3.18.2021

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




Ten years ago we were in the middle of an NFL "lockout" imposed by the owners that would last until July 25,2011. At the end of it, owners won the right to impose a new thing called "the franchise tag."  (I wondered if the NFL draft was disrupted, but it was held as scheduled on April 28, 2011 even though the lockout was still ongoing.) 
  •  Absolutely incredible. So he was just a church-going white boy "having a really bad day" by going out and killing Asians? 

  • And, according to that Sheriff's investigator, the Georgia shooter wasn't motivated by race because he said he wasn't. Instead, it was a "sex addiction."   (Flashback to last week when the redneck announcer in Oklahoma who was caught on a hot mic blamed "low blood sugar" for his racism. Sugar and sex are having a bad couple of weeks.)  

  • Related:

  • If you had any buddies who celebrated St. Patrick's Day at the Overtime bar off of 820 and North Beach Street last night, you might want to check on them to make sure their legs are are ok.  Side note: The Star-Telegram reported "more than 20 units" responded. (Too many cops?) 


  • This is odd: Two separate arrests for Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy out of Tarrant County in just the last week where law enforcement accused two mothers of causing a child's illness/injuries for attention.  One thing which makes me question the strength of the cases: Both investigations were originated by the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office. 


  • Related: You might have missed that the Cleburne lady convicted in a recent Munchausen case trial had her conviction affirmed by the Fort Worth Court of Appeals earlier this year (with the whole court agreeing not to reconsider there decision just last week.) She received both five years in prison and ten years probation on two counts. 

  • In a press conference held by Greg Abbott for the sake of holding a press conference yesterday, someone forgot to tell the props in the back that Texas is "100% open!"

  • Say what?

  • This lady is a mess. (It's a minor point, but she didn't pick up any new charges because of the new incident at the Office Depot. After the confrontation with the cop at the Bank of America a few days ago, she wasn't actually arrested but released to the hospital instead. The police then got warrants for trespassing and resisting arrest. Those warrants were the basis for her arrest at Office Depot although it sounds like she refused to wear a mask there as well.) 

  • Interesting stat with no explanation: During the pandemic, the Texas prison population has been rapidly going down. I suppose we haven't been "adding" as many people due to a court shut down, but that still doesn't explain it. 

  • It's horrible that former Mav's Shawn Bradley has been left a paraplegic after a bicycle/car accident, but how in the world did it happen two months ago without anyone knowing about it? 
  • Liberally Lean Tourney Pick 'Em sign up ends March 19, 11:15 AM CDT.


at 8:34 AM

3.17.2021

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




Ten years later, Justices of the Peace still don't have that authority under Texas law. 
  • This guy (allegedly) shot and killed eight people at three different Asian massage parlors in the Georgia yesterday afternoon.  I suppose it's wrong to say he looks exactly how I expected him to look. 

    • Here's the first profile of the guy which has come out:

  • This Dan Patrick vs. Greg Abbott thing really ramped up last night: 
    • A couple of weeks ago Patrick demanded that Abbott seek the resignation of PUC chairman Arthur D’Andrea because D'Andrea "refused to reprice billions of ERCOT transactions during February’s winter storm." Abbott said no.
    • Then last night the news breaks that Texas Monthly has audio of a teleconference where just days ago D’Andrea "took pains to ease investors’ concerns that electricity trades, transacted at the highest prices the market allows, might be reversed, potentially costing trading firms and publicly traded generating companies millions of dollars."
    • So not only is D'Andrea refusing to reprice the costs, he's patting the heads of Wall Street telling them he's on their side. That doesn't look good. 
    • Patrick was immediately giddy last night about the breaking news of the existence of the audio:

    • Even before the evening was over, Abbott abruptly reacted and change gears as he he sought, and got, the resignation of D'Andrea. That was fast. Most of the news agencies reporting the resignation didn't even know about the Texas Monthly obtained audio. 

    • (Side note to all of this: Here is the scene from the 2005 Enron documentary demonstrating how they made money by manipulating power plants being taken off the "deregulated" California grid to create a shortage.)
    • And Patrick is continuing his war with trying to reverse the "overcharges" during the February ice storm by passing legislation.  He rammed a bill which would do just that through the Senate. But now the House, with the implicit approval of Abbott, is basically calling Patrick a socialist and a commie and balking at the idea. Man, Austin is fighting. 

  • Weird story: Two people were killed in a home Tuesday after a powerful commercial fireworks explosion in Ontario, California.  Here's a heck of a video of when it began. (Thanks emailer.)
  • President Biden will hold his first press conference on March 25th. It's overdue.
  • The immigrant teenagers being housed in Dallas are admittedly a problem -- not because they are brown people crossing the border but because they are teenagers. (Abbott is running up there today at noon for a press conference in order to try to make some much needed political profit off of the situation.)

  • I've refrained from commenting on the Pennsylvania cheerleader mom who made "deep fakes" of rival cheerleaders falsely showing them vaping (and maybe naked and drinking) because I can't get enough of the facts. But, as much as you don't like it, there are some huge free speech issues here. It's one thing to sue someone for defamation, but in this case the State is accusing the mom of a crime for making something up. If she had just said that the other cheerleader was vaping, that wouldn't be a crime. 
  • Denton restaurant throwing down some attitude:
  • It's St. Patrick's Day so it's time to relive one of the greatest news reports of all time. All hail the Alabama Leprechaun.  
  • I'm still reconstructing my Liberally Lean Weather Team, but in an effort to regain credibility they have told me to keep an eye on Mississippi today. 
  • Time's awastin': Sign up for the Liberally Lean Tourney.  Remember the tricked up scoring system: 
  • Messenger: Above the Fold

at 8:32 AM

3.16.2021

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts





R.I.P. Bono's restaurant north of Decatur. 
  • From yesterday. Incredible video.

  • The Texas Senate set a record yesterday by filing a bill and passing it in one day by suspending  all the rules and reversing deadlines. It all had to do with (the probable unconstitutional) wiping out $16 billion in electricity charges during the February storm.   It was spearheaded by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick who immediately held a press conference and conspicuously said that, despite rumors, he is not going to run for Governor. Side note: He's going to run for governor. 
  • I don't understand how to interpret the pricing at Weatherford College.
    • The price schedule:
      • "Tuition for in-district (Parker County) students was approved at $102 per credit hour, a 7 percent increase" 
      • "Out-of-district tuition increased to $170 per hour" 
      • "Out-of-district Wise County will be $129" 
    • Say I live in Jack County: What do I pay if I attend a class in Wise County? $170 or $129?
    • What do I pay if I live in Wise County and attend class at the Parker County campus? 
  • Security guard overkill.

  • They bloom like clockwork and show up seemingly overnight every year between March 10th and March 15th. I'm a big fan. 

  • I want COVID to be gone, but I'm not all that thrilled with "things going back to the way they were." 
  • This is interesting. I think there might actually be some very, very slight wiggle room of "forcing" employees to engage in a prayer, but the allegation that employees "were then harassed and fired after they refused to comply" which is the big problem. The doctor got hit with a $375,000 fine. 

  • You might want to avoid the XTC parking lot in Dallas. These are different incidences on two consecutive nights:  
    Early this morning

    Early Monday morning

  • This happened in India and is proof you don't want to stand under a tree during a storm. Video. (Warning: They all drop like a rock. One reportedly didn't survive.) 

  • I can't wait for the Feds to finally lock this guy up. Not for wasting money, but for his other crimes. 

  • Some people like looking a Zillow, I like looking at rent prices. This new apartment building which just opened in Dallas has a 512 square foot studio unit starting at $1,649 a month.
    Central Expressway and Knox



  • None of us are safe. (And someone needs to call the Apostrophe Police.) My favorite might be "High Fullutent"

  • Sign-up for the Liberally Lean Modified Scoring System March Madness Tourney. I'm serious -- get on it. First round games this year are on Friday and Saturday instead of the typical Thursday and Friday. And the funny names of bracket's keep coming: 

  • Legal nerd stuff: I've been waiting to see the appellate brief in the Wichita Falls/Lottery Winner/ Sexual Assault/High Priced Attorneys/No Defense case, and it has finally been filed. Dear Fort Worth Court of Appeals, please put up a link to it. 
  • Sports: There is no more meaningless and hollow stat than that of the "triple double." 



at 8:31 AM

3.15.2021

Random Monday Morning Thoughts





Ten years ago we had the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan. I had forgotten that its cause was an earthquake and subsequent Tsunami that killed 16,000 people. (And that's a different Tsunami than the one you are thinking about that hit Indonesia in 2004.)
  • News on Friday afternoon can quickly fade from memories, and by this morning hardly anyone is mentioning the racist redneck from Oklahoma caught on a live mic. He was one of the announcers of a live stream of a girls' high school basketball game who took exception to one team taking a knee during the national anthem.   Here's the audio. Here's his apology where he blames his blood sugar. 

  • A viral video does not show a lady being arrested in Galveston for not wearing a mask. The lady was arrested for violating a decades old criminal trespass law in Texas which says once a property owner tells you to leave and you refuse to leave, you are committing an arrestable offense. Video.

  • This news flash from Love Field this morning might be pretty good evidence that we, rightly or wrongly, are "getting back to normal."

  • Now we know why it's easy to get a COVID vaccine in West Texas: Half of Republican men won't get it.


  • If this guy is accurate, Wise County will receive $13.57 million from the most recent Congressional stimulus package.

  • This picture, from a "Spring Break at Port Aransas" compilation, got my attention. It really is a work of art. I'm guessing the guy being held back just decked the other guy, but look at all the expressions in the background. Click to enlarge.

  • Mortgage crisis flashback humor. 


  • This story is pretty wild: According to police, a guy in Hurst was trying to steal a homeowner's catalytic convertor from a truck outside his residence so the homeowner ran outside with a gun and fired three shots, killing the alleged thief, as he attempted to drive away. Cops arrested the homeowner. The grand jury decided to kill the case. 

  • Drug cases filed in Texas courts have fallen for the first time in years. The reason: Due to a legislative screw-up from a couple of years ago, marijuana cases now require a lab report showing the percentage of THC -- the ingredient in weed that makes you high.  With basically no labs doing that, more and more prosecutors are simply declining prosecution. Source: Grits for Breakfast.


  • Bad legal take. (And it is from a new congressman with a questionable background.) 

  • Gov. Abbott will hold a press conference today with this guy announcing new efforts to make it harder to vote in Texas under the guise of "voting reform."

  • Here's the Liberally Lean Tourney Pick 'Em link. Remember, it's a tricked up scoring system where upset picks in the first two rounds can win the whole thing. Get on it. 

  • I don't want to dog UT after they won the Big 12 Tourney, but it seems like a big deal that they got to rest the day before the game against OSU (because Kansas withdrew due to COVID issues) while OSU had to duke it out with Baylor the evening before. 
  • Caught the WBAP good old boys dogging the Grammys last night because of the rap artist performances and musing that they prefer "bands like the Eagles or Foo Fighters who just stand up there and sing." Sheesh. I wonder why the distinction.  


at 8:32 AM

3.12.2021

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

at 2:30 PM
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