was built in 1886. I presume it burned down. The current "modern" one was built in 1940, and was a product of the WPA created during the depression.  Fun fact about Jack County: 37 slaves lived in the county before the Civil War but the county voted against secession, 76-14. 

  • I think win probability charts are fraudulent.  They always enter a ranger greater than 95% when there is no way it's that high.  It's high, but it ain't that high. 

  • Messenger - Above the Fold


at 8:31 AM

10.11.2022

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




This case was out of Dallas County and involved much more than gluing a kid's hand to the walls. This was also an "open plea" where the defendant waived a jury, pled guilty, and had a judge assess punishment. He hammered her. According to the opinion on appeal, there was a 45 year plea bargain offer on the table which her defense lawyer described as "ridiculous" to the defendant. 

  • Update on the four people shot dead in a car in Fort Worth will not create sympathy for one of them because of this previous track record: "Cravin opened fire outside Varsity Tavern, at 1005 Norwood St., about 1:30 a.m. on May 8, police said. After he fired shots into a crowd, Cravin either ran or walked away. Two people were shot and survived."

  • This ain't good. Video.

  • The equivalent of a coronation in Bridgeport.

  • Checking in on Fox News last night and its seemingly endless coverage of Hunter Biden. But I'm not sure what they hoped to gain with this graphic:

  • North Korea releasing photos of Kim Jong Un watching a missile launch were well done from a PR standpoint (at least from his perspective.) 

    • But the wardrobe guy needs to be fired. 

  • I don't like Greg Abbott, but whoever it is he hired to do the Beto attack ads are good at their job. 
  • Random political graphic from this morning: Presidential popularity at this point before mid-term elections. The only real outlier is George W who was still riding the 9/11 aftermath:

  • Recreational marijuana is on the ballot in November in the states of Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, South Dakota and North Dakota. 

  • Troy Aikman started trending last night because of this line he uttered during a very questionable roughing the passer call. And, no, this is not a big deal. At all.

  • Video

  • TV watching update: I thought Only Murders in the Building petered out. But now I have high hopes after about four episodes of Reservation Dogs. I really, really like it so far. 
  • That railroad strike may be back on, but we won't know for sure until mid-November . . .  

at 8:30 AM
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