1.26.2024

It's Friday - You Guy's Get Out Of There

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




The experts were wrong. 

  • Having to present a triple funeral seems like an unimaginable task That's what happens this afternoon as Dr. Heath Smith and his two sons are laid to rest with services at First Baptist Church in Decatur. 



  • A 23 year old stole a small plane from Adidson airport but crashed it in Fannin County. "CBS News Texas obtained radio transmissions between the pilot and the Addison Tower, where he informs the tower controller he is not going to listen to their instructions and plans on heading to east Texas." He then turned north.

  • The government of Alabama put an ill fitting mask on a guy last night to kill him after all last second appeals were denied. It went ghoulishly.


    • One of the most shocking parts of the story is one that is hardly mentioned:

  • A church caved in on itself in New London, Connecticut. No deaths or injuries.


  • I don't know if cancelling school is the best option, but schools do need to something to celebrate this historic event. But I'm hearing some schools aren't even planning to have the students go outside to view it with the special lenses. That seems wrong. 

  • His testimony was uneventful as it was short. It lasted three minutes (including cross) and the judge told the jury to disregard what was was easily 85% of his testimony as non-responsive. And Trump didn't even whine about the ruling.


  • I had no idea the famous singer's dad was DA of New Orleans for 30 years. I feel dumb.

  • Let me just say there is no way this will happen,

     

  • When I see headlines like this, I always think of what evidentiary hurdles I'm going to have to go through to get the video admitted. Anyway, the guy is 32 and is on YouTube as "Gixxer Brah" posting nutty videos.


  • We had a big upset in men's tennis in the Australian Open overnight, but Fox and Friends not only misspelled the winner's name, but also had another big typo.

  • I'll position this Star-Telegram story about a local lab solving cases through Forensic Genetic Genealogy. 

  • 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 214 days.


at 8:29 AM

1.25.2024

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




This was an assistant county attorney in Houston who worked on CPS cases. She ended up gambling on a jury trial and wound up convicted of a felony. She received two years probation. Noteworthy is that she was represented by a Dan Gogdell who was one of Ken Paxton's crotchety defense lawyers in his impeachment trial. (The judge tried to help her out by granting her Motion for New Trial but an appellate court overturned that action.)

  • Back when Southern states balked at court-ordered school integration, the president sent in U.S. troops to order compliance.  I don't know if this border situation gets to that point, but this is reaching a bizarro status.


    • Abbott issued a statement yesterday to justify his defiance of the Supreme Court order by citing a different Supreme Court case. Incredibly, the citation was actually to a losing dissenting opinion in Arizona vs United States where Arizona lost trying to do the same thing Texas is doing.. 
  • There was a death last night in crash involving a wrong way driver on 114 near Northwest High School. 
  • This endorsement is a big deal in the swing states. And Trump made a critical mistake last year when he went to a non-union shop to give a speech during the strike. Those boys will remember that.


  • That number seems awfully high.

    • Flashback from 2021 when Abbott made us a promise. Video.

       
  • Taylor Swift fake AI porn images are making news this morning. The world is headed to a very weird place. 

     
  • Ken Paxton is very upset that the judge is making him sit for a deposition after admitting all liability in the Whistleblowers lawsuit.

  • And his other legal case is a mess. Special prosecutors were appointed years ago in Collin County but its commissioners, being Paxton fans, refused to pay them. And getting paid is all that the prosecutors have been focused on ever since. The actual prosecution hasn't even moved one iota.
  • It's only on Mondays, but that will make it the best show on TV all week long. Love that guy. 

  • I had completely forgotten that she existed. Remember when Mark Cuban hired her in 2018 to simply make some very bad press go away?

  • With Michigan's Jim Harbaugh leaving for the NFL's Chargers yesterday, now three of the final four college playoff teams have lost their coach. Only Texas remains intact. Maybe Michigan could hire Steve Sarkisian and give us a clean sweep.
  • Legally nerdy stuff: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has decided to hear whether geo-warrants for Google's data are legal.  There's a 100% chance they will say yes.
  • Messenger - Above the Fold

at 8:31 AM

1.24.2024

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




Justin Bieber was out there making headlines.

  • New Hamphire election:
    • Trump wins by a little less than expected but a big win neverthelss. 

    • He was downright mean in his victory speech, and oddly criticized Nikki Haley's dress. Video

    • The dress, in case you are interested:

    • Nikki Haley vowed to stay in the race which caused a liquored up Marjorie Taylor Greene to come up with a solution. Video.

    • Tim Scott, who only became a senator because Nikki Haley appointed him, appears to be a smarmy person.

    • Trump threw in some lies in his victory speech. Claiming he has won a New Hampshire general election is verifiably false. 

    • Texas' John Cornyn kissed the ring last night. 
    • Barring a wild shift in Republican public sentiment before Super Tuesday, Trump will get the nomination. It's like January 6th never happened, or, more likely, far more people support the overthrowing of democracy than we ever realized.

  • Because the law doesn't mean anything to authoritarians. 

  • After the White Supremacist controversy, a Watchdog has figured out that the Texas Oilman PAC has reincarnated themselves into a new PAC name. 

  • Caught my eye. But as I understand it, the image was displayed by a Zoom attendee from the public. So it was someone who gambled on doing a bit. 

  • I wouldn't think that the Supreme Court case allowing a coach to voluntarily pray on the field after the game would somehow mean that the East Texas school can do this. Story.

  • COVID update. Wild swings in how I feel.  I'll think I'm over the worst of it and then I'm knocked down a few hours later. This morning is far better. I'm monitoring my breathing because, even though the new strain of COVID isn't like the original, this thing makes me nervous. I'm good in that department.  

at 8:31 AM
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