Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Ouch. 

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• It was a wild day for Decatur's own Bryce Elder as the Atlanta Braves minor leaguer was told he would be called up to big leagues and would start last night's game against the Nationals. Oh, my!
  
  
  
• So how did he do? Fantastic.
  
  
  
  

  

  
  

  
  
• The first inning got off to a rocky start. He gave up two back to back hits to start the game, but a double play ball and a strike out got him out of trouble. Only one run was surrendered.
  
  
  
• Then he was incredible. Through innings 2 through 5, He retired 13 of the next 14 batters only giving up one hint. I was giddy for him, and I don't even know the guy. 
• I was curious if they would bring him out in the sixth inning because his pitch count was getting close to 80, and he was looking a little tired. They did, but probably shouldn't have. After giving up back to back homers and then a double, he was pulled.  But he was pulled to a standing ovation (video.) 
  
  
  
• That was tremendous performance.  I heard his parents scrambled and tried to get a last second flight in order to be in the stands and witness it first hand.   
  
  
  
• If you haven't seen the Abilene youth baseball coach shove the umpire after he was thrown out of the game at The Colony, you need to. Video
  
  
  
• When crazy Sid Miller thinks you're crazy, things are getting bad.
  
  
   
  
  
  
• Hail pictures out of Salado yesterday evening:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Quick hit headlines from yesterday.
• A guy fired 32 shots on a New York subway, injuring ten, but not killing anyone. He is still on the loose.
  
  
  
• Oklahoma enacted a law to lock people up over abortions. It carries with it a 10 year prison sentence and has no rape exception. Does anyone not seem to understand that, at least for the time being, Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land? When was it that we just started ignoring it?
  
  
  
• The South Dakota Attorney General was impeached for killing a pedestrian with his car, leaving he scene of the accident, and claiming he thought he hit a deer despite finding the guy's reading glasses in the passenger compartment of his car. (He was criminally charged but only fined $500.) It's a wild case. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The local media outlet in Starr County is trying to get answers on the dismissed murder-abortion indictment in Texas.  The DA is in hiding. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• And that reporter at least got her hands on the dismissed indictment: “Lizelle Herrera, Defendant, or or about the 7th day of January, 2022, and before the presentment of this indictment, in Starr County, Texas did then and there intentionally and knowingly cause they death of an individual J.A.H., by self induced abortion.”
• State Rep. Jeff Leach is everything bad about a pandering politician, and he is really seeking the  spotlight lately as he has taken up the cause of getting the death penalty overturned for Melissa Lucio.  (You can read about her case here.)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Leach has gone on all in for a reason I'm not exactly sure of. Lucio may have been wrongfully convicted -- lord knows there are failures at every turn in the Texas criminal justice system -- but I'm not sure why he has taken up this particular case.
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
• A Fifth Circuit panel actually overturned the conviction in 2019, but then the entire court, in an unusual move, decided to review the case and then overturned that panel's decision in a 10-7 ruling. She is scheduled to be executed on April 27th. 
• The DA who prosecuted the case, Armando Villalobos, is now in prison (!) after being "convicted of bribery and extortion in 2014 for accepting more than $100,000 in exchange for favorable outcomes in criminal trials." He received a 13 year sentence. 
• Back to Leach. Yesterday, to bring attention to the case, he empaneled the "Criminal Justice Reform, Interim Study Committee" which he is a the chair of (although having basically no experience in criminal justice and being an personal injury defense lawyer by trade).
  
  
  
• Anyway, Leach managed to strong arm the new DA into testifying by Zoom, but that DA was having none of it -- even bringing a little sass to the hearing.
  
  
  
• After the hearing, Leach posted pictures of him hugging the parents of the convicted killer. 
  
  
  
• Hey, I support his cause, but I don't know what his motivation is. His motivations for anything are normally based on self-promotion, so that's why I'm so suspicious. 
• The Tarrant County DA's office if off to rough start this week. Two of these losses are DWI cases where the breath/blood test was over twice the legal limit: 
  
  
  
• Messenger: Above the Fold

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

The date on that is 4/11/12. We are still waiting. 

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• Inflation numbers were just released. I'll say it again: There is no worse news for a president (even though presidents have basically nothing to do with it.)  Of course, this news will just greenlight price gouging which is contributing to the problem. 
  
  
  
• I feel like I'm in high school: The news is dominated by inflation and Russia invading another country.  Throw in a some gas lines, and I'm going to get all nostalgic. 
• I've mentioned this before: As a sixteen year old driver, gas prices suddenly skyrocketed to over $1.00 a gallon. But all the pumps back then, with their rotating price and gallon gauges, weren't designed to ever go over $1.00.  So the owners of the stations in Bridgeport just set the price to a half gallon (say, 53 cents since the pump couldn't be set to $1.06) and put up a handwritten sign that read, "Pay double the amount." 
  
  
  
• I'm disappointed in the lack of reporters trying to get an interview with the DA in Starr County. Camp out on the courthouse lawn. Wait for him. Ask him how this happened.  And I don't know why there hasn't been a copy of the indictment put into circulation yet. It's a public record, and this story says the Motion to Dismiss was filed at 9:30 yesterday so it's on file with a cause number. 
  
  
  
• And the defense lawyer isn't helping. You are contributing to injustice when you don't speak out about it.  
  
  
  
• Border news.
• That publicity stunt backfired yesterday.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• But the "fear the brown people" mantra, especially through lies, won't stop.  Why stop there? Why not say it "may" be 50%? 
  
  
  
• Decatur's ex-football coach has a new job.  Did the prior coach, Mike Fuller, ever land anywhere?
  
  
  
• Texas Ranger James Holland, formerly assigned to Wise County and now retired, is now "a CBS News consultant." That nugget was buried here in a 48 Hours segment. 
• Just when I think I've had a bad day, I think again. Story here an here. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I know nothing about the facts of this case, but I can tell you right now that this lawsuit is a bad idea. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Fox4Terry was at it last night. I like that he got the sign of "HighWay To Heaven Baptist Church" in the background. 
  
  
  
• I had more than one person send me this yesterday.
  
  
  
• Hurricane names for the upcoming season:
  
  
  
• So the Rangers want me to go to a four hour game, fight traffic to get to the heart of the metroplex, and pay what is now $40 for parking? And then have the game end on an "illegal slide" call after a delay to review it New York on instant replay? (Video.) No thanks.  It was the first time that the home opener for the Rangers wasn't sold out since 1996.
  
  
  

  

  That's the actual slide.

  
  
• Liberally Lean Weather Forecast: It's next to impossible to predict this time of year. But the window for something to happen -- from rain to something bad -- is around 4:30 to 5:30 this afternoon and again after midnight with the peak at 4:30 a.m.