1.12.2022

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




This was the first week that it appeared Mitt Romney could be headed for the Republic nomination. And Rick Perry discovered he definitely was not.     

  • Boyd ISD has shut down due to COVID.

  • The numbers:
    • Hospitalizations:

    • Cases (seven day average): 

  • A lot going on here:
    • Headline:

    • Excerpt from the story (but don't miss that bottom paragraph either.)


    • Yep, she was one of the women who helped bring down former Rep. Joe Barton who was sending out nude pics of himself at the age of 68. 

  • No vaccines in Wise County because of, uh, COVID?

  • We've got a run on over-the-counter cold medicine:

  • "An American Airlines flight from Honduras to Miami was delayed on Tuesday after a passenger burst into the cockpit, broke some of the plane’s controls, and then tried to leap out of the window." And we've got a photo:

  • It's easy enough for the government to steal your property through civil forfeiture laws, but this Texas Sheriff allegedly made it easier: He just instructed his deputies to take the cash and vehicles and, if no one claimed it after 30 days, they would just consider it "abandoned" and take it and use it. He didn't even want to hassle with the favorable forfeiture system.

  • Let me tell you something. There's basically no way Trump could ever get elected again in America, but this would be one of those ways:

  • But nothing will kill incumbents more than news of inflation. When I was a young guy, it was the kiss of death for any national politician.  And when, moments ago, every major news organization in the country blasts out bad inflation numbers, that's not a good sign for the incumbent:




  • Sully is still out there slapping himself on the back: 

  • And another:

    • The money line: 

  • The Red Raiders ended #1 Baylor's perfect basketball season last night in Waco. From the sound of it as I was watching, there were a ton of Tech fans in the arena. 

  • Messenger: Above the Fold
at 8:29 AM

1.11.2022

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




On January 13, 2012, I was posting the first pics coming in of the Costa Concordia. Thirty-two people died, and the captain -- who did not go down with the ship because he left -- was ultimately sentenced to 16 years in prison.  When the ship was finally up-righted, its sunken side looked like this:


  • If you don't personally know someone who is home sick right now with COVID, you are in the minority.
    • That peak right after the holidays might have been slightly artificially high because of the numbers backlog, but they are now settling in to the accurate numbers. They are astronomical. 

    • Hospital numbers. (Disclaimer: NBC News has questioned whether hospital numbers are as accurate accurate during this Omicron surge.)

    • Just an example of the impact this week:

  • The leader of far right conservatives is still taking heat for his tweet dogging teachers.  The reason guys like him denigrate public schools is part of a far bigger agenda. They certainly admit that they want "school vouchers" for private schools. But to them the term "school vouchers" is code for wanting your tax money to fund Evangelical Christian schools only. 

  • If you heard this claim (below) on right wing talk shows yesterday (and it was everywhere), it is a lie. The numbers came from the CDC Director on Good Morning America who was talking about deaths for those who are fully vaccinated. That is, if you are vaccinated, you have to be in really bad shape in order for COVID to kill you. 


    • This isn't hard. The director was citing this study which analyzed 1.2 million people who were vaccinated. First of all, only 36 had died. And even then, 28 of those 36 people had four comorbidities-- ergo "75% of those who died had four comorbidities." This is from the actual study:

    • Here are her full and unedited remarks for those who care about facts instead of the eight seconds out of context sound bite.

  • I was going to make fun of this headline by saying that's a pretty cheap price to eliminate all traffic deaths. Then I read the lede and that's exactly what they were claiming: "Dallas officials say they believe it will cost $30 million to make streets safe enough that no one will die in crashes by 2030."  Oh, come on. 

  • We have a new quarter. I'll admit I had to look her up. 

  • This is a 10 miles stretch of highway 380 starting in Denton County and going to the Collin County line. It will be completed in 2025. And with all the growth up there, that ain't nearly enough lanes. And 380 needs to be a full freeway with no red lights. 

  • Which reminds me, that stop light on 380 right by the Wise County Sheriff's Office is the most mismanaged intersection in the state.  One single car coming up to the red light on Business 380 will cause a traffic jam of what had been 40 free flowing cars on 380 because that one single car will trigger the red light for the highway.  It's been that way for years despite the TxDOT office being a stone's throw away. 
    © 2022 Liberally Lean Graphics

  • The Final College Football AP Poll was just released:

  • Here's a great picture of the game sealing interception (ran back for a TD) in the National Championship game last night. Video.

  • They built that Tesla factory quicker than the Starbucks in Bridgeport (which has been under construction for months):
at 8:33 AM

1.10.2022

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




When I was looking for an update, I discovered NBC News did a big story just a few months ago. And I had forgotten it was featured on Nancy Grace back in the day. (One thing eerily similar to this and the Lauren Whitener case, in addition to the Lake Bridgeport connection, is that both were murdered in the early morning hours of July 5th, and the last known communication from each was a text.)


  • The new cases average hasn't been updated in a couple of days, but they are still sky high. And there might be a record number of people calling in sick this week -- and no one needs to come to work if they test positive.  (Rio Vista ISD is Johnson County has shut down for two days because of a teacher shortage.)

  • Another horrible fire in the northeast.



  • ABC News broke into American's Funniest Home Videos last night to announce Bob Saget's death. Video.

  • You don't see a "train hits plane" story very often. This is pretty wild. Just seconds to spare. Video.

  • Part of a cliff sheers off in Brazil killing 10.  Video thread.

  • There was a fiery train derailment north of Wichita Falls along highway 287 on Saturday. (No video on this one.)

  • The former head of the conservative Empower Texans PAC, and who secretly recorded the Texas House Speaker during a meeting a couple of years back, decided to fire off a hot opinion about teachers this weekend. (Here is a list of legislators he and his backers have supported.)

  • It was National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day on Sunday and politicians were falling all over themselves on social media to mention it. They might want to actually back their words up with the proper disgust towards others when needed.



  • This was a very weird flex by the Texas Republican Party.

  • Random Texas District Attorney news.
    • A recusal when a fellow lawyer gets arrested for soliciting a prostitute.

    • Trial delayed when the Parker County DA gets the COVID. (The defendant is alleged to have killed two women who were extorting him "after they convinced him that they had recorded him soliciting them for sex during a massage at his Fort Worth office.")

  • Biggest metroplex donors in 2021.  

    • Here's the money paragraph about the top donor.
    • Jerry Jones is on the list but no Mark Cuban.
    • That Cody Campbell on the list who gave $25 million to Texas Tech was partners with the guy who rented out the Fort Worth Zoo last summer and hired Pearl Jam for his birthday party.
  • NFL: (1) Dallas kicker Greg Zuerlien is going to lose the Cowboys playoff game, (2) I thought it was nuts for the Cowboys to play the starters in the second half on Saturday night, and (3) I said last week that I wanted last night's Chargers/Raiders game to end in a tie so both teams could get in the playoffs. And it dang neared happened! For some reason, the Raiders broke a 32-32 tie in overtime with two seconds left.


at 8:33 AM

1.07.2022

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

at 2:30 PM
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)