3.26.2024

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




That Twitter account out of Denton no longer posts photos, but it gave us some doozies back in the day.

  • We have a massive and dramatic bridge collapse in Baltimore as a huge cargo ship enroute to Sri Lanka struck it at 1:28 a.m. Video of collapse here which seems to show the ship losing power seconds before striking the Francis Scott Key bridge. 




    • First pictures by dawn's early light. 


  • Ransomware attacks happen all the time, but we rarely hear about the actual amounts that they want (which is what they will be paid.)

  • Wise County Judge J.D. Clark posed at the top of the courthouse yesterday. Later in the day, the scaffolding around the top of it was taken down. 


  • This could be a major NBA scandal. A player tanks after massive bets were placed on the "under" for his personal "total points scored" prop bet line. 

  • Trump ticker:
    • Trump got 10 extra days to come up with the massive bond in his New York civil fraud trial, but the amount of the required bond was reduced to $175 million yesterday. 
    • Uh, I'm pretty sure this is a crime. Edit: This is fake. I was duped.  

    • The Biden campaign is running a different campaign than Trump has ever faced before.

    • The weakest case against him will probably go to trial on April 15th.

  • They are coming for you abortion pills today.

  • The Wise County courthouse is doing better than the Wichita County courthouse. 

  • The Business Second™.

  • In Texas, unless officers actually witness a crime taking place in their "presence", they must get a warrant before making any arrest. (There are some exceptions but very, very few.)

  • Yes, I'm aware of a certain video catching fire over in Bridgeport regarding a "confrontation", but I don't know how to handle it. 
  • I started complaining about license plate readers years ago . . . . 



at 8:30 AM

3.25.2024

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




I wouldn't be able to handle the uncertainty of being a superintendent or athletic director.

  • County Judge J.D. Clark has posted four fantastic pictures of the new finial (aka the "crown") being installed at the top of the courthouse. 

  • A wrongful death lawsuit was filed on Friday. The wreck occurred March 9th near Alvord.


  • Friday morning and afternoon were very busy:
    • A terrorists attack by ISIS left over 130 dead in Russia.

    • Bastrop, Texas.


    • We all felt bad about making fun of the photoshopped photo from a couple of weeks back. 

    • Ken Paxton avoids will avoid consequences once again. "Lawyers in Ken Paxton's felony securities fraud case are in talks about a deal to drop the charges facing the Republican attorney general if he performs community service and pays restitution . . . Paxton could also have to take advanced legal education courses."

    • The Republican controlled House is in chaos again as Marjorie wants to throw out the Speaker and a resignation brings their majority down to one person. 



  • Ronnie Jackson was packing them in over the weekend. 

  • Dateline Progreso, Texas. 

  • DFW sports owner richness index:


  • The Washington Post is about to come out with an big article on LSU coach Kim Mulkey, and she is not happy about it. She went on a four minute rant about it on Saturday even before it has been published. But she won't grant the reporter an interview. 

  • Stopping the game seems to empower them instead of punish them, right?

  • I'd double check that stopwatch.

  • Liberally Lean leaderboard.

  • The CEO of Boeing as well as two other top executives announced their resignations moments ago. Surprised it took that long. 

at 8:30 AM

3.22.2024

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




It's been ten years? The days are long, but the years are short.

  • This morning, Congress will vote on a big spending bill (actual photo of all 1,012 pages of it below) to keep the government open.   Side note: What type of printing office does Congress have and what is its budget to be able to produce multiple copies of every bill for every congressman? There's no way they use PDFs. It would be too logical. 


  • Someone brought up a great point to me yesterday on a story I posted: How did he get past security where you have to a boarding pass that matches your ID?

  • Another follow-up to a story yesterday.

  • The U.S. sued Apple claiming its iPhone has a monopoly.

    • This has me confused. As antidotal evidence, last week I was in the County Attorney's Office and suddenly was in need of an iPhone charger. I put out a friendly request to everyone in the always-accommodating office, and only one of the seven people present used an iPhone. All the rest were Android users.
    • So yesterday I looked up the actual data on the market share of iPhone vs. Android.  So how is this a monopoly?

  • All trial judges will schedule many trials for the same day -- it's a way to force settlements.  Generally, however, you have a good idea as to the the way the cases are ordered. For example, if you are #5, you know that your chances are pretty good about being "reached" because the top four cases will likely settle or be continued at the last minute.  It's only a problem when you have no idea what order the cases are in because you have to prepare like you are #1 even when there is actually no chance of being called to trial. This story really doesn't tell you if the prosecutors and defense lawyers are aware of that order.


  • This story is different not only because it involves a pastor, but because (1) that's a higher sum than most cheap people pay in murder-for-hire, and (2) the hitman actually went and shot the guy -- but didn't kill him. 


  • I thought that prison sentence sounded a little harsh, but then I noticed a discrepancy between the story and the headline.


  • Why did they treat that quail that way?

  • The Business Second™: "The company’s founder and CEO, Merrilee Kick, started the company in 2010 when she was a teacher at Plano West Senior High School. Since then, the company’s value has skyrocketed and is reportedly worth at least $1 billion and reels in approximately $100 million in annual revenue." But exact terms of the sale were not released.

  • Extremely nerdy legal stuff for criminal law practitioners only: In DWI cases, it's well settled that the State cannot have an expert give an opinion about a person's BAC at the time of driving based upon the time of the test unless they have other Mata-mandated facts. But can the State, when they don't have Mata facts, do an end-around and ask about the generic elimination rate (0.02 an hour) and try to back door it? An appellate court said no yesterday (with a dissent.)
  • Liberally Lean leaderboard:

  • 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 270 days.

at 8:30 AM
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