9.27.2024

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







Random Friday Morning Thoughts





I don't know if 2014 was the last time when Decatur and Bridgeport played each other. but here's the score of every game they played up until that time.


  •  The Texas Supreme Court actually came through. (There was only a concurring opinion issued and it said, in essence, I don't understand Ken Paxton's legal theory at all.)

  • The hurricane came on shore in Florida with more hype than bang, but it looked impressive last night. 

    • But we did get this photo out of it. I have a question which I haven't taken the time time ro research: Who exactly took this pic? Is it from a body came.

  • This disapoints me because I wanted it to go to trial. And details of the settlement were not released.

    • But you almost need a roster to keep all the lawsuits straight. It was Dominion, not Smartmatic, which settled with Fox News for $787 million last year.  Here's the status of the other litigation:

  • DPS released this photo in a an accompanying tweet this morning to announce a trooper was injured last night in Harris County and is in "critical but stable" condition. Not a lot of details, however, as to exactly what happened.

  • A poll is just a poll, but Trump really needs Georgia.

  • The newest Trump grift is incredible.




  • Did you know that in Texas a doctor can treat you by a  tele-visits but veterinarian can't treate your pet online -- thus requiring you to take your pup in for an in-person doggie visit? Well, that was the law until yesterday when the Fifth Circuit struck it down.  That seems like a big deal for vets.

  • Nerdy legal stuff #1: I don't think the law this guy was just indicted under is constitutional and didn't the Court of Criminal Appeals rule that way in September? And it's a silly law: You can't bad mouth someone seeking election online if you use a fake name.


  • Nerdy legal stuff #2: A rare appellate opinion reversing a guilty plea because of missing paperwork began, oddly, like this yesterday:

  • 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: 5 years and 84 days



9.26.2024

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




This Fort Worth trial of a Keller woman, which was dubbed "The Black Widow Trial", was even covered by the Washington Post. It resulted in a 60 year sentence which was affirmed on appeal.


  • The mayor of New York City was indicted last night. The indictment is still sealed as of early this morning. 


    • But this is a smart choice by him. He's good. Very good. 

    • And just one year ago, the mayor was posing with Diddy who is currently in the hoosegow himself. Life does in fact come at you fast. 

  • It was a heck of day for men of the cloth yesterday:
  • While America was burning after the January 6th Insurrection,  Jared Kushner was in the Middle East on "official government business."  He's made a fortune off that trip. His Saudi clients, on the other hand, have not. But please tell me more about Hunter Biden's laptop. 


  • They are who they are.



    • The response of the Speaker of the House. Translated: "He prayed on it and then regretted that he publicly made known his true thoughts."

  • Hoda announced this morning that she's out. 

  • Very legal nerdy stuff: Look at how mad three dissenting judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are about a recent opinion which actually put teeth in the Michael Morton Act by punishing prosecutors for withholding evidence. They expressed their displeasure in a denial of a Motion for Rehearing yesterday.
  • Messenger - Above the Fold


9.25.2024

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




Was this the beginning of the book banning craze? (Although Highland Park put that particular book back on the shelves the following year.)


  • She didn't last long.  And the resignation looks like a compromise. If they had fired her, they would owe her on her full contract through July, 2026.  Instead, in lieu of being fired she was allowed to resign from her position as superintendent but continue her employment at her current salary through just the school year 2025. So she avoids a firing in exchange for giving up a year's salary. But at $335,000 a year, I would have told them to fire me. 

  • In watching this video, I quickly went from "Is that it?" to "Oh, my!"


  • The bees were in a hollowed out tree trunk, and officials think the hive had been there for years.


  • As with most local news stories these days, we don't know any of the details. But this sentence from the article tells me there is a big back story that we don't know about: "Officers believed the alleged assault was isolated since the victim said he thinks 'he was targeted in retaliation for a previous incident.'”  Something weird is going on. 


  • I was wrong about how the newly created 15th Court of Appeals would probably side with Paxton. It didn't. It will now go to the Texas Supreme Court which is a wild card on something like this. 

  • Missouri last night:

    • Also Missouri:

  • So you are involved in welfare scandals, get called in front of Congressional panel investigating welfare fraud, and then conveniently use that moment to change the headlines? Got it. 

  • Trump:
    • Trump on why Ukraine should just roll over to the Russians: “Somebody told me the other day, they beat Hitler, they beat Napoleon. That's what they do.” Video.  Someone want to tell him about Afghanistan in the early 1980s? 

    • Trump's take on tariffs is mind-boggling. It's pretty simple to understand: Tariffs aren't paid by the foreign manufacturer like he says. Tariffs are taxes paid by the American consumer on the importing end. Trump either does not understand that or he continues to lie. Either is equally plausible. 

  • Wow. UNLV is 3-0 and knocking on the door of AP Top 25 and now this happens. This sounds like a broken NIL money promise:


  • You know, every year at this time we have a fluff piece on the local news stations where they cover the erecting of Big Tex at the state fair. Their newsrooms are now so strapped they can't even do that now.