3.17.2022

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




Ten years ago I was actually industrious enough to round up prizes for the Pick 'Em Tourney. (That's not happening this year.)  I remember the day the guy who won the Lebron jersey picked it up. He was disappointed that it wasn't nicely framed behind glass. 


  • Speaking of, last chance to enter the Liberally Lean Tourney. Sign-ups shut down in a couple of hours. You boys are doing good since we've now cracked over one hundred entries. Remember, this is a tricked up scoring system that rewards upsets.

  • I don't doubt these numbers, but I'm not sure exactly where this is happening.  Of the tons of videos we've seen, I don't think I've seen one involving a battle between two sets of soldiers. Maybe I'm just missing them. 


  • A "natural and necessary cleaning."  Make no mistake, it can happen there. And, based upon what we've seen in recent years, it could happen here if a certain percentage of Americans get their way. 


  • Back to our simple life: Our storm risk today is a short window between 5:30 and 6:30 this evening, and then it's only at 36%.     The greater danger is a spark near a grassy field in the high winds.
  • I've said it before, I don't know who Fox4Terry is, who identifies himself as a "deep night photojournalist roaming the dark streets of DFW in search of news", but he's good at his job. But I never see his photos featured on the regular Fox 4 TV newscasts.



  • And another DNA case solved by identifying family members and then doing leg work. Their sheriff's office raised $4,000 and used the Texas based private firm Othram to find the match.


  • This incident in San Diego is being framed as police shooting someone who attacked them with a knife.  That isn't even close to accurately telling the whole story, and it was all caught on video.

    • A deputy shows up to serve civil eviction papers on a woman who is distraught and who just happens to be Asian.  There's a language barrier. 
    • He hands her the eviction papers, and she looks at them.
    • The deputy sees that the woman is holding a knife down by her side. He pulls his gun, and threatens to shoot her if she doesn't drop it. "Put the knife down or I will shoot you." 

    • She throws the eviction papers away, and then slams the door on him.  His job is over. The papers have been served. There is nothing more he needs to do. Now just walk away. He doesn't. 

    • Instead, an army of cops is called, including an attack dog, and then for a reason that cannot be explained, they then bust into the apartment 45 minutes after she had slammed the door. More than one of them is screaming. It is an absolute cluster. 

    • Watch this guy's breakdown of the video. It's amazing and should be a police training video of how not to handle a situation. This is all so disturbing. 

  • Heck of fire at a Walmart distribution center near Indianapolis yesterday.

  • I wish there were more details in this story. (But "ill will" has nothing to do with hiding evidence.)

  • The Texas legislature really stepped into criminal bail bond tinkering in the last session, and there will be an interesting development come April 1st. A "bond form" showing the name, date of birth, offense charged, bond amount, conditions or bond, and the name of the judge setting the bond will become "publicly accessible on the . . . Internet website" maintained by a state agency. And this will be for every person arrested in the State. (See Texas Government Code sec. 17.0351)
    • And more bond tinkering is coming. So the government wants to set the fee in a contract between two private parties? I've got big problems with this. 

  • I will never not watch this video on St. Patrick's Day. And I'll laugh every single year. (It's now 16 years old.) 

  • You'll never get me to care about the NBA, but The Ticket's Bob Sturm was actually at the Mavs game in Brooklyn last night and was rolling video from the stands for the game winning shot.