2.16.2024

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




County Judge candidates 10 years ago.

  • I got a call yesterday where someone asked, "What's going on at the courthouse? Walk outside and find out!"  The answer was a massive crane was brought into the square -- much to the delight of us small town gawkers like myself -- to begin the process of setting up scaffolding around the top of the courthouse as part of the restoration project. 


  • If you like court stuff, let me tell you that the DA in Georgia taking the stand to defend her affair with the special prosecutor was wildly entertaining. Thoughts . . . 

    • She's extremely cocky and broke every rule of providing rambling answers. But the other lawyers failed to lay a glove on on her. She's back on the stand this morning.
    • It looks like the defense has to prove that she started her affair with the special prosecutor before he was appointed in the Trump et. al. cases.  Unless the defense has some star witnesses today, they have failed to establish that.
    • Did she benefit from the money the special prosecutor has earned by going with him on trips? She said no because "I paid him back in cash." I seriously doubt that.
    • But I also doubt she will be disqualified, but this whole spectacle is a disaster. It's a bad, bad look. 
    • This was a crazy moment at the beginning that happened while her lawyer was arguing that the DA shouldn't have to testify. The DA just walked into the courtroom and said, "That's OK. I'll do it."

  • Trump has an actual trial date in the New York state case where he allegedly lied in a "business record" in connection with the Stormy Daniels payoff.   Of all the cases against him, it's the weakest.  Man, a "not guilty" verdict would be a gift of biblical proportions to Trump. 

  • A coyote who is believed to have bitten some kids at a park in Arlington was caught. They actually gave him the death penalty in order to test him for rabies. 


    • Sidenote: As a kid, the standard line when there was a story of a possible rapid animal being caught was, "They had to cut his head off and sent it to Austin to test it."  It was like a certifiable fact we all said with conviction. I have no idea if that was ever true. Edit: And I wrote this before the Ticket mentioned this this morning. 

  • Breaking Russia news.  It looks like they killed a guy who is 47. 

    • He was seen in court yesterday and seemed fine from a health standpoint.

    • Flashback:

  • I'm not sure what the Wise County Chief Deputy is doing at a press conference in Tyler. (I'm guessing the press conference followed the standard formula of "Drugs are flowing in but we are catching a ton of them and we just need more money to do it better.")

  • I'm telling you, things are about to get really weird.  Here's a video example of the technology. Many more are on the official site here.  

  • Fox News has promoted the "Biden received a $5 million bribe" in connection with Hunter and Burisma for years. We found out yesterday what was already suspected:  It was all a lie. 

    • Here's all the times Ted Cruz promoted the lie on his podcast.

  • Remember this case? This is the guy that Gov. Abbott shockingly said should be pardoned less than 24 hours after a jury convicted him. Pure authoritarian stuff.


  • Tiger Woods badly shanked a shot yesterday. Video. In true Tiger fashion, he blamed "back spasms."  I would have thought he would have fallen back on "my gluts weren't firing."

  • Legal stuff: I'm not sure the media has realized it yet, but yesterday evening the Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed the high profile manslaughter conviction of police officer Aaron Dean in connection with the death of Atatiana Jefferson.
  • 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: 4 years and 235 days.



at 8:30 AM

2.15.2024

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




Heck, this is mild compared to talk radio these days.

  • A shooting in Kansas City at the Chiefs' Super Bowl parade. Here's what we know from the New York Times:

    • Three people have been "detained" but not arrested. Names have not been released. There's some speculation they might be juveniles. But the lack of information is weird. 
    • One person is dead. A DJ fpr radio station KKFI-FM out of Kansas City.

    • "Children’s Mercy Hospital said it was treating 11 children, ages 6 to 15, and one mother who would not leave her child during the shooting. Nine of the children suffered gunshot wounds."
    • "Twelve people were taken to University Health . . . . Eight of them were being treated for gunshot wounds, including two in critical condition.
    • Big crowds are a recipe for disaster. I was really worried something like this would happen at the Rangers "parade" last fall. But look at that scene yesterday:

  • Tanner Horner, alleged to have killed Athena Strand, is in district court in Decatur this morning. We should be getting a trial date soon. 
  • You never want a divorce to go to a full-blown public trial. That's what is going on this week with the Dallas mayor.

  • A hearing will be broadcast live today about the Georgia DA who is sleeping with Trump's Special Prosecutor, and the DA might be forced to testify.  This is already a disaster.  I think YouTube will have it here beginning right now. 

  • For years whenever I was in public I thought that I was surrounded by normal people who were conscientious, thoughtful and rationale.  Over the last eight years, however, I've decided that I'm surrounded by nutcases. 
    • Exhibit A: 

    • Exhibit B: One guy pummels another guy on a Southwest Airlines flight.  We've turned into a bunch of Barbarians.  Video.
    • Exhibit C: Remember that dumb 2000 Mules movie which the MAGA extremists fell in love with claiming Georgia voter fraud? It was even shown in Wise County and promoted by the "Wise County Conservatives." Anyway, information for the film came from the the "conservative group" referenced below.  And this is shockingly being covered by Newsmax of all places! I wondered if this is part of some lawsuit settlement.


  • Fox 4 got an interview of the woman who was allegedly abducted by the homeless person and forced to drive to the border. I still have some serious, serious questions. Excerpts from the story below. 




  • This might have seriously been burying the lede. She already had a Wikipedia page for making national news a few years back. You might remember her. 

  • Ronny Jackson embarrassed us again last night. Video. 

  • Good. I've thought it was boondoggle for years.

  • Kind of makes you do a doubletake: 

  • Messenger: Above the Fold



at 8:30 AM

2.14.2024

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




It's the 10 year anniversary of Dale Hansen's Unplugged edition on gay NFL player Michael Sams. It landed him on Oprah, but also gave rise to the greatest remix of all time. 

  • A car rammed through an ER room in Austin last night injuring five and killing the driver. Here's a video of the immediate aftermath which is quite the scene. 


  • Republican George Santos is gone from the House and was replaced by a Democrat in a special election last night. He won by 8 points. 


  • That's quite the headline. "Kami Ludwig, 34, was booked on Monday in the killing of William Shane Nolen, who was a former associate judge in the 323rd District Court [in Tarrant County]. Nolen was in November 2019 fired from the court, which handles juvenile matters . . . ."


  • Fancy homes in California about to slid down a cliff due to rainstorms makes me nervous.



  • The Republican House voted to impeach the Director of Homeland Security by a single vote. It stands absolutely no chance of passing in the Senate. 


    • Someone tell Ronny there actually is a Senate. 

  • Republican-on-Republican crime.  Ken Paxton took a shot at Sen. Cornyn for voting for the Ukrainian aid package, and Cornyn returned fire. 


  • The fact the conviction happened on Valentine's Day eve makes this borderline romantic. (But I'm trying to wrap my head around how verdicts for Insurrectionists are still coming in while the Führer of the Insurrection is going to be the Republican candidate for President.)


  • The grift will be large. Video.

  • Let me tell you, this is wild. Mistaking an acorn falling on a car as a gunshot, the deputy unloaded his weapon into a patrol vehicle with a handcuffed guy inside.  Video. Amazingly, no one was hurt.  Here's the full press release of the Sheriff's Office on the incident which still hasn't been picked up by the national media.   Here's a local news report.



  • Legal news. It's unrelated, but the judge has quite the Wikipedia page: "Devine was an anti-abortion activist in the 1980s.At a June 2012 rally, Devine said he had been arrested 37 times for protesting at abortion clinics. . . . In 2004, Devine was sued for his refusal to take down a painting of The Ten Commandments on display in his Harris County courtroom."

  • The Business Second: A typo in an earnings report caused the stock of Lyft to skyrocket almost 70% in after hours trading yesterday until everyone figured it out.


  • That's a weird resignation of the Denton PD chief . . . . 

at 8:30 AM
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