6.05.2023

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




I had forgotten that Troy Aikman once didn't now how to use direct messaging on Twitter.

  • Wise County news: You might remember the drug raid on this home of Jake and Brooke Melton off Washburn street in Decatur in April in 2021.  According to court records (Cause no. CR24262), the drug case against Brooke was dropped but last week she was sentenced to one year in the State Jail for "Abandon Endanger Child Criminal Negligence." She'll serve day for day with no parole.  His case, CR24298, is still pending. Flashback:


  • A private jet invaded Washington D.C. air space yesterday causing fighter jets to scramble and cause a sonic boom that could be heard throughout the area.  The story behind the plane is the real news: The pilot was unresponsive and probably unconscious (like the Payne Stewart plane back in the day), and it eventually crashed in Virginia. Killed on board were the pilot as well as the daughter, granddaughter, and their nanny of the owner of the private jet, John Rumpel (pictured below.)



  • It was already weird that he Texas House had hired two high priced lawyers to prosecute the Ken Paxton impeachment case in the Senate, but things got really weird when mega-rich Plaintiff's lawyer Tony Buzbee of Houston announced on Instagram on Friday night that he would be defending Paxton.  Then Buzbee deleted the post without explanation. 


  • Kind of weird: There was big metroplex news story earlier this year when a popular pawn shop owner in Lewisville was shot and killed. I noticed that one of the guys arrested in the alleged murder was actually picked up this weekend in Wise County on the same charge and is currently in the local jail.  I know he had made bond when originally arrested in March, but I'm not sure what prompted the arrest on the same charge -- it would normally be to an added charge or some problem with the bond. The arrest was made by a deputy with the Wise County Sheriff's Office. 


  • Skeleton news crews on weekends make it almost impossible to learn about anything that happens. In Sunnyvale, a couple in a car followed a family of five into a townhomes parking lot in broad daylight and opened fire, killing a woman and injuring three children. That's all we know.


  • The governor was blabbing over the weekend about eliminating property taxes. Just what would he replace it with? He doesn't know because he's not serious. 

  • Financial advice guru Dave Ramsey (whose advice is to save more and spend less) has been sued for $80 million for endorsing a scam a company was running promising to get you out of that dumb time share that you bought.  But look at how much he was paid to do so!



  • Crazy Congresswoman Lauren Boebert released a video saying she didn't "miss" the vote on raising the debt ceiling last week, but that it was an intentional protest of not voting. But . . . 

    • . . . there's is literally a video of her running up the capitol steps late that night as someone tells her, and she acknowledges, that the voting is already over. 

  • News from the campaign trail.
    • He's gone nuts. 

    • Mick Pence must have joined a biker gang. 

    • Ron DeSantis says that the federal government that he will lead will punish those he doesn't agree with. Totally normal.  Video.

    • His wife joined in by wearing this jacket.

       

  • DNA story from below (probably paywalled.) 



at 8:29 AM

6.02.2023

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




Nothing earth-shaking here. I was looking through the Messenger from 10 years ago and came across this photo. If they were Chico second graders then, that means those kids should have just graduated. "The days are long but the years are short." 

  • Yes, the President tripped over a sandbag yesterday that was on the stage at the commencement ceremony at the Air Force Academy. Video. Big deal. (Bruce Springsteen tripped onstage last weekend, too.) But I'm surprised he didn't hurt himself. That was a pretty good tumble. 

  • I don't really understand hiring these two guys. It won't be a real trial in Senate so you don't need litigators, all the House managers except one are all lawyers themselves anyway, and the Senate has already made up their mind. Plus, what's this going to cost the taxpayers?  If I'm an Impeachment Manager, I don't hire hire-priced lawyers, I hire a Madison Avenue PR/Advertising firm to help me produce a slick presentation with videos and graphics for TV and public consumption. 


  • The Decatur girls softball season came to end yesterday at the state semis in Austin. The game ended fittingly on a diving catch by a freshman Liberty player. Video.

  • Breaking business news. That recession never came, did it? 

  • Another online sting by police nabs a guy in a high-profile position.  But if the cops tipped off the media about his arrest, they did him dirty. However, this just might be just a camera-phone pic the media got ahold of after the fact.

  • She's from Vidor. Out of curiosity, I wanted to know what procedure she had done, but the story doesn't specifically say -- although there is a reference to liposuction in general at the end of it. 


  • The current hatred of gays by the "anti-woke" mob in this country peaking at the same time as June Pride month comes around might be enough to cause our collective heads to explode. Side-note: Every MLB team will have a "Pride Night" in June with the exception of the Texas Rangers who continue to be the lone holdout. 

  • More photos from the campaign trail.
    • I have no idea what's going on here. 

    • In Iowa, and in one of the universe's greatest mysteries, pastors continue to support Trump. 

  • Business random thought that does not involve warehouses: I think in the future we are going to see more and more budget homes built for purpose of being rentals. Story

  • Legal nerdy stuff: The lawyer in New York who is in trouble for using ChatGPT to create a brief --  which included made up court citations -- asked for a clarification of the "show cause" hearing that he has been ordered to attend. In response, the federal district judge just hauled off yesterday and scribbled his response on the request. I didn't know that was a thing. (PDF version of the filing here.)

  • Very legal nerdy stuff that would be relevant to Wise County: 

  • 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, 332 days.


at 8:30 AM

6.01.2023

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




This was a graphic for the state money Decatur ISD received in 2013. Here's the most recent data I could find on enrollment.

  • The vote went down as expected. The debt ceiling is always raised.


  • Let's check in on one of the objectors to raising the debt ceiling.
    • Act I.

    • Act II. Yep, she really missed the vote.  



    • A Flashback for the Encore: She loves Ronny Jackson and guns, too.

  • We've got a new AG yesterday to replace Ken Paxton . . . 

    • . . . but it's a little funny that the First Attorney General fired off a memo on Saturday night immediately after the impeachment vote to tell the office that, by law, he was in charge now. I knew he was a short-timer when he added that Texas “has had no better elected official than Ken Paxton defending citizen’s rights, fighting for justice, and preserving freedom.” Grab the spotlight while you can, buddy. Now step aside. 

  • Oh, my. Story.  Video.



  • I'm still sorting all the relevant laws that were just passed. This one would apply to Wise County. "The money will help bring the minimum salary up to $75,000 for the county sheriff, $45,000 for constables and certain deputies, and $40,000 for jailers."

  • Five years after one officer failed to act while a mass shooting occurred at Parkland High School in Florida, his criminal trial has started. Related: No criminal charges have been filed as a result of the Uvalde response. 


  • Republican primary news.
    • Collecting Ron DeSantis campaign photos might become a hobby of mine.

    • Trump is not well, is he?

  • On, no!! The Cheez-It Bowl is becoming the Pop-Tarts Bowl. I want both. Name 'em all after loveable junk food!


  • This is turning into an amazing story. And he's almost too good, too fast.  He makes $720,000 this year but if he can keep this up (and that's a big if), he's set to make a fortune.  But his arbitration year, which will be a a huge pay day and is a pre-requisite before becoming a true free agent, isn't until 2027. (Although there are some complicated rules where that can be moved up a year or two.)

  • Legal nerdy stuff:  I completely missed a Texas criminal justice fiasco back in April. There were huge headlines last year after four administrators at a Christian school in Midland were arrested for failure to report child abuse. Well, the cases actually went to trial last month, but the DA ended up dismissing the case right in the middle of trial after she accused a detective of lying. But it pretty much sounds like what she really took issue with was the detective's claim that it was the DA's office, not her, that wanted the arrests to me made in the first place. It almost as if they all wanted to distance from a case that wasn't that great to start with. It's a massive cluster worthy of a documentary. Here's a great summary which includes pdfs and a bunch of elected officials scrambling to CYA. Also see here for a deep dive. Fort Worth lawyer Frank Sellers was the lead defense lawyer.  (Thanks emailer.)
    Reputations ruined.

    Midland County D.A. Laura Nodolf 

  • Messenger: Above the Fold

at 8:29 AM
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