10.16.2018

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • ATT's Internet and TV services went out yesterday for most of North Texas due to a simple lightning strike at one building in Richardson. Doesn't make you feel very good about a cyber attack, does it? 
  • "Rouge killers" got in the Saudi Embassy?
  • And the Saudis are preparing to say he was killed because of "interrogation gone wrong." That's just a different version of "rogue killers". (People much smarter than me say this is the King Henry II defense in the death of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury.)
  • Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is dead at 65. Steve Jobs died at 56.
  • The U.S. embassy in Australia accidentally sent out this cat photo instead of a meeting invite. I support this. We could all use more Cat in Cookie Monster Pajamas Eating Cookies in our lives. 
  • Things like this doesn't even get on our radar any longer: "Authorities in Texas have arrested one man and are searching for his father in the fatal shooting of four people -- a 62-year-old man and his three grandsons in their 20s -- at a toddler's birthday party."
  • "I couldn't get back to sleep because it was raining too hard so I got up at 4:30 and decided to do this project: Look up all Dak's runs and determine if they were scrambles or planned." - The Ticket's Bob Sturm yesterday. And you thought you lived a a full throttle life.
  • I had to turn the heater on last night. That has to the quickest I've ever gone from running the a/c to running the heat. 
  • The jury is deliberating in this Tarrant County case. It was a three week trial and this is the first coverage of it that I have seen. 
  • We always lag behind:
  • Owners of the Gas Pipe were found not guilty in federal court of the most serious charges of knowingly selling illegal synthetic marijuana. The jury had a reasonable doubt as to whether they knew what they were selling was illegal because of ever changing and complicated laws that only a chemist could understand. Texas state law is no different and it is next to impossible to prosecute some simple user who has every right to think he is buying legal stuff in one of those places. 
  • Greg Abbott has now gone to fear-mongering commercials about MS-13. Your chances of being killed on 114 are greater than meeting an MS-13 member. 
  • Two companies you may have never heard of, Harris Corp. and L3 Technologies Inc., have agreed to a merger that will create a $33.5 billion company. What business are they in? Defense contracting. The Dallas Morning News has an article on how the ever growing American War Machine is worth billions to the private sector. 
  • I say it from time to time: If you think the American economy is pure capitalism, you're out of your mind. Think of the number of people you know who work for the government (either directly like a teacher or cop) or indirectly (like an employee for Lockheed.)
  • Right on cue for the midterms, Fox News is running with stories of "hundreds" of people from Honduras headed to the border. And now watch Trump jump on it. Oops ... it is already starting. He will never give up on the Fear The Brown People message.
  • The Honduran government needs to "stop" them and taken them "back"? It's not a prison escape.
  • Elizabeth Warren is taking it on the chin for being 1/1024th native American. I'd like to see 1/1024th of Trump's taxes.



at 8:35 AM

10.15.2018

Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • At least he didn't take a knee.
  • Rev. Robert Jeffress skipped church at FBC Dallas to be on Fox News and say the prayer at Talladega (to a bunch of other people who skipped church.)
  • A lot of truth to this:


  • Hot Sports Opinion: The Big 12 just isn't very good.
  • Dumb Texas Government: Hey, prosecutors, did you know you now have to go to an extra step to get fingerprints on TDC "pen packets" because DPS won't let TDC release them? More work at taxpayer expense for everyone!
  • Regarding "gender reveal" parties: Could you just post something online that I could ignore instead?
  • Decatur, which had been giving up 56 points a game, had a big win on Friday night by beating #10 Wichita Falls Hirschi. Somehow that led me to the Top 10 in 2A and "How They Fared." I'm too lazy to calculate the average victory margin but I think they've got the Top 10 pretty well pegged.
  • Krum High School is about to implode due to allegations of grade weight shifting with blame alleged at the feet of the Principal and her husband teacher. Check out this story in the Record Chronicle where you can just feel the incredible tension. When the Mayor - that's right, the Mayor -goes to Facebook and begins a post with "I spoke tonight at the KISD board meeting related to an issue many asked me to speak on, and my comments were cut short by the President of the board . . . . " you know trouble is brewing. And they are just begging for a Whistleblower lawsuit when "administrator Bernard Lightfoot was asked to resign by Monday — and threatened with firing if he didn't . . . . "
  • Trump was on 60 Minutes last night. The best thing to come out of it was that we learned he has this "painting" hanging in the White House. I'd have more respect if he had Dogs Playing Poker hanging on the wall.

  • The Proud Boys Took Manhattan and got caught on video. They beat a small group of protesters Friday night following an appearance at the Metropolitan Republican Club by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes. They even posed for a picture after the attack. (Notice that hand symbol if you didn't think that is a "thing".)
  • A plea bargain deal for four years deferred adjudication is on the table, but I'm not sure the judge has approved it yet: 
  • In looking at an old Texas Monthly over the weekend I saw an article on the deserved demise of drug task forces across Texas. Remember Tulia? This was the last paragraph  of the article, stressing it was all about money, referring to the Cross Timbers Task Force (which was "Denton-based") of which Wise County was a member. 

  • "Bank" on it: America won't do anything to the Saudis. 
  • As a Sports Expert, I'm obligated to tell you to tap your brakes on that Cowboys' win.
  • Messenger: Above The Fold
  • Trump owes Pocahontas one million dollars . . .  (Edit: Moments ago he lied and said he never said it.)


at 8:32 AM

10.12.2018

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here.


















at 2:00 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts


  • Capital Punishment is now "dead" in the State of Washington as the state supreme court ruled yesterday it was unconstitutional under their state constitution. The number of people on death row in Washington had been eight. (I'm surprised the number was that high.)
  • I had a stop down moment yesterday when I looked up an saw Kid Rock at the White House. #Idiocracy
  • Then I decided America was doomed when I saw Kanye, who admittedly suffers from mental illness, was allowed to go on a six minute incoherent rant in an office which Americans used to revere.  America elected him. We get what we deserve.
                                      
  • Let's check in on who Fox News brought in this morning to defend that disaster. It's the deep thinking duo of Diamond and Silk! "Uh, huh!" "Oh, that's right!"
  • We are all gonna die anyway. (Video)
  • Cowboys' Cole Beasley says "other teams" will see his value when he becomes a free agent because he gets "open on tape." See ya.
  • Based upon the officers' on-the-scene conversations, something is going on here. One said to another who was considering getting a blood search warrant: "[Officer] Rountree had [Judge] Crane sign a blank [search warrant] one time. No narrative. Signed it. Put whatever you need in there."  The "no narrative" would mean there was no probable cause affidavit submitted before the judge just signed a blank warrant. A blank warrant would allow the officer to fill in the name of the person who would be stuck with a needle against his will.
  • Big win by Tech over TCU last night. (The potential that the TCU quarterback has is so far being crushed by the poor decisions -- and turnovers -- he makes.) The conference is now down to OU, The Evil Empire, and West Virginia.
    Female Surrender Cobras
  • Texas State was on one of the ESPN channels last night as well. I didn't realize its stadium was as nice as it was. It would also be nice if any of its 34,000 students would show up.
  • Trump is killing it on the appointment of federal appellate judgeships. No president has appointed more than he has in the first two years.
  • In reference to my question this week of why we need the $90+ million F-35 when we have drone technology moving forward . . . 
  • Oh, honey. 
  • But I will agree with her on one point: It should be "on the world" instead of "in the world" when you really think about it. 
  • I did that, too, but I didn't turn into a White Nationalist.
  • I can't get enough of this photo (and I hope Secret Service got between Trump and the lady in red):
  • Some people say criminal defense work is a young man's game. 
  • I've been in my weather lab again. Sunday, at 4:17 p.m., a massive cold front will hit. We plummet into the 40s and won't get out of it until Wednesday. Book it. (And to think they pay Delkus to get things wrong.)

at 8:32 AM

10.11.2018

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  • This has appeared right off the courthouse square in Decatur. I don't know if it is functioning or just art. I'll check for a dial tone. Edit: It's art. I've been informed the Messenger had a story about it last week.
  • "It's like a big tornado, a massive tornado." - Trump describing Hurricane Michael.
  • Tarrant County DA Sharen Wilson, who without question will win the general election against a Democrat, spent $46,998.45 in a little over two months on a consulting firm called Murphy Nasica out of Austin. Why? Seems like a ridiculous waste of money. Heck, for $100 I would have told her to lay low and keep out of any big scandals and you're home free. (Campaign report is here if you want to check my always questionable math skills.)
  • Trust me, those guys ain't giving out their THC. 
  • Austin Powers star Verne Troyer’s death has been ruled a suicide by alcohol poisoning six months after his passing. How can the medical examiner distinguish between accidental and intentional?
  • You barely notice that the baseball playoffs are going on right now.
  • Tech/TCU is a nice Thursday night gift. Side note: TCU's "dead frog" play of having a player lay down in the end zone during a kickoff only to surprisingly jump up and return to the action is now illegal.
  • Two years after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando it occurs to me that Panic! At The Disco might be a bad name for a band.
  • For those of you which have been to Top Golf, you'll get a kick out of the scene this morning in Georgia. Photo posted by local cops.
  • The stock market took a hit yesterday. I've been waiting for a huge "correction" for three years. If the DOW went to 21,000 it would be completely understandable for one simple reason: It is due.
  • This New York Post headline is getting a lot of attention. The story isn't quite as sensational. Only three cases that were possibly related to sex trafficking, and one kid was homeless. No arrests were made. The rest were simply runaways who were found by visiting "last known addresses, friend's homes and schools."
  • The first story in the Update seems odd. We go on a huge manhunt because a guy was on a motorcycle which was "running terribly and also did not have a license plate" and  “[t]he guy started to take off and fell over”? He got away, by the way.

at 8:34 AM

10.10.2018

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • Pretty wild story out of Fort Worth (although I'm not sure what the definition of "rich" is these days.)
  • Kanye is having lunch with Trump tomorrow at the White House. As Jimmy Kimmel said last night, I wish that was on pay-per-view. I'd pay.
  • Do we have to treat every hurricane like a pending Armageddon? 
    "She was not treating it like Armageddon."
  • You've seen the "Stop Forced Annexation" signs in Wise County. To do so, would you vote for or against this proposal as it appears on the ballot?: "Changing Wise County from Tier 1 county status to Tier 2 county status for purposes of municipal annexation as described by Chapter 43 of the Texas Local Government Code." Confusing? A bit. You have to vote "for" to be "against" forced annexation. That's why the ad campaign tries to clear it up:
  • There have been 114 Supreme Court Justices. All but three have been white. All but four have been male.
  • We know. We know. We know. 
  • At least the "Proud Boy" Texas lawyer (who made an appearance in Wise County a year or so ago) is honest about Trump being his fascist leader. But he sure doesn't like people saying mean things about him:
  • In four weeks, a Texas high school football record will be set: Allen (the largest school in Texas at 6,664 students) plays Plano West (the second-largest school in Texas at 5,654 students). With a combined 12,318 students, there's never been a larger face off. In other news, Boyd will play Paradise this Friday.
  • Pulp Fiction's dance scene set to Devo's Whip It
  • Of all the elected District Attorneys in Texas, only four will face an opponent in November.
  • What's the cost of that treatment? (I might have to chair a Death Panel in my home -- with the Chair yielding unlimited power -- if this happens. Uh, too dark?)
  • UN Ambassador Nikki Haley shockingly announced she will be leaving at the end of the year. Her and Trump promise everything is great between them, but there's a tweet for everything: Flashback to 2016 when Haley was a "Never Trumper". 
  • "I'll take an extra R, Pat." 
  • What would you do if you are a Plaintiff's lawyer, won a million dollar verdict for your client against an apartment complex, and lost on appeal in Dallas where two of the three judge panel who ruled against you had received political donations of "$2,000 from the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC and the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas PAC" a month before they were assigned the case? Answer: Criticizing the judges didn't work out. (Warning: The link goes to the Dallas Observer so your web browser will slow down to a snail's pace due to all the crap they have on there.)
  • It's becoming clear that the Saudi government murdered a Washington Post contributor in Turkey. And, of course, we won't do anything. Saudi Arabia always gets a pass.
  • This government search warrant affidavit, linked to by a USA Today reporter yesterday, is almost a primer on buying illegal stuff on the darknet (i.e. Silk Road.) You learn about Tor, Bitcoin, a list of sites that sell drugs, and pitfalls to avoid. The feds are after a U.S. citizen who spends an inordinate amount of time in Costa Rica.
  • Messenger: Above The Fold.
  • What? People decided to go to the State Fair yesterday?:




at 8:30 AM
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