Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

The first mention of  "Hillary's private email server" was front page news everywhere. Somehow that qualified as a scandal back then. 

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• I'm not sure why we are so fascinated as to whether damaging winds go around in a circle or are straight. 
  
  
  
• The company behind this is out of Dallas, and the founder and CEO, Ben Lamm, has Decatur ties (the Armes family.)
  
  
  
• "Or any war." Everything's fine. Everything's fine. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Tariff news: The tariff policy had a major change within 24 hours. "The president’s decision followed a phone conversation with executives from the Big Three automakers — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — who sought relief from the new import taxes."
  
  
  
• This fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants tariff policy is ripe for corruption.  Want a waiver? Give me a call and tell me what what can you do for me.
• DOGE update. I think Trump always says, "I love our veterans!" Well, get ready for longer wait times and less assistance . . . 
  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• What are we doing?
  
  
  

  

  

  
  

  
  
  
  
• Give that headline writer a raise. Story.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• North Texas country club price list:
  
  
  
• It's a marketing stunt. And I guess a pretty good one. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Decatur man needs kidney. 
• Messenger - Above the Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

It got my attention that the lawyer for Nina Pham -- the nurse who contracted Ebola in Dallas -- released the lawsuit paperwork even before it was filed and, in what is common practice now, he treated it like a sensational novel. 

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• Tanner Horner trial news: Per the Star-Telegram, Wise County's most notorious criminal case will have opening statements and testimony begin on April 7, 2026, with jury selection scheduled to take place in February and March of that year.
• Decatur making the list:
  
  
  
• Breaking this morning. Good gawd. Why don't we just move the Oval Office to the Russian embassy?   
  
  
  
• Trump addressed the nation last night in the faux State of the Union and set a record with the speech going 1 hour and 40 minutes - beating the old record held by Bill Clinton.   Trump pronounced that we are going to feel "a little disturbance" do to the (insane) tariffs, that we were going to obtain Greenland "one way or the other", and, with Elon Musk ironically looking on, that “the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.” 
  
  
  
• Free link.  (Pack a lunch.)   
  
  
  
• Canada retaliated with tariffs of their own yesterday with a great shot at Trump to boot. 
  
  
  
• We live in strange times.
• Part 1: "Andrew and Tristan Tate, two brothers charged with human trafficking in Romania, are under criminal investigation in Florida, state Attorney General James Uthmeier said Tuesday. The online influencers landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday after they were permitted to leave Romania despite the fact that they are awaiting trial there."
  
  
  
  
• Part 2:
  
  
  
• Someone needs to give these ladies some tips before they go in front of the cameras: 
• Trump's former trial lawyer shows equally poor interview skills. Video.
  
  
  
• Another cosplay moment yesterday from the Secretary of Homeland Security.
  
  
  
• Oh, my. Video.
  
  
  
• Legal news quick hits:
• Buzbee might get tagged big time in this case against him (excerpt from the Petition.) Jay-Z is (1) really mad, and (2) has many times more resources than Buzbee.
  
  
   
  
  
  
• Back last July, I pointed out two errors that the special prosecutor had made in the wording of the indictment filed against the then Montague County DA.  Now the indictment has been corrected. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• "Investigators believe Austin Wayne Mullins, 31, stole 9 laptops from the Travis County District Attorney’s Office last week, according to an arrest warrant filed." Serious moxie on this guy.
  
  
  
• This is worthy of flags being flown at half staff.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• College football news: 
  
  
  
  
• Moments ago we had a Supreme Court ruling (5 to 4) against Trump in his war with UDAID.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

It really was the Church of Bits for a streak back then.

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• This is a little abbreviated today due to the wind storm causing a power outage, and then locking myself out of my office while collecting trash bins off the courthouse square. 
• Trump has shockingly stopped all aid to Ukraine. Now we know why the staged blow-up happened in the Oval Office on Friday -- it was a pretext to do this all along. 
  
  
  
• And "quick end to the war" means a Ukraine surrender.  
• So what's it going to take to get Trump and Zelensky back together again? Trump says that he needs Zelensky to apologize.  Sheesh. For what? And why does Trump sound like an ex-high school girlfriend?
  
  
  
• A 25% tariff went into effect at midnight on Canada and Mexico as well as an extra 20% tariff on China. Why? Who knows. If you complained about the price of groceries before, get ready.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Wall Street Journal's reaction:
  
  
  
• New this morning.  This is pure fascism. And "illegal" is doing a lot of work in his post below. It will mean whatever Trump and MAGA doesn't like - First Amendment be damned. It's over. 
  
  
  
• And something very similar is already starting locally involving Wise County's state representative:. Texas government is coming after if you dare say that genocide has been committed in Gaza (even if 50,000 are dead.) 
  
  
  
• Elon Musk called social security a "Ponzi scheme."
  
  
  
• And his DOGE cuts via chainsaw may very well cause the current social security system to stop functioning even if nothing is cut.
  
  
  
• I meant to post these headlines about Gaza yesterday -- an area and subject which is being buried in all the other news.  Maybe starving the people to death will facilitate Trump Tower Gaza construction:
  

  
  
  
• What in the world is up with Forest Hill?
• This happened yesterday morning in broad daylight:
  
  
  
• This from late February:
  
  
  
• And this was the next day: 
  
  
  
• Do not forget that school vouchers have yet to be voted on in the House. Tell Wise County Rep. Andy Hopper that as a rural representative, he should not gut our hometown schools. Email him online or call (512) 463-0582  or find him on Twitter @RepHopper. And you might want to ask him to have a townhall and face the fire like one of his compadres did of Friday.