Random Friday Morning Thoughts

I've got to admit, President Biden (VP at the time of this photo) has been 

a little handsy over the years. There had been an even crazier photo from four months earlier. 

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•  The video is even more embarrassing than the photo. And what's with the sunglasses while indoors at CPAC yesterday?
  
  
  
• In other news, uh . . . 
  
  
  
• What we will see is Trump winning more and more court cases because judges know he will ignore them otherwise. And if a court's orders are ignored, it loses its power -- because its only power is in the unwritten rule that orders will be obeyed. So just rule in his favor to avoid the loss of power.  It's wrong, but that's what you'll see happen.  There will be no guardrails. 
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• Trump now controls the FBI. Have I told you that no one will stop him? 
  
  
   
  
  
  
• The Trump Administration continues to rewrite history as we become Russia's best friend forever.
• They rolled out the National Security Advisor at the press briefing yesterday, and he refused to say that Russia invaded Ukraine. Video.
  
  
  
• We can't even do that?
  
  
  
  
• Even Rupert Murdock's New York Post can't believe what it is seeing.
  
  
  
• Not the mail!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I dead serious when I say that after four years, "He ain't leavin'."
• Yesterday.
  
  
  
• State TV is on board.
  
  
  
• This happened very late yesterday and seems to be a very, very big deal. There are federal statutes protecting the removal of such judges, but the Justice Department said in a letter that they've determined, on their own, that they aren't constitutional. So those laws will now be ignored -- meaning that Trump will fire them at will, (Gift link to New York Times article. Here the PDF of the DOJ's one page letter announcing the decision.)
  
  
  
• It was a heck of a rant, though. “You may have replaced a swastika with a red hat, but that is what it is.” Video.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Texas news: The biggest threat ever to our public schools -- especially rural schools -- is now rolling in the legislature. Your text dollars are going to be funneled to unregulated religious schools unless they stop them. 
  
  
  
• Lauren Whitener Clock: 5 years and 233 days. 

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

I was curious about this one so I tracked it down. The guy was arrested for Intoxication Assault - Serious Bodily Injury, but that charge wouldn't fly. However, the DA's office got creative and indicted the case that November as Aggravated Assault (by reckless conduct).  But it didn't do much good because the defendant never showed up for court.  And the case is still designated as pending with a warrant remaining active. (Cause No. CR18746.)

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• The Newark Volunteer Fire Department was hard at it last night.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• He went down pretty hard. Video.
  

  

  
  
  
  
• You want to see a nice PR gesture that backfired? Offer everyone on the overturned plane $30,000 right now and still let them sue you, but the message gets lost (because of our social media world) and everyone thinks you are trying to rip them off. 
  
  
  
• I never thought I would see the leader of the United States siding with the Kremlin in a war of aggression. But in a lie-filled social media post yesterday, Trump officially sided with Putin and signaled that Ukraine will be gone.  Congratulations, the United States and the Soviet Union are in bed together. Disgraceful. Ronald Reagan is rolling over in his grave. Trump's post could have been written by Moscow:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
• But don't worry, Trump tells us, because the Shadow President supports him.
  
  
  
• And let's check in on State TV: 
  
  
  
• It's over, folks. 
• So is it just "Trump being Trump" when he calls himself a king at the end of a Twitter post?
  
• What about when the official White House account of the United States of America reposts it and adds a photo?
  
  
  
• It's over, folks. 
• Trump quotes: 
• Last night, Trump told us how he will end drug abuse in the United States. Uh, someone needs to tell him about Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign that worked so well the last time. Video.
  
  
  
• Wait a second. Didn't they just tell a federal judge Musk wasn't in charge of DOGE? Video from last night.
  
  
  
  
• Good lord. And he'll make a reality show out of this. 
  
  
  
• Legal nerdy stuff:  I don't know much about First Amendment law, but this might be the dumbest judge in America. Great thread.
  
  
  
• Messenger - Above the Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Weather is like clockwork this time of year.  (Technical note: The "X" in the graphic is because the tweet was embedded when I originally posted it. Elon has gone back and made sure that all old embedded posts now show an X instead of the blue Twitter bird which was originally seen. It's a little like changing history.)

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• Speaking of, we have now moved into full Orwellian America.  Trump just changes history time and time again and now he is doing it about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  Video of these shocking comments from yesterday.
  
  
  
• And how is it that overnight we are more aligned with Russia than NATO and all of Europe?  We are in red alert territory.
  
  
  
• The DOGE thing is going great:
• On its new "Wall of Receipts" section of the DOGE website, Elon claims that he has cancelled $16 billion in contracts.  An error has already been spotted where a contract he claimed was worth $8 billion was only $8 million. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Stellar job on this one. 
  
  
  
• And somehow this guy's imminent confirmation, which should occur tomorrow, has flown under the radar. Yesterday the Senate cleared the way for him with a procedural vote.  As I told you weeks ago, every Trump nominee will be confirmed because no one will stop him.
  

  

  
  
  
  
• Measles update. 
  
  
  
• This is weird. After someone won the $80 million Texas lottery on Monday with a ticket purchased online through the Jackpot app, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, on the next day, played journalist by going to the lottery licensed storefront and conducting an interview. Jackpot owns that storefront and uses it to legally buy thousands of the lottery tickets that its users have ordered and purchased through the app.  I'm not sure why Patrick is bent out of shape. Some private individual won the lottery on Tuesday by using an app instead of going to the 7-11 and handing a clerk a dollar bill.  Who cares how Jackpot buys the lottery tickets for its users?
  
  
  
• So let's guess how this is going to come down: Will Ken Paxton side with the school board funded by voucher loving moneymen and Patriot Mobile, or will he side with the poor side of the district?  Easy answer. 
  
  
  
• Remember on Monday when I posted what I thought was a horrible closing argument by a prosecutor in the A$AP Rocky trial? Well, we have a verdict.  And the reaction by the defendant is fantastic. Video.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I saw the blurb below yesterday and thought those names sounded familiar. Yep. When Sellers threw himself a birthday party at the Fort Worth Zoo in 2021, he hired Pearl Jam and The Chainsmokers for the private entertainment. It got my attention in Random Thoughts.  This will be the third time they have sold a company with a multi-billion dollar payday.
  

  

  
  
• You can go down a rabbit hole about a blogger who created a cult which is now involved in killings across the country.
  

  
  
  
  
• Legal nerdy stuff: Ouch. (PDF of two page order.)
  
  
  
• Legal non-nerdy stuff: There's a huge scandal in New Mexico where a defense lawyer and five cops  conspired on DWI cases to have them dismissed with kickbacks.  It's as crazy as it sounds.
  
  
  
• It's cold. Channel 11 (the local CBS news affiliate) posted a video the morning of the "steam" coming off of Lake Bridgeport at the Runaway Bay bridge. 
• Breaking: The current Superintendent for Slidell ISD has been named the new Superintendent of Decatur ISD.