5.17.2022

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




Random not guilty verdict in Wise County 10 years ago.

  • Funeral services for Allen Williamson have been set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 19, 2022 at First Baptist Church in Decatur. His obituary is up.  I'll always think of him as a former assistant district attorney in Wise County -- that's what brought him here in the first place.  Still can't believe he's gone. And that phrase -- "Can you believe . . . ?" -- was uttered everywhere I went yesterday.

  • We've got five days of early voting for the runoff races from the March primaries, and it won't take many votes to get elected. There's state races (the AG Paxton/Bush race comes to mind), a Wise County race for County Clerk, and Bridgeport will probably have the heaviest voting in the county because a county commissioner's race is going on there as well. Yesterday's first day totals:

    • There are just under 50,000 registered voters in Wise County.
    • In this runoff race, you are limited to the same party you voted for/in last March. If you didn't vote in March, you can still vote in the runoff and choose either a Republican or Democrat ballot. No one will be limited in November because of how they voted in the primaries.  
    • Did you know that in 2020 an amazing 84% of Wise County voters cast their ballot in early voting? That shattered all past records. 
  • In non-ballot news, if I had to bet who will get selected by Wise County Commissioners to fill the spot of the retiring Judge Stephen Wren for Wise County Court at Law #2, I'd go with Dana Manoushagian out of Bridgeport. 
  • Fox News' Sean Hannity really doesn't want Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Kathy Barnette to win tonight's primary race.  He threw everything at her last night even going so far as to complain about her attacking gays, attacking Obama, and being in the crowd of Trump Insurrectionist marching to the Capitol on January 6th -- all things which would normally be badges of honor on Fox News.


    • He doesn't think Barnette can win in the general election in November which, of course, means that a Pennsylvania critical Senate seat would go to the Democrats. The polls have tonight's Republican race tight right now. 

  • Before we forgot about them as just victims of another mass shooting in America, here are the names and faces of Buffalo.

    • And also before we leave Buffalo to the history books, Tucker Carlson wanted you to know last night that it wasn't a white nationalist racist mass murderer who did the killing but simply a poor "mentally ill shooter." Sheesh. 

  • You don't see the Tarrant County DA's office seek the death penalty all that often any longer, but they announced they would do so yesterday. 

  • Wise County missed out on a gully washer Sunday night. It basically had a mindset of "Let's find the Trinity River and go east of it."  

  • I think I saw the gas price at QuikTrip in Decatur at $4.38 this morning. They are normally the cheapest so that my be a warning of what's coming from others over the next week.
  • This California group arrested in Wise County for weed possession will finally make it to their gig tonight at Whiskey Garden off 7th Street in Fort Worth. It was cancelled last time because they were in our local hoosegow in April .

  • I didn't know that Paul McCartney's very first concert appearance in the United States after the Beatles broke up was at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth when he kicked of his Wings Over America tour in May of 1976.  I'm pretty sure my brother and one of his buddies were there. (McCartney is at Dickies Arena tonight.  Someone feel free to hook me up. I'll pay.) 

  • I haven't watch Candy yet on Hulu, but I saw that the home in Wylie which was the scene of the murder is still standing and, in fact, recently sold for "over the $344,900 asking price." (Another example, also, of real estate prices being insane.)

  • So a meme posted on Facebook leads to a recall petition against a Denton City Council member and warrants a front page story in the Denton Record Chronicle? I don't get it. (And I'll admit to not being familiar with this "popular meme.")


  • Nerdy Political Tarrant County Criminal News: The legislature just created a new felony court which will be filled for a four year term in this November election. But because of when it was created, who goes on the ballot for that judgeship will be up to the Tarrant Republican and Democratic parties, and neither has selected their candidates yet.  But, in the interim, the Governor can appoint someone to be judge immediately, however, the local Republican Party did something a little weird: They submitted for approval some guy named Andy Porter who will already be on the ballot for a different felony court: Criminal District Court No. 4.  Why not just submit the exact same name that you will eventually choose to be the Republican nominee in November? Gov. Abbott may be asking the same thing since he has ignored them and not appointed anyone. 
  • Delkus 10 day forecast update. It was a bad miss yesterday. 


at 8:30 AM

5.16.2022

Random Monday Morning Thoughts






Facebook went public a $38.00 a share 10 years ago this week. Since then it peaked at $379 until the recent pullback  . . . 


  • There are moments in your life when you will always remember where you were when you heard certain news. Saturday was one of those times. What a gut punch. We all loved Allen. Who didn't love Allen? He was 47 and simply collapsed. 

  • A racist domestic terrorist, motivated by Replacement Theory, traveled 200 miles to do a mass shooting in a predominately black neighborhood grocery store with an AR-15. Ten are dead. He livestreamed it all. 



    • Replacement Theory is based on the belief that white Christians are slowly being replaced by Blacks, Hispanics (especially illegal immigrants), Jews, Muslims or anyone else "not like us." It has become a common theme of mass shootings. (El Paso, ChristChurch, etc.)
    • It has been promoted by Fox News, and especially Tucker Carlson, for years.   Watch him do it. He's done it over 400 times. 



    • Others in Congress run on it. Matt Gaetz, for example: 

    • We heard it just a handful of years ago when Trump refused to bring the hammer down on the "Jews Will Not Replace Us" crowd at Charlottesville. 

  • There was a small pro-choice rally at the Wise County Courthouse on Saturday. 

  • The escaped TDC inmate is still on the loose. I'm surprised by that.  

  • A Texas kid shows up with a whip to confront his black neighbor. When parents go to confront the kid's dad, and he fires a handgun. Video.


  • Hours later, ERCOT issued a warning for Texans to keep there thermostats at 78 on Saturday or that blackouts could occur because six power plants had tripped offline.  I have no idea what the guys at the table are supposed to doing right before an impending crisis, but sitting around for a photo op ain't one of them. 

  • Delkus watch: Four days into his 10 day forecast and we've yet to hit one of his predicted highs. (I'm using official highs at DFW Airport.) 

  • The Little Ball of Insurrection posted a long diatribe trying to explain that her begging and grifting for money is not begging and grifting. It's bizarre.

  • Jen Psaki, outgoing press secretary for President Biden, took time to pose with Fox News White House Correspondent, Peter Doocy.   Things like this are normal for all administrations who do not consider the media to be an "enemy of the people." Which is all of them except one. 

  • Former Tea Party state rep darling Jonathan Stickland is upset that Birdville High School made an unconventional choice for its Prom King (not realizing that kids love to troll adults.)  Side note: Stickland didn't graduate from high school. 


  • This tweet is Idiocracy. The next time one person sues another person for money, but somehow the defendant is sentenced to jail, please let me know.  

  • An Arkansas fan was able to round up a racoon which was on the loose with his bare hands. Video. 

  • Former SMU and Arkansas football coach, Chad Morris, who took over as a high school coach at power house Allen, abruptly quit on Friday after only one year and hardly anyone noticed. 


at 8:30 AM

5.13.2022

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

s
at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts





NBC 5 treated her pretty harshly by taking her off the air and  then not letting her back on after she pled guilty and received 18 months probation. But, as most people do, she bounced back OK.  She currently has a gig as co-host of WFAA-TV's "Good Morning Texas."  

  • Two are dead and three are injured after a shooting in Deep Ellum at around 2:00 a.m. this morning. It sounds like the police will have lots of video of it, but none has been released yet.  Best I can tell, the location is at Crowdus and Elm: 


    • This was from yesterday:

  • Decatur's relay team had a wild day in Austin. In the 4 x 100 they were disqualified after a false start. But then a little later they ran the 4 x 200 and got a gold medal.   The UIL's one false start = automatic disqualification is one of the harshest rules in sports.

    • Am I crazy, or did Decatur's 4 x 100 relay team also get disqualified for a false start at the state meet around 1980? Or did they get third? I was there and one of the two happened.  
  • Looking more at the bodycam from the search of Delaware lacrosse team bus in Georgia, I discovered this girl who might be my favorite 4th Amendment scholar of all time. She asks the officer (@10:21), "How did we go from driving in the wrong lane to [you] going through our bags looking for marijuana?"  Girl, you are preaching what many of us have been asking for years. 

  • We had 50 indictments filed yesterday in Wise County. 
  • We've got a TDC inmate on the run in Leon County after he got out of his "restraints" and attacked the bus driver. Shots were fired at him as he ran away. 


  • I'm confused, are they pro-life or not pro-life? Or do brown babies not count?

     

  • Elon Musk confirmed a news story in the middle of the night that his Twitter deal is on hold. I told you I was skeptical that he would go through with it. 


  • These probable Insurrectionists will ignore the subpoenas and then nothing will happen to them. The law doesn't matter any longer. 

  • My Pete Delkus 10 day temperature predictor watch is on! I'll be using the official temperature at DFW airport (which was 92 degrees yesterday and which I added to his graphic.) He missed Day #1 by three degrees. I'll update it on Monday. 

  • Seems big: Britney Griner was in a Russian courtroom this morning regarding her detention. It will continue for at least another 30 days. Edit: Here's a pic of her.

  • Not letting it ride: The 80-1 shot winner of the Kentucky Derby won't run make a run for the Triple Crown. 

  • Business quick headlines:
    • I keep telling you. There's money in warehouses.

    • This is not an overstatement: I have never in my entire life seen as much construction in the metroplex (and all around us) as I'm seeing right now. 

  • Extremely very legal nerd stuff for criminal practitioners only: Say a judge at an MTA hearing adjudicates the defendant guilty and imposes a 10 year sentence but tells him he will strongly consider shock probation. But later the judge and the defense lawyer figure out that because there's a deadly weapon finding, he can't get shock probation. Can the defense lawyer then potentially solve the problem by filing a Motion for New Trial to reconsider the sentence or adjudication? Yes, but if you don't assert "interest of justice" as one of the grounds in your motion, your client is screwed and will be going to prison for a long time. That's what the the Fort Worth Court of Appeals held yesterday. (The judge, George Gallagher, actually went along with the defense lawyer and put the defendant back on probation because of their screw-up.  But the DA's office were able to sabotage the judge, the defendant, and his lawyer by appealing. You know, because they tell us their job is to seek justice.)
  • 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: 1,043 days.
  • Messenger: Above the Fold

at 8:31 AM
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