8.25.2020

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

 
  • Wise County active cases: 32 (-12)
  • Texas hospitalizations: (-616)
  • I still don't know how this Fall is going to pan out. The University of Alabama yesterday reported 500 cases once students got back on campus. 
  • From the Wall Street Journal.  (Ticket fans would refer to Cuban as a "Chris Chris.")
  • As I smoothly segue away from "shirtless, dripping with sweat": The Jerry Falwell Jr. pool boy scandal is a lot to wrap your head around. But Falwell has a lot going on than just liking to watch.  I had already forgotten that lawyer Michael Cohen, Trump's "fixer", helped Falwell suppress racy photos of his wife in a possible exchange for Falwell's endorsement of Trump. And someone might want to look into this story from last year about Falwell's wife's 23 year old personal trainer (not the pool boy) ending up with Liberty University real estate worth over a $1 million.  
    Falwell (left) with someone not the pool boy
  • Good lord.

  • Speaking of smooth segue: I don't know why she was yelling. Watch. 
  • How the roll call to officially nominate their party's candidate was handled by Democrats and Republicans:
  • The Arkansas "farmer", who I hope didn't get Chinese tariff welfare, was 28 years old and went by the name Quake Lewellyn which doesn't exactly match the stereotype.
  • She spent some of the rest of the day defending her post, writing "I want to clear the air by saying NONE of the blame should be placed on the TXST School of Music."
  • I saw the trailer for Jojo Rabbit in a theater and thought it was the dumbest thing I'd ever seen. I finally watched the film this weekend. Verdict: A shocking two thumbs up.  It was really, really good. 
  • Holy cow. Compare the view of the north side of the White House with a photo I took in December (at 10:21 a.m. on 12/27/19 to be exact) to one that was taken yesterday.
    Then

    Now
                                                                               
  • If my tracking of numbers is correct, 1 out of every 5 felony cases filed in Wise County is now based upon marijuana/THC products bought legally out of state. Most defendants are just passing through on Highway 287.  

at 8:33 AM

8.24.2020

Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • Wise County active: 44 (-8. That's as of Friday, the most recent numbers.)
  • Texas Hospitalizations: 5,635 (-449 since Friday).  I thought it would begin to flatten out right about now. There's still a chance, but I'm beginning to wonder. 
  • This will be interesting: On Friday, TEA announced that Texas school districts will have to report their COVID-19 numbers beginning on September 1 and those numbers will be released to the public.  And, yes, football begins Friday. I never dreamed it would happen. 
  • KellyAnne Conway is leaving the White House to spend more time with her wheels-off 15 year old daughter. 
  • The Republican Convention begins this week. Quite the line-up they are throwing out there. 
  • The Republicans announced they will not have a Platform for their convention. It's all about an allegiance and loyalty to Trump now. Man, that's a bold move. Instead of distancing from the guy, they are going all in for him. Will Lindsey Graham finally be prophetic? I think about this tweet from him a lot.
  • If you want to be the next State Senator for Wise County, you will have to get on it. The deadline to file is now Friday for an election to be held on September 29, 2020.  Gov. Abbott has cited the ongoing pandemic emergency as a reason for the quick election. Please note that West Texas ultra-conservative oil money is not happy as they see it as a way to shoehorn in a win for State Rep. Drew Springer.  Oh, and Shelly Luther announced her candidacy from the steps of the old Denton County courthouse protected by a couple of overweight middle aged men, one with an AR-15.
  • Golfer Nick Faldo is getting married. It will be his 4th. It will be her 7th. He's literally in love with a stripper.
  • This is horribly wild. 
  • I can't recommend Showtime's Outcry enough for a look at how the worst prosecutors are the ones who are oblivious to, or don't care about, making sure someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt before they decide to prosecute. They can destroy lives. For those who have seen it and were stunned to learn that Assistant D.A.  Geoffrey Puryear (pronounced "Joff-ree" as in Game of Thrones) was appointed by Gov. Abbott to a district judgeship, take heart. The job was in Travis County and he was appointed to fill-in for a newly created court. He'll face an election in November and a Republican isn't winning in Travis County.
  • Twitter had to ban a Trump tweet over the weekend when he tried to scare people away from voting by telling them they might get COVID-19. The President of the United States "violated Twitter Rules about civic and election integrity." Think about that. (And have you ever seen a politician more scared of people voting?)
  • Baylor's men's tennis coach abruptly resigned last month. Now we know why. He sent these text messages to a student "who hoped to a make Baylor's women's team." Oh, my.


  • I'd like to call off my hurricane alert for Houston. (I told you I don't have my certification yet.) It looks like it'll be no big deal. But it apparently doesn't take much these days to declare something an emergency. 
  • The Daily News is pretty hard on the GOP this morning. In all honesty, I bet they put on a pretty good prediction. Trump may not know much, but he knows TV.

at 8:32 AM

8.21.2020

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

 

  • Wise County active: 52 (+7 from yesterday).
  • Texas hospitalizations: -339 from yesterday.
  • A faithful reader tipped me off to a wild start of the school year in Jacksboro. Two students who were diagnosed with  COVID-19 on Monday were sent to school on Wednesday. <Insert record scratch.> They were immediately sent home. 
  • Now more than ever, tell your son to be careful around those sorority girls in Aggieland. Classes started on Wednesday:

  • Still not sure how this football thing is going to work out. Ten cases shut down the ECU program yesterday. So how is everyone going to feel with 10 UT players come down with COVID before OU/Texas?
  • Trump's 2016 campaign mastermind Steve Bannon being arrested on a yacht for defrauding people dumb enough and racist enough to want to donate their own money so a private wall can be built to keep out brown people is peak Trump World. And the fact that Junior promoted it calling it "private enterprise at its finest" is simply poetic. 

  • This just started this morning. It is going to be brutal. And it should be. 
  • These two, 11 and 13, went missing in Palo Pinto County yesterday but were later found in Waco. When they went missing, the only details were:  “It looks like they had assistance in leaving the house and running away. We believe they have been corresponding with an unknown person on the internet.”
  • The ATM at the old Wells Fargo bank off the Wise County courthouse square has been removed. (The county bought the building and will make it a courthouse annex.) The powers at be, in a genius move for the bank, offered a location close to the Wise County probation department. They were ignored by Big Banking. You know, there are a surprising number of people who still use ATMs in this cashless society.
  • They are going to have to drag him out of the White House. He said this just last night.
  • Last night at the DNC: After the artists formerly known as the Dixie Chicks sang the national anthem and before Joe Biden, who I had been lead to believe had suffered a major stroke rendering him unable to speak, gave a flawless acceptance speech, we got to hear from a kid who stutters but had been earnestly comforted by new nominee. (Watch it.) Say what you want about Biden, but his is a decent and compassionate man. 

  • I'm working on my Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Expert Certification to go along with my Expert Southwest Proper Weather Certification, and I think you should keep an eye on this storm. My Houston friends have gone a few months without a disaster, so they are due. 
  • Sports: TCU's quarterback, who was kind of a promising mini-Johnny Football, will probably miss the season (if there is one) because of a undisclosed condition "which he has had his whole life." It was only discovered, however, during COVID-19 precautions and testing. 
  • We ended up with 20 new arrestees in Wise County yesterday. And I'm counting an additional 12 as of 5:00 a.m. this morning. Translation: DPS and the WCSO are working the highways looking for the rent cars and out of state license plates who just happen to be committing traffic offense like "Left lane - not passing." 
  • Messenger: Above the Fold


at 8:36 AM

8.20.2020

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  • Wise County active: 45. (-7).  Deaths: 7 (+2). I've confirmed that at least part of the big jump we had was from a nursing home outbreak. 
  • Texas hospitalizations. That's -236 from yesterday so the drop resumes after a one day deviation.
  • If you've tried to mail a letter lately, you are acutely aware that the post office is being jacked with based upon how long it takes to be delivered. Here's a side effect: The delays are causing people to be hit with late charges on their bills if they pay them the old fashioned way or even if they use auto-pay if the bank has to cut and mail a physical check.
  • Breaking moments ago: Steve Bannon just got indicted. 
  • When a president wants to punish an American company for not allowing campaign slogans and doesn't realize that he desperately needs to hang onto Ohio in the 2020 election. 
  • It you missed what Thom Brennaman said last night when he didn't realize his mic was hot, here it is. And here's his apology less than an hour later. He was fired suspended before the game ended. 
  • Say what?
  • Russia is believed to have poisoned this guy's tea at an airport. Ever since I watched The Americans, I wonder about how they pull stuff like this off. More likely than not they used a hot girl to distract a waiter for a moment.
  • The current Democratic National Convention's biggest difference from 2016 is that this time the Democrats take Trump seriously.  The last time they considered him to be a joke, and it was not imaginable to them that a reality TV show host and known BSer could get elected. It's like Michigan having the chance at a rematch with Appalachian State.
  • Small talk about weather: Man, with the low humidity, the very early morning hours are incredibly nice for what will be 90 degree August days. It feels like Fall before Fall.
  • This guy's business used to have an exclusive tow truck contract with the city of Wichita Falls before his wheels kind of fell off. The story is a little strange, but if you ask about the president's course of travel while wearing an ankle monitor and having a gun in your car while in D.C., they get a little uptight. 
  • Ticket fans: I'm not sure what's going on but Mark "Look at the sky, Friedo" Friedman is in the hospital. Edit: The station actually said this morning he was "fighting for his life" due to pneumonia.
  • Speaking of The Ticket, the fill-in boys were discussing police searches today and briefly touched on civil right by using the standard of "if it solves crimes it's OK, right?" and "you shouldn't have anything to hide." Kill me. 
  • Since yesterday at noon, 18 people have been booked into the Wise County jail on new charges. That's an insane number. All but one were warrantless arrests  (i.e. DWI, drugs, etc.) That brings the total jail population to 189 which is a pre-COVID level. 


at 8:34 AM
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