9.09.2019

Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • Did you see kids having to hit the ground when gunfire was heard during a football game in Alabama? No worries. The high school principal calmed all our fears: "It was a false report that shots were fired inside the stadium, in the game. The shots were fired two or three blocks away from the stadium. They have created this stir that Center Point is an unsafe place to play football, which is a bald-faced lie.” (Emphasis added.) 
  • I hadn't heard of country singer Kylie Rae Harris who was killed along with a 16 year old in a multi-car crash near Taos, New Mexico late last week.  News over the weekend had a sheriff's deputy saying she "most certainly" caused the crash and they think alcohol "may" have been involved.  She had a DWI conviction out of Collin County in 2017 where an interlock device was required, but I wouldn't rule out her jacking around on her phone while driving since she was pretty active on it before the accident. 
  • The Texas/LSU game was really entertaining. Quick thoughts: (1) Evil Empire fans are disappointed but you're season almost went down the tubes when Sam Ehlinger was rolled up on in the fourth quarter. That had "blown ACL" written all over it. (2) You guys realize that Devin Duvernay is only at Texas because he left Baylor along with the rest of his freshman recruiting class after the scandal broke?, (3) Texas could still get into the playoffs with one more loss so long as they win the Big 12.   They would have had to do that anyway. 
  • After the Cowboys game last night: 
  • Those Aaron Rodgers/State Farm commercials are horrible.   The premise isn't great (two agents) but the attempt at comedy is what makes it painful.  I always picture a bunch of high paid guys and gals in New York in a boardroom and thinking, "Yep. This is is good stuff and the best we can do." Sheesh. Hire a comedy writer. Heck, hire anyone with a sense of humor. 
  • In case you missed it, Trump shockingly and in an offense to the memory of 9/11, invited the Taliban to Camp David.  (I tuned in briefly to listen to the Trump Fan Boys on WBAP this morning, and they were not pleased about it at all. We finally found something that actually made his base mad.)
  • Then, after that tone-deaf announcement of his failed plans, Trump got distracted and degenerated into posting a literal "cat video" about his Hurricane Dorian vs. Alabama fight. 
  • The Harris County DA's office keeps a huge list of cops who have questionable credibility. (Amazing, right?) Yet they were very slow in revealing that a cop in a DWI case was on that list. The judge finally got fed up and really laid the wood to them: A fine of $500.  (The case only made the news because any fine is unusual.). The DA's office dismissed the case but is fighting the fine. 
    The misdemeanor judge in the case who
    looks like he might have a ponytail.
  • I'm experimenting with cord-cutting, and I put up a digital antenna this weekend. Thoughts: (1) If you're replacing a satellite dish, it's a breeze. Just remove the dish and use can use the pole that's already attached to the roof for the new antenna. (2)  More importantly, the satellite used coaxial cable so you just attach the new antenna to it. It's already laid out. (3) Positioning it was simple, and I finally got to use the pre-installed compass app on my iPhone. (4) The picture quality is fantastic, my smart TV even puts the channels in a guide, and in some type of witchcraft, you can pause live TV. (5) The purpose of a digital antenna is to pick up the local affiliates of the major networks (Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC) since online packages can't. I discovered that WFAA/Channel 8 is not with the program. 
  • Side note: Thanks to the neighbor who let me borrow his ladder. It was one of those "Little Giant" contraptions which I had never used. Those things are fantastic. 
  • I saw this headline everywhere. I don't trust this guy. (He decided to go on "vacation" his week.)
  • The Brady Bunch kids are starring in a home renovation show to transform the interior of the sitcom's home into the way the interior, which was filmed at a studio, looked.  Those guys look pretty good. 
  • It may be behind a paywall and of limited interest, but an "opinion" piece in the Dallas Morning News absolutely scorched a lawyer who appeared in a Tarrant County courtroom last week. Example: "From the moment [the judge]first called on [the attorney] during Friday’s hearing, the attorney seemed totally unprepared. Dead air -- while he fumbled for documents, or answers -- seemed to take up as much time as [his] actual responses. I’ve sat in two dozen or more civil and criminal courtrooms and never have I seen anything like this." (I looked him up and he lists membership in the State Bar, the NRA, and Mensa.)



at 8:32 AM

9.06.2019

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here.






at 2:00 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts


  • According to the Messenger, a Boyd volleyball player died in her sleep on Wednesday night. There's not a whole lot known other than that. 
  • A DPS Trooper in the Wichita Falls area has resigned after being indicted for "felony charges of drug possession and tampering with evidence." He was primarily responsible for stopping people on 287. So far, five felony cases against other that he had been involved in have been dismissed with, I'm sure, more to come. Oftentimes, there are cases involving the seizure of money (assuming they were filed) which are also in jeopardy in situations like this. 
  • Some agencies use a towel (or in this case a sheet) to cover the clothes of an inmate for one reason: They want to use the photos in future photo lineups and don't want the clothes to be suggestive one way or another -- so just have everyone dressed the same.  It's really a pretty antiquated practice for the simple reason that photo lineups are basically never used any longer. (And if the cops are using a photo lineup these days, their case is starting on shaky grounds.)
  • Sounds like this judge who is visiting-by-assignment in Houston isn't adjusting to retirement very well. 

  • The following tweet about a former Dallas judge got a lot of attention yesterday even catching the attention of the Washington Post. It's in connection with the scheduled execution of one of the Texas Seven.  Here's a link to the referenced amicus brief, and it bugged me that it never cited to the reporter's record where the judge made those statements during trial.   I had to track down the Motion for Stay of Execution filed last month to find out the source of the statements and it turns out it didn't happen during trial. It comes from an affidavit of at least one person who claims the judge made those statements after the fact and away from the courtroom and the jury.
  • But imagine my surprise while I was reading the Motion for Stay of Execution and came across this footnote. Yep, something I wrote in 2006 somehow ended up in a Motion. (I had thought the judge was a silly grand-stander in a radio ad.) I now wish I had slapped a title on the post which wasn't so flippant. 
  • The Hill says that Tarrant County is one of ten counties in the U.S. which will decide the 2020 presidential race because of its chance to turn blue. I'm not so sure about it impacting Texas as a whole, but remember that Beto beat Cruz there in the last election. I've said it before: There is not a Tarrant County elected Republican (and they are all Republicans) who is not worried about a Democratic sweep one of these day like those that threw everyone out of office in Dallas and Harris counties in recent years. This includes the dozens of judges, the DA, the County Clerk, and the District Clerk. 
  • I'm still haven't wrapped my brain around the North Dallas Tollway going all the way to 380. (For you none Wise County readers, 380 is a big player here.) 
  • Trump was still on his Alabama Claim vs Hurricane Dorian rant yesterday afternoon this morning. At any other time in American history, the country would be in a panic over the fear the president was losing it. (You know, someone should tell him it's OK to drop it.)
  • LSU vs. Texas tomorrow: Man, if UT wins we will face peak Texas cockiness that we've not seen since the moment before Colt McCoy went down against Alabama in the National Championship game. 
  • I've mentioned before there is a multi-million dollar judgment on appeal in Dallas County involving a Decatur law firm. It is now set for oral argument on October 10, 2019. (Based upon the notice, there are a lot of lawyers involved in that thing. It also looks like the three judges to hear the case are a bit on the conservative side.)



at 8:31 AM

9.05.2019

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  •  It's been 20 years, and I had almost forgotten about it. 
  • Northwest ISD how has a "clear bag" policy for varsity events.
  • The Texas Rep who fired off hot opinions on gun rights after the Odessa Shootings decided to confuse his very conservative followers with this yesterday:

  • Not to be outdone, far right Rep. Dan Crenshaw tells everyone that with new laws he couldn't lend his guns to his friends because they couldn't pass a background check. 
  • And then rumors start circulating that the leaders in Austin will consider Universal Background Checks causing a mutiny among state Republicans. 
  • The NFL starts tonight so it's time for my Expert Sports Prediction on the Cowboys. The line for total wins is at 9. My bet-the-house-and-your-wife prediction: Take the over. 
    Source.
  • In case you missed Sharpiegate, Trump has been bent out of shape ever since people made fun of him for claiming on Sunday that Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama.  (He specifically said the Alabama news "just came up, unfortunately.") That, of course, wasn't true. By Sunday, all projections had it turning north. The National Weather Service quickly jumped in to calm down Alabamians.
  • Then, since he can't just let it go, yesterday he showed reporters a NWS map in the Oval Office that had a black Sharpie line drawn over Alabama.  He actually thought we wouldn't notice. 
  • When everyone made fun of that, he then  tweets a map which (1) is four days before his original Alabama claim and which showed a few outliers going through Alabama, (2) was not from the NWS but from something called the South Florida Water Management District, (3) and contained the biggest disclaimer in the history of ever. 
  • And the goofball is still at it this morning. Take the loss. Let it go. 
  • Texas executed another guy last night. The case originated out of Tarrant County, and I noticed his current lawyer was not too kind to his trial lawyer: "Brandt says his past lawyer, Richard Alley, was a 'great word processor' who cut and pasted 'worthless' legal arguments from other cases and has been suspended from practicing in federal court. In 2006, three years after the murders, Alley was barred by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals from its list of lawyers eligible to represent death row inmates in their appeals. He died back in 2017."
  • I was reminded of the kidnapping of two children near Chico by the Comanches in 1865 and found this great page created by the fine folks which have documented basically every cemetery and grave in Wise County. 
    • It has taken me years to realize how recent the events like that are. One of the children  lived until 1950.  There are many people in Wise County right now who could have sat down and talked to him about the kidnapping. 
  • This report of a hate crime caused me a little confusion.
  • I know nothing about some product called "Relief Factor" but there is no way I'd order based simply on the people who promote it. 


at 8:32 AM

9.04.2019

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • The Cowboy's signed Zeke signed overnight: A six year extension beginning in 2021 for $90 million with $50 million guaranteed.  These boys nailed it yesterday:
  • Everyone is saying that "He'll be a Cowboy through 2026!" That's dumb.  He's got four years of good production left if the Cowboys are lucky. So let's go with the $50 million of new money which is guaranteed -- the only money that matters -- divided by four years of production: $12.5 million a year. This is practically how to look at it in a "what exactly are they paying for" sort of way: 
    • 2019: $3.5 million (old contract) + $12.5 million
    • 2020: $9 million (old contract) + $12.5 million
    • 2021: $12.5 million
    • 2022: $12.5 million
    • 2023: Irrelevant. At this point, and probably before, massive deterioration in production begins. They either cut him now or he takes a pay cut to whatever it is he's worth which isn't much. If he's been extremely good for the previous four years and he gets cut after 2022, that's still probably a fair deal. If his legs start to go in 2020 (like Todd Gurley's did last year), it's a horrible deal.
    • 2024: Irrelevant
    • 2025: Irrelevant
    • 2026: Irrelevant
  • The Odessa shooter failed a firearms background check on January 14, 2014, but the government won't tell us why. Since most reasons to fail the background check are otherwise available as a public record (i.e. a conviction for domestic violence), most speculate it was a disqualification for "mental heath condition" or "substance abuse."  We don't know about treatment for those conditions because of HIPAA laws. But, amazingly, there's no easy way for the federal government to know about it either -- especially to have enough details to be disqualifying for a gun. The disqualification of the shooter seems mysterious.
  • Walmart will no longer sell handgun ammo or ammo for the AR-15 and related guns. This will cause a massive boycott of red-blooded Americans until the moment they need to make a run to Walmart. 
  • Random old soap opera thought: Search for Tomorrow is a pretty deep name for a pretty silly program.
  • Lawyers really don't have a union because there is no one to unionize against. Story
  • Highest (administrative) county judges in the state: Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley at $182,482 and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins at $171,367
  • A reminder that you can search for how much any Texas attorney made via court appointments in criminal cases. And it is searchable by county.
  • Weird story out of Dallas. She had worked at the company for only a "few days", and the alleged killer urged her to apply for the job. He took her in a company truck which the company was able to "remotely shut down" when it was discovered to be in Mississippi. He allegedly killed her shortly afterwards. 
  • There's a lot going on here with Billy, and a lot to think about: 
  • Dress for success.
  • College football random thoughts: (1) The Big 12 went 10-0 last weekend which is impressive simply because no one slipped up. More impressive: No Big 12 team threw an interception. (2) Former UT coach Charlie Strong is in a weird funk at South Florida. He started of 2018 at 6-0 but has since lost eight straight (and started off this year with a 49-0 loss to Wisconsin.) (3) I managed to scramble to a TV to catch the end of Tennessee's loss to Georgia State. Back in the day, I also managed to get in front of a TV for Appalachian State's upset of Michigan. 
  • As a followup on my out-of-the blue Seinfeld bullet point on Monday, I found this People magazine cover story.
  • Messenger: Above the Fold

at 8:30 AM

9.03.2019

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • Man, there are a lot of questions about the burning of a 75 foot "dive boat" which caught on fire near Santa Cruz Island and presumably killed 34 people (25 bodies have been found as of this morning.)  Six crew members escaped. The company which ran it had a "sterling reputation" (a co-owner is one of the dead) and the boat had been updated in recent years after a homeless man stole it an ran it aground.  The fire occurred during a weekend Labor Day trip that cost $665. The boat could sleep up to 46 in bunk beds -- some stacked three high. 
  • Hurricane Dorian can down in history as one thing: It's weird. I've never seen one go so slow for so long and then do the (predicted) hard right hand turn.
  • Get those Fall clothes out. 
  • While in Ireland and at Trump's suggestion, VP Mike Pence and his entourage is staying at Trump's hotel in Doonbeg for two nights and commuting on Air Force 2 to Dublin.  Your taxpayer dollars at work. 
  • If you ever hear someone say that a famous comedic scene in any sitcom or movie was "completely ad-libbed and the director just let the cameras roll", that person is probably completely wrong. (I thought about this yesterday when Ticket fill-in host Peter Welpton said that about the character Quint's USS Indianapolis speech in Jaws: "He was actually drunk and he just decided to that on his own." My famous Skepticism Radar® immediately went off, and a quick Internet search proved me right.)
  • Here's your Odessa victims. "The youngest person to die was Leilah Hernandez, 15, a sophomore and basketball star at Odessa High School who was with her family at a car dealership when she was shot."

  • The first media outlet to report that the shooter in Odessa had been fired from his job earlier in the day was the New York Times. You'd think someone in Texas media would have known that. Side note: He lived in the place pictured below. Side note #2: He had a sister who graduated from aTm who committed suicide at age 34. 
  • The Angels pitcher who died in a hotel in Southlake had fentanyl in his system. I was wondering when I first referenced that drug on Liberally Lean since it keeps popping up in the news. I found it: June 5, 2007. (I also found that Texas Monthly did a long article on Jacob Stiles death a few years later.)
  • In case you missed it, you need to watch this guy's plan to defeat the Hurricane Dorian. (Spoiler alert: It involves the Navy and Ice.)
  • I dropped my reading glasses at Lowe's yesterday while messing with a hefty item. I thought, "Don't forget about them after you get this thing situated in the cart in a few seconds." During those few seconds I did indeed forget. Then I had to return to the store six hours later (ugh) and decided to swing by the aisle to see if by wild chance they were still there. Incredibly, they were. 


at 8:32 AM
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