5.03.2024

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

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Random Friday Morning Thoughts




The comments section used to be the wild west around here. (My reply was referring to Donald Sterling who was in the news that week.)

  • It was a false alarm, but it freaked everyone out. Students were transported to First Baptist where parents could pick them up.
     

  • Incredible tornado footage from just north of Abilene yesterday evening. At the end of it, you'll see a family run to the videographer for help. Here they are at the hospital later.

  • We now learn that the the operation went smoothly but not without a near catastrophe.

  • Here's the video of it. That made me tense.



  • I'll say it again, I don't like this case at all. 

  • "He collapsed while at the police station and was transported by the North Richland Hills Fire Department to a local hospital."  I can't find his age listed anywhere. 

  • The use of the words "no evidence" is interesting. Technically, her words in making the claim constitutes "some evidence" of the claim.  And he was admittedly in the vehicle with her at the strip club so that part is at least corroborated.  It would probably be more appropriate to say the police believed the there was insufficient evidence to support the case as a whole. And they would be right about that. 

  • Gov. Abbott made a proclamation yesterday and posted it on Twitter. The replies were, uh, something. 

  • Not enough for this Longview man. But it is a bonus that he is actually part of the "January 6th Choir."


  • A police car in New Haven blocked the path of a four-wheeler causing serious injuries to the driver.  Watch this 50 second video to decide if it was the right thing to do.  The video is actually two videos of the event. The first five seconds consists of just the moment of driving/impact. The next 45 seconds provides context to the same video.  I did a 180 after watching the second part.

  • Of all the blatant lies Trump says, this one is right up there with as one of his biggest. 

  • The Business Second™.  The smartest real estate company in Texas has decided to double down on . . . warehouses. 

  • The greatest name in college football has entered the transfer portal.

  • 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 304 days.

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5.02.2024

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




Los Angeles Clippers' owner Donald Sterling saw his life blow up in a matter of days, and he would be ordered to sell the team by week's end. There's actually a new movie about it starring Ed O'Neil which looks pretty good.

  • "The shooting occurred in the 3600 block of Las Vegas Trail, near Camp Bowie West Boulevard, the Fort Worth Police Department said in a post on X. Those shot were outside the location when a vehicle drove by."

  • The number of DPS troopers involved in this yesterday afternoon at UTD was silly. And am I losing my mind, or does no one one realize that campus protests are about as American an apple pie? And the kids back then, whether the were protesting against Vietnam or in favor of civil rights, turned out to be on the right side of history. 



  • And police are cracking down on UCLA protestors this morning.
     



  • A play involving two acts about the Columbia protestors:
    • Act I: We had some outside terrorists on our hands!

    • Act II: Campus police had actually encouraged students to buy that exact same lock to secure their bikes. 

  • New this morning from WFAA: That's a Northwest ISD school in Haslet right off 287.


  • I found a Bridgeport connection in this story. "Hutchinson still faces a personal injury lawsuit in Dallas County brought against him by three women . . . . Each are seeking at least $1 million. Michelle Simpson Tuegel, an attorney representing the three women, told The Orange County Register she is 'heartened' a victim came forward in the California case and that it resulted in a criminal conviction."


  • News from the bridge collapse situation in Baltimore. 

  • The national weatherman for ABC got booted off the set of Good Morning America last year and went to doing occasional segments for World News Tonight. Now he's doing nothing after being fired for his temper. 


  • There's a story about this very fast freshman from Northwest High School in today's Messenger. He's qualified for the 5A state meet in three running events. 

  • Incredibly legal nerdy stuff: Yesterday the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals decided a rather unremarkable case over whether a defendant was entitled to a certain "voluntariness" jury instruction. What is notable is that the case had been pending in the court since March of 2020 (!) when it agreed to hear the case. There were no dissents. So what exactly took so long?
  • Messenger: Above the Fold

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5.01.2024

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




The low was 68 this morning. 

  • Protest updates.
    • An army of NYPD officers descended, through a window, upon a building at Columbia which had been occupied by protestors. Amazingly, things ended quietly and smoothly. 


    • But everyone might want to keep an eye on UCLA.


    • The University of North Texas managed to have a protest yesterday. Somehow police over there understand if you just let them be, everything is peaceful. 


  • Southlake High School cancelled classes today.

  • Trouble in Austin not related to protestors.

  • Bridgeport High won a state title. 


  • The new Tim O'Hare administration in Tarrant County is beginning to hit its stride.


  • This isn't real, is it?


  • A barber ends up saving a young child who was sprinting towards a busy intersection in Connecticut. Video.

  • Update from yesterday's trial: 
    • He's still cold.

    • But Fox News told me he wouldn't let Trump go.

    • There is no one more embarrassing that AG Ken Paxton. And did the taxpayers pay for his trip to New York to sit there?

  • Legal nerdy stuff: The Fifth Circuit saved IBM from a $1.6 billion jury verdict yesterday.

  • All I can hear in my head is Jerry saying "Blockchain com!"
  • One of the biggest misconceptions I see with regard to the all the protests is "Hate speech is illegal."  Of course, it is not. 



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