4.17.2023

Random Monday Morning Thoughts






It was a Monday ten years ago of the Boston bombing. Wise County Attorney Thomas Aaberg ran in the race that year.  

  • Train derailment in Chico yesterday. More pics here. 




  • From late Friday. Messenger link. 

  • Another day in America. Four dead. Twenty-eight hurt. 

  • If you want to see the actual complaint of the sexual escapade of the "family values" embattled legislator Bryan Slaton, here it is. And all the insiders down there keep saying that "It's much worse that that."


  • We have a one day delay in this big defamation trial over The Big Lie.  Please don't settle. Please don't settle. Please don't settle. 

  • Here's a wild quote from Crow considering the subject matter at at hand: “Every single relationship — a baby’s relationship to his mom — has some kind of reciprocity.” 

  • Last night, the Governor of Oklahoma actually called for the resignation of a county sheriff and county commissioner for saying some shocking things.   Here's a link to a transcript and actual audio recordings of what they were caught saying. Oh, my. 


  • Abbott really is losing it. On the heels of wanting to immediately pardon a racist killer before sentencing has occurred, he starts talking like Marjorie Taylor Greene. 

  • Good lord. 

  • If you want to see a raucous President Biden entrance in Ireland to the sounds of Dropkick Murphys, watch this. It is really cool. (You might recognize the song primarily from the movie Departed.)

    • Meanwhile on Fox News:

  • Legal stuff: President Biden finally got around to making a nomination to fill a Fifth Circuit vacancy. Unfortunately, the person is 59 years old. Let's go younger. 

at 8:29 AM

4.14.2023

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts



A year before, a small riot happened when all the bluebonnets had been mowed down at Oaklawn Cemetery in Decatur. Their return prompted this headline. 

  • We had a long sentence handed down on Wednesday in Wise County of 42 years in prison for Evading with a Vehicle.  From what I can tell, Randy Gordon had an extensive criminal history which created the potential for the enhanced sentence.  He also still has a ton of cases still pending: 

  • The murderer, who Gov. Abbott said he wanted to pardon within 24 hours after a jury's verdict, authored text messages that showed he had a desire to kill, was a blatant racist, and chatted with underaged girls. 

  • There were multiple hoax "active shooter" 911 calls yesterday morning. So dumb. Schools included Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Baylor University, Texas A&M University in College Station, Del Mar College Heritage Campus in Corpus Christi, Galen College of Nursing in San Antonio and Tyler Junior College in Tyler.  On Friday night, OU was hit by one which caused a small panic. 

  • Justice Clarence Thomas is in more potential trouble. Just watch how the following ramps up.
    • Thomas is supposed to report any real estate transaction, other than his own home, where the value is over $1,000. Despite this requirement, he sold property he owned on a Georgia street for $133,363 nine years ago yet he didn't report it. (The deed.)
    • But it gets stranger: His mother actually lived in the property that was sold. The new owner then began to make "tens of thousands of dollars" of improvements to the home. But get this: His mom continued to live in the home and still does. 
    • Now the kicker? The guy who bought the home was Harlan Crow -- the same guy who has been funding his extravagant vacations and private jet trips for years.
       

  • An arrest was made in the military document scandal. The guy was a 21 year old member of Massachusetts Air National Guard who had access to the documents as part of his job. Sheesh. How many spies are out their who simply apply for and get routine jobs just to get similar access and more. It's like The Americans but simpler. 





    • And somehow, the QAnon Jewish Space Laser representative found a strange way to make this political. 

  • We had another sentence yesterday from the Trump Insurrection. Robert Wayne Dennis, 63, of Garland was given three years for attacking a cop during the riot.  That's not enough. 


  • Look, they already have an image problem with the town name so why in the world do they want to make it look worse? "Police Chief Christopher Cook authorized all police officers to wear western-style hats while on duty to 'capture the western history of the town.'"


  • I saw this headline three days ago and thought it was fake or a gross exaggeration. 

  • Man, I found this wildly entertaining. Here is audio of the Republicans in Tennessee in a private meeting who are royally pissed that they didn't all stick together causing them to look racist in expelling two black lawmakers. They call one of their own in the room on the carpet. Big time.  (Audio includes transcript). 


     
  • A Bridgeport kid is fast. But that only gets you second at the district meet?  

  • 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, 283 days.

at 8:28 AM

4.13.2023

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




The disposition on this case was shockingly fast and a little harsh since it didn't involve a probation. One week after her arrest, she agreed to a 45 days sentence and a $4,000 fine. She ultimately served 22 real days. The video of the field sobriety tests was also released. 

  • Overnight, the abortion drug ban by the Amarillo federal judge was mostly blocked, for now, by 2-1 vote by a Fifth Circuit Panel. The dissenting judge would have blocked everything the district court judge did. The most concise summary seems to be:

  • The second expelled black Tennessee legislator has been sent back to the state house by his home district. Remember this all happened because three legislators violated "decorum" for protesting a mass gun violence slaughter at a Christian school in state.

  • I remember this when it happened. That lady is as crazy as an outhouse rat.

  • This business negligence wrongful death case seems a little complicated because of the issues of contractor and subcontractor liability and employee status. It also occurs to me that there are probably a bunch of lawyers involved which have very little trial experience because 95% of all "civil trial litigators", especially on the defense side, have never been in front of a jury. 



  • The disturbing and under-the-radar Texas House Bill 20 was up for public debate deep into the night last night. If passed, it would allow state-sanctioned private vigilante groups to roam the borders looking for "illegals." And I wonder if they now have the extra bonus of being able to murder brown people at will since Tucker Carlson and Gov. Abbott will make sure they are pardoned. 

  • A lot of buzz this morning about a new Washington Post article about the source of the government document online leak.  (Gifted article link.)



  • Kinda of legal nerdy: The Houston DA doesn't want people arrested for under 4 grams of drugs unless there's a lab report confirming they are actually illegal drugs. I wonder if there is a rash of fake dope in the Houston area?


  • Extremely legal nerdy follow-up: A few months back there was a crazy DWI case where an appellate court found no probable cause to arrest someone for DWI who is found passed out in a school pickup line in a running car. As expected, yesterday the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed it. 
  • Cowboys Trevon Diggs has also received a crazy tattoo. There's a lot going on there. 

  • Today, the Tampa Bay [Devil] Rays have a chance to tie the all-time modern major league record by starting a season with 13 straight wins. The play the Red Sox at 12:10 p.m. CST.
  • Messenger: Above The Fold



at 8:31 AM
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