Random Friday Morning Thoughts

It was peak earthquake time around the old Texas Stadium site. Then they just stopped.

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• I'm not telling you anything you don't know, but the fire destruction is just incredible.
  
  
  
  
• Of course, Alex Jones and the other nuts claim the fires are all part of some weird intentional conspiracy. But Elon Musk responded "true" to Jones' post (and then deleted it,) 
  
  
  
• The funeral of Jimmy Carter gave rise to some great visuals:
• President Obama and Trump oddly yuking it up.
  
  
  
• President Bush greeting President Obama with a "belly tap" (video) and tapping Dan Quayle on the head with his program (video).
  
  
  
• Mike Pence's wife wanting nothing to do with Trump or his wife. (Video)
  
• The fires continued around Los Angeles and another one broke out last night. Unfortunately, in response to it, there was an evacuation order inadvertently sent out to all of Los Angeles County.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The crazy guy who brought Pizzagate into the national spotlight is dead. 
  
  
  
• Trump will be sentenced today in his Manhattan state case after the Supreme Court refused to rescue him yesterday. The fact there were four justices who voted for Trump's position is insane. 
  
  
  
• Honestly, I don't know why Trump even tried to stop the sentencing hearing.  He's just getting time served, and it is the perfect opportunity for him to showboat and make a scene about a "political prosecution."  He's great at that.  I would have thought that he would have welcomed the opportunity.
• Trump will get to appear by Zoom and won't have to go in peron. Notable: For the first time in the case, there will be an actual "audio recording" of the proceeding released after the hearing. Trump may actually do a rant on Zoom once he learns of that.
• This is funny. Last night Trump tried to downplay the Supreme Court's ruling by saying it "was actually a very good opinion."
  
  
  
• However,  the entire "opinion" is below.  It is actually just an "order."
  
  
  
• Isn't it amazing how the New Orleans Bourbon Street Massacre is already old news?
• Anita Bryant passed away in December, and we are just now learning about it. In the 1970s, the singer and beauty queen's anti-gay campaign was national news. But it reached a crescendo when she was hit in the face with a pie during a press conference in 1977.  I watched the footage again and the whole thing, including her reaction, is amazing. 
  

  

  
  
  
  
• I think this is weird out of Waco. He just ran for re-election and is now resigning his four year term so Abbott can appoint someone? Plus, "state district judges in Texas make a base salary of $140,000 a year, which is increased 10 percent after four years and another 10 percent after eight years, for a total of $168,000." 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Very, very legal nerdy stuff: We had an appellate case out of Austin yesterday that affirmed a trial court's suppression of a confession which was given after a "failed" polygraph test.  These type of cases are always fact specific, but it involved  the standard cop trick of telling a suspect that he failed the polygraph, telling him the test is infallible, and then grilling him to confess. The court ruled the confession in that case was involuntary.
• A man who identified himself as "Sideline Sammy", "the head tennis coach at Decatur",  singer, and an "announcer for the Texas Cornhole League" was the guest picker on "Picks Against the P1" on The Ticket this morning. Funny guy.
• Lauren Whitener Clock*:  5 years and 190 days. (*I'm still workshopping the wording.)