6.03.2021

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




 This case was out of Oklahoma and was quite the scandal because it also involved a judge and an affair with an assistant DA.  But, after a hung jury, she finally ended up with a plea agreement of only one year deferred adjudication probation. The whole mess is pretty well summarized here in a story five years later.   And the term "boss" in the headline meant "court administrator" (which is actually a pretty accurate term for any court administrator.)

  •  We've got the identification I complained about yesterday. In an updated story from the Morning News, the only person not yet identified allegedly yelled, "Give me my boy. Give me that boy."
    Excerpt from GoFundMe page


  • I failed to mention that this lady from the bullet point yesterday worked in Decatur on the courthouse square for about a year a while back.  Irrelevant side note: I was told she was Star Wars obsessed. I mean, really obsessed. As in had a Star Wars themed wedding obsessed.

  • I don't know what is more surprising. That employees just let the guy freely take the bike out for a "test ride" or that bikes that cost $6,300 exist in you local sports store. In case you want to run out and buy one, it's a "Cannondale Jekyll Carbon 129."

  • It's not the easy is it, buddy? It lasted 29 days. 

  • I keep hearing about an incident at the Jacksboro Country Club involving a Wise County elected official. 
  • The weaponization of drones.


  • Oops, I forgot one:

  • Paxton is as corrupt as the day is long, but I don't know if a grifter off a family name can take him down. Yesterday, George P touted that he was the only Bush family member to support Trump. You might remember Trump crucified his father in the Republican primaries. 

  • For years, I've dogged Garth Brooks for his fake and over-the-top reaction to the crowds which have come to see him. You know, the wild eyed false look of astonishment as he pretends he didn't expect his audience to be full.  Well, this weekend you'll get to see it on full display as he will be honored by the Kennedy Center in a ceremony -- an event which is historically littered with a ton of clips of the honoree watching other artists perform his or her songs.   This weekend's broadcast has already been recorded and produced, and we have proof that Garth will be prime form from someone who got to witness the filming:

  • Shot.

  • Nate Paul, in the headline below, is the guy behind the story which will ultimately bring down Ken Paxton on "bribery and abuse-of-office allegations."  Here's a great (and pretty wild) profile about him. 

at 8:31 AM

6.02.2021

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




This was crazy conduct out of administrators at Brownsville ISD: All the boys did was to write on windows with shoe polish and toilet paper some trees, yet they were arrested for criminal trespass because, you know, "Zero Tolerance." Although the arrests were ridiculed in the press, I can't find out what happened with the cases. I suspect the prosecutor declined prosecution, but I don't know for sure. 

  • I couldn't even find anything on the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's page either (which is normally the place to find out info if the cops go all tight lipped).

  • If things go as planned, Wise County will have its first jury trial next week -- the first since March of last year.
  • I've been watching the Tarrant County jury criminal trial page, and it is kind of strange. It looks like the misdemeanor County Criminal Court #1 has been in business for the past four weeks, but the rest of them have been quiet. 
  • Gov. Abbott announced plans to force undocumented kids to become homeless, and Ticket host Bob Sturm went after him from the top rope. 

  • Speaking of hot opinions, her text is here. 

  • A wild case out of Waco came to a sudden end a couple of days ago. One thing about criminal cases: Once a defendant dies, it's completely over. 


  • Those two females from the last two bullet points look alike, don't they?
  • Smith County, Texas has over 200,000 people, but their Elections Administrator must be 12 years old. 
     
  • If you haven't seen the California teenager pushing a bear away from her yappy, moron dogs, here ya go. 


  • Best quote I've seen about all the voter restriction laws: "Some people don't want some people to vote."
  • The Rangers PR department might need a little help in the "What's current?" department. (A funny reply on Twitter asked, "When is Three's Company night?") 

  • There was an arrest last night by Rhome PD for DWI-Accident-Serious Bodily Injury. 
  • I've lauded the 10+ hour documentary, The Staircase, before. From a criminal defense standpoint, I thought it was absolutely fantastic.  Now HBOMax will release a docudrama about the case. It's lineup sounds good so far: Colin Firth, Toni Collette. and, just announced yesterday, Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark from the aforementioned Game of Thrones.)  Fun fact: The scene of the crime(?) -- the home in Durham, NC -- went up for sale for $1.7 million last year.

  • Messenger: Above the Fold



at 8:31 AM

6.01.2021

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




Weiner-gate was 10 years ago. He would resign from Congress in less than 30 days.  I had forgotten that the incriminating photos were sent through his public Twitter account -- it wasn't even a DM -- to some 21 year old who just happened to be following that account.    Weiner stayed in the public view afterwards even running for the Mayor of New York a couple of times. The best I can tell, he's been out of the news since 2016. 

  •  Overnight: We have another situation identical to the Arlington triple death case from last week (that everyone has already forgotten about.) It sounds like a murder-suicide at an apartment complex on the west side for Fort Worth around loop 820 and I-30.

  • A lot of Republicans in Texas are blaming House Speaker Dade Phelan for conspiring with Democrats to allow them to run out the clock on the legislative session on Sunday.




  • I'll be honest, when I see headlines like this I feel completely like an old man.

  • This was a weird headline from the Morning News. That was a QAnon themed convention which had already been kicked out of one venue, and where Michael Flynn (pictured) called for an armed insurrection against the U.S. 

  • Any chance that's a Dunkin' Donuts ad disguised as a segment this morning? I'd put the odds at 100%

  • Here's a video of a guy running onto the court at an NBA game last night. Nice tackle by the guy who is circled.

  • I missed the mugshot of the lady-who-got-in-the-monkey-exhibit-to-feed-them-hot-Cheetos.

  • Rep. Matt Gaetz and others got duped into retweeting a picture of Lee Harvey Oswald yesterday. He deleted it. 

  • Kept seeing this headline everywhere this morning. I'm not sure what the big deal is. Every night his show was a Trump commercial.

  • I installed a Wi-Fi thermostat and (1) I amazingly didn't screw it up, and (2) it may be the greatest invention ever. To control your a/c remotely is hard for me to get my head around.  Honeywell for $69.00.

  • I'm reading this book on the history of the Texas Rangers. Big two thumbs up. 

  • I'm now 200 pages into Lonesome Dove as well. Let me tell you one thing: Larry McMurtry writes at a pace where he presumes you've got nothing else to do for the rest of your life. It's not bad book and I enjoy it, but, for the sake of all things holy, just get on with it! 
  • Around midnight, Lake Bridgeport became officially full. 



at 8:31 AM

5.31.2021

Random Monday Morning Thoughts





Ten years since an old motel right alongside of 287 in the heart of Decatur was razed, It looked like it could star in a horror movie.  The property still remains vacant. 
  • There is no Update. The courthouse is closed. The streets are empty. But here I am, THWMISB™.
  • Oh, my! The kid who allegedly abducted four year old Cash Gernon out of his home had stayed at that house before. Kudos to Fox News for picking up a critical fact in the arrest warrant affidavit that Channel 11 did not (but even they buried it in in the story despite the headline.)  So how did this come out? Remember that we learned on Friday that Darriynn Brown had almost abducted another kid a couple of months earlier, but that homeowner didn't press charges? Here's the reason listed why: 


    • I remember seeing an interview by KXAS with an 18 year old who lived in the home where Cash Gernon was taken from. They weren't related but he called Cash his "brother." But he didn't say anything about Darriynn Brown staying in the home at times although I guess it's possible he didn't know.

  • We had a absolute drama at the Texas Capitol last night. Since it takes 2/3 of the House to be present to have a quorum, Democrats began to disappear over the evening as the House debated a voter bill that President Biden said "attacks the sacred right to vote" and called it "wrong and un-American". As the clock struck midnight, the session officially ended with no vote.

  • Republicans will now just call a special session and pass it anyway.
  • Compare and contrast: Only 35 Republicans in the 100 member Senate voted against establishing the January 6th Commission, but it still failed despite 54 votes for it.

  • If you hear about Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick bragging about a $350 electric bill credit we might get because of the Winter Storm Disaster, realize that he is forgetting to tell you that we will all eventually pay it back with a tax on our electric bills. 
  • Good lord. 


  • A (fake) coffin was found on the lawn of the Dallas County DA.

  • This is really, really rare. After his conviction, he elected to have the judge assess punishment instead of a jury. He was eligible for probation. 

  • Let's just say they are handing out Vaccination Passports, and I've got me one. 



  • Who believes that? This was out of Kerrville by the way. On Saturday I saw a truck covered with QAnon stickers and another with the "III" logo. Those folks are everywhere. 

  • I'm not a fan of fighting videos but one from 7th Street in Fort Worth and another from the Dallas Mavericks parking garage over the weekend proved that you should never fight while drunk and/or against someone with boxing skills. 


  • Ticket fans only: The Valedictorian at Graham High School threw in the "My Pig" story. 


  • The Star-Telegram doesn't mention the Colonial anywhere on the front page. 

at 8:30 AM

5.28.2021

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

at 2:30 PM
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