12.05.2022

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




"Nose tackle Josh Brent was arrested early Saturday morning for intoxication manslaughter following the death of a teammate. Brent, 24, was identified as the driver in a car crash that killed Cowboys practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown, 25. Brent was arrested for driving while intoxicated after failing field sobriety tests."
  • I've been heavily involved in the criminal justice system in Wise County since 1993. I was born here decades before that. I know every single criminal case which has come down the pipe. The abduction and murder of Athena Strand is hands down the most shocking incident I can remember. 
    • Assuming the reports are true*, I can't get over how a person with no criminal record, in the the middle of the shift of his job no less, abducted and killed a young girl from where you would think would be one of the safest places in the world: Rural Cottondale.  How does any parent -- or anyone, for god's sake -- not keep their head on a swivel even more than it already is in this world? (*I'm not saying they are.)
    • I bet I've said, "I can't believe it" a hundred times this weekend. 
    • How in the world do they handle all of this at Paradise Elementary today?
    • Coverage of the crime has now gone national. Hell, it should. The New York Times link is here - free.

    • The Star-Telegram, despite having go deal with a worker's strike, is doing yeoman's work in covering the case. Below is their report from Sunday which should be readable if enlarged. If not, a PDF of the entire page is here.  (I suspect the paper will cut me a break. Subscribe to the Star-Telegram here. I do.)

    • There's a probable cause affidavit, used to obtain the arrest warrant, which will have a lot of details about the case which we don't currently know. It's a public record and should be released today. 
    • The Star-Telegram had this nugget. 

       
    • Community response. 




    • Fox 4 coverage was good

    • The Lake Worth Police Chief, and Bridgeport's own, wanted everyone to know that the accused killer was not from Lake Worth.

  • Alvord had a tragedy as well. Reports are that the freshman died as a result of a hunting accident.

  • Moving on after all that (if we can ever move on) . . . 
  • This was a wild story.

  • He is saying it out loud. Donald Trump announced over the weekend that he wishes to "terminate" the Constitution and be installed as President. Read that again.  It's so mind-blowing that it is hard to comprehend. We are witnessing an open revolution right before our eyes.  And he says this less than a week after his Oath Keeper supporter was convicted of  Seditious Conspirator and he shared Thanksgiving dinner with Holocaust deniers. Still think I'm crazy when I say were living in 1930s Germany?  



    • God bless her. 

    • Oh, in light of Seditious Conspiracy conviction, I forgot to remind everyone last week that the Oath Keepers were sending texts about our own Ronny Jackson during the January 6th Insurrection. And what was this "critical data"?


  • The Decatur Eagles are going to the semis. But they are getting ripped off in the venue in that its not Jerry World or at least The Star in Frisco. By the way, everyone talks about the Eagles running back, but their QB is a baller. 

  • TCU, a small private school, is the first Texas team to ever be in the four team playoff.  They open as an 9.5 point underdog to Michigan. 
  • The University of Colorado hiring Deion is a dicey, dicey proposition. Although it's hard to imagine how it could get any worse there.  The Buffaloes first game will be on September 2, 2023 at TCU.   

  • I'm not sure if it is justified because I'm not smart enough to know, but I've never seen so many very smart people freak out with glee and astonishment over the unveiling late last week of the artificial intelligence that is ChatGPT. Google it. And then try it. (The nerds are freaking out because it fixes and writes computer code. I've seen lawyers freak out because it can write detailed contracts based upon details you give it.)

at 8:21 AM

12.02.2022

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




The Messenger always sent its best photographer to ever accident scene. 

  • As of 8:29 a.m. this morning, the child from Paradise is still missing. There is no need to say that this is now very concerning. And there's a lot of confusion. An Amber Alert was finally issued yesterday which means an there is a reasonable belief that an abduction has occurred. But the Sheriff's Office won't come out and say that they believe an abduction is more likely than any other alternative. 

    • Fox 4 new coverage including video.
    • And I keep away from Facebook in general, and now I know why. How a group called Where is Athena Strand can just form out of thin air and become a cesspool of rumors is beyond me. 
  • Kanye had a heck of a day yesterday. 
    • He and Trump's other Thanksgiving dinner guest at Mar-a-Largo decided they would go on Alex Jones's show. Who would have thought two Holocaust deniers would have shown up there?

    • Yep, Kanye wore a mask.

    • Kanye then went Full Hitler. 

    • He then posted a swastika buried in the Star of David on Twitter.

    • Then Elon "Mr. Free Speech" Musk took action on Twitter against him.

  • Trump had to get some attention. Last night, less than a week after having dinner with Kanye, he sent out a grainy fundraising video fully embracing the Insurrectionists who are under indictment and who tried to overthrow the United States. Video.  
     

    • He is now fully embracing the Insurrection of January 6th only three days after one of his followers was convicted of Seditious Conspiracy.  It's exactly like Hitler and his supporters embracing November 9, 1926 -- the date of Hitler's failed coup - and then making it a holy day of martyrdom. 
  • Late yesterday afternoon The 11th Circuit killed the appointment by a renegade federal district judge of a Special Master in Trump's Document Scandal . 

    • The scathing opinion is here. I'll translate the key parts. It starts with this which means: "Seriously!? Why are we even here?"



    • Translated: "You want us to actually decide between (1) following the law, (2) making a new rule where every criminal defendant gets a special master, or (3) making a new rule for ex-presidents?"

    • Translated: "You should have dismissed Trump's lawsuit the second it was filed."

  • If you get KDAF Channel 33 on your TV, the Decatur Eagles vs. Wichita Falls high school playoff game will be broadcast tonight. The channels streaming site is here. 
    • I don't think you can watch the local boys broadcast online like the Eagles' normal regular season games -- but for some reason you can listen to playoff games at its regular site with the camera on the guys broadcasting in the booth. Here's what it looks like:



  • The Senate, like the House did, voted to end the potential for a railroad strike by an 80-15 vote. Ted Cruz voted against it but not because he was against governmental intervention. Oh, no. He said the intervention didn't go far enough and include mandatory sick days. That's weird for him. 

  • Two incidents of prosecutor chaos across the state
  • Very legal nerdy stuff: A new opinion issued yesterday says that a trial court judge can granted a directed verdict of acquittal in favor of the defendant (1) even if the jury had already returned a verdict of guilty and (2) the State can't appeal the judge's action like it could if the judge had just granted a new trial. 
  • Time which has passed since the Wise County Sheriff's Office, despite having a full male DNA profile, has failed to solve the murder of Lauren Whitener in her home at Lake Bridgeport: 3 years, 150 days.
  • Messenger - Above the Fold


at 8:30 AM

12.01.2022

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




I'm normally not a fan of book-in photos, but I made an exception for this guy because of the tattoo. He was arrested in Wise County on an outstanding Tarrant County warrant 10 years ago. For you young ones, that's the title of an old Merle Haggard song which includes the lyrics, "And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole. No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried."

  • Breaking alert. "North Texas authorities are searching for a 7-year-old girl who has been missing since Wednesday evening in Wise County. The child’s family reported Athena Strand missing to the Wise County Sheriff’s Office at 6:40 p.m., after the family had been looking for her for about an hour, according to the Wise County Messenger. Athena was last seen in the 200 block of County Road 3573 in Paradise."

    • DPS helicopters were looking for her last night. 

  • I don't like this. I think that workers deserve the right to fight for fair conditions without governmental intervention.

  • Social media picked up on a DPS helicopter coming from Mesquite and hovering around Cottondale last night. I haven't heard why yet other than rumors of "missing girl from Paradise."

  • Fear the gas leak. Initial reports this morning seem to indicate this was heard from miles away.


    • Edit: We've got a picture:

  • I seriously doubt any lawyer is "grilling" any person who might end up on his jury. 

  • Just the pastor of FBC flat out lying. (A November amendment on the floor required by certain Republicans added section 6 to the bill which protects religious liberty.)

  • Let me tell ya, back in the day we good small town Baptists would call this the "mark of the Beast" right there:


  • Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac has died. Coincidentally, that car commercial featuring "Everywhere" is being played about a million times a day right now. This live performance of that song on YouTube -- which has spectacular visual quality and sound -- is great. I stumbled on it when I was trying to confirm she had the lead vocals on it. 

  • Why in the world would a bank use computer equipment -- which becomes outdated and depreciates quicker than a car -- as collateral?

  • This picture was posted to catch a glimpse of the unusual fall colors this year, but I like how it shows and angle we normally don't see. It's taken north of the AAC looking south at downtown. That whole area of Uptown used to be a field and an ugly electric "plant" (or something electric related.)

  • ln a dream world, I could say, "It's December 1st -- Let's Got Out of Here" - and by "out of here: I mean "until Christmas."
  • The missing kid out of Richardson I posted about yesterday was found safe around 10:00 a.m. Let's hope the same works out for the Paradise child. 


at 8:15 AM
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