Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

 

• Texas hospitalizations: +168. We've had an increase, albeit small ones, on 9 out of the last 10 days. 
  
  
  
• Breaking this morning: Congress is on the verge of a new Stimulus Package. It's $900 billion but (1) your individual check will be "far less" than $1,200, (2) there will be no liability shield for businesses and (3) there will be "no funding for state and local governments."  I'm not exactly sure where all the money is going. 
• As a guy who has made multiple bullet points over the years about the now defunct Silk Road web site on the "deep web", this news story got my attention yesterday. 
  
  
  

  

  My bullet point during my D.C. trip last December. It
  was in the Newseum. 

  

  I recommend

  
  
  
  
• Buyers and sellers on Silk Road used Bitcoin -- something I hadn't thought about in a couple of years. So I looked it up. Oh, my. That's an all time high. 
  
  
  
• The death of Judge Cude has created potential chaos in the courthouse. We already know that the regardless of appointments, that Judge Cude's seat and the District Judge's position will be on the ballot in the primary in the Spring of 2022. (That's right around the corner.)  And depending on upcoming appointment(s), and I'm making no predictions here, we could also see the D.A.'s job and the County Attorney's job thrown off their normal election cycle and be on that same ballot as well. We've never seen all four positions on the same ballot at the same time. 
• But I don't understand the Sheriff being part of the group of three to make a recommendation to County Commissioner's to fill Judge Cude's seat.  What am I supposed to tell a client in a simple weed case who got illegally stopped and searched by a deputy after a bogus traffic stop while he just happened to be on the poor side of town? "Oh, don't worry about the fairness of the judge. The Sheriff helped pick him!" 
• And, yes, I know who they are going to be pick, and I'm not worried about him, but it is still a bad look. 
• We've got a triple murder in metroplex with very few details. One body was found at a used car dealership off 377 in Benbrook and two more bodies were found in Parker County. Other than someone being arrested, we know nothing. 
• Mitch McConnell finally had to face the obvious yesterday by congratulating Joe Biden as President-Elect.
  
  
  
• This photo of Art Briles on the sideline of Mount Vernon High School was floating around yesterday. Oh, that hair. Someone said it had a little Tiger King vibe to it. 
  
  
  
• I'm seeing this headline everywhere, and it is a little nutty. If you want to take a deep dive, here's a link which contained the detailed probable cause affidavit (and it's a good lesson on what a PC affidavit should look like.)  The former cop had been watching the guy for days and was convinced he had 750,000 fraudulent ballots in his truck. He turned out to be an a/c repair guy. 
  
  
  
• I noticed in the Update that Willard Howell passed away. It failed to note he was a former Wise County Judge back in the day.
• Messenger: Above the fold

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

 

• Texas hospitalizations: Slight uptick but still setting a new third wave record.
  
  
  
• The story might behind a paywall, but it says this longtime Odessa attorney died from contracting COVID at a November pre-trial hearing he was required to attend. And it was traced to an inmate he represented. Is it to harsh to say that the judge killed him?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The electoral college went off without a hitch yesterday with Biden winning in the 306-232 landslide. It was proof that Democracy can't be hijacked although, at times, it wasn't exactly like the founding fathers intended. First, at least two states had to take measures to safely protect electors. And in states where they weren't afraid of assault, the electors were doing bits:
  
  
  
• Overnight, even Putin couldn't hang on to false hope any longer. 
  
  
  
• The man behind Texas' meritless lawsuit challenging the election is now going to cost you more. All of the people he fired for exposing his "alleged" unethical conduct are now suing him as whistleblowers, and his defense lawyer will be paid a pretty penny.  (By the way, $540 an hour is robbery.)
  
  
  
• This tree, which is the subject of a new Texas Monthly article, isn't that far away. Mrs. LL drug me out to take a look at it a few years back. (I think the GPS coordinates are 33.062881, -97.132468.)
  
  
  
• According to the local U.S. Attorney, six men have been charged in a frequent flyer miles scam. After reading the press release, I still don't understand exactly what they did. 
  
  
  
• In case your company/agency uses it, the Treasury Department and Commerce Department  computer hack occurred because of malicious code the Russians were able to embed in some software program called SolarWinds Orion from a company out of Austin.  The company has over 18,000 customers (which you could have found on a "customer list" hosted on its website until they took it down yesterday.) 
• I wrote about, and praised, how the Tarrant County DA was going to dismiss first time marijuana cases if someone just tested clean, but unbeknownst to her (and me) Fort Worth PD said they had stopped arresting people for misdemeanor marijuana anyway and wouldn't even he filing new cases. That's a big, big deal. I missed this in late November.
  
  
  
• Random cool image: A 1896 photo of the Tarrant Count courthouse taken from the Trinity River. 
  
  
  
• I forgot to check in on this game last night, but it sounded fantastic.  But if you are a gambler, that meaningless safety on the last play/kickoff of the game was made the game even crazier. A 3 point win went to a five point with the line being either 3 or 3.5 depending on when you locked in. 
  
  
  
• My favorite looking offensive coordinator was fired by Texas Tech yesterday. In unrelated(?) news, Art Briles called it quits after two years at Mount Vernon High School.  
  
  
  
• If you are a college football fan, this gal's most recent rendition of the playoff committee's zoom call is really, really funny. It'll take you 53 seconds. (And I normally don't like stuff like this.)
  
  
  
• Trump's personal lawyer AG Bill Barr couldn't even make it for 36 more days.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

 

• Texas hospitalizations: 9,230. That's a record high for this third wave. 
  
  
  
• The pictures and news of the COVID vaccine rolling out in trucks at Pfizer plants over the weekend is going to inadvertently cause one final short term spike in the cases. Everyone will now relax despite being told not to. But the vaccine is no immediate panacea because this will be a slow rollout plus the large percentage of people who won't take it regardless.
  
  
  
• As I predicted, the Supreme Court ruling came down on Friday. 
• It was unanimous. Alito and Thomas would have gone ahead and let Texas at least file its petition but then would have denied what they were requesting. 
  
  
  
• Rudy was on Fox News immediately thereafter and said a very Rudy thing. 
  
  
  
• The Republican Party of Texas immediately called for Trump states to form a new country.  Really.  I do not know if they nominated Jefferson Davis V to be President. (The party better get control of Allen West in a hurry.) 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Diamond and Silk went one step further and called for a military coup. 
  
  
  
• That got us to Saturday and a handful of people showing up in D.C. in protest. The crazy My Pillow guy made an appearance and accused Fox News of being part of the Deep State. (The problem is that Fox News was such a drug dealer of lies over the years that its viewers became so addicted they had to go off and look for a stronger fix.)
  

  

  
  

  
  
• The Proud Boys also showed up in D.C. over the weekend showing their support for Law and Order by going onto the private property of a church and destroying property.  "Stand back and stand by".
  
  
  
  
  
  
• It's amazing how Shelley Luther is single handedly being funded by West Texas oil money/Empower Texans. 
  
  
  
• The Update said on Friday and this morning that "Wise County commissioners will discuss County Court-at-Law No. 1 in their regular meeting Monday. " They need to work on it as a result of Judge Cude's death, but I don't see the item on the agenda. 
• Charlie Pride passed away over the weekend. Flashback: Two people were killed in a plane collision over Wise County on August 6, 1980, and Charlie Pride was in one of the planes. 
  
  
  
• The Treasury Department and the Commerce Department were hacked over the weekend, and this morning Google services (Gmail, Google Docs, GDrive, etc.) were down across the globe for one hour.  The country is a sitting duck to be crippled by an all out Internet cyber-attack, right? 
  
  
  
• There was a pretty bad injury in the TCU game, but this photograph of a TV which was broadcasting the moment he was being taken off the field really confused me. It's like the guy was coming out of the screen like in The Ring. (I was also confused by the player looking like a coach in a jacket.)
  
  
  
• Lindale will face Argyle in the 4A Championship game this weekend, but it you want some subtle comedy, watch this (quick loading) video of the kick that sent them there. The kicker gets absolutely crushed after he makes it (inconsequential penalty), but the whole team for some reason follows the holder who charges down the field in celebration. Poor kicker. 
  
  
  
• You want to talk about a close presidential election? I'll show you a close presidential election:
  
  
  
• On Friday, another inmate died in the Tarrant County jail. I'm losing count. 

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

Ring doorbell POV: Before and after going out @5thyear (via ig:sanekiro) pic.twitter.com/k7lM6B0VJ8

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 5, 2020

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Do you remember your first kiss? 😅 pic.twitter.com/DBBEBdWXgi

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) December 5, 2020

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Anyone who think men are complex creatures is an idiot pic.twitter.com/xL2FcPosEU

— Big Jolly Dad (@BigTucsonDad) December 5, 2020

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Incoming! pic.twitter.com/7TN7rIb7zz

— badluck jones (@badluck_jones) December 8, 2020

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Oh… oh no. pic.twitter.com/Pw9zRV42Hf

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 11, 2020

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It’s a bit slippery out😂 pic.twitter.com/nLDpAFNpFR

— Ross McCulloch (@Rossmac212) December 11, 2020

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Random Friday Morning Thoughts

 

• Texas Hospitalizations: Steady.
  
  
  
• COVID has crushed football for this weekend. Texas vs. Kansas State is off. Oklahoma vs. West Virginia has been cancelled. And Baylor/Oklahoma State is on the brink. At least five high school bi-district football games have been forfeited. 
• Medical Examiner Controversy Alert: At the request of prosecutors in Tarrant County, they are going to have to dig up a body in Tarrant County because they believe a bullet is still in a victim's body that the coroner overlooked. This seems like a really big deal. 
  
  
  
• The federal government was in the business of death last night as it executed a man. The Supreme Court denied a last minute stay, with three members dissenting. I'm glad Sotomayor dissented but I don't like the way she worded it. It kind of sounds like, "We should at least listen to him before we kill him." 
  
  
  
• Texas Republican infighting over the Drew Springer and Shelly Luther SD30 race is crazy.  Now Allen West is mad about this mailer from Luther. It'll be interesting to see if Luther, funded almost exclusively by far right wing West Texas oil money, pulls this off. 
  

• Yesterday, 106 members of Congress signed off on Ken Paxton's pandering for a pardon lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court in his effort to overthrow democracy. That's the equivalent of signing the Southern Manifesto back in the day.  There were only 12 Texans willing to go along with it but they include: Michael Burgess, Dan Crenshaw, Louie Gohmert,  Kenny Marchant, Roger Williams, and Ron Wright.  
  
  
  
• Some Texas Republicans have not lost their minds:
  
  
  
• Prediction: The Supreme Court kills Paxton's lawsuit today. That will make it 56 court cases lost. It's all a farce. A dangerous farce, but just a farce. 
• Another prediction but one which doesn't involve the fate of Democracy: A cold front comes through today. My charts tell me that at 2:50 p.m. in Decatur,  you'll notice the winds begin to blow from the north. It's nothing dramatic, but temperatures will then drop 10 degrees by 6:00 p.m. From the most trusted source in weather, me, bet on it. 
• It's a weird world when you think about it. The government is going to take away money from a homeless man for killing a wild turkey. (In addition to a fine, the game warden will also seek "restitution" for the value of the turkey which also goes directly to the government.) You think the founding fathers would understand all of that?
  
  
  
• ESPN has stolen the SEC away from CBS in a 10 year deal estimated to be $300 million a year.  But the players, which will all be predominantly black and from the South, won't be paid. 
  
  
  
• If this is the best shot the cameraman could find, that project seems to be off to a slow start this year.  And, besides, I don't even see a single tot in there. 
  
  
  
• A 13th person has now died in the Tarrant County Jail this year.  Sheriff Bill Waybourn does not know how to run a jail, but no one seems to care. 
• Incredibly nerdy legal stuff that (truly) only I care about: Yesterday, there was a very rare en banc opinion out of Houston's 14th court of appeals which affirmed, in a crazy 4-1-4 breakdown, the trial court throwing out cell phone evidence because the search warrant affidavit did not establish probable cause. 
• Time which has passed since the Wise County Sheriff's Office has failed to solve the murder of Lauren Whitener in her home at Lake Bridgeport: 525 days.
• Messenger: Above the Fold

I think we've got a Blink 182 fan who wrote that COVID headline