8.07.2018

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts


  • Drive in on 287 from Decatur to Fort Worth and right before you get to I-35 you'll see a left lane exit to get on an tollway.  The sign that goes across the roadway to notify you has three license plate scanners for the three lanes that go underneath it. The two right-most lanes are simply going onto the "regular" I-35 where you don't have to pay toll. Why does TxDot have those readers for those two lanes? 
  • A Texas state senator, Don Huffines, went to Russia to warn the Russians not to meddle in our elections. I bet that scared them. (Any maybe he tried to put them in an American made car from his family's dealership.) 
  • Our governor just made up a quote in the middle of the night. Churchill never said such a thing.: 
  • Speaking of Abbott, I was excited when I heard he would announce a proposal for "bail bond reform" today in Waco. The current trend is to eliminate discrimination against the poor in the bail bond system where indigent folks stay in jail pending trial simply because they don't have the money to get out. Alas, Abbott intends to make it harder to make bail in some cases. 
  • That Paul Manafort trial might be taking a wrong term. The prosecutor and the judge have been getting into it in front of the jury and there is no better way to turn off a jury than for a judge to give the impression he is not neutral. 
  • Notice to the ladies working the counter out at the DPS office in Decatur: 
  • A graduating Aggie decided to do a bit. I just wished they played the Florida Gators this Fall so we could see this picture photoshopped in all sorts of ways. 
  • The stadium arms race continues: The Evil Empire will begin a $175 million renovation project to DKR Stadium.  It is "unclear" if they will add more seats but my money says yes. Texas' current capacity is 100,119. Aggie is 102,733.
  • Sheriff Joe, who is about to be crushed in a U.S. Senate election just like Sacha Baron Cohen crushed him on Sunday night, decided it would be a good idea to trot out Ted Nugent. 
  • As high school football ramps up, do you think your little Johnny will play in the NFL? Consider the case of Johnathan Gray out of Aledo -- easily an all-time top five Texas high school running back. After playing for UT, he went undrafted. "He went to the rookie camp for the New York Giants; and then camps for the Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders. He never played a game for any of those teams."
  • So Sad! (Although I'm not sure why they are wasting time on it if it is "not their call."):
  • WFAA's John McCaa has announced his upcoming retirement. I heard someone call him a "great journalist" this morning. He is very good at what he does which is read news, but I've never considered local anchors "journalists."
  • Nutcase Alex Jones was banned from almost all of the leading social media sites yesterday. (If you aren't familiar with him, he makes claims like "Sandy Hook was staged.") The far right wing was clutching its collective pearls yesterday yelling "Free speech!" and "First Amendment!" Hey, take a civics class. Oh, and Jones also sells supplements which are supposed to make you lose weight but apparently only make you tan: 

  • Ticket fans: Netflix must have paid for the constant segments dedicated to "Last Chance U."