9.20.2023

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



The shooter was a Navy veteran. Mass shootings are so common that they are quickly lost to time. 

  • A fan had died after a fight in the stands at a New England game.  After ever weekend, there are always a slew of videos of people just beating the crap out of each other at NFL games. I avoid them.  People, in general, are nuts.


  • This guy was a serial killer. But think about this the next time you see someone given a prison sentence to TDC, even a very short one, for drugs or theft or an intoxication offense. 


  • We are going to have a federal government shut down on October 1st, aren't we? The House even had to pull a stop-gap funding measure from having a vote yesterday because there weren't enough votes from the hard-liners.

  • Yes, there was a naked man walking through DFW Airport yesterday. Video.
  • The Wise County Messenger's Facebook page has been shut down by Meta, and the paper doesn't know why. Thread.

  • A faithful reader tipped me off to a new business in Chico. Uh, say what?


  • You remember seeing those slot machines in the Las Vegas airport. Well on Tuesday one hit for $643,435 for a Texas woman. 

  • We are quickly becoming the dumbest U.S. state.  Fun Fact: Keller ISD took the same book, as well as the Bible, off the shelves last year in response to the crazies. 

  • Speaking of. Various new laws passed by the most recent general Texas legislative session are being challenged in the courts. One already in the Fifth Circuit concerns legal porn web sites which are now required to display this warning that it "weakens brain function" among other things:

  • The blockbuster film based upon anti-trafficker Tim Ballard, Sound of Freedom, made everyone think a child was being trafficked at every moment in every place in every town.   Always be leery of those who doth protest too much.  

  • Funny: I saw this live and couldn't believe it. The quarterback for Long Island University threw the the craziest side arm pass for a 43 yard completion on Saturday. It really was like an Uncle Rico throw.  Video.  

  • The Business Second - Kind Of Warehouse Related:

  • I'm into the fifth season of Mad Men, and I'm putting this show in my top five of all time. I love it. 



at 8:30 AM

9.19.2023

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




Imprisoned for years because of prosecutors intentionally hiding evidence that would have set him free, Michael Morton appeared at the annual convention of Texas D.A.s and county attorneys.

  • The wreckage of the $80 million F-35, manufactured by Lockheed-Martin, was found in South Carolina. There are a lot of issues with that jet.


      
  • Baylor finally settled the lawsuits arising from the sexual assault scandal.  And  . . . 



    • Terms were not disclosed. I think only three of the plaintiffs alleged assault by football team members and the rest had other "cover up" claims. 
    • Kenneth Starr was president of the school at the time. He was eventually let go but was paid $4.5 million at the time of his exit. He died last year.
    • People forget that Baylor also settled with fired coach Art Briles. He was paid $15.1 million. 
    • The "Pepper Hamilton report", the document from the private law firm hired by Baylor to investigate the scandal, was never made public. But it was finally turned over to the Plaintiffs' lawyers in the women's lawsuit. 
  • Well this explains it. (Sarcasm.) 

  • There are scant facts about this. We know it wasn't her client so how did she know him? Did they have a relationship before? 

  • This sounds very weird. Texas principal arrested for paddling a student and - get this - the parent was a witness to the punishment and encouraged it.

     

  • We should have know that a dirty Lib was behind her corruption. 


  • Is everyone trying to get famous by acting like a nut on a plane? Here's the latest one. (Language warning.)

  • The Rolling Stone picked up the conviction of the Clay County sheriff. The DA who tried the case was promoting the article on Twitter this morning. 

  • My Business Second™ which is not warehouse related: This project along 114 will be an additional 257,000 square feet at a cost of $300 million.

  • I've had an iPhone for years but finally bought a Mac laptop last year. I should have done that 30 years ago. Love it. 

at 8:31 AM

9.18.2023

Random Monday Morning Thoughts




I had forgotten that he had actually been sentenced to prison by a jury, but he had been on bond during the appeal. 

  • Paxton (Not) Impeachment Update:
    • My prediction was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. 

    • That prediction of conviction on impeachment was based on one simple fact: There was no way, I thought, that the House Republicans would have impeached him without them being 100% convinced that the Senate would follow along and convict. Why would they jeopardize their jobs over Paxton -- an issue they didn't have to touch -- if it could possibly backfire in the Senate? 
    • I mean, from a political survival standpoint, if the House Republicans thought that Saturday's vote was in any way possible then they were absolutely nuts to vote to impeach.  Now they have targets on their backs. I don't understand what happened at all. It's now called a "Republican civil war":



    • And make no mistake about it, they will be targeted. There are jobs in jeopardy. The ultra-MAGA extremists are out for blood. And the West Texas Oil Man PAC has signaled that it is coming after them. This is the head of the PAC immediately after the vote:

    • That same guy was very vocal about letting Senators know where the ultra-MAGA stood before the vote. They listened:

    • House Managers watched the vote go down. That's David Spiller of Jacksboro right in the middle. I've got to talk to him. 

    • And then Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who served as judge at the trial, went scorched earth on them after the vote. And yesterday he was still at it. (Don't worry about the fact he received $3 million from the aforementioned PAC before the trial.)

    • House Managers press conference following the acquittal was very brief:

    • The guys had nothing to do with it despite them wanting to let you think that they did.

    • While the verdict was being read. This guy needs some scene control:

  • On Friday, the embattled sheriff of Clay County was convicted by a Montague County jury of Official Oppression. I can't believe you could convict law enforcement of anything up there.

  • This is a real tweet from an official government account last night. 

  • I'm sure you've seen the Rep. Lauren Boebert groping video. She said last night that  "I was a little too eccentric . . . .  I'm on the edge of a lot of things."

  • Actions no longer have consequences. 


  • Someone told me I needed to keep an eye on the Decatur School Board meeting tonight. I looked at the agenda and these are the only closed session issues that got my attention. 

  • There is a "tipping point" for certain products that explode in popularity. If you saw a graph for the the initial sales of computers, cell phones, flat screens,  -- any revolutionary product -- it starts off flat and then explodes upward. I saw this in the Dallas Morning News yesterday:

  • This may be the most obvious betting directed decision I've ever seen: Down by 10, one play and threes seconds left, second down, you're not going win, but you kick a field goal which just happens to cover the spread?

  • Do we really need a commercial for the new Exorcist movie during a late afternoon Cowboys game?


at 8:31 AM

9.15.2023

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

at 2:30 PM
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