Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

Ended up playing for nine years which is a lifetime for an NFL player. The defensive and special teams player actually scored one touchdown in his career when Odell Beckham Jr. muffed a punt. Video.

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• WFAA/Chanel 8 picked up on the high profile arrest in Decatur of Jake and Brooke Melton last week.  Brooke is still in jail in Wise County after nine days, and there's no attorney listed. Jake was arrested in Oklahoma, but I'm not sure about his status.  
  
  
  
• A baby was shot and killed in a vehicle by police in Mississippi after they opened fire on the car stopped after a pursuit of a man wanted by police. Video. There were 40 cop cars surrounding him. A police statement issued immediately after the incident said officers fired, "As the suspect exited the vehicle." The video doesn't show a man exiting the vehicle.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Texas Senate passed open/concealed carry without a permit yesterday. There are a couple of amendments that still have to be resolved, by there is now a 99% chance it becomes law on September 1st. 
  
  
  
• The first criminal trial in Dallas since the pandemic has just concluded. What constitutes "Stalking" is a messy line. 50 emails in three weeks is a close call between extremely irritating and a crime, but the guy also showed up at her office to "take her to lunch" and then showed up at her home. Then again, he left whenever he was asked to leave and never returned. The sentence was agreed upon: 4 years probation. (If she look familiar, you are probably right. She had to step in and run the Dallas DA's office when Susan Hawk ran into her mental health issues in 2015.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• And we had the first criminal trial in Waco. A man who rotted in jail for 818 days was found not guilty on an assault charge. 
  
  
  

  

  DA with a classy retort.

  
  
• If you like deep dives, here's the complete audit report of the Tarrant County ME's office complete with autopsy photos showing the "missed bullet" found after a body was disinterred and re-examined. That's what started the current house cleaning. (Warning: There are other disturbing photos in it.) 
  
  
  
• Florida's Gov. DeSantis signed the new voter suppression bill live on Fox and Friends this morning while at the same time banning local media from the event. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Probably the richest guy I personally know told me a few years back that he had gotten into the business of building, buying and selling massive warehouses like those around Alliance Airport. I think of that whenever I see stories like this: 
  
  
  
• The South Carolina House of Representatives voted yesterday to bring back firing squads. Let's do it. And let's televise it. If the government is in the business of killing people, let's not candy coat it with the "peacefulness" of a lethal injection. "If we, as a society, cannot stomach the splatter from an execution carried out by firing squad, then we shouldn’t be carrying out executions at all." Wood v. Ryan, 759 F.3d 1076 (9th Cir. 2014)(Kolinski, J., dissenting)
  
  
  
• Thinking you can appeal a Facebook decision to the Supreme Court is a moronic take. Yet this guy has 1.7 million followers on Twitter. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• George Jung, the drug dealer about who the film Blow was loosely based upon, has died. I really liked that movie. 
  
  
  
• Average apartment rent in North Texas: $1,222.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

I still think about that moment all the time, and I'm not sure why.  And I don't think 

I ever saw the man again. Weird.

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• Announced at 8:00 a.m. by Facebook: The decision on the indefinite suspension of Trump's account.  You know, despite all the instant headlines saying the ban of Trump was "upheld", I think that this is really a Trump win. The Board called the decision "arbitrary" and ruled that Facebook must reassess the decision within six months to come up with an "appropriate penalty."  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  
  
• Even Fox News got it wrong. 

  

  
  
• Ted Cruz went to Florida. (Flashback to when he called Trump a "sniveling coward".) 
  
  
  
• The Texas Senate might vote on the open/concealed carry without a license bill today. It has already passed the House, and Abbott says he would sign it. 
  
  
  
• The Texas House, in another top priority, also passed a bill allowing alcohol sales at hotel bars at any time of the day or night. 
  
  
  
• A bill that criminalizes abortion after six weeks passed the Texas Senate yesterday despite its dubious constitutionality. The oddest part of it is that it allows "any person" to sue "any person" who "aids or abets" in the abortion (which could include providing emotional support to a friend). 
  
  
  
• After yesterday's post, a faithful reader and former famous Fox 4 reporter alerted me to the whereabouts of Becky Oliver: She's a real estate agent selling high end homes in Dallas. 
  
  
  
• The Dallas Mavericks are trying to introduce this character as a mascot but it seems to be a flop. Who could have predicted that? (Mark Cuban thought that it would be a good way to attract "Gen Z.") 
  
  
  
• I had never seen this until two days ago, and  I agree that it might very well be the worst scene in the history of television. 
  
  
  
• Baylor hired a new women's basketball coach, but I'd feel more comfortable about her if she didn't get off the private plane looking like she just rolled out of bed. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Compare and contrast Kim Mulkey arriving at LSU:
  
  
  
• "The Eyes of Texas" controversy is continuing at the Evil Empire. 
  
  
  
• Messenger: Above the Fold
• The growing use of running DNA samples through commercial testing companies available to the public solves another cold case:

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Not that big a story, but it reminded me of how Becky Oliver was confronting unsuspecting Lockheed workers ten years ago. If you wonder where she has been, she retired in 2015.  

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• Yesterday, as part of the Wise County Courthouse restoration project, core soil samples were taken. The last report I got was that they had discovered that the building, built in 1895, was sitting on about four inches of concrete followed by another four inches of brick underneath it and then another layer of concrete underneath it. I'll try to get the exact details today. 
• The storms yesterday at 5:00 p.m. split the county into. The west half was sunny while the east side looked like the Wrath of God was about to be unleashed. 
• This is a wild story out of DeSoto that broke late last week. A 19 year old was murdered and during a "balloon release" in his memory, his brother flat out executed a 22 year old who he believed was the murderer. It turns out he was wrong. The rumors about the 22 year old being the killer were just false rumors online. 
  
  
  
• She's the most honorable Republican in the country.
  
  
  
• This story is making the rounds today but the juror attended a rally in D.C.  But his questionnaire only asked if he had attended a rally in Minneapolis, so the juror didn't lie. Amazingly, no lawyer asked about attending rallies elsewhere.
  

  

  
  
• The COVID economic recession is over. In March, Texas consumers paid $3.4 billion in sales tax. That is an all time monthly record.  But I suppose the stimulus checks might have had something to do with that. 
• Of course they did.
  
  
  
• I listened to WBAP yesterday afternoon where the fill-in host Brad Staggs (who is dumber than a box of rocks) took calls as to why they weren't getting the vaccine. The responses were jaw-dropping. And I'll say it again: Beware of anyone who announces "I did my own research online." 
  
  
  
• He gets no sympathy from me. Story.
  
  
  
• The Granbury mayor was arrested a couple of weeks ago for DWI, but now they have discovered he has two prior convictions that make the case a felony offense instead of a misdemeanor.
  
  
  
• The cops actually got a new arrest warrant for him which was absolutely unnecessary.
• From the story, it looks like one of those prior convictions might have been deferred adjudication out of Missouri which, if true, should knock the case back down to a misdemeanor.
• Very, very nerdy legal point: Texas, for offenses on or after 9/1/19, allows deferred adjudication in DWI cases but specifically says they still count as "convictions" which can be used for enhancement in the future. So do out of state deferreds now count as convictions for enhancement purposes? I don't think so from my reading of section 49.09.
• The Bidens and The Carters. I've got to tell you, something about the perspective in this photo isn't right.
  
  
  
• Bill and Melinda Gates are getting divorced after 27 years. (Uh, what's up girl?) In all seriousness, that's both sad yet, dare I say, inspiring. After all that time to decide both of them aren't happy and be willing to mutually walk away takes quite a bit of bravery. Most people would just ride it out in misery. 
  
  
  
• Legal nerd stuff #2: Want to hear a complete appellate oral argument in federal court that lasts only three minutes and where one of the lawyer says "Are you serious, judge?" and, sarcastically, "I see that you read the briefs thoroughly" before being escorted out of the courtroom? The lawyer was later disciplined.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

I was also big on predicting that there would be a lot of conspiracy theories about Bin Laden's death since the U.S. immediately buried him at sea and never released a photo of the body.  That never really panned out, and I'm not sure why.    

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• Big changes in Bridgeport politics as three candidates for the city council (who just happen to be female) knocked off three male incumbents. 
  
  
  
• I told you that the Tarrant County ME's office would be cleaned out due to the recent scandal. On Friday, we learned that long-time ME Dr. Nazim Peerwani would retire.
  
  
  
• Feel bad for restaurants and bars during the pandemic? Hold that thought. There's a massive restaurant financial bailout which has just started. As I understand it, the government will write a check for all of a restaurant's lost revenue in 2020 when compared with 2019 no need to pay the money back. Note: We are talking about lost gross revenue and not lost net income. What a deal.  The only requirement is that the money has to be used on the following expenses by March 11, 2023. The max is $5 million per location (with a $10 million max.) 
  
  
  
• Rep. Ron Wright's widow, Susan Wright, made the runoff on Saturday for Texas Congressional District 6. On Friday, there were reports of a "robocall" sent out of accusing her of murdering her husband (he died of COVID.) I'm suspicious about this. Listen. 
  
  
   
• QAnon showed up at a Keller polling place on Saturday.
  
  
  
• Fox and Friends reporting this morning on "anti-woke parents" winning positions on the Southlake School Board. The candidates opposed "diversity training."  Video. 
  
  
  
• I find this to be mind-boggling. 
  
  
  
• I'm feeling really good about my prediction that Texas won't crack over 40% being fully vaccinated. And this graph is about to flatline. 
  
  
  
• As controversial (?) as the Texas bill is for allowing for concealed/open carry without a license, think about this: The bill just puts handguns on par with an AR-15 which can already be carried without a license.  Most recent poll on the issue: 
  
  
  
• Postcard of the Wise County Courthouse that County Judge J.D. Clark located. I'll ballpark it in the very early 1960s.
  
  
  
• I heard that the ballpark in Arlington doesn't take cash for concessions and, for those who forgot their debit or credit card, there are machines available which convert cash into instant debit cards. Question: Are the cards good outside the stadium just like cash? If not, is everyone just eating the balance left on the card at the end of the game -- something that will happen every single time?