2.09.2021

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

 


  • I had forgotten about my gift of autographed photo. Former Fox 4 Good Day host Megan Henderson is still in California by the way. 
  • This was a last second advisory at 7:20 a.m. as it began to mist this morning with freezing temperatures. 

  • This Britt Reid accident story is already messy, and it might get messier. The cops got a warrant for his blood after the accident, but he wasn't arrested. That's unusual. If an officer thinks he has probable cause to obtain a blood search warrant then he, by definition, has probable cause to arrest. The only time I've seen someone not arrested in this situation is if  they required hospitalization, but I'm not sure that's the case here. "Britt Reid had non-life-threatening injuries, the police said, but complained of stomach pain and was also taken to a hospital after the crash."

  • Lots of news about a water plant in Florida being hacked where settings were changed to release an unsafe amount of sodium hydroxide. I've been preaching it for years: We are a sitting duck for some type of cyber attack.

    • That being said, I'd tap the brakes on this story.  My patented Something-Ain't-Right Detector™ is going off. I don't know what it is, but something isn't adding up.  But I can already tell this isn't some sophisticated attack.  The "hacker" utilized the water plant's own purchased software called TeamViewer which, by design, allows employees to remotely access computers and servers.  (It's like GoToMyPC for those who've used that.) 

  • Trump's impeachment attorneys filed a legal brief citing a conspiracy website which has been full of nutty stories for years. (And they need a proof-reader more than I do: "ani-government")

  • Lots of blaming go around this morning in connection with teen or near-teen suicide.
    • A trading app gets blamed.

    • A social media app gets blamed when at teen dies of a drug overdose.

  • I've made reference to this story out of Midland before, but it still astonishes me. An assistant DA moonlighted as the legal clerk for judges who presided over criminal cases his office was prosecuting including one which put a man on death row. Amazing. 
    • These paragraphs from that story struck a cord with me for the two points it makes: (1) Prosecutors are given a pass for their intentional and reckless conduct, and (2) defense lawyers are either to lazy and apathetic to call them out -- or they are just scared to do so.  

  • I'm even more confused by the $12,500 procedure than how this all happened in the first place. (By the way, I'm also very suspicious about all aspects of this story. Once again, something ain't right.) 

  • A plane was  dumping (presumably) water on a small island on Lake Bridgeport on Friday afternoon in a fire fighting training exercise. It made a least 10 practice runs. 

  • There were already questions about the ridiculousness of freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) getting reimbursed by her campaign for  $21,199.52 in "mileage" expense (which was reported in campaign filings on November 11, 2020). Now it's being revealed that she coincidentally paid off $18,999.36, in tax liens on her gun-themed restaurant on Oct. 22, 2020. Oh, and all this is completely unrelated to her tweets on the day of the Trump Insurrection Riot giving the location of Nancy Pelosi. 

  • Her BFF is at it again this morning: It couldn't have been Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol building. Sheesh.   The Republican Party has been hi-jacked. (And I didn't even mention her press conference on Friday where she proclaimed this about Trump: “The party is his - it doesn’t belong to anybody else.”)

  • Just saw that Patrick Mahomes is having foot surgery tomorrow and will be rehabbing for "several months."
  • I started up House of Cards again and am now halfway through Season Five. I think it's one of my favorite TV shows of all time. It's like The West Wing on acid. 



at 8:35 AM

2.08.2021

Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • That's was at the end of Random Thoughts from 10 years ago after the Super Bowl at Jerry World. The fact that a team, not a quarterback, had a fourth championship was a big deal.
  • Remember when Budweiser announced they wouldn't be doing any Super Bowl commercials? I think I missed the fine print where Bud Light and Bud Light Seltzer weren't included. 

  • I didn't have Billy Idol and Miley Cyrus on my pre-game Bingo card. I think he's had some work done. 

  • So Bruce Springsteen was able to make everyone mad? On one hand, he's a dirty lib for implying we are finally "united" under Biden, but on the other he's also a White Christian Nationalist for talking about a church in the middle of America.  But was able to bring us all together in that we all agree it's dumb to drive a jeep with the top down in 20 degree weather. 




  • It really didn't matter, but he ended up throwing the ball 30 yards on this play. They guy never had a chance yesterday.  



  • Drew Pearson finally made it the to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the camera briefly panning over to Roger Staubach and Jerry Jones made me question which one looks older. 

  • Five minutes after the Super Bowl was over, the Cowboys tweeted a 32 second clip about next season. There wasn't a single image of Dak Prescott used. If they don't reach a contract with him and they want to use the franchise tag on him for the upcoming season, it will cost them $37.69 million.

  • Blaming "Senate rules" for abandoning the minimum wage promise isn't going to go over well for those who voted for him. 

  • On Friday, Fox News cancelled Lou Dobbs from it business network line-up. The unemployed conspiracy theorist is 75.

  • Breaking Telsa/Bitcoin news.   After the announcement, the crypto currency is now trading at over $43,000 a coin this morning.  (Side note: I think Elon Musk is crazy and might end up like John McAfee one of these days.)

  • Fun facts: In 2019, there were 9.7 million traffic stops made by cops in Texas. Citations were only issued in 40% of them.  They searched the car in 5% of all stops. When they did search, they found nothing 66% of the time. 
  • The front page of the Messenger on Friday had a story of 75 pounds of weed found during a traffic stop.  I can already tell you there will be a fight in court as to why the traffic stop was prolonged in order for a dog to be brought in. 

  • I made what I thought was a pretty obscure reference to Leon Spinks a couple of months ago when I had a tooth incident. He passed away on Friday. 

  • The Supreme Court keeps issuing weird late night rulings (referred to as a "shadow docket") and they did so again on Friday night with a COVID ruling. Justice Kagan fired off a hot dissent, though:

  • Who could have predicted in this day and time this would happen?: 

  • If the Kansas City Star actually went to black and white this morning, that's a nice artistic touch. 


at 8:32 AM

2.05.2021

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

 

  • Texas Hospitalizations. This may be the last time I post it unless the decline changes. We've got a long way to go, and it's still dangerous out there, but we are officially on the back nine of COVID. 

  • Wow. The Mason County Courthouse northwest of Fredericksburg burned down last night. It was built in 1909. The county judge snapped this picture:


  • I know someone who received their COVID vaccine at the Texas Motor Speedway and was told that the process worked like a charm. Easy as can be. 
  • QAnon Republican Disciple Marjorie Taylor Green was stripped of her committee assignments yesterday, but only 11 Republicans thought she was worthy of such condemnation. Incredible. She's a nutcase who needs to be banished, not just from committees, but from Congress. 

    • For those of you who might have been on the fence as to whether or not 9/11 happened, Greene wanted you all to know something very important before the congressional vote yesterday:

    • But her explanation for all of her crazy statements over the last few years is that she was "allowed to believe" conspiracy theories "that weren't true." Sheesh. She's a victim because no one prevented her from believing idiotic things?  And I loved this line about her: "It's not fair to hold a 46 and a half year old responsible for the crazy stuff she did and thought when she was 44 and three quarters."
  • Wait! There's a documentary released today about the mistreatment of the Official Liberally Lean Girl?! How was I not informed about this!? This might be enough for me to form an Elite Strike Force legal team of my own and head to California. 

  • I'm not sure what it means, but Rep. Phil King was booted as the chairman of the House Redistricting Committee yesterday by the new Texas House Speaker.   And redistricting actually matters once every 10 years and this is the year. 
  • I was curious how much long the run-off election for a Texas House district seat between David Spiller and Craig Carter would be delayed because of the horrible accident involving Carter's family last weekend. The answer: Not at all. Yesterday, Gov. Abbott set the run-off date for February 23rd.
  • Watch it at your own peril, but the video which captured all of this in Pennsylvania is disturbing to no end. The guy unloads a pistol and then goes and gets an AR-15.


  • This story is wild about the president of a massive car dealership is Wichita Falls. And I do mean wild. 

  • From Alpine, Texas:
    (Even snuck in a "Jesus is Lord" sign in there)

  • Nerdy legal stuff: Democrats now control courts of appeals in Dallas, Houston (2 courts), San Antonio and Austin. This is an extreme proposal to turn the 14 courts into just four in order to dilute Democratic voting. 

  • This isn't my forecast, but "some people are saying" we are in store for this next week: 

     

  • How much did Kroger have to pay Flo Rida for the licensing fees for Low? And I wonder if it was a price based upon a flat rate or per usage? By the time it is all over, that song and Kroger are going to be synonymous. 
  • 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: 584 days.
  • Messenger: Above the Field


at 8:34 AM

2.04.2021

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

 

  • That's from 2/3/2011 as the ice and snow storm that week continued. It's Bizarro World: Judge Clay Jenkins was being criticized for keeping offices open. And I had completely forgot about him breaking his leg. 
  • Texas Hospitalizations: 13 decreases in the last 14 days.

  • I was wrong about no elected officials being at the the Wise County Conservatives meeting. The Runaway Bay mayor was there.  There's an audio of the entire event where you can (barely) hear several elected officials identify themselves from the audience at the 24:00 minute mark.

    • But there were some Parker County elected officials there including a district judge. (Side note: Hey, I saw the way Parker County reacted during the BLM rallies last summer on your courthouse square. I'm not sure Wise County needs Parker County's help.)
    • After listening to all the speakers in the entire audio, I think the new group is already in the middle of the identity crisis. What they heard from the keynote speakers is not what they came to hear. These are "Trump Patriots" and the status quo is the last thing they want spoon fed to them.
    • Most of the reaction I got from posting the photo of the group yesterday had nothing to do with politics -- it was about the lack of masks.
  • The Republicans in the House, in a secret ballot last night, voted 145-61 to keep Liz Chaney in her leadership position. Chaney, of course, voted to impeach Trump for the Insurrectionists Storming of the Capitol on January 6th.  Afterward receiving that round of support, she doubled down afterwards. She rightfully thinks Trump should be impeached.  

    • How many of the 61 that voted against here were from Texas? I bet a bunch. 
    • What would the impeachment vote last month had been if it were allowed to be secret as well? 
    • But Matt Gaetz (who certainly was one of the 61) told us Liz Chaney was doomed.
      • One week ago:

      • Yesterday: "We have the votes"

      • He even went to Wyoming to get to know her constituents.

  • Despite being all together behind closed doors last night, the House Republicans amazingly decided not to take away the committee assignments QAnon disciple Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene. Why? This isn't hard. Instead it will go to a vote today before the full House where the Democrats will have to do it for them. Kevin McCarthy couldn't have screwed this up more if he tried. 

    • McCarthy set himself up for Nancy Pelosi to take a savage shot at him through a press release yesterday: 

    • And things like this get floated around:

    • Just slap down the nutcase and none of that happens. 
    • So Greene was "contrite" last night behind closed doors? Who cares? You don't get to just walk away from views about Jewish Laser Beams from Space causing wild fires and everything else.
    • Instead, news leaks that Marjorie Green Taylor got a standing ovation last night behind those closed doors. (I'm guessing that came from the same 61 who voted to strip Liz Chaney of her leadership position.)

  • They've lost him?


  • Some breaking news last night on Fox News:

  • After Fox News turned on him and then Newsmax, you could always count on OAN to come to the rescue of the MyPillow guy. 

  • Freezing Cold Takes: In February of 2002, I distinctly remember being in a taxi cab in Las Vegas and told the cab driver that I thought the Patriots should trade Tom Brady.  It was Brady's second year, and he had stepped in for an injured Drew Bledsoe and led New England to the Super Bowl.  "I think he's a flash in the pan, and I trade him for a trainload of draft pics. You could rob some team," I told him. 
  • Five children and 1 adult were murdered in Muskogee, Oklahoma on Monday night, and you might not even know about it. 



at 8:29 AM
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