12.22.2023

It's Friday -- Let's Get Out of Here

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




Anti-Obama and anti-Obamacare folks had a field day with the picture which was used in this presidential promotion. Probably wasn't his best work. 

  • THWMISB.™
  • After four years, we have even more evidence, recorded no less, of Trump trying to overthrow the election results. He personally called two county officials to try to convince them to kill the Detroit vote. "If you can go home tonight, do not sign it. . . . .  We will get you attorneys." That's providing a benefit in exchange for an official act = bribery. Story.



  • In addition to being morally bankrupt, Rudy is now financially bankrupt as well.


  • A mass shooting in Prague leaves many dead and gives us a heck of a photo of students hiding from the gunman. .

  • Moving across the wires moments ago. Good. This is very, very good. Merry Christmas one and all:


  • Let's check in on Trump before the Detroit election tampering news broke.

    • Flashback.

  • Let's check in on Fox News. 

  • Local political relevance of this story extracted for you:



  • Oh, come on. Let's let that go.

  • Things which are real that I didn't think were initially real. (He was on the Dukes of Hazzard for all of those fortunate enough not to have seen it.)

  • Incredibly legal nerdy stuff: There is no mechanism in Texas criminal law whereby a judge can dismiss a case before trial even if he thinks the evidence is insufficient to convict. Two appellate cases in the last two days, both involving appeals by the State, have had to make that point known to trial judges. Here and here. 
  • Time which has passed since the Wise County Sheriff's Office, despite having a full male DNA profile, has failed to solve the murder of Lauren Whitener in her home at Lake Bridgeport: 4 years and 179 days.



at 8:31 AM

12.21.2023

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




This is Part II of my hot takes.  There is actually a Part III where I updated the post with reader choices gathered from the comments section (back when I had one -- it was the Wild West.)  You'll have to be a long time reader to understand some of the references. 

  • That Colorado Supreme Court decision barring Trump from the ballot had a huge caveat within it that no one is mentioning. Practically speaking, the ruling will never go into effect, and they tell us so right in the opinion. It is really odd. 
    • The court ordered Trump's name not be on the ballot but they self-imposed a stay of their own ruling. The ruling only goes into effect (on 1/4/24) if Trump doesn't appeal. And if Trump does appeal the decision (and he will), that stay will remain intact until the Supreme Court finally and completely decides the case.  So the mere filing of an appeal in the Supreme Court will keep Trump on the ballot until the Supreme Court finally acts.  But here's the kicker: There are no deadlines forcing the Supreme Court to even act on the petition of appeal.They can just sit on it and run out the clock until the election is over. Then they can refuse the appeal as "moot." But, in the meantime, with the stay in effect, Trump will be on the Colorado ballot. 

  • Told ya! So what really happened? "Police say they do not know what caused the reported issues with the students."


  • This is all so very weird.



  • A faithful reader noticed this on the back of a street sign on the Decatur square. The Nazis walk among you.

  • No alcohol or drugs were involved.  What we use to consider accidents that might give rise to a civil lawsuit are now routinely criminal cases..  

  • I'm still not sure what happened with Jeff Leach and the Collin County Sheriff's Office, but it looks like a far right Texas group really wants to see the video. They provide some background here, and it looks like the video will be released.

  • The "one of the busiest travel days" ruse is in effect this morning. But at least WFAA is blurring out the background of the shot of the obligatory reporter-at-the-airport to hide that no one is there.

  • I've said it before, the Nazi party in Germany never got more than 37% of the vote before Hitler was appointed Chancellor.  It doesn't take a majority for weird things to happen.  
    Yes, I know that's 42% of Republicans. 

  • The New York Tiimes consulted the Federal Reserve to answer this question. Fun little article. (Gifted link.)

  • Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the last game ever at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys lost to the Ravens (remember these two runs?), but do you know who the quarterback of Baltimore was? Joe Flacco -- who is still playing in the NFL. 

  • Kind of legal nerdy stuff, kinda political:  The Special Prosecutor in Trump's D.C. insurrection case is asking the Supreme Court to get involved immediately to resolve Trump's "presidential immunity" claim. Yesterday, the state AG's from several Republican states, including Texas' Ken Paxton, voluntarily weighed in to say that the Supreme Court shouldn't act because there is no "public interest" to resolve the case as the prosecution claims. Let me get this right. It's not a public interest, but the matter is of such a great concern that you are using taxpayer dollars to inject yourself into the Supreme Court fight?

  • Breaking sports: Florida State is about to take formal legal action to get out of the ACC.
  • It's the shortest day of the year.
  • Messenger - Above the Fold

at 8:30 AM

12.20.2023

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




Man, I had some hot opinions back then. And that's just the first half of the list.
 I'll post the remainder tomorrow. (But what did I have against Lane Kiffin?)

  • The Colorado Supreme Court has knocked Trump off the ballot in that state for insurrection under section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Quick thoughts on the practical implications . . .

    • If the ruling stands, it doesn't mean much in the electoral count because Trump was never going to win Colorado.
    • The decision will probably have the effect of ramping up the MAGA Trump Extremists more than anything else.
    • There is a 100% chance the Supreme Court will have to decide this case now, and that's fascinating. Edit: I've got a big backtrack on this tomorrow based upon the decision.
    • I think the Supreme Court will almost certainly overturn it, but the "state's rights" court is in a heck of a bind on just exactly how they do it.
    • As someone smarter than me has pointed out, the Supreme Court could actually save the Republican Party by letting the ruling stand. With other states then following suit, the Republicans could rid themselves of Trump and his nutcase disciples who are only dragging the party down. It would then open up a path for Haley or DeSantis who might actually win. Seriously, the normal Republicans should embrace this path and start getting the message out to the partisan court that letting the ruling stand is OK. 
  • We now have the face of the victim in the Man-Through-The-Windshield case. 

  • Something interesting happened in the civil case against Fed Ex in the Athena Strand civil case filed in Wise County:  The lawyers dismissed it. However, they turned around and refiled it in Dallas County. I'm not sure about the reasoning behind that. Anyway, now Fed Ex and the other defendants have filed motions to get it transferred back to Wise County. 

  • I-35 in Lewisville looked a little problematic this morning. 

  • As predicted, the attack wasted no time. 


  • Did you know there is a resort "town" being developed inside Runaway Bay which is quite elaborate and with a most unusual name? Website here.

  • Ken Paxton is after a trial judge in Tarrant County who ruled against him one time.  Fascism is everywhere. 

  • Let's check in on Fox News coverage of Justice Sandra Day O'Conner lying in a state of repose at the Supreme Court. No, she wasn't the Attorney General in Texas -- she was an assistant Attorney General in Arizona. 

  • Not sure why Junior's girlfriend posted this of her in the sheer outfit with Trump in golf attire. It looks photoshopped. 

  • Right before this denial last night, Trump said, "It’s true, they’re destroying the blood of our country. . . . . They don’t like it when I said that." And, interestingly, he pronounced Mein Kampf absolutely correctly. 

  • Random screenshot from a random play during the Cowboy game. See anyone open? And that's with two safeties not even having to do a thing. 

  • Israel's carpet bombing of Gaza will create generations of terrorists against them who otherwise wouldn't have been. And they will come from the families of the innocent dead. This will not ultimately end like Israel thinks it will.  

at 8:31 AM
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