1.28.2015

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts


  • Breaking: Word on the street is that the surprisingly upstart Bridgeport High School basketball team is about to be hit with a couple of player suspensions. It's unconfirmed, but I trust my source.
  • And, remember, I grew up on the mean streets of Bridgeport. #Connected
  • Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks appeared at media day yesterday during Super Bowl week and answered 29 questions with the answer, "I'm here so I won't get fined." (He's not a fan of the media.) But that was the most entertaining interview of the hundreds/thousands of other interviews what will occur this week. 
  • I've heard on the news that the subway system in New York City was shut down for the first time ever in anticipation of the (not) blizzard that hit yesterday.  It wasn't shut down on 9/11?
  • There were 125 criminal exonerations in the U.S. last year -- an all time high. And that doesn't scratch the surface of the damage unethical and/or incompetent prosecutors have caused. 
  • Oh, and Texas prosecutors have taken $486 million from people in "civil forfeitures" in the last decade. (Remember that's one of the reasons why Wise County got its reputation of being corrupt in the 1980s.) Shockingly, the prosecutors get to keep a share of the forfeiture proceeds.  How conservatives don't care about this issue is a mystery to me.
  • Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said yesterday that "Open Carry" probably didn't have enough votes to pass. I haven't heard the response from the bill's sponsor, Jonathan Stickland, but I'm guessing it is something along the lines of, "Ok, daddy." 
  • But our own (and basically absentee) State Sen. Craig Estes filed a bill on Friday that would authorize open carry of modern handguns in Texas by anyone with a license, so long as the handguns are carried in shoulder or belt holsters. Why are we so obsessed with clinging to guns all of a sudden? 
  • I don't know if it made the print issue, but People magazine's website has reported on the missing dogs from Wise County. They cite many media sources but the Messenger is not one of them.
  • It's going to be 80 degrees today. 80.
  • I now know why I had to initially rescue Family Pup #2 from the middle of the road. That dog is dumb. Loveable, but dumb. (I'll get up in the morning and go down stairs, return, and she begins to growl and bark at me like she's never seen me before. Or she's barking because she wants to be petted. Either way, the dog ain't right.)  Edit: Someone asked if she might have an eye problem. I've thought about that. I've performed the very technical test of "OK, dog, follow my finger" and she passed. But I'm not ruling that issue out. 
  • Only one person will understand this: "Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters" was on Hannity last night and went off on a rant against Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (the guy who left his post in Afghanistan). Peters came across as someone who needs to go through anger management (Hannity even seemed taken aback). But he is probably just looking for a gig on Fox News. So angry. So old. So white. Heck, he might get the job.  (Here is the clip all cued up.)
  • I'll actually watch the Golf Channel this week only to see footage of the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open -- the craziest scene of any golf event. 
  • My assistant at work (who does a great job by the way) told me yesterday that she reads Random Thoughts so she'll know what kind of mood I'm in. That's funny. 
  • I'm an early riser. A very early riser. And yet I'm still stunned when I see elementary school kids get on a bus at 7:00 a.m. Getting up that early is fine for old men like me (we like to brag about it), but I'm not sure about kids doing the same.