8.02.2023

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts





From Texas Monthly's 96 Minutes, published 10 years ago this month.

  • Finally, Trump has been indicted for January 6th and all that he did that led up to it. He is in big, big trouble -- as he should be. He tried to destroy democracy and the peaceful transition of power, and he needs to pay the price. 



    • Indictment text. 
    • These guys are four of the six unnamed co-conspirators. They will be charged next. John Eastman, Justice Department stooge Jeffrey Clark (see paragraph 81) , nutcase Sidney Powell, and Rudy Giuliani. 

    • Mike Pence response to the indictment. It's the closest thing he's had to a spin since January 6th. 

    • So what happens if Trump is the Republican nominee?  The election would be an existential American crisis. 
      • We have slightly over half of the population which will never vote for Trump. Heck, they will crawl over broken glass to vote against him.  That number should ensure that Trump is never re-elected as president, but there is that crazy Electoral College problem. So there is no guarantee. 
      • So that leaves the 48 to 49 % of the population who are Republicans who are composed of: 
        • Well less than half, but enough to control the Republican primaries, are Ultra-Maga Extremists. They are willing to "blow the system up", they don't care about January 6th (and actually support it), and truly have no problem with setting democracy aside and installing an authoritarian so long as it is Trump or someone exactly like him. 
        • The rest are regular and sane Republicans. And these guys are the key. Will they be willing to save the country as we know it? 
      • I cannot tell you enough how the above numbers are exactly like Germany political demographics in 1932.
      • But what happens if Trump wins after being convicted?  
  • Saw this last night.

  • I had to read the story, but it led to a little bit of a surprise. It was Walmart which was hit with the damages. Not the shoplifter. Silly.

  • University and Carroll in Denton yesterday.  A nude guy had been running through the Kroger parking lot. (Thanks emailer.)


  • Central Expressway in Plano looked to be on fire this morning. Seems problematic. 

  • Does Wise County get in on this? From the story: "Thanks to the state’s budget surplus, the Texas Historical Commission voted to increase the amount it gives to courthouse restoration projects, LaFleur said. For years, the commission has given counties up to $6 million each. Going forward, the commission will give counties up to $10 million each. Though Upshur County and three other county courthouses were awarded grants in the 12th round, the commission voted to extend the grant increase to them as well, LaFleur said."  Were we in the 12th round?

  • I bet we see more and more of this. It has to be going on everywhere. 

  • Wow, even the New York Post is on board. Fox and Friends even displayed it this morning:


at 8:30 AM

8.01.2023

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts






That tweet is still up.

  • Hey, I thought Paul Reuben's Pee Wee Herman character was funny. Flashback: He was at Cowboys training camp in San Antonio in 2011.

    That's Jerry.

    • And don't forget he had a roll as a California drug dealer in Blow.

  • Kind of a weird story

    • But his spokesman was quick to volunteer information regarding a question she knew we were all thinking. 

  • That does it. I will never vote for Hunter Biden.

  •  Filed under F21-1760-462 and F21-1761-462 over in the Denton County records.

  • I got sidetracked thinking about what a cushy job it would be to be "the DA of Martha's Vineyard."

  • Elon Musk continues to stumble over his own feet.  He put up a massive flashing "X" sign over Twitter's building in San Francisco over the weekend, and then had to take it down yesterday because he didn't get the proper permits. 
    Before

    After

  • If he is going to try and "relaunch" or "reinvent" himself, this is the wrong way to do. You've got to instead say stuff like, "We are going to take away the Bitcoins from the Mexicans and give it to you." 

  • Who wouldn't want to watch two hours of soccer at 2:00 o'clock in the morning just to see a 0-0 tie?


  • Legal nerdy stuff: Yesterday a capital murder case was reversed because the felony jury trial was moved to a courtroom in the same building as the Medina county jail. The court included pictures of the courtroom entrance next to jail the info center, and it looks pretty much like the set up Wise County has out there for one of its JP courts. 

  • Any news on the merger of the Decatur hospital with HCA?

at 8:31 AM

7.31.2023

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




Ten years ago we had a drought, too. It's a little hard to see the caption, but 
that's a photo from Lake Bridgeport on the front page back then.

  • Decatur made it to Jeopardy on Friday. But the answer gave rise to a horrible response from one of the contestants. Video.

  • Those two guys, who are for some reason have not been named, lost some good gigs. (I was surprised to learn that Southlake has 65 full time officers.

  • Sure, it's summer, but come on!

  • Anyone else a little nervous about drones bombing Moscow? I mean, if you are worried about "escalation." Drudge is certainly worked up about it. 


  • There's not a civilian in America who wouldn't be criminally prosecuted for this. 

  • The new judge takes the place of Judge Jack McGaughey who for some reason resigned mid-term.  I don't know anything about the new judge, and I'm not sure she's held any office of any type before. This judicial district covers Montague, Archer and Clay Counties.

  • Wise County will have its bi-annual Texas House rep election next year year:
    • This billboard has gone up against the incumbent. This is just weird. Paxton is corrupt and the movement to impeach him was led by the normal Republicans in the Texas legislature. The only ones unhappy about it are the ultra-MAGA extremists.

    • Stucky's opponent has bragged about raising $52,000 in "grassroots donations." But I notice, according to campaign finance filings, that his largest expense is paying himself back for a loan. Nothing illegal or unethical about this, just noteworthy. 
      • Summary.

      • Loan payback itemization.

  • It's been a while since I looked at the database of state employee salaries from the Texas Tribune. I was surprised to see the $300,000 man hasn't had a raise in the last year. Maybe the new budget hasn't kicked in yet. 

  • On the campaign trail
    • Another awkward video of DeSantis showed up. They guy just seems to hate people in general. (Watch the walk away.)

    • I actually found RSBN on the Internet on Saturday in order to watch their pre-rally coverage of Trump speaking in Pennsylvania. Let me tell you, it's wild. It's a full on Trump Campaign Channel. The "reporters" will actually say things like, "Isn't Trump great!" (One got in some hot water.)

    • New New York Times poll this morning. Incredible.  

  • Kind of legal nerdy stuff:
    • #1: If you want to see how AI if frighteningly good, look at these examples. I didn't even understand the questions.
    • #2: The judge might have made a big mistake in denying it. 

    • #3: The Star-Telegram just published this story. I don't have any trouble with the sentence (5 years probation with 90 days as a condition on the State Jail Felony of Criminally Negligent Homicide.) It was an accidental shooting through a dorm room wall. 

  • University of North Texas: Apogee Stadium will be renamed to Denton-Area Teachers Credit Union Stadium. 

at 8:30 AM

7.28.2023

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

at 2:30 PM
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