Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

That line still makes no sense. 

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• Images of war as Russia bombs a maternity hospital. That's a pregnant woman in the first photo.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• So Jerry Jones (maybe) fathered a baby and has paid a fortune over the years to the mother and her daughter to keep the whole thing quiet. Lots to unpack here.
  
  
  
• Before you demonize Jones, it should be noted that he's paid far more in this deal than he was legally obligated to if the father.  And the child has done OK financially. She had a high tone Sweet Sixteen birthday party where she received a Range Rover, and she even went to SMU. Heck, momma and daughter even appeared on something called Big Rich Texas:
  

  

  
  
  
  
• And if you want to crucify him for having an affair, you might want to really tap the brakes. Just look out that window -- he's not alone in that sin. 
• But it's certainly ok to demonize him for apparently having had no contact with the child for her entire life. That's bad. 
• This really bugs me: What's the purpose of the daughter's lawsuit? What's her end game?  It's not about money. He doesn't owe her anything and she's not "entitled" to anything by simply being a biological daughter. The lawsuit reads as if it is to simply declare that she is not bound by any Non-Disclosure Agreement, but who says that she is? Of course, she's not. She's not a party to it nor could she have been -- she was an infant. 
• I  suppose it's just a coincidence that she ended up working for Trump and our own scandal-ridden Congressman, Ronny Jackson. (She also worked for former Congressman Mac Thornberry so she's got a weird connection to our far reaching Congressional district that reaches all the way to the Panhandle.) 
  
  
  
• The official Liberally Lean forecast says, "It's gonna be really, really cold, but nothing otherwise to get excited about."
  
  
  
• Am I losing my mind, or do I remember hearing something about a significant Decatur or Wise County connection to this project?:
  
  
  
• Video. This is wild even for Trump. Once again, I present the presumptive nominee for the Republicans:
  
  
  
• Of course she's been funneling part of the $15 million there. It's all a full circle. 
  
  
  
• Random stolen criminal justice thoughts:
• That's not a bad idea. 
  
  
  
• Funny but true.
  
  
  
• Books I've read this year (look at me!):
•  He's a good writer, but he comes across as an arrogant Ivy Leaguer. And this "book" actually turned out to just be a collection of speeches, papers, and even some of his court opinions(!).  That's exactly something an arrogant Ivy Leaguer would do. (Verdict: Disappointing.)
  
  
  
• I'm stunned the owner of the Mets isn't in prison. This is, in part, the inspiration of Billions.  (Pretty good. Not as technical as I feared.)
  
  
  
• Fourteen poverty stricken men died in the desert in 2001 trying to come to America for a better a life. Turns out, their  hired guide just got them lost. In the heat. With no shade. With no water. (Not bad, but the author could have picked up the pace a bit.)
  
  
   
• Online shopping tidbit: I ordered the best and greatest soft bath towel (recommended by WireCutter) directly from the manufacturer in January, and it still hasn't arrived due to being on back order. I ordered new tennis shoes recently from Kohl's and it took eight days to get here (and I had to actually go to the post office and pick up the package when DHL couldn't successfully deliver it on the first attempt). But if I order anything from Amazon, it will show up within 24 hours -- and without the hassle of entering all my data and credit card number.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

I guess the answer to that was "no."

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• I'm not sure why providing some war support (javelins) is OK while other support (funneling planes) is going too far, but I guess you've got to draw the line somewhere. 
  
  
  
• The Russkies have released a photo of Brittney Griner.
  
  
  
• January 6th Quick Hits:
• "Lock him up! Lock him up!"
  
  
  
• Ditto.
  
  
  
• "Take her bar card! Take her bar card!"
  
  
  
• The screenshot and the headline don't quite go together.
  
  
  
• It's all beginning to make sense now. 
  
  
  
• You demonize schools, promote CRT witch hunts, want to divert tax dollars to fund unregulated religious schools (if they are of the right religion), and now there's a teacher shortage? Check. And your solution is to create a "task force"? Double check. 
  
  
  
• A faithful reader sent me this long read that I missed about a subject I was all over from its inception. And someone sent me a related podcast about the article. 
  
  
  
• Mentioned on The Ticket this morning: This oddly named street in Runaway Bay. He's a former Cowboy lineman. 
  
  
  
• Ticket fans only: On the weekend golf show, The Tee Box, they mentioned a hidden gem of a course near Lake Texoma.  A listener went exploring online to check it out, and guess who he found as members? "Norm and Mary."
  
  
  
• Messenger: Above the Fold

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

That second bullet point might have been my worst political take ever. 

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• War video of the day. Sound up.
  
  
  
• Shell tries to get some good PR while at the same time having an excuse to excessively jack up their prices. (We get about 3% of oil from Russia.)
  
  
  
• And, based upon this Bloomberg report this morning, they are just getting ahead of what they are about to be forced to do. Edit: An announcement from the White House is now expected at 9:45 a.m.:
  
  
  
• I just noticed Drudge getting all excited:
  
  
  
• I screwed up my graphic and part of my bullet point yesterday in the election fight in a JP race in Clay County. It was Candidate C, not Candidate B, who had previously been disqualified. But there is still a legal dispute as to whether Candidate A won outright or needs a runoff. 
  
  
  
• Yesterday in Wise County, the following cases were all filed in JP #1. The same agency, DPS, just happened to file speeding tickets against ten different people who just all happen to be going exactly 80 in a 70. 
  
  
  
• I've been curious as to what ever happened to the silly criminal prosecution of Netflix in Tyler County over the broadcast of Cuties.  Well, the Netflix lawyers have now gone to federal court to try and stop (the very handsome) D.A. Lucas Babin, calling him crazy. They didn't exactly use that term "crazy", but that was the gist of it. They are, of course, right on that point as well as that pesky Free Speech defense they've got, but I'm not sure they can get a federal court to stop the state prosecution. 
  

  

  
  
  
  
• The QAnon Congress person never disappoints
  
  
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• This little-reported Dallas story from the weekend rang a bell.
  
  
  
• Yep, that was it from late last month: 
  
  
  
• For those, like me, who have an interest in the metroplex murder story involving Candice Montgomery coming to Hulu:
• Jessica Biel was spotted in Georgia filming the mini-series. She'll play Montgomery. 
  
  
  
• CBS Channel 11 has a good feature a couple of days ago on an eyewitness to the bloody murder aftermath who is still in the area.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• A faithful reader sent me this Above the Fold shot of the defunct Dallas Times Herald from back in the day: 
  
  
  
  
• I might put this on a throw pillow.
  
  
  
• Legal nerd stuff from yesterday: Justice Kavanaugh tried to argue a point and cited himself as authority on why he is correct. 
  
  
  
• An building's management company in Toronto welcomed workers back to the office with these posters. They took them down. Quickly. That would have made me want to quit on the spot. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I saw someone refer to the anti-CRT crowd as "the CRT Straw Men" yesterday, and I might just steal it.