4.23.2024

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




A defendant being shot to death in a federal courtroom is something you don't see every day. 


  • Wise County early voting for city and school elections: 

  • Here's hot sports opinion: I don't think Trump is going to be convicted in this Manhattan trial. Whenever you hear everything that the prosecution says is true, and your initially reaction is, "So what?" or "Is that really a big deal?", you're doomed. 

    • For what it is worth, I bet Trump is sanctioned today monetarily for violating the court's gag order. He clearly did it yesterday by attaching Michael Cohen and saying the jury is 95% Democrat.  A hearing is scheduled. 
    • Daily transcripts of the trial will be published here, but they won't be available until sometime the next day. 
  • This is bad. Video.


  • I meant to mention this last week. A scammer called an 81 year old man in order to dupe him out of money by telling him "he needed to pay $12,000 to get his nephew out of jail . . . [and] threatened to kill him and his nephew if he didn't pay the ransom."  The scammer convinces him to leave the money in a box outside of his house and it would be picked up. The scammers then sent an innocent Uber driver to pick up the package, and once there, the older man -- now wise to the situation -- shot and killed the Uber driver believing she was in on the scam.  The whole thing is horrible.

  • So they couldn't do simple math? 


  • I think this is a heck of a photo of a house fire in Lantana from yesterday. "Crews arrived in less than 5 min and began a fast attack and stopped the fire at the garage. Three occupants were inside the home at the time of the fire and were able to escape unharmed."

  • If you want to know what White Christian Nationalism looks like (with extra emphasis on the white), take a look at this Fort Worth Texas state house rep's tweet:

  • Let's check in on Fox News:

  • The Business Second™. Who could have predicted that the sale of Elon Musk's electric cars, bought by a customer base who is in favor of going "green", would not buy those cars once they found out that the manufacturer was really a right wing Nazi sympathizer nutcase? 



  • I rescued a desperately flapping butterfly from a spider web this weekend, and it might have been the most satisfying thing I've done all year. 
  • I can't get a handle on the protests at the Ivy League schools.  But since they are all private schools, they can crack down on speech -- even protected speech -- all they want. 

4.22.2024

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




Random Deion tweet.


  • The House of Representatives, in rare Saturday session, passed an aid bill for Israel and Ukraine over the objections of Marjorie Taylor Greene and some far-right crazies. Greene now claims she will have speaker Mike Johnson removed because of the vote. 



  • The criminal trial of a former U.S. President begins today.

    • But -- and this seems huge to me --  Juror #2 would appear to be a major problem for the prosecution.  Source: New York Times.


  • A man set himself on fire outside Trump's criminal trial on Friday while all major news channels were broadcasting live. Here are videos from each showing how their on the on-the-street anchors and camera crews reacted: Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN.


    • He wasn't very stable.

  • It looks like a mysterious PAC is again getting involved in the Decatur School Board election. The last one was funded by a Dallas billionaire Montgomery Bennett. I haven't seen any financial filings for the new group yet which has begun to send out controversial text messages.  

  • People rescued a man from burning car in Minnesota. Video.  I can't believe they got him out. 

  • Fox4Terry was working this weekend.

  • Another Tarrant County Jail death. "A man who 'became unresponsive' after a fight with Tarrant County jail detention officers during a 'routine cell check' Sunday morning has died, the sheriff’s office announced."  And your friendly reminder that the county sheriff is in charge of the county jail. 


  • A largely Democratic Texas county elects a D.A. and now a Republican faction is attempting to remove him based upon a law passed by a Republican gerrymandered legislature. 


  • I've heard good reviews and horrible reviews about Civil War, but I was surprised that Jesse Plemons is only in the film for about five minutes.   Side note: It's those wild glasses that make him seem ominous in this still. 

  • Let's check in on Fox News:

  • College football news: 
    • More commercial breaks: 

    • We've got a full blow quarterback controversy at that Evil Empire after Saturday's spring game!


  • The ultra-conservative New York Post went after MTG:

4.19.2024

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






Random Friday Morning Thoughts




This time in April is historically bad. Especially today. 


  • Israel launched missiles into Iran late last night.    It appears to be a reserved and measured strike. Both sides have now pulled punches with each other. 





  • The D.A.s office in Wise County has jurisdiction over Jack County. Their murder caseload just increased. 

  • Oh, my



  • The arrest mentioned as the lead item in the Update yesterday was put into motion because of this video.
  • Day 4 of Trump's criminal trial begins right now. A full 12 jurors were selected yesterday and now they will finish up the alternatives today. It has moved faster than most expected. But Trump didn't like the cold courtroom yesterday. 

  • Harassment by ultra MAGA extremists:

  • Your reminder that this unsolved mystery has a strong Jacksboro connection


  • I don't know who the PR agent is for Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, but I want him What a makeover.  

  • I could not avoid learning that last night Taylor Swift released a 31 song album.  (Side note: Since the 1990s, I have always had a weird distain for saying an album "dropped.")  (Second side note: Pearl Jam released their twelfth studio album in the middle of the night as well.)

  • The Business Second™.

     

  • The Second Business Second™. That number also represents the total number of Cybertrucks which have been shipped to date. 

  • Not much of a punishment to make someone who is already retired to surrender their law license. 



  • 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 291 days.