Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• On Friday evening when I got home, I saw on CNN that Trump was about to speak at a private home which he said was not a fundraiser. This despite signs outside instructing those attending the $100 a head rally should make their checks payable to Trump. CNN was really dogging him about it. Trump, being smart enough to know what was being said, walked out and began his speech with, "This is not a fundraiser. I don't need your money." He then immediately went into a rant about the treatment of veterans.  I'll give him this: The guy is a modern day political genius --- at least for 25% of all voters.
• I forgot to mention this last week: I was driving down I-35 going towards downtown Fort Worth when a black BMW passed me and then almost clipped me as it cut in front of me. In the middle of the back of his car was a bumper sticker that read, "TRUMP". I went from anger to laughter in record speed.
• On Friday I said I had become aware of the greatest travesty of criminal justice in Wise County history regarding a particular aspect of the process. I finally was able to get a hold of additional documents. It just got worse. 
• I had no idea Decatur's private Christian Academy had a varsity football team. How long has this been going on? I'm interested simply because they play schools named Inspired Vision and Faustina.
• Horror master Wes Craven has died. Did you know that the original Nightmare on Elm Street is not in the top ten of his all time grossing ($$$) films? The first four are the Scream movies and #5 is Red Eye (which I've actually seen and found pretty boring.) My source for this is Wikipedia, and I question the accuracy of it. 
• The Senior In The House took a stand at school about an issue and succeeded in her quest. As I was walking out of the room that evening I told her I was proud of her (which, sadly, is something I don't say enough.) But I loved hearing her reply in a contemplative voice, "So am I." 
• I didn't watch the MTV Video Music Awards but it sounds like Kanye announced a run for President and Miley "accidentally" bared one breast. I suspect one of the two had carefully thought out their plan of action.
• BagOfNothing turns 40 today and went all Dr. Phil on us. Pretty good stuff. It really bothered me when I turned 40. A little over 10 years later, I'm thankful if I wake up in the morning. 
• TCU at Minnesota on Thursday. Baylor at SMU on Friday.  Delicious. 
• For the last four Saturdays in a row, during my four mile walk, I've run into a lady in her 60s with a Yorkie who is the spitting image of The Family Pet. Uncharacteristically of me, I stop every time and talk to her for a minute. I've learned the dog is named Holly, is a rescue dog, and goes absolutely out of control at the sight of strangers or other dogs. But Holly will let me pet her. 
• The murder of the Harris County Deputy as he was returning to his car after filling it up at a convenience story is shocking.  
• Legal stuff: When I saw the the suspect was charged with "capital murder", it got me wondering if the killing of a peace officer had any other qualifications in order to make it a potential death penalty case. It does: The officer must be "acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty" at the time of the murder. Without researching it, filling up a patrol car would probably qualify. But what if he was off duty and on his way home but still filling up the patrol car?

Oh, Those Expressions

Rescue workers carry an injured fan from the stands at Turner Field during a baseball game between Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015, in Atlanta. The fan fell from the upper deck into the lower-level stands and was given emergency medical treatment before being taken to a hospital. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Random Flashback: Were The Records Ever Released?

It got my attention in April why all records requested by the Messenger regarding the shooting of the man in Montague County by police (it's the shooting which gave rise to a memorial service for a Wise County Drug Dog) had not been released. Here's my post. There was no reason then why they should not be released. There is no reason now. Police reports. Autopsy. Video. Everything. Have they been turned over yet?

Is there anyone, whether liberal, conservative, moderate, or even apathetic who does not believe that government records no longer relevant to any litigation should not be turned over to the public? Come on, we love transparency in Texas. And we love the rule of law, right? It applies to law enforcement and prosecutors, right?  Under Texas law, all public records must be disclosed unless there is a specific exception. I can't think of an exception that would be applicable in this case.

Heck, for the first time in my life I feel like saying, "If you have nothing to hide then . . . . " But I shouldn't, and don't, have to justify the Messenger's open records request.

If all the records were turned over, I apologize, If not, they will be. Have you ever seen a respected newspaper and a a crazy lawyer blogger who has become obsessed with keeping government accountable team up? I haven't asked them, but I think they'll be willing to let me ride in the sidecar.

Edit: Thanks to a comment, I was reminded of this: There was an in depth review of the incident at a training seminar which was not open to the public. And the Montague D.A. was a speaker.  So where are the records? And is there anyone who attended that meeting who would be willing to confidentially tell me if anything remotely disturbing was revealed?

And To Think I Thought Baseball Was Boring

That's comedy gold.

It's The Weekend: Last Man Out Works Saturday and Sunday

What The National Weather Service Said About Approaching Katrina: Wow

RT @EricHolthaus: Ten years ago this morning, the most dire weather forecast ever issued: http://t.co/IFFFNH4NLc pic.twitter.com/cS2BuvZM9w

— Natasha Ramsahai (@CityNatasha) August 28, 2015

Girl Trick Shot

Bat tricks? 😅 pic.twitter.com/M2JqHXR08l

— marisa (@marisa_arriaga) June 24, 2015

Yeah, I know it's four days old. But there's a gal up at the courthouse who will continue to hound me until I post it.

And, besides, that is impressive.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• President Obama going to New Orleans on the 10th anniversary of Katrina has to be a none too subtle jab at President Bush's "fly over" ten years ago. 
• I'm not sure I understand why "Sheriff Clark" always appears on Hannity (although I have a pretty good idea why), but I have no idea what this comment from him last night means: "I am done asking people in my community to outsource their personal safety to the government." Are we just on our own? 
• I almost had a heart attack yesterday when I discovered what might be the most shocking criminal injustice ever to occur in Wise County -- at least in a particular stage of a criminal proceeding. I will disclose it, but I've got to calm down first. To their credit, everyone over at the courthouse immediately scrambled to make it right the moment the issue was discovered. 
• Fox 4 News has appeared to have fixed its updated website. Looks good.
• How long before drones hover around every school for security purposes? 
• I saw an elderly lady gingerly taking a walk in my neighborhood after sunset last night but was walking in the street instead of using the sidewalk She began to drift further into the center of the road, it was dark, and we have idiot drivers coming down the road all the time. When I saw headlights in the distance, I took off sprinting to get to her and to get the driver's attention. Speaking of heart attacks, I almost gave her one. (She seemed Ok mentally, but could only explain that she didn't use the sidewalk because she didn't like "narrow places". I warned her about crazy drivers, she seemed thankful, and then I watched her to make sure she made it safely home. She still used the street but stayed off to the side.) 
• I kept seeing this headline everywhere yesterday: "Fatal shot in San Francisco pier shooting was ricochet." That shooting by an undocumented immigrant created a firestorm within the immigration debate. But if you read any story about this news,  the ricochet is the defense's contention which the police dispute. 
• Texas AG Paxton was scheduled for a simple arraignment yesterday in Tarrant County but, at the proceeding which was blanketed by the media, lawyer Joe Kendall presented a Motion to Withdraw. You kidding me? I don't blame any lawyer and client deciding  to go their separate ways if the relationship has broken down to the equivalent of War Of The Roses, but why withdraw then and there?  You wait a couple of weeks, make sure there is another lawyer ready to take over that the client has chosen and approved, get with the prosecutor and tell him/her what is going on, you both walk over to the judge and tell him that you will file a Motion to Withdraw and that the prosecutor will not oppose it, you file the Motion and the judge signs an order. In a high profile case, the withdrawal may never even get noticed. But by presenting the Motion at that highly publicized routine hearing caused The Dallas Morning News to fire off a blog post within hours entitled, "Ken Paxton’s rough day in court shows his legal, political teams aren’t ready for fight ahead."
• WBAP's Brian Estridge, after a report that the vast, vast majority of the female profiles on AshleyMadison.com were fake, said that meant the guys on the site hadn't had affairs but just were having a "fantasy." Is that the right word? If you sit at your desk and dream of an affair, that's a "fantasy". If you have the affair, that's "adultery". But what if you have that fantasy and engaged in an act in furtherance of completing that fantasy. Isn't there a word other than "fantasy" that best describes that person's mindset? 
• Warning. Ad Rant: I would say that all this coverage of Blue Bell coming back, at least what I saw on Fox News last night -- which mentioned flavors by name, is an ad. But Blue Bell wouldn't have the money for that, right?  They have to be financially devastated  Wait. What was that story from last month? Oh, yeah: Fort Worth's Sid Bass agreeing to lend Blue Bell up to $125 million in exchange for the right to own up to 33% of the company. I'm sure that's just a coincidence.

August + Day Game + After School Has Started = This

I Have No Idea What This Means

But I like it.

Getting To The Bottom Of The Virginia Shootings: I'm Confused

Are guns the problem?

Ok. Not guns. It's about mental illness. Fair enough. 

Check that. It's not about mental illness, it's just about "Evil".

Problem solved.

Fastest Legs In World Almost Destroyed

Usain Bolt wins the 200m at the World Championships, then gets taken out by a photographer on a Segway... pic.twitter.com/cjMXIFJEMl @NBCDFW

— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) August 27, 2015

A Segway cameraman?



Man, the folks recording this sure got a kick out of it.

Someone Mentioned This In The Comments: Public Salary Survery

It's a pdf document and breaks it down further by position in comparable sized counties.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I never watched the Virginia killer's videos of his murders, and I doubt if I ever will. But I don't begrudge those who did.  But for me, it would be like watching one of those old Faces Of Death videos -- which I never did either. 
• Side note: When's the last time you heard a Faces of Death reference?
• I couldn't believe the father and the boyfriend of the slain reporter were giving sit down interviews yesterday. 
• There was already some talk of gun control laws yesterday, but if 20 dead elementary school children at Sandy Hook didn't cause it to happen, it never will.
• I'm a fan of the Slate's Spoiler Specials podcast where they review movies with the understanding they'll reveal the ending. I haven't listened to many lately because I had backed off on my movie watching, but I did listen to the one for Gone Girl. It was three reviewers who had all read the book, and one believed that the movie's huge flaw was that the book treated the husband and wife characters as almost equally despicable, but the movie depicted her as evil yet makes him only a very flawed yet sympathetic guy. As a guy who hasn't read the book, my reaction was: He was evil in the book? 
• I also listened to their podcast on Birdman. For three very smart critics, they were spot on about one thing: It is beautifully filmed. However, they were clueless regarding what the movie was really about. They leaned towards it being a film about the writer/director's attitude towards action movies. Are you kidding me? And none of them interpreted the ending scene as I did. (So, of course, they must be wrong.)
• I don't know if it has merit, but a federal lawsuit regarding wage discrimination based upon gender has been filed in federal court by a woman who worked in Bridgeport.
• Last night Fox 4 Weatherman Dan Henry showed a couple of old National Hurricane Center projections from 10 years ago before Hurricane Katrina hit. They were dead on as they correctly predicted the path of the Hurricane on late Friday.  Henry told us that those who went to bed early on Friday and "went about their business on the weekend" might have been caught off guard when the Hurricane hit on Monday morning. I'm not sure the struggling people of the Ninth Ward were generally worried about the weather. 
• Had an odd trivia question come up last night concerning when "We Got The Beat" by the Go-Go's was released. Shocking answer: 33 years ago. 
• Fox 4 also had a news story on a wedding cake baker under "fire" for refusing to make a cake for a same sex couple. Uh, is there anyone else under assault because of same sex marriage other than wedding cake bakers?
• The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor was given posthumously to Lt. Col. Ed Dyess, the namesake of Abilene's Dyess Air Force Base yesterday. He survived the Bataan Death March, and I could have sworn I had written about him when I read the death march book a while back (but Google can't find anything that I know exists on Liberally Lean.) Gregg Abbott presented the award and Rick Perry flew back to be there as well. Good for Perry. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact press magnet Chris Kyle was also honored. 
• Email spam I received: "The #1 mobile Breathalyzer solution for proving sobriety in child custody cases. Real-time results are collected throughout parenting time and transmitted from the device to a secure online portal. Immediate notifications are sent out in the event of alcohol consumption."  Are you kidding me? 
• Faster than we are descending into Idiocracy, we are hurling toward a future world of a 24/7 documentation of every  movement you make (GPS), every possible consumed substance that could be considered harmful (alcohol, drugs, caffeine, sugar, cigarettes) will be noted, as well as health indicators (pulse rate, respiration, blood sugar count, perspiration, temperature. blood pressure).  I'm not sure how it will be done, but anyone want to bet against it? Think of a futuristic Fitbit in 20 to 30 years. 
• I'm kind of surprised by the photo choice by this Virginia newspaper. Most of them show the victims: 

Just Saw This - Happened This Morning

I'm out of pocket for a while, but this sure gets one's attention.

Edit: Holy, crap. They were rolling tape when it happened!! Horrific.
Edit: They weren't just rolling tape. It was broadcast live.

Edit: Noon update. This is all so sickeningly insane.

Edit. My god. What is the world is happening? Shoot people, film it, and post it. (CNN Story.) There was a mad scramble to get them taken down, but you know they are out there.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Donald Trump was all over the news last night when he told one of the most prominent members of Univision to "Go back to Univision" during a press conference in Iowa.  The reporter was out of line but Trump certainly came across as saying the equivalent of, "Go back to Mexico."  You think that will hurt him? Not a chance. Those who love him now love him more. As for everyone else, not so much.  I'll say it for the millionth time: The GOP has no idea the self implosion they are causing. Get your popcorn ready, indeed. 
• There are new signs in Decatur directing people to places like downtown and the high school football stadium. They look good, and that was a great idea for visitors since they normally come to see downtown or a football game.
• Art Briles full vindication?: The narrative had been that the player got kicked off the Boise State team for abuse and then the coach Chris Peterson called Briles (odd in itself) about Baylor taking the player. Peterson would claim last week that  "I thoroughly apprised Coach Briles of the circumstances surrounding Sam's disciplinary record and dismissal." Everyone assumed, as I did, that he meant he told Briles about the abuse. Briles denied knowing anything about the abuse. Now this bombshell press release from Boise State last night: “The incidents and factors that contributed to Sam Ukwuachu’s dismissal from the Boise State football team had nothing to do with accusations of any sexual assaults or with accusations that he physically assaulted any women."  Boom. Baylor may or may not have screwed up later on, but the accusations that "Briles knew he was a bad guy all along" is now libelous to even say since "reckless disregard for the truth" is the standard. 
• The Ticket's Hardline went off on Baylor again with Corby Davidson saying "I think Briles knew what a bad guy [Ukwuachu] was" and said this could blow up into a Bill Cosby-like situation. Mike Rhyner speculated that Briles wouldn't survive.  They then ended the segment with an attempt of trying to be sincere by asking the question of "What's anyone done for that girl" involved in the sexual assault case in Waco? Both said no one ever cares about the victim. That was a very sensitive moment about women for them. They then went to a commercial for Thursday's Fight Night with audio from last year's arranged boxing match between two women with Corby doing play by play and saying, "Oh! She's intimidating her! She's saying 'you don't want any of this, bitch!'" (That promo is here at the 2:31:38 mark.) 
• Former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling was suspended by ESPN yesterday for retweeting an ominous meme basically saying that even though only a small percentage of Muslims are "extremists" those of that faith could eventually explode into the equivalent of Nazi Germany. He later apologized. Radio guy Mark Davis defended him saying that he "did not compare Islamists to Nazis". 
• I got called an idiot yesterday for believing there were news segments disguised as ads, and got called and idiot for not realizing it has been going on for years. 
• I'm torn on Susan Hawk who yesterday announced she needed four weeks off from her job as Dallas DA because of depression. First, we all know it is more than just depression. If there is some type of addiction going on, you have my sympathy. But if you knew you had issues, and you have admitted it, why did you run for DA? What did I say the other day? The first job of being a public servant is just showing up. 

I'm Normally Against These "We Did A Great Job" Press Conferences

.@DallasPD Ofc Maddox applied tourniquet to shot 4yo on Sat. To 4yo: "You are doing so good. You are so brave" @FOX4 pic.twitter.com/LVEAW2iB8E

— Natalie Solis (@Fox4Natalie) August 25, 2015

But there's something different about this one.

Trump Welcomes Megyn Kelly Back To Fox News After Vacation

(Proud of myself for using this photo) 

Whoa!!!! That last one was vicious. And Grace is the last person I would want to rile up.

(Proud of myself again)