8.28.2023

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




Joe Duty photo from a Decatur Eagles game which I thought was great at the time. Still do.  (Original PDF of that page from the Messenger.)

  • A young Nazi extremist, who went and bought an AR-15 as easily as you would a lottery ticket, intentionally targeted and killed three black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville on Saturday.  Today is the 60th Anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech. 

    Swastika on the AR-15

    Fired 11 shots at lady inside car.


    • Three hours after the shooting, the NRA posted this. Editor's note: American's don't "vehemently disagree." 

  • Watch players scramble off the field Friday night as shots are fired in Choctaw, Oklahoma. Video.

  • County Jude J.D. Clark sent these photos from the second floor district courtroom of the Wise County Courthouse where, for the first time since the 1950s, you can now see the original ceiling as the third floor has now been demolished. Love this project.  Those metal girders will be removed and a balcony be put back in place.
    Looking north and up from back up courtroom at the now demolished old jury room/commissioner's courtroom above.

    Camera facing south from back of courtroom.

  • This photo doesn't look like much, but that's a big wrecker and first responders blocking both lanes of northbound 287 on Friday afternoon right by NRS south of Decatur.  Traffic was a complete standstill for miles in 110 degree heat --  backed up past FM 407 almost to Rhome. 

  • A crazy story you probably missed on Friday: 

  • Oh, my. (How did they cut that thing off the stingray before it just ripped it back out?) 

  • This headline was everywhere yesterday. Less publicized was that a Marine pilot was killed in San Diego late Thursday when he crashed his Hornet fighter jet. The military has more accidental non-wartime aircraft deaths than any commercial airline. 

  • A bag of chips?

  • Unusual crime filed Friday in Wise County (Cause no. JP1-C-249091):

  • Trump gave us a very Kim Jong Un-like bold claim this weekend.

    • And then destroyed a poor guy's cell phone. 

  • Sports quick hits:
    • College Gameday unanimously predicts Texas to win the Big 12. They're back!

    • High school crazy stat: A Texas 2A running back from Wolfe City rushed for 451 yards and six TDs in one game. He ran the ball 43 times. 
  • Jacksonville's paper of record didn't exactly get excited about the the big shooting this weekend . . .  


at 8:31 AM

8.25.2023

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




Two long term Decatur ISD educators (right) celebrated integration on the front page of the Messenger. I need to be careful: This archived newspaper might be considered illegal "CRT" information in today's age. 

  • A fake mugshot, distributed online moments before the real one was, duped a lot of people last night. But the real one looks more ominous than the fake one.  
    Fake
    Real


    • We knew the official arrest was coming, but it really was jarring to see the above. Almost as jarring as the ridiculous number of motorcycle cops in the motorcade to and from the jail.

    • After the book-in, Trump made his first post on Twitter since being banned the day after the Insurrection. And it included a weird slogan for a guy who just surrendered at his book-in.

  • Breaking records left and right. And high school football season started last night with the majority of games this evening. 
    • And Wichita Falls is having its big bike race this weekend. 

  • Big News! Thes$300,000 Man in no more. Instead, he has become the $345,250 Man. Yep, after the Uvalde cluster they gave him a raise. 


  • I was kind of curious that we "had over a thousand" people missing in Maui without names. Now we have names and a smaller number:


  • Two "sexual assault" cases were tried this week in Tarrant County with two "not guilty" verdicts returned. Source: Tarrant County DA Trial Board.
  • Not sure what is going on here. Zillow is showing that Mar-a-lago was "sold" for $422,000,000 (say what?) to Mar-a-Lago Inc. in early August. That company is controlled by Donald Trump Jr. 

  • I'm a day late on this, but a 53 year old third grade teacher in Oklahoma got a bit liquored up before and during the first day of school.  That's yellow thing in the photo below is a portable breath test (PBT) which showed an alcohol concentration of 0.24.  The driving limit is usually 0.08 around the nation. 

  • Translated: The convicted cop simply filed his brief (PDF) in the court of appeals alleging errors made at his trial which is pretty much what happens in 99% of every criminal appeal.  It's not a personal attack on the judge.

  • A very Charlie's Angels vibe by Dallas PD in a recruiting post this morning. 

  • Thank goodness: It was announced yesterday that ESPN's College Gameday has officially retired the "Coming to Your City" song as it's introductory song. Driven me nuts for years. We won't know the new song until tomorrow morning. 

  • 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: 4 years and 50 days.



at 8:32 AM

8.24.2023

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts





A measles outbreak put a Newark church in the national news. It was all just a preview. 

  • Huge kudos to the Wise County Messenger today for penning an editorial going after the Decatur ISD School Board for operating in secrecy and appearing to become beholden to big out-of-towner donors. An excerpt:

  • There seem to be an unusual number of lawsuits filed this year challenging property tax appraisals of the Wise County Appraisal District. And there was a big one filed yesterday: 

  • It was Surrender Day in Fulton County. They deserve everything they get. 

    • Flashback: Jenna Ellis called herself and Powell and Giuliani an "elite strike force" in November 2019 as they spread lies to the nation.

  • Trump's arraignment in court -- not to be be confused with his surrender to jail this evening -- will be televised. (Edit: CNN just reported that Trump will change Georgia lawyers. Edit: Done.)

  • This was the screenshot during the opening question at last night's Republican debate last night. Ugh. Gave me an immediate case of Slumped Shoulders. 

  • One second you are marching on Moscow and the next you are in a plane that blows up.  Everyone told the guy he had a target on his back. 




  • And he's not up for election for another three years. 

  • Employment quick hits:
    • Seeing various headlines about salary increases, or lack thereof, for county employees.


    • The Texas Tribune has become a journalistic rising star, but it was hit with layoffs yesterday. It's the first time that's happened in its 14 year history.

    • I can't say I know many Oklahoma journalists, but I noted that Berry Tramel -- a Big 12 and OU writer whose bylines I've seen for years -- has left the Daily Oklahoman and starting an online publication. 

  • I've proclaimed him the greatest player in the history of baseball, and I stand by it. Oh, my:  

  • Cowboys arrest: The charge is going to be Possession of THC < 1 gram. It's a State Jail Felony but about the most insignificant felony there is. (You buy a a single package of gummies at a dispensary in Colorado and you are going to be in possession of 50 grams.) And the gun would have been legal but for the possession of the THC. No reason to get worked up over this. 

  • Messenger - Above the Fold

at 8:32 AM
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