9.28.2021

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




And they did. Two years later:


Credit the Messenger and Joe Duty on the photos.

  • Political news: Wise County's long-time state house representative, Phil King, has announced he is running for the new redrawn state senate district 10 if the new map is adopted (it will be).  That redrawn district is in orange below, and he thinks he can win it because he's a Parker County boy. (Wise County, as I mentioned last week, goes into district 12 currently held by retiring Jane Nelson.) 

    • You know who was the chair of the Redistricting Committee in the legislature for the last two years? Phil King. 
    • But King's departure would leave us with an open house representative seat in house district 61 in the Texas legislature. Currently, that district is composed of just Wise County and Parker County.  You know what I first thought? Here's an opportunity for our own county judge J.D. Clark. Depending on who Parker County could serve up, I think he could he win it. 

    • But here's the problem: Just the other day, Phil King said that once the new state house district map is released (we've only seen the state senate map), that Wise County would be cut out of his district 61 and put in with "other rural counties."  I think that means we would get shoved into massive house district 68 which is held by newly elected, and Jacksboro's own, David Spiller.  I don't think anyone runs against Spiller. If J.D. Clark had been waiting for King to move on, this re-districting is a bad break. (Note: This is all speculation on my part. I've never talked to Clark about his future plans, if any.) 

  • More redistricting news: We are getting hit with new re-districting maps so we need to keep it straight. We've seen the new state senate map (above), have not seen the new state house map, but yesterday we got the new congressional house map. Here's the old one where most of us in Wise Count were in Ronny Jackson's district (13) with a smaller portion being in Kay Granger's district 12:

    • Here is the just-released proposed map where Granger's district 12 is gone from Wise County and the lower half of Wise County is now put in Rep. Michael Burgess district (26). The rest of the county is still blue and in Jackson's 13th district.


    • I think that new map puts Decatur in the 26th (Burgess) and Bridgeport in the 13th (Jackson), but I can't tell. I haven't seen a new really detailed map for Wise County. Here's just a normal map so you can do your own eyeball test:

    • This is really getting in the weeds, but 538.com put this graphic out showing how redistricting was done with the obvious purpose to make Republican districts stronger.  Basically, it ensures that all the districts (except one straggler) now lean 20% or more towards Republican. That second to the right column is more important than the far right column. 

  • The "improper relationship" trial going on in Tarrant County went to the jury yesterday afternoon. There is not yet a verdict.  This trial sure isn't getting much press, but the last Star-Telegram story from Friday said she took the stand in her own defense.  And look what the jury wasn't allowed to hear: "After the jury left the courtroom, Hathaway said the [alleged victim] and a girl three years his junior began a sexual relationship in spring 2017. When the girl told Hathaway about it, she made a report in fall 2017 [since it could be a crime]. The defense said the report could have been a possible motive for the man making claims about Hathaway."

  • Fox News graphic: When you want to make a 12% reduction look like a 66% reduction.

  • Someone tell Jodi Foster.

     
  • You can buy it legally in 19 states. 

  • I don't know if this long read is any good, but that is one heck of a tease:

  • I don't know what lot this is for, but I don't doubt that this is real. (From Cowboy game last night.)

  • It's bad enough for Trump to give a speech on Saturday with black guys strategically placed behind him for the camera, but do they have to go further and have them wear "Blacks for Trump" shirts? 

  •  Wise County city secretary chaos: Bridgeport's resigned yesterday after she was placed on the agenda for last night, and New Fairview went into closed session yesterday evening and spent two hours discussing their city secretary but took no action. 



at 8:31 AM

9.27.2021

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




It was really there. It was also the weekend where, in Arlington, there was the Cowboy game, Aggie v. Arky at Jerry World, and two Ranger playoff games. I suppose that explained it.  

  • Tiffany Caswell, the woman arrested in Arkansas along with Royce Wood who was subject of the Wise County "manhunt" in June, bonded out of the Wise County jail last week. 

  • Not only have all the DPS troopers been sent to the border but Wise County's own game warden, David Pellazzari, was shipped off as well. 
  • Watch a propane tank explode at the Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday.
    And that's before the explosion.

  • The crazy Friday news, which still hasn't had any updates, is that three bodies, including a child, were found burned and dismembered in a dumpster in White Settlement. One of them has been ID'd but that's it.  This has the work of a cartel written all over it. 

  • First it was Deep Ellum and now Fort Worth's 7th Street. But this story has absolutely no details about the incident on Saturday night.

  • If you ever take Southlake Boulevard, you know it is a beating. It looks like an even bigger beating this morning since its expected to be shut down for four hours due to this mess.

  • Good grief. 

  • We are the dumbest country. 



  • If you haven't seen Justin Spieth's crazy shot at the Ryder cup, you need to. The screenshot below shows a red line which is tracking the trajectory of the ball after he hit it. 

  • I just keep reading this over and over. 

  • This is the second Utah player to be shot and killed in less than two years.  The player killed Saturday night, Aaron Lowe, was named the first recipient of the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship. Jordan was the first player killed.

  • Trump's deleted this statement he issued prior to the Arizona audit which actually confirmed Biden beat him worse than what we first thought. 

  • You can find this graphic every Sunday, but here is how every AP voter voted in the College Football Top 25 Poll. I love it.  (The Longhorns just missed the final cut, and I really don't know why that is.)

  • I finally watched I, Tonya.  Really good stuff. And the makeup artist who transformed Margot Robbie was robbed for not even being nominated for an Oscar. 



at 8:31 AM

9.24.2021

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts






Ten years ago this week the Pac 10 told Texas, OU, Tech and Oklahoma State they were not wanted. As a result, the Big 12 would continue, and they celebrated in Waco (above) because of it. I'm surprised it lasted another 10 years.  

  • As Texas COVID hospitalizations tale off, the number of deaths are now peaking with a heck of a number coming in yesterday.

  • Much to the chagrin on Insurrection lovers, The Big Lie will get a (needless) confirmation today.  The results of the Maricopa County, Arizona "audit" -- which was done by a fly by night outfit called Cyber Ninjas, hired by a group of Republicans, and headed by a conspiracy theorist -- will actually confirm that President Biden won with even more votes than the official tally. (But make no mistake about it, Cyber Ninjas was totally unqualified to run any type of audit whatsoever. And whatever they announce, it should be ignored and the official tally should be respected.)


  • The timing of the announcement is perfect.  Yesterday Trump, proving that he is still the Puppet Master, demanded that Texas be audited. In response and literally just hours later, Gov. Abbott leapt to attention and announced that four counties -- which Democrats won or are gaining strong ground in (Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Collin) -- would be audited by the interim Secretary of State. Incredible. 

  • We live in the dumbest times. (This is QAnon Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene from a couple of days ago.) 

  • There is now an arrest warrant out for Brian Laundrie but it is not for the murder of Gabby Petito.  Instead, it's for unauthorized use of her debit/credit card. Get this: They made this a federal, and not a state, charge. How? You just add the magic words in red below to invoke federal jurisdiction. 


  • Bad cop (allegedly): A constable in Fort Worth was purportedly caught on Walmart video not paying in the self-checkout line. Walmart is like Vegas watching gaming tables from above. 

  • I didn't read the story, but this Star-Telegram headline gave me pause. 

  • Caught my attention: This photo on the cover of the Dallas Morning News accompanying a story about the opening of the State Fair. That's one way to trick up a slide. 

  • Weird Thing I Noticed When Looking At The Wise County Jail List: Last night two people were arrested after midnight by the Runaway Bay Police Department for Public Intoxication. That's pretty rare in itself. What's odd is that one had the first name "Orlin" and the other "Orlien." And they are in fact two different people. 
  • It's behind a paywall, and I think I'm the only one who cares about it, but a big oil and gas scammer was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday. He's a former sponsor of the Mark Davis radio show podcast. 

  • Anyone else think it's weird that a Trump appointed judge to the Fifth Circuit spoke at a seminar last Saturday, sponsored by the ultra conservative Federalist Society, on how to sue the Biden Administration? (They actually changed this description days before he spoke.)

  • More Mark Cuban instigated chaos for the Mavericks. Recall it was just a few months ago that Voulgaris was cited in an article in The Athletic for causing all sorts of tension in the organization. Cuban immediately called the article a lie. Then the team's coach and general manager promptly quit/were fired. 

  • 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: 814 days.
  • Messenger: Above the Fold

at 8:31 AM
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