Random Monday Morning Thoughts

 

• Texas hospitalizations: A new record was set yesterday. (For local vaccine news, see my post from Friday.)
  
  
  
• This week in Sedition and Treason:
• Trump went full Mob Boss. "So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes,” Trump said. "There's nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you've recalculated," he said.  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• What would have happened if Georgia was not being led by honest and decent people who stood up to Trump's attempted theft of an election? We are hanging onto democracy by a thread. Seriously. There's no way we survive another 50 years. 

  

  "The call sounded OK to me."

  
  
• On the other hand, we had the Jim Crow Caucus form over the weekend as the Republican Party began to split apart. It's the Regular Republicans vs. The Trump Is My Führer Republicans and, honestly, I don't know which side is larger. 
  
  
  
• Ted Cruz is the worst Trump sycophant of all. Here's a flashback tweet of the man he worships. He knows from experience this is all a big con, but he still wants to be in on it:
  
  
  
• The fact that all 10 living Defense Secretaries feel the need to sign a joint letter should scare us all. 
  
  
  
• Even conservative Texas lawmaker Chip Roy knows his colleagues are crazy. He asks: How can the same election be full of fraud if at the same time we are willing to accept all the Congressional Republican wins? 
  

• There was a wild shooting at a church in East Texas yesterday, but it all started Saturday night. Sheriff's deputies and DPS Troopers got into a high speed chase with a guy who eventually wrecked out. He even got away despite a "manhunt."  The next morning, a preacher and his wife found the suspect hiding in a church bathroom and had him lay on the ground at gun point. Then "the pastor got distracted . . .  talking to his wife and the suspect lunged at him and was able to take the firearm out of his hand."
  
  
  
  
• The Fifth Circuit quickly shot down Louis Gohmert's goofy lawsuit on Saturday. But my favorite part was hours before Gohmert's lawyers missed a deadline because they were surprised to find out that when you convert a Google Doc to Microsoft Word that you have some formatting issues. All of the litigation has been led by a Confederacy of Dunces. 
  
  
  
  
• Speaking of, did you see where lawyer and Trump supporter Lin Wood called for VP Pence to be executed by firing squad?  He's so crazy that even Trump's "Elite Strike Force" legal team had to distance from him. (And Wood went even crazier in the middle of last night. And, trust me, it's crazier.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• A Dallas lawyer on the Decatur legal team trying to recover a $97 million verdict that was vacated on appeal has authored a Motion for Rehearing with the court. I'm no expert appellate lawyer, but I don't know if I'd start my Motion out with a veiled insult at the court. 
  
  
  
• Random sports observations:
• How about them Cowboys? Why do you guys gets sucked in year after year? But I think I'm in the tiny, tiny minority of people who isn't convinced replay would have overturned the call that it was a reception by Dante Pettis. (Yes, I know it really doesn't matter since the Eagles mailed it in during the 4th quarter last night.)

  

  "Oh, they would have overturned that catch.
  It was fake news." 

  
  
• Why is Notre Dame so highly regarded year after year? And this graphic doesn't even include Saturday's shellacking by Alabama.
  
  
  
• The Evil Empire shocked me this weekend by firing Tom Herman. In Memoriam, I link to the 2017 Sledgehammer clip.
  
  
  
• The box score in the Texas 5A game between Sharyland Pioneer and Liberty Hill got my attention. Liberty Hill won 56-53.
  
  
  
• Earlier in the year I posted a clip of a Denton Ryan receiver making a one handed end zone catch. He did it again on Saturday. Clips here and here of it. It made #3 on ESPN's Top 10. He has committed to Texas. 

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

I needed to see this tonight ❤️ pic.twitter.com/WEllObpRLp

— Jeff 🇨🇦 (@realJeff45) December 24, 2020

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An earthquake hits Croatia during an interview about earthquakes pic.twitter.com/FQjr2y7dUA

— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) December 30, 2020

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She called her shot @chicks

(Via biancapilon on ig) pic.twitter.com/B6RX4PqRfT

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 31, 2020

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I have so many questions... pic.twitter.com/Ewgu8Q3Zqn

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) December 26, 2020

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The greatest choir performance of our time @dogwalkbarstool (via ig:Dkcomedy_) pic.twitter.com/bgbXuZ5Odv

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 26, 2020

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Like... if you don't top rope elbow drop an alligator for me... are we even friends?! pic.twitter.com/v4TDTmpE5k

— Maggie_K (@Maggie_IK) July 6, 2020

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Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Yep, I'm here. I'm busting into 2021 prepared to defend my crown as as The Hardest Working Man in Show Business™.
• Texas hospitalizations: The year ended with the same nasty attitude.  We blew past 12,000. 
  
  
  
• The local hospital has informed me they have indeed received 1,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine. Below is the procedure to get in line.  While the shipment was "unexpected" they "were thankful" and noted that at the current time "we are not receiving advanced notifications for future shipments." 
  
  
  
• Once the vaccine is issued, can we at least have people wait indoors and avoid this situation in Tarrant County yesterday?
  
  
  
• Let's talk about my no snow forecast.  For those of you who went to bed early and woke up late, I'd like for you to take a look out the window and be amazed at my accuracy. You may now go on to the next bullet point. As to those who stayed up late and just happened to look out the window around 11:00 p.m., I'd like to say that I was wrong.
• Gov. Abbott wasn't exactly "law and order" last night as he directly told Austin restaurants to defy a closing order by the Austin Mayor and Austin County Judge. This occurred despite a state district judge earlier in the evening upholding the closing order. (It was also later upheld by the Austin Court of Appeals.)  Never before in my entire legal career can I remember a year of federal and local officials just telling people to ignore court orders.
  
  
   
• I'm no master politician or mathematician, but that 2,240 number below isn't anything to brag about as a year long accomplishment. 
  
  
  
  
• The Times Square "ball drop" was turned basically into a Kia commercial. 
• There was a brawl at the the end or the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth yesterday. If you want to see a quick loading video of the entire incident along with the fantastic and funny commentary by Jomboy, here you go. 
  
• This made me laugh. 
  
  
  
• Yesterday, 10 speeding cases in a row were filed in JP1 all alleging the different drivers were going 80 in a 70. As a guy which monitors everything filed in Wise County, I can say that's weird. 
  
  
  
• Based upon Wise County Jail records, there were two arrests last night for DWI and one for Minor in Consumption.
• Random Iowa Park news.
  
  
  
• You know, I've never met famed DWI Tarrant County lawyer Mimi Coffey out of Fort Worth, but yesterday she posted this which made me at least believe we are kindred spirits. We both don't drive expensive cars and both will drive them into the ground.
  
  
  
• 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: 546 days
  
  
  
• Messenger: Above the Fold. 
• On of the guys convicted in the Blackwater Massacre and pardoned by Trump is from Olney . . . 

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

 

• Texas Hospitalizations: +217 and now knocking on 12,000. It has really ramped up when I was expecting a plateau by now.
  
  
  
• A faithful reader pointed out that this official state map shows that the local Wise County hospital has 1,200 doses of Moderna on hand.  We both find that hard to believe. (If you go to the site, just click on the red dot in Wise County, and don't bother with the search boxes.) Edit: The hospital confirms to me this is, in fact, true.
  
  
  
• This was an actual tweet last night by one of Trump's greatest supporters (and from someone Trump has retweeted before.) They are all nuts. 
  
  
  
• But there must be some truth to that because Lin Wood is a man of faith.
  
  
• I was in the Liberally Lean Weather Lab late into the night, and I'm now prepared to make my prediction: We will get no snow. Zilch. Nada.  Most of the "experts" in DFW disagree. They are wrong. So let it be written. So let it be done. 
  
  
  

  

  Fake News

  
  
• A lady named Susan Wright from the Houston area was released from prison yesterday.  Her trial gave rise to one of the craziest courtroom stunts in Texas history with a female prosecutor straddling a male prosecutor on a bed brought into the courtroom. (The prosecutor, Kelly Siegler, was later found by a judge to have withheld evidence in a different high-profile murder case.)  
  
  
  
• My Fox News nomination for "Image of the Year":
  
  
  
• Claimed by some to be the most prolific killer in U.S. history, Samuel Little has died. But some question whether his confessions can be compared to those of Henry Lee Lucas.  Both cases have connections to Texas Rangers who live in Wise County. (James Holland and Phil Ryan.)
  

  

  
  
  
  
• I was thinking the other day that is has been months since we've heard about any Lotto jackpot getting so high that it becomes a headline. That's really the only time I pay attention to it. And I never pay attention to lottery scratch-off news. At least until . . . : 
  
  
  
• I'm sure you heard that Dawn Wells has died. Only Tina Louis (Ginger) survives.
  
  
  
• Sports:
• There is no way OU could have made the playoffs after starting 0-2 but they are more deserving of being in the final four than Notre Dame. And they will be better next year. And the year after that.  
• Arm bands gone wild:
  
  
  
• Watch Wisconsin accidentally destroy the Mayo Bowl trophy in the locker room. 
  
• My greatest take-away from 2020 might very well be how it has revealed how truly bonkers a large percentage of the U.S. population is. People I used to think were normal are now folks I wouldn't trust to care for a penny. "How can that person be so dumb?" is something I've uttered a thousand times this year. 
• There will be no Messenger Update today.  (This note brought to you by THWMISB™).

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Texas hospitalizations: A major jump of +424 after setting a record yesterday. 
  
  
  
• And don't forget that even though that's a Texas state-wide chart, it's right around us with a vengeance.
  
  
  
• We might want to pick up the pace. This isn't exactly, uh, warp speed:
  
  
  
• Not exactly the best news: 
  
  
  
• So, as I understand the story, TABC is "training" guys who work for private entities as beer deliverers (we've all seen them) to look for "signs" of human trafficking and then report back. Why? TABC can then just walk in the door because they have unlimited power to do so.  In this era where people almost got killed because of nutcase rumors in Pizzagate, what could possibly go wrong? 
  
  
  
  
  
  
•  Then again, sometimes even tips which seem really important lead to no action at all:
  

  

  
  
  
  
• Socialism!  (But, since he's on a roll, can he push for $4,000 while he's at it?)
  
  
  
• Two more people have died at the Tarrant County Jail. One due to COVID and one due to suicide. That would bring the total to 17 for the year. Incredible. 
• This is a great Jerry Jones recent quote that went under the radar about how he deals with the salary cap.  It's all clear now, right? Lights on? Lights off? 
  
  
  
• Don't talk to a Horns fan today. They'll tell you "they'rrreee baaaaack." Again. (Although that big man interception was most impressive.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• An OSU wide receiver might have opted-out of a bowl game at halftime last night. 
  
  
  
• Messenger: Above the Fold