6.29.2022

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




In one of the wildest courtroom scenes ever, an "American financier, lawyer, ex-Wall Street trader, and millionaire", seconds after being convicted of arson by an Arizona jury, took a cyanide pill and died. Wikipedia. Video. 




  • The January 6th Hearing yesterday was riveting.  I love this woman. A brave 25 year old woman, willing to speak up, amongst a bunch of cowardly men.

    • Trump knew, but didn't care, that the crowd was armed and ordered them to the Capitol anyway.  "I don't f------ care that they have weapons, " Trump said. "They are not here to hurt me." 



    • The news of Trump going bonkers in the limo or throwing plates of food got all the headlines, but that's a non-issue in the grand scheme of things. And does that conduct surprise anyone?
    • If anyone wants to dispute what she says, they are welcomed by the committee to come in and say it under oath.  
    • She was basically like Donna Moss right out of the West Wing. She had a front seat to everything (but with even more access than Donna.)


    • Full transcript. Full video.
  • Borderline QAnon-member Ginni Thomas told us on June 17th that "I can’t wait to clear up misconceptions. I look forward to talking to them." That is, she couldn't wait to testify before the January 6th Committee about her roll, or lack thereof, in the attempted coup. Yesterday, she lawyered up.  Full letter from her lawyer.


  • This is a crazy story out of Wichita Falls. A coach wins an award for taking his basketball team to the state semi-finals and, when congratulatory post start appearing on Facebook, allegations from women start appearing in the comments.  He commits suicide days later. (City View ISD is 3A and located on the western edge of the Wichita Falls.)


  • "Larry" sending a lewd picture to everyone in an airplane cabin and then admitting to it on video is something you don't see every day. Story.

  • Gov. Abbott's different responses to dead immigrants:
    • Then:

    • Now:


  • This city of Denton is an interesting oasis in the middle of MAGA-land.

  • A recusal of a judge is pretty unusual but it happened in Fort Worth yesterday. In the hearing last week to remove the judge, the defense called six defense lawyers as witnesses, including Don Carter, Mark Daniel, and Rose Anna Salinas.

    • I like this lede by the Star-Telegram:

  • Some day everyone will listen to me after my years of ranting about how Mark Cuban is an inept owner and a horrible businessman. (And just wait until Luka hits free agency in 2028  -- and they only get to hang on to him that long because of a labor contract which is pure anti-capitalism.)

  • The Browns' Deshaun Watson administrative hearing with the NFL continues today.  I think this is an interesting take: 

  • Messenger: Above the Fold

at 8:32 AM

6.28.2022

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




All of Colorado seemed to be on fire. 

  • They are human beings. Scared. Desperate. Just risking it all for a chance. 



  • January 6th Developments:
    • The January 6th Committee, with less than 24 hours notice, announced it will hold a hearing today. It's in the middle of a Congressional recess and previously they had announced the hearings would reconvene in mid-July. So what's up? New this morning: "Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to Mark Meadows when he was White House chief of staff in the Trump administration, is expected to testify." But I would think there would be more to it than that.

    • I told you John Eastman is in trouble. Video.
       

    • Follow-up from Friday where I spent a great deal of time focusing on how some guy named Ken Klukowski may have been planted by John Eastman in the Justice Department to use Jeffrey Clark to draft the "letter" to Georgia about the fake electors plot. Yesterday Klukowski came out and said "Don't blame me!"

  • The Supreme Court Strikes Again. First, the Right To Privacy was deleted from the Constitution in Dobbs because it wasn't expressly stated, and now the Establishment Clause is gone even though it's in the First Amendment. We are headed to a Theocracy.
    • If you think a football coach in the South (who by definition is a government employee)  isn't pressuring students to kneel and pray with him by taking a knee on the field after a game and welcoming others to join him, you didn't grow up in the South. "Uh, coach, I'm just gonna pass on that Christian prayer stuff and head to the locker room. Um, this won't impact my playing time will it?"  He seemed like the type not to hold it against you, right? 

    • Courts, to reach a desired decision, often are just loose with the meaning of the law.  But one big player in judicial activism is to just mischaracterize the facts. Look at this trick that the Court did yesterday.
      • Here's how the majority opinion characterized the coach's prayer:

      • And the concurrence described it this way:

         
      • But that's not what happened at all. And the dissenting opinion wasn't having it. They even went to the trouble of reproducing photos to point out how the majority was just flat out lying. 



  • This arrest surprised me. Based upon the video alone, I think getting a conviction will be next to impossible. 

  • sJuul (been meaning to get to this) Just picking on them?
  • Bridgeport and Paradise football will get the opportunity on September 15th to play their games at Cowboys Stadium thanks to Wise County resident Mike Richey who is footing the bill. "People have asked me what it’s costing me. But I’ve told them it’s not how much it costs, it’s how much it’s worth" he said according to a Messenger story.   Oh, no. I want to know what it cost. Anyone know?  
    Bridgeport announced the gig with this.

  • This was in Decatur off of FM 51 on Friday. I didn't see the name of the cult member. 

  • I'm a little confused by the Brittney Griner news.  I keep seeing that her detention has been "extended for six months" but the same stories also say that her trial starts Friday. Either way, both seem bad for her. The unspoken alternative of having a quick trial which ends with an acquittal doesn't seem to be a realistic outcome. 

  • Signs of a real estate bust (which is inevitable):


  • All Gannett owned newspapers, including the USA Today, are rolling out this cover today:

at 8:29 AM

6.27.2022

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




A decade ago we were so sure that the Supreme Court was going to strike down Obamacare that CNN jumped the gun and posted their story that morning the second the opinion was released. Oops. The court had actually upheld it.  

  • Dobbs > Roe.

    • There's not a lot to say about it which hasn't already been said. But we saw this coming from a mile away.
    • Dissent highlights. They aren't wrong:


    • The weirdest part of the entire decision is Justice Thomas' concurrence. He's basically being an Internet troll in a Supreme Court opinion. (Overruling those decisions would allow states to criminalize birth control (Griswold), homosexual conduct (Lawrence), and gay marriage (Obergefell).)  But, unlike a troll, you better take him at his word. 

    • She was right all along.

    • Texas Ken Paxton AG celebrated the Supreme Court decision by shutting down his office of Friday afternoon.  I hope you didn't need any help with child support collection.


  • Seven new homes under construction in McKinney burned on Saturday afternoon. 

  • There are absolutely no details on this, and it's weird so far. A lady was shot while in her car on "heavily traveled" Wilshire Boulevard during rush hour on Friday after "gunfire broke out" nearby.  She had no connection to the six individuals who were arrested. The charges were not announced. 

  • Hey, I'm not judging, but WFAA last night described the lady as a "mother" who "would do anything for her children" and "was just out having a good time."   Hey, it was 5:00 in the morning at a strip club.  And she wasn't even working there.  Ok, I am judging.  “Reportedly fearing for her life, the security guard shot the driver as the guard was being hit and before the driver could seriously injure or kill others,” XTC said in a prepared statement. The guard underwent surgery on Sunday. Video / Story.




  • The Uvalde senior class finally got to graduate on Friday. 

  • Stands at a bullfight in Columbia collapsed yesterday. Video. That didn't look like a particularly stable structure. 

  • This Texas story out of Muleshoe is wild.  A County Attorney has accused a sitting County Judge of signing search warrants for blood in DWI cases while she was herself drunk at 2:00 in the morning.  And there's much more. (Kudos to a faithful reader for tipping me off on this one.)


  • I was thinking that project was dead, but this decision might bring it back to life. (The Roe decision basically caused this news to be buried.) 

  • At First Baptist of Dallas yesterday, they had a couple of guy rappel down from the rafters. Totally normal.

  • Late night photographer @Fox4Terry was working this weekend. 

  • Man, this was a legitimate baseball fight yesterday. Video.

  • Legal nerdy stuff. If you want to see the changes between the leaked Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe and the final draft, here you go.  



at 8:30 AM

6.24.2022

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

at 2:30 PM
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