9.04.2023

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




One of the first Twitter viral sensations was "@Vodka_Samm" who ran onto the field during an Iowa game, blew an 0.341, got arrested, tweeted it out as it happened, and earned a story in the New York Post and Deadspin.


  • Wise County capital murder update. We have a somewhat shocking preliminary ruling in the District Attorney's attempt to get an answer on whether the judge properly removed Tanner Horner's court appointed lawyers on July 13th and replace them with the the group named the Regional Public Defender’s Office (RPDO) -- the group which had previously signed a contract with Wise County to represent all capital murder defendants. The higher court ruling came down hours after the request was filed, and  . . . 


    • Quick background: Recall that last week the D.A. went directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to try to get the court to rule on the propriety of the attorneys' removal. If he could get it, he wanted an answer now instead of years after the trial.  And he took the additional unusual step of asking all Wise County proceedings be stayed until the court could rule. 
    • The court has now granted the first request: Proceedings stayed.

    • I think this is a big deal. Even though the court did not decide the issue of whether the removal of the lawyers was proper, it did grant the stay. I'm not sure I've ever seen this happen before. If I were reading the tea leaves, that is probably a message that they will put the original court appointed lawyers back on the case. Maybe. This is uncharted territory for everyone involved. 
    • But the court didn't make a final ruling just yet. Before it does, it wants to hear from others within 20 days. Those include: The judge ("respondent"), the lawyers taken off the case, and the lawyers who were newly appointed. 

    • I'll post the responses once they show up on the court's docket. They will be public records and you can monitor it here, too. Developing . . . . 
  • Incredible that Texas towns are actually doing this (free link): "Designed by the architects of the state’s 'heartbeat' ban that took effect months before Roe fell, ordinances like the one proposed in Llano . . . make it illegal to transport anyone to get an abortion on roads within the city or county limits. The laws allow any private citizen to sue a person or organization they suspect of violating the ordinance."


  • Crazy rain has stranded thousands at the always wild Burning Man event in Nevada. It's hard enough getting in and out of there when it is bone dry. It looks like a mess. (And, no, there is not an Ebola outbreak as the nutcases would have you believe.)


     
  • Last Friday was very deadly in the metroplex.
  • Well, this is nuts. A plane hired to spray blue or pink in a gender reveal party crashes seconds afterwards in front of the guests. Video.

  • I'm personally indifferent about her, but it's time to realize that Taylor Swift is more popular than anyone who has come before her. More than Elvis. More than the Beatles. She sells out stadiums for days in a row. And now she is releasing a movie of that concert and people are knocking each other down for tickets.

  • Business quick hit: I'm no expert, but I think the employment rate is clearly back to normal. 

  • College football: Baylor (27.5 favorites over Texas State), Texas Tech (14 point favorites over Wyoming) and  TCU (20.5 point favorites over Colorado) all lost straight up. 

    • It's a new day in college football. With the blossoming of NIL and immediate transfers, Colorado, with a new coach, had 87 new players.  Texas State, with a new coach, was second with 71 newcomers. See a pattern to success?
  • It's Labor Day. This production brought to you by The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.™