8.20.2018

Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • In an incredible moment yesterday morning, Rudy Guiliani, Trump's wheels-off lawyer, told Meet the Press that "Truth isn't truth." Consider Kellyanne Conway's, "Alternative facts" and Trump himself saying "What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening,” and then remind yourself that these people are saying everyone else is lying.
  • The rain on Saturday night in Arlington was insane. The Rangers' game was delayed over two hours and finished up moments before 1:00 a.m. 

  • I don't know why this doesn't lead the news in every outlet in the metroplex: Millions of dollars collected for the families of the officers killed in the attack in Dallas in the summer of 2016 never made it to them. The man in charge: A cop with the Dallas Police Association who paid himself an administrative fee. Additionally, last year 74% of all donations to his "fund" went to telemarketers -- one of which is described as "his friend." 5% went to the families of the fallen officers.
  • Almost every trial I see on the news shows a prosecutor making an "argument" during opening statement while the defense lawyer just sits on his hands letting him get away with it.
  • The Balch Springs trial of Officer Oliver continues. Note to conservative talk show hosts: Murder in Texas does not require "premeditation" of "malice aforethought."
  • I finally saw all of Get Out over the weekend. Verdict: It was really good until it devolved into a typical American horror film. (But I sure do understand the Dak Prescott mural now.)
  • The amount of torn ACLs in the NFL is amazing. There were 51 last year and we are already up to 11 (and counting if you add this weekend), and we are just halfway through the preseason.  
  • The lawyer in the story below was Frank Branson. He has been winning ridiculous verdicts for over thirty years: 
  • Oh, Williamson County. The judge who told the Sheriff not to bad mouth him on social media got slapped down
  • UT had three players transfer from the football program last week. Baylor has been hit with transfers lately as well. We are seeing a whole lot of, "If I'm not playing, I'm leaving" from today's college players. (Unrelated: Look at the Morning News' "All Area Preseason Football Team" and notice that six of the eleven offensive players have committed to Oklahoma.)
  • I told you there was something weird about that Manafort trial. The jury has deliberated for two days and has asked for a clarification of "reasonable doubt." 
  • I'm worried about the Star-Telegram. Its six lead stories on its home page this morning  include three about food, one about high school cross-country, one about an average Cowboy, and traffic (with the generic "we want to hear from you."
  • Remember that bomb that hit a bus in Yemen and killed 40 children? It was made by Lockheed Martin and sold to Saudi Arabia by the U.S.
  • He is terrified:
    (This Morning)
    (Yesterday)
  • Melania Trump will take part in a "summit" today on "cyber-bullying." 
  • Yesterday afternoon, a father stabbed his 18 month old son to death in an open area of an apartment complex in Lewisville. "During the attack, the father was yelling 'Jesus is coming,'  a witness told police." Radical Christian Terrorism? What would you be saying if he had yelled, "Allahu Akbar"?
  • The Messenger reported a child drowning in today's Update.  In this world where nothing is hidden, the name is listed on the website of the Tarrant County Medical Examiner. 
  • Messenger: Above The Fold