Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Ten years of the Pope. We don't have a lot of pope talk in this next of the woods. 

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• The search for the driver involved in the alleged road rage case which killed a Decatur motorcyclist took a turn yesterday when it was revealed that a cameras in Aurora had clear images of what authorities now believe to be the truck involved.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• But consider how the eyewitness(es) were wrong. The initial reports were that they saw a "water tank" on the flatbed. Authorities now believe it wasn't a water tank at all. But think about how wrong it could have all gone for you if you had just happened to be hauling a water tank on 287 that morning? 
• Hey, wait a second. A Devil's Advocate would say: What what if the initial accounts were right and it was a water tank and the images above are some innocent guy who was just working right off of 287 that day? 
• This Michael Irvin lawsuit, along with the press conference yesterday, is making me insane. 
  
  
  
• First, let's talk about the dismissal and re-filing of the case in Arizona state court. This is what is really going on: 
• The case was originally filed in Texas state court in Collin County.  But there is a constitutional "rule" that says a defendant in a civil case has an absolute right to "remove" the case to federal court so long as all the Plaintiff(s) and all the Defendant(s) are residents of different states.  That's what happened here. It was removed to federal court at Marriott's request.
• But here is the the important part: A Plaintiff, like Irvin, who is seeking money generally doesn't like being in federal court. State courts are a much more friendly venue. So Irvin came up a way to get back to state court.
• He filed a Motion to Dismiss the (now) federal case, refiled it in state court, but this time added a defendant who is a resident of the same state as Irvin. That's they key. So long as one Plaintiff and one Defendant are residents of the same state, the case can't be removed to federal court. 
• I asked a smart lawyer yesterday if Irvin's lawyer can do that -- escape federal jurisdiction with a dismissal and simply refile the case in state court by adding a new defendant. He wasn't 100% sure you could. And he pointed out this: The federal case case hadn't been dismissed  yet.  Irvin had filed the Motion, but that Motion hasn't been granted by the federal court. So everyone keep an eye on that. Getting out of federal court sometimes isn't as easy as as filing a Motion to Dismiss. Edit: Admittedly could be wrong about the need for an Order.
• The press conference itself yesterday made me want to scream. (Here is the YouTube video of the full press conference which also has the complete Marriott video.)
• Irvin's lawyer is a gaslighter. He tells you what the video will show before he plays it and then it shows nothing like he described.  He's trying to create his own facts.
  
  
  
• Irvin said he was so happy the video exists because it proves he didn't "commit sexual assault." Huh? Who says you did? No one. A Marriott employee says you said something offensive and the video is consistent with that.
  
  
  
• Irvin keeps painting himself as the victim. Buddy, who you are really mad at is your employer, the NFL Network, for sanctioning you for doing something you've done all your life: Hit on women. 
  
  
  
• This is the critical part everyone is ignoring. Irvin, and his lawsuit, are screwed because he called a Dallas radio station right after the NFL took him off the air and said this: 
  
  
  
• This isn't a "he said/she said" situation. This is "she said/I don't remember because I was drunk" situation.  It's over. 
• And, once again, Irvin is the one suing a hotel for $100 million! He's acting like he was wrongfully indicted by prosecutors for Aggravated Sexual Assault. 
• And didn't Marriott behave exactly like we would want? A female employee reported to her boss that a guest had offensively propositioned her and that the guest had told her he would "look for her" later in the week. And the employee said it made her very concerned. The manager reported it up the chain which is exactly what you would expect, and want, especially in corporate America.  Do you want management to ignore the female employee and risk something bad happening? Or do you want her bosses to protect her? 
• Rant over. 
• Quick hits on current events:
• Deep Ellum isn't helping itself. From last night:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• War Games. 
  
  
  
• Kids steal horses. Kids ride horses by highway. Horses get spooked. One kid and two horses die. 
  
  
  
• Politicians in Austin were falling down over Dennis Quad making a visit yesterday.  And a credible source is saying he was in Bridgeport last week filming his latest movie.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The guy who has the greatest gig in the NFL is TCU's own Red Rocket. Never take a hit and make a fortune these days.
  
  
  
• I was told that people would be breaking down doors to throw money at Cowboy's backup Cooper Rush this off-season. That certainly hasn't happened yet. 
• Hey you Hayseeds! Sign up for the Liberally Lean Pick-Em Tourney. The deadline is tomorrow morning! You've got a chance to win no money, but you will achieve immortal fame. Which is nice. So far we have entries from . . . 
• Hunter Biden's Laptop
• Diggler 420 Smokelahoma 
• I'm Standing In Line At The Bank (current event guy)
• Barron Green (an incredible call back joke)
• Free Britney (a current events oblivious guy jokester)

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

She lost her re-election bid in 2014.

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• Well, lookie there! Told ya! From the start, Michael Irvin's lawsuit was was nothing other than attempted damage control -- a ploy which backfired royally.   Just a couple of days ago Irvin said he had been through a "modern day lynching." Now he walks away after Marriott exposes his conduct. And if I'm Marriott's lawyers, I file a Motion for Sanctions.  This was a frivolous lawsuit from the start. (There's an 11:00 a.m. press conference by Irving's lawyers. I'm interested in how they will spin this.) 
  

  

• It looks like one of them was a 21 year old Sanger man. But from the jail records, I can't figure out who there other one is. 
  
  
  
• Good grief. "The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office says Camacho had been chatting with the [Dallas] teen through a social media platform."
  
  
  
  
  
  
• On the express lanes I-35 at Meacham Boulevard in Fort Worth yesterday afternoon, a  "car broke apart" when it was hit by a rock truck in the southbound lanes, and part of the car hit other vehicles that were headed north. It all started when the rock truck hit a TxDOT sign. The driver of that vehicle is deceased.
  
  
  
• I will go to my grave never understanding how you can be prosecuted twice -- once in state court and once in federal court for the same conduct -- and it not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause.
  
  
  
• The "Dallas, Texas" Twitter account posted a short video yesterday of a SWAT team moving in on a building in Oak Cliff.  Just pretend you had never been to America but only know of it as the "Land of the Free." What would you guess would be the cause of the armed raid by the government?
  
  
  
• Answer: The raid of a game room. 
• How badly does Fox News want DeSantis over Trump? They literally conducted a softball interview yesterday morning while playing catch.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• It was hard to wrap my head around years ago when the North Dallas Tollway finally reached all the way to 380. Now traffic is so heavy they built a hug overpass. 
  
  
  
• The Wall Street Journal had an opinion piece yesterday on why Silicone Valley Bank failed. Has everyone lost their minds?
  
  
  
• The fired UT basketball coach, who lost his gig after an arrest for alleged domestic violence,  has got a new gig. The SEC will always welcome you with open arms. 
  
  
  
• There were two  "local" trials I've been following over the last couple of weeks. Both had high profile teams of Fort Worth lawyers and both cases got wrapped up yesterday.
• Out of Wichita Falls, James Staley III was convicted of capital murder. He received an automatic life sentence.  
  
  
  
• And in Waco, the retrial of the lady also accused of killing a child ended with a guilty verdict and a 50 year sentence. This was the case where they juror was excused for reading media coverage about the trial. Interestingly, the verdict is the exact same sentence she got a couple of years ago before the case was reversed on appeal. 
• Liberally Lean Pick 'Em Tourney sign up is here. The entries always have funny names. And the tricked up scoring system was explained yesterday. 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

I was in Destin 10 years ago for Spring Break. Actual pic during a beach walk. Let me tell you something, those Florida beaches and water are 100% different than the Texas coast. It's night and day. 

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• Since last Friday, we had the 16th largest bank in the country fail and be taken over by the FDIC.  With the vast majority of the deposits over the $250,000 government insurance limit, there were questions whether people and companies would ever see their money. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• But by last night, fearing a "run" on banks across the country, the government said everyone will get their money back. 
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
• And somehow, it won't cost the taxpayers a cent. I think I understand this. This wasn't a bad investment situation.  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• One week ago: 
  
  
  
• This is a very weird Wise County case out of Rhome on 287.
  
  
   
• Police are not only looking for the driver of the vehicle which didn't stop, but they are also looking for the 911 caller who might have been a witness. Oddly, police have a vague physical description of the 911 caller but no phone number or name. 
• And a truck can catch up to a motorcycle? "[T]he motorcycle attempted to race away and get away from the truck, but the truck continued to pursue him and chase him down, and then actually swerved toward him several times,"  Rhome Police Chief Eric Debus told  Fox 4.
• And the Chief of Police didn't provide any wiggle room that this wasn't an accident: “This was definitely a road rage incident,” he told the Messenger.
• Here's Rhome PD's press release:
  

  
  
• So Michael Irvin thought it was a good idea to sue the Marriott for slander? The Marriott fired back in a Motion on Friday with some very unflattering details. The unedited version is here. There is a 100% chance this case is going nowhere. 
  
• One thing which has seen a dramatic change over the last five years is how legal motions in high profile cases have turned into press releases. 
• But the federal judge royally chewed out Marriott for slow walking the release of the video to Irvin's lawyer. It seems that this lawyer had the honor of being Marriott's representative in federal court and taking the brunt of the judge's ire. 
  
• An East Texas police chief and officer were arrested for using a confidential drug informant to buy drugs for them (as in actually for them) on the downlow. 
  
• This story isn't getting near enough press. The ex-husband of a woman is suing three friends of his ex-wife for providing support for obtaining a drug to end her pregnancy with the man. The lawyers for the ex-husband are using text messages that the wife exchanged with her friends. 
  
• And the lawyers representing him are the author of the Texas abortion "bounty bill" as well as the guy below, state rep. Briscoe Cain.  Women, take notice what is happening in Austin.
  
• In an unrelated case, the federal judge who will probably ban the abortion pill for being "unsafe"  told the lawyers on a conference call with lawyers on Friday that he will have a hearing on Wednesday but, shockingly, the judge didn't want to place it immediately on the public docket. Someone on the call then leaked the info to the Texas Tribune. On the call, "[Judge] Kacsmaryk said he would delay putting the hearing on the public docket until late Tuesday to try to minimize disruptions and possible protests, and asked the lawyers on the call not to share information about it before then." That's the equivalent of trying to hide your court in the shadows from the press and public.
  

  

  
  
• Other news from Friday, which should be on every front page, was that the conservative leaders of the Texas legislature unveiled their plan to divert your tax dollars from the public schools to private Christian schools:
  

  

  
  

  

• Republican battles: 
• Mike Pence finally spoke out against Trump for riling up the people who wanted to kill him on January 6th: 
  
• Steven Bannon and Elon Musk are fighting: 
  
  
• It's time for the Liberally Lean Pick 'Em Tourney. Sign up here.  The scoring system will be tricked up like last year. The first couple of rounds are critically important and might be enough to win the whole thing. Upset picks get bonuses. There will be a slight bump picking the actual one-team winner, but it might not be enough.
  
• Here's the TV schedule for the first rounds of March Madness with channels and times