- Let me experiment with this as a replacement for the Random Thought Girl: Going back 10 years to the week and reprinting and linking to a bullet point or a blog post from back then.
- Here's my thinking: It seemed that every time I researched the Liberally Lean archives to find something specific I wrote, I always ended up going down rabbit trails when I was reminded of something unrelated to what I was searching for. And it was often some pretty good stuff.
- The one above was about a Denton County murder prosecution that I railed about to no end while it was ongoing. The jury, amazingly, convicted the man. Eventually, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals, like me, thought there was no way anyone could not have a reasonable doubt about the guy's guilt and ultimately reversed the conviction.
- Hey, I'll print my big misses as well. They are pretty fun.
- And I think I can link to a post and show the comments which were posted about it. Remember those wild west days? The one above, however, didn't even garner a reply.
- We'll see how this goes.
- Texas hospitalizations: Yep, we've definitely peaked. But be careful out there.
- Jacksboro lawyer David Spiller is a Political Machine.
- The results from Saturday:
- The "Carter" in the results who made the run-off is Craig Carter. I don't want to call the guy a spare, but he runs a lot and always gets crushed. He got involved in the Fallon/Estes race in 2018 and got only 15% or the vote, and ran in the Springer/Luther race last year and got 5% of the vote.
- I feel a little bad for Jason Brinkley who resigned as Cooke County judge to run. (And I was contacted a couple of times by one of his family members who seemed like a really nice person.)
- Look what just happened. Rudy might need that $20,000 a day he was wanting from Trump. (And these pages from the lawsuit about The Big Lie show that Dominion is going full throttle.)
- Since Allen West took over as head of the Texas Republican Party, it has been off the rails. This weekend, they announced they had joined a neo-nazi social media site and included on the announcement a slogan from QAnon: "We are the Storm." What the heck is going on?
- Kyle Rittenhouse’s bond conditions have been amended to prohibit the 18-year-old from drinking or associating with known white supremacists. That was done as a result of video surveillance from two weeks ago which showed the 18 year old drinking and flashing white power symbols at a bar.
- If there is a rumor out there that I had an affair with the Jane Krawkoski, I promise not to sue. In fact, feel free to float that rumor. She really had a thing for me.
- Larry King died over the weekend. I was a big fan of his CNN and radio shows, and I've always thought he might be the best interviewer of all time. But he has some other claims to fame. Shooter's shoot:
- That was quick and easy. (And he didn't even spend six months in jail while being falsely accused about a serious crime.)
- The count so far:
- There might be no bigger liar that lawyer John Eastman who told CNN's Michael Smerconish on Saturday morning that those who stormed the Capitol were not even part of the rally at the Ellipse. My jaw dropped. (He's the guy who was grinning and by Giuliani's side when he urged the crowd to have "trial by combat.")
- Tom Brady is now going to his 10th Super Bowl. Only one team in the history of the NFL has been to more Super Bowls than that -- and that was New England who has been to 11 (and nine of those were with Brady.) Pittsburgh, Denver and Dallas are tied for second with eight appearances.
- I don't know if Aaron Rodgers would have scored there or not. But those two defensive backs at the goal line were moving away from the top of the screen at that moment so he might have gotten close. Regardless, throwing it to the guy double covered by those two was dumb.
- Edit: That new angle makes it look like he wouldn't have made it. And here is an "all 22" video of it.
- I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the protests across Russia this weekend about the incarceration of Aleksey Navalny and Putin's excesses. For fun, here's a quick video of the crowd pelting Russian cops with snowballs with some pretty fine accuracy. For a deep dive, here is the two hour video that Nalvalny was ballsy enough to release from prison revealing Putin's ill gotten riches.
- Texas hospitalizations: -306. I'm still inclined to think that we've peaked.
- RTG Update: I received an avalanche of unsolicited (but appreciated) emails/messages regarding the possibility of retiring the Random Thought Girl. The verdict was overwhelming -- it was a good bit, they said, but it's a bit which is way past its prime. I thought it would be more of a 50/50 split. So I'll be in the laboratory this weekend consulting with my Updated Bits Department as they pitch replacement ideas at me.
- A man escaped from a Wise County Sheriff's Office deputy yesterday but was later located at, of all places, Jack in the Box. I see a trend from south Texas in this morning's news:
- I just realized that the election for the open seat in the Texas legislature involving David Spiller out of Jacksboro is tomorrow. (He also has gone big time because I heard a radio commercial for him this morning on the very right wing 660 The Answer -- probably a pretty good idea for that electorate.)
- I had to go in front of new Judge Lowery for the first time yesterday to finalize a negotiated plea of guilty, and I got to provide my client with this great advice before we walked in the door: "I know he'll approve it but, other than that, I have no idea what is about to happen. But I'll be right there with you." (Judge Lowery continued on in the tradition of the late Judge Cude's practices with a slight twist. Importantly, even the person charged with a misdemeanor crime felt respected. Thumbs up.)
- The Little Ball of Terror from Frisco who was involved in the Storming of the Capitol needs to stay off Twitter:
- She tried to grift off people for "legal fees" yesterday, but Paypal kicked her off. She deleted the second tweet below where she admitted she didn't need the money but was just doing the prosperity gospel trick.
- What's worse, she admitted to being a full blown QAnon nutcase.
- And look at her past. She believes that Bill Gates and 5G towers were behind the Coronavirus. And, of course, she had to invoke Jesus at the same time. Flashback:
- What is up with these people who fall into QAnon conspiracy theories and think that Jesus is on their side? It goes right back to last Friday's post about "Pastor" Branden Burden of Kingdom Life. (Speaking of, he has gone silent after his QAnon sermon, but The Dallas Morning News had an update a couple of days ago. I tried to live stream his sermon last Sunday morning but they took down the feed.)
- This site is keeping track of North Texans involved, one way or another, in the Storming of the Capitol.
- This might be my favorite profile of those arrested so far. Be careful ladies. He knows how you think.
- The newest QAnon member of Congress "filed" Articles of Impeachment against President Biden yesterday. She also believes 9/11 was an inside job, and that Sandy Hook was staged. Really.
- "AUSTIN, Texas (KLTV) - Gov. Abbott today held a roundtable discussion in Austin with law enforcement and public safety advocates to discuss the governor’s legislative priorities to ensure a safer future for the state." Just to be clear, "roundtable discussion" = "photo op."
- Others thought about Watchmen, too. (Side note: I really hate making cultural references like that because I suspect less than 5% of you have seen it.)
- Let's check in on Hannity since conservatives have now abandoned Fox News. This guy seems credible:
- Someone posted this yesterday. I routinely think that the cheapest gas will be on the far end of the similarly colored buttons. I need to check before I quickly push one next time.
- A reference I heard this morning that only the elders in the audience will remember and someone who I had not thought about in years: The Galloping Gourmet. He turns 87 today. (More relevant, the great Steve Perry of Journey turns 72.)
- Heard on the radio that new job applicants are routinely asked for the Twitter and Facebook addresses. I expected they might look a person up, but I naively hadn't thought about prospective employers just coming out and asking you for the address before they do so.
- Time which has passed since the Wise County Sheriff's Office has failed to solve the murder of Lauren Whitener in her home at Lake Bridgeport: 567 days
- Messenger: Above the Fold
- Good news?/Bad news?: I'm giving serious consideration to retiring the daily Random Thought Girl. I don't know how long I've been doing that bit, but it might be over a decade. And it started out as simply that -- a bit. You know, a "they'll come for the girl and might stick around to read" kind of thing. Well, the readers came and they've stuck around. But times have changed in the last 10 years. Sensibilities have changed. My sensibilities have changed. I've found myself growing increasingly uncomfortable with it. And with yesterday's events, it felt, at least for the moment, like it was a new day. And maybe it should be a new day for Liberally Lean. This might have been the tipping point last Friday:
- Texas hospitalizations: -58. I'm cautiously optimistic that we may have reached the apex. This last week has been flat. That's not to minimize the current state of affairs -- the virus is as bad as it has ever been.
- Yesterday was just so normal.
- Michelle Obama looked like some kind of super hero out of Marvel Comics or a character from Watchmen.
- That dress and golden microphone might end up in Smithsonian National Museum of American History. I'm serious. That's exactly the kind of stuff that is on display there.
- I honestly didn't know much about this gal, but that was a top notch performance last night.
- I know this gal, and I like her.
- The masks aren't necessary between a husband and wife, but it is setting an example. Messaging is important. The last time we saw someone on that balcony -- a person who had just been diagnosed with COVID no less -- took off his mask and turned around and walked in among his staff.
- I'd like to talk to the person in charge of lighting.
- Can we please do something with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton? Good lord, man, President Biden hadn't even finished saying the oath yet before this came out.
- It now has to be mentioned in an Inauguration Address in 2021: "And now a rise of political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.” He's right.
- The emergency that never was is over.
- And, if not, "Trial by combat!"
- "Let's do this again tomorrow!" -- new White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki yesterday.
- Heck of a wardrobe change on the way to Florida yesterday.
- Kind of funny.
- Shout-out to Germania Insurance for the way they handled a run of the mill property claim. No hassle. No fight. Prompt response. Courteous adjuster. It doesn't have to be hard, does it?
- Something you might have missed:
- What happened here? Ed Young is the pastor of megachurch Fellowship Church Grapevine.
- I can't believe Trump went so quietly into the night (over the last week.) That Storming of the Capitol, once he figured out how awful it was, must have really rocked him. Or, more likely, he was rocked by his approval ratings dropping to record lows in the days that followed. That's something he cares about above all else. And in the end, it was all he cared about.
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