1.24.2019

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  • Five people were murdered in a Florida bank yesterday afternoon and it barely made the news. I'm pretty sure the killer is a Mexican who illegally crossed the border around Presidio.
    Not a Mexican who crossed around Presidio.
  • I missed the news that Ken Paxton was going to solve the opiod crisis in Texas by . . . wait for it . . . creating a website. The home page begins resolving the problem by simply telling people to turn in their prescription medication. How have we not thought of this?
  • I've got a buddy in Houston who also believes its a scam when stations report Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays are the "busiest travel days of the year." (As you recall, I disproved those claims with amazing number crunching last November.) In any event, he sent this photo from Houston this morning calling into question the reporting of long TSA lines because of the shutdown. 
  • I don't want to try and one up this great theologian, but I'm pretty sure we can all agree that the Bible exists. 
  • Maybe there is hope after all. FBC of Dallas doesn't even respect Jeffress enough to spell his name correctly.

  • The Texas Lawyer had a story yesterday about over-billing by big law firms. This part was truly "fake news."  Over-billing by big firms is neither "inadvertent" nor "rare". 
  • Trump had a weird episode of backing down yesterday. He wrote Nancy Pelosi that he would be giving the State of the Union in the House, and she wrote back and said no he wouldn't. Just as everyone was getting their popcorn ready,  he tweeted that it was her "prerogative" and he'd give the address once the government had reopened. (And he added he would give a "great" address -- his quotation marks, not mine.  I don't think he understands the difference between quotes and italics.)
  • But man, it was fun for those brief hours where we thought Trump would literally storm the House for the State of the Union address.
  • The Ecstasy Ewok allegedly had an incident in Vegas.

  • Trump was watching Fox and Friends this morning which prompted him to promote a "new book" which actually came out two years ago. (And remember, he doesn't read books. He hears about books.)
  • I have finished the 17 hour documentary on Vietnam. I loved it. And I feel like I should now be tested and receive college credit. 
  • What?
  • Trophy Club fire about 30 minutes ago:
  • The Star-Telegram has a story today about how Rick Perry is "thriving" as head of the Department of Energy by keeping a low-profile. Heck, he's basically retired. He earns $189,600 with every perk and benefit imaginable, and no one seems to care if he does a thing. (And do you seriously think he's properly overseeing 13,000 employees and 93,000 contract employees in a department he doesn't understand? You think that budget of $28 billion of your tax dollars is being properly used? What a waste.)


at 8:32 AM

1.23.2019

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • Here's a Pulitzer Prize winning photo I took before sunset on Sunday while on 380 of the Triple Red Double Dog Blood Fox Moon.
  • The House voted yesterday to bar Trump from exiting NATO by a vote of 372-22. (He talks about leaving it all the time.) One of the 22 was our dumbest Texas member. 
  • It should only serve as a footnote, but someone pointed out to me that the missing Ennis lady who was found in a creek was at the same location where locals have heard sightings of  the "Chambers Creek monster."  I suppose 50 years from now, when the incident is nothing but history, this tragedy will inevitably become part of the legend. And that will certainly be true if they never find her car.
  • Greatest line from someone yesterday on the Covington Catholic Controversy: Tell me if you voted for or against Trump, and I'll tell you what you saw after you watched the videos.
  • Trump, in addition to shutting down the government, has also shutdown Sarah Sanders' press briefings. Amazing. It is the first administration in my lifetime that is scared of the press asking questions. Bush 1. Bush 2. Reagan. Clinton. Nixon. They weren't afraid. 
  • I completely missed that Bono's restaurant in north of Decatur shut down on 11/13.  Their Facebook page has one last review on 11/12 which would give one the impression that the end was very near. 
  • D Magazine has an article on local female newscasters and their fitness routine. (Nothing sexist there, right?) I'm a fan of Fox 4's Hanna Battah, but I question her answer of when she normally works out. Uh, she is on the air at 4:30 a.m.  
  • Bad case out of Waco where a 17 year old girl without a license drove the wrong way at 3:00 a.m. and killed a Weatherford man. She received 10 years probation this week since no drugs or alcohol were involved. But she did receive 180 days in jail as a condition of probation which probably relates to the fact that she was dumb enough to test positive for weed and cocaine between the time she entered her plea up until the time the judge sentenced her.  
  • The Cowboys' Cole Beasley sent the message below yesterday indicating the free agent might be gone. WBAP's Brian Estridge this morning had the hot opinion that Beasley "wasn't a #1 receiver" (something even my dumb dogs know) and co-host Stubie Doak said that one of the "black guys will have to do the rapping" if Beasley leaves.
  • But count the number of beer ads.
  • DPS seized $289,000 from a guy in Vega, Texas because he was driving down the road. Were there a bunch of drugs found? Nope. The just searched the vehicle, took the money, and, out of the blue, decided to charge him with "money laundering." Yes, that technically is a crime if it can be proven that the person concealed or possessed the money from criminal activity. Tell me trooper, what was the specific criminal activity? Drugs? Gambling? Extortion? Human Trafficking? Or are you just guessing? (I would think the very right winging and law-and-order Doomsday Preppers have a lot of cash laying around as well.)
                                        
  • Decades ago, "asset forfeiture was limited to wresting ill-gotten gains from violent criminals. Today, it has a distinctive ‘Alice in Wonderland’ flavor, victimizing innocent citizens who’ve done nothing wrong.” - Fifth Circuit Federal Judge and Trump Appointee Don Willett.
  • He's gone all Johnny Cochran on us this morning!
  • Shutdown Day 33: #WhereAreThePesos
  • Messenger: Above The Fold


at 8:32 AM

1.22.2019

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • The abrupt closing of the Jones Funeral Home in Decatur is weird. 
  • Here's a quick loading video of the pass interference in the Saints/Rams game that looks like it is taken from the front row by a fan. It's interesting because it shows (1) the exact location of the refs, and (2) how fast that play happened in real time. 
  • Just when I said I was immune from allergies, I got crushed this weekend. 
  • Snake Oil Convention alert.
  • This Texas Football cover has aged well. Coach Bro is now head coach at Arizona. Pat Mahomes is an NFL star. And Tom Herman has the Evil Empire apparently headed in the right direction. 
  • Who would have thought that Mr. "There Are Good People On Both Sides", Mr. "I Call Her Pocahontas", Mr. "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists" and Mr. "S-hole Countries" would defend a bunch of white privileged kids mocking a minority?
  • And that was so even though new video from yesterday showed those kids acting exactly like we first believed. Watch it. Don't doubt what you see with your eyes. This is basically a Rorschach test with Reality being one of the choices.
  • Based upon the commercials I saw in the playoff games this weekend, the easiest job in the world has to be working in a big time ad agency on Madison Avenue. Some guys who are paid a fortune gathered in a board room and thought it was a good idea to green light (1) hundreds of people carrying a tailgate to the tune of a song decades old, (2) any Bud Light medieval themed commercial, and (3) workers' twerking. 
  • Mitch McConnell will introduce a bill in the Senate today (which will never pass the House) to fund The Wall. Uh, it's 1,300 pages long. I just grabbed a random paragraph where I learned Richmond Avenue in Houston gets no love:
  • The body of missing Ennis woman Emily Wade, last seen on January 5th, has been found in creek. Authorities say they believe high waters took her and her car off the road. What makes no sense: They haven't found the car. This pic of the road . . . . 
  • In the Irony of Ironies Department, Trump oddly retweeted a former Pussycast Doll this morning for something she wrote in April of last year. Get this: She claims to be part Apache so Trump, in 2017, named her Native American Ambassador for Trump when she joined the National Diversity Coalition for Trump. No Apache tribe claimed her. Why in the world would Trump fancy her while he mocks Elizabeth Warren? What could possibly be the difference?
    "other celebrities"
  • The Oscar nominations were announced this morning. Question: Can acting be that hard when Lady GaGa gets a best actor bid? I'm not saying she wan't great in a Star Is Born (haven't seen it), but name another profession where you can go to the top of the mountain in your first effort?
  • “Absolutely. I am afraid it will be on my gravestone. 'Rudy Giuliani: He lied for Trump.' Somehow, I don’t think that will be it. But, if it is, so what do I care? I’ll be dead.” - Rudy.
  • There was never more of a failed experiment when I tried to subliminally persuade the Two Females In The House by watching an episode of Tidying Up With Marie Kondo while they were in the room. I was hoping to hear, "Those are some really good ideas." All I got was, "Are you OK?"




at 8:30 AM

1.21.2019

Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • There's a lady up on the third floor of the courthouse (who shall remained nameless but sits at a desk right outside the County Attorney's office) who swore last week that the NFL games were pre-determined by the refs, I can't wait to talk to her this week. 
  • Fox and Friends had to apologize for this graphic this morning. 
  • This kid in the MAGA cap became famous over the weekend. In front of the Lincoln Memorial, he smirked in the face of a Vietnam vet for about two minutes while his buddies joined in with a mocking American-Indian chant in the background. (What was more amazing were the MAGAs who defended him to their core because the Vet slowly walked up to him.) There is no way that kid is nothing other than a privileged little punk from a private school. We've all seen that smirk before. (He issued a three page statement where he never apologized and said that he was actually saying a "silent prayer" during the incident) 
  • You've got to love that his school mascot is the "Colonels" and it sits at 1600 Dixie Highway
  • On Friday, this guy got six months in the slammer by a London court. It's never a good idea to get on a flight carrying a liter of Bacardi.
  • I saw an article where Waco might be the new hotbed for patent litigation because of a recent Supreme Court ruling changing venue rules. That's not that interesting but this is: One out of state patent firm has decided to open an office in Waco and you'll never believe who they hired -- The ex-DA who is responsible for Twin Peaks Biker Fiasco. 
  • I watched the Netflix documentary on the Fyre Festival. Two thumbs up.
  • This Houston lawyer really disgusted me with this self-promotion campaign for last weekend's Houston Marathon.  It's a stupid idea and a stupid concept. You know how many posts I saw on Twitter of runners who stopped to take a picture with his hashtag: ZERO.
  • UT is letting Matthew McConaughey in the basketball huddle now as he sports a burnt orange suit. 
  • An OU sorority girl thought this would be a good idea. That got her kicked out of school
  • Believe it or not (of course you will), Trump said that San Antonio is an example of where the wall has worked. Heck, the one wall they had in 1836 couldn't keep the Mexicans out. 
  • Trump shutdown: Day 31. This is an absolute disaster for the Great Negotiator. 
    "I'm proud to shut down the government."
  • If you want so light reading, here is the appellate brief filed last week by the bank that was the subject of a multi-million dollar judgment by a Decatur lawyer. 
  • Messenger: Above The Fold
Why is the headline not centered?

at 8:30 AM

1.18.2019

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







at 2:00 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts



  • Another day. Another Trump/Russia connection. 
    • BuzzFeed* reports that Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about his business interests there. "It's just Cohen," you say? Here's the money sentence: "The special counsel’s office learned about Trump’s directive for Cohen to lie to Congress through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Org and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents." [*8 Pulitzer Prize nominations in the past 2 years.]
    • And the soon to be new Attorney General wrote on June 8th of last year: "If a President . . . suborns perjury, or induces a witness to change testimony, or commits any act deliberately impairing the integrity of available evidence, then he, like anyone else, commits the crime of obstruction."
    • Regardless of what you believe, when Michael Cohen testifies before Congress on February 7th, we are going to have a spectacle unlike anything we've seen before. 
  • This is weird: This Southlake lady goes missing on Saturday night after heading to Dallas to meet friends, it prompts Southlake DPS to issue a missing person alert, and then she is "found safe" on Wednesday with no further explanation. (Her Instagram account has a little Random Thought Girl feel to it.)
  • Big criminal justice news out of Houston after a lawsuit over the bail bond system: If you get arrested in Harris County for a a misdemeanor, you'll now most likely be released on a personal recognizance bond instead of having to pay money.
    •  Example and explanation of the old system: If you get arrested a judge could, say, set a bond at $2,000. You could (1) post $2,000 in cash to the county to get out of jail knowing you'll get the money back once the case is over so long as you always show up for court, (2) pay a bondsman a non-refundable fee of 10% to 20% of the bond amount for them to promise the county they'll pay the $2,000 if you abscond, or (3) sign a PR bond where you promise to pay $2,000 if you miss a court date. In every county in Texas, #1 and #2 are available but #3 is very, very rare and requires a judge's special approval. Now in Houston, #3 is the norm for misdemeanors. That's a big deal.
    • The new judges in Houston are implementing this new system after the old bail bond scheme, which virtually every county follows, was held unconstitutional by the conservative Fifth Circuit. The judges who fought the lawsuit, who were booted out of office in November, caused Harris County to spend over $9 million in the effort.
    • Make no mistake about it: Every county in Texas which doesn't implement a policy  to set bond amounts specifically tailored for a particular individual's circumstances has an unconstitutional system. I've seen it all my professional life: Across the board, a bond amount of x is set for the crime of y. Really poor people stay in jail because they can't make bond. People who have the money gain their freedom.  That ain't right. It might not mean every county's system has to be revised as drastically as Houston to require PR bonds for everyone, but something needs to be done statewide.
  • Speaking of the poor . . . 
  • Kinda funny police chase yesterday as a guy keeps driving when the hood of his car pops over the windshield. And a pretty good everybody-bail-out finish is here. (With a good lesson on the credibility of eye-witnesses based upon one WFAA newscaster's faulty observations.)
  • I was randomly looking at some traffic ticket cases that were filed in Wise County yesterday and saw these appearing on the docket in Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 (which is basically the northern part of the county.) Where is there a 75 mph speed limit?
                                                             
  • Sir!
  • That Washington Examiner story has been making the rounds. The funny part is that it involves unnamed "farmers and ranchers" from unidentified locations who wished to remain anonymous and are somehow experts on Islamic prayer rugs.  Breitbart has been using this "prayer rug" bit since 2014. (And, of course, anyone who has a prayer rug must have a bomb strapped to their backs.)
  • My only astronomical skill is to tell someone when they are looking at the stars in the sky that they are simply looking at snapshot of history. Those stars could have burned out years ago but that moment of burning out as not reached our eyes yet. Ergo, "light years." The closest star to us other than the sun is 4.4 light-years away so we are simply seeing what it looked like 4.4 years ago. BagofNothing has some great graphics at the bottom of his post today demonstrating that. 



at 8:31 AM
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