Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

Eagles tight end Riley Cooper found himself in hot water 10 years ago after cell phone footage caught him using some objectionable  language at a Kenny Chesney concert.  Then, for fun, this photo of him back at Florida alongside Tim Tebow throwing a ball to convicted murderer and the now-deceased Aaron Hernandez. 

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• People feared Runaway Bay would burn down yesterday.
  
  
   
  
  
  
• Screenshot of the tracking of aircraft fighting the fire. 
  
  
  
  
• Meanwhile, a big fire broke out along 287 right past Rhome. A drone video shows how it spread from there.
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• This make no sense to me. Just see how a free speech defense goes when, say, you try to hire a hit man and then end up being charged with solicitation of murder. Plus, if you are relegated to not contesting the facts and have to look for a defense in the law, you are in deep trouble. (His first court appearance in D.C. is at 3:00 p.m. CST today.)
  
  
  
  
• The Dallas Morning News found out the identify of the two Southlake police officers who were fired after the swastika incident, and also determined how they got outed. Doh!
  
  
  
• We've now got some background info on the naked guy who was arrested in Denton. I posted exclusive Pulitzer Prize winning photos of his arrest yesterday.
  
  
  
• Well look who is coming to the defense of Trump: The crooked Texas Attorney General who is in the middle of an impeachment process instigated by the normal Republicans in the legislature. 
  
  
  
• Side note: Although her identify was widely known, Paxton's own lawyers have identified by name the woman he is alleged to had an affair with who is an integral part of the impeachment allegations. Laura Olson is her name. I haven't seen a picture of her and Paxton are together, but she has hung out with other Texas bigwigs. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• In what might have been the one of the most cringy "tough talking" crime fighting press conferences I've seen in a while, yesterday Greg Abbott, the $300,000 Man, and the Sheriff of Tarrant County spoke about a new law regarding doing donuts in intersections. 
  
  
  

  

  He thought this was a catchy soundbite? 

  
  

  

  You couldn't even find the Uvalde shooter a few feet away.

  
  

  

  There's a greater chance you die in his jail as an inmate. 

  
  
• Getting past the world war implications for a second, those are some really cool Moscow buildings. 
  
  
  
• Recent prices at the pump: Are we getting price gouged by the oil companies again?
• Messenger: Above the Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

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

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• 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:

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

That tweet is still up.

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• 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. 

  

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• 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?