Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

I don't remember it, but bring that back!

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• We have a ruling ruling in the Tanner Horner capital murder case. The newly appointed attorneys will remain on the case, and the higher court's stay, which has put the case on hold for two months, has been lifted.  What I predicted last week turned out to be true: (1) The Court basically punted and decided to not get involved after all, and (2) they pointed out that once the defendant testified on the record (at last week's hearing) that he wanted the new lawyers instead of his old ones, that eliminated all potential problems feared by the D.A. 
  
  
  
• It felt like we got a lot of rain but, in comparison, we got robbed. 
  
  
  
• American Carnage. We had another mass shooting in the U.S. last night -- this time in Maine. At least 16 (or 22, reports conflict) are dead, and the shooter is on the loose. He's a 40 year old white male, former military guy, and firearms instructor. It looks like he used an AR-15 type weapon.  The greatest country in the world, right?
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
• We finally have a House Speaker: The normal Republicans in the House caved and elected an election denier and ultra MAGA extremist. He's Jim Jordan with a better haircut and a jacket. 
  
  
  
  
• He believes that state government can criminalize homosexual conduct and extra-martial affairs. From 2003:
  
  
  
• A year ago, his name was buried in a story in the New York Times about why some Republicans voted to not certify the election results despite no evidence of fraud. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• More proof that the normal Republicans caved to the crazies yesterday: Trump celebrated.
  
  
  
• Oh, and in light of the Maine mass shooting, look who else is happy: 
  
  
  
• The Texas House was in an uproar yesterday as it debated House Bill 4 by David Spiller (R-Jacksboro) which broadly gives state officer powers to arrest and remove individuals they think are in the country illegally. This caused one lawmaker to royally cuss out out others on the House Floor. (Video) 
  
  
  
• It passed 84-60 in the middle of the night, and will now go to the Senate. Arizona passed a similar law once, and it was quickly declared unconstitutional. This one will be as well. 
• In another immigration vote, the House approved Senate Bill 4 which criminalizes those which gives undocumented immigrants a ride in your car regardless of how long they've been in the country. You ever given a ride to someone in the country illegally? 
• Buried in the news is a hurricane that went from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in less than 24 hours and hit Acapulco straight on. This GIF showing the development of it is really, really good.
  
  
  
• Legal nerdy stuff: Here's a PDF of the new forfeiture agreement between the Denton D.A. and law enforcement where the D.A.'s office keep 80% of the forfeiture proceeds. Just a reminder: Forfeiture is legalized government theft. Flashback: 
  
• The Business Second™
•  A whole block?
  
  
  
• Are they going to raise interest rates again?
  
  
  
• Messenger - Above the Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

You can still Google the words "Ridiculously Photogenic Football Player" and 

this photo will come up. 

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• The auto strike has now come to Arlington. That is over 5,000 workers. 
  
  
  
• Wise County is right in the heart of this. 
  
  
  
• Jenna Ellis issued a "tearful apology" in the Trump Georgia Election Scheme case yesterday as she pled guilty to a felony. "If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-election challenges. . . . I relied on others, including lawyers with many more years of experience than I, to provide me with true and reliable information, especially since my role involved speaking to the media and to legislators in various states." Baloney. She knew that she was peddling a lie. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• She, along with everyone else involved in the Election Denial Scam, are grifters. Flashback from a little over a month ago:
  
  
  
• And the day kept getting worse for Trump in that later there was another development in the federal D.C. Insurrection case.
  

  

  
  
• Bad decision.
  
  
  
• House Cluster Continues.
• The Republicans went through five closed door votes yesterday in order to elect Tom Emmer as their nominee for the House Speaker. They only step left was to take it to the floor to see if he could get 217 votes. Less than two hours later, he withdrew his name. Even Fox News called it "chaos." 
  
  
  
• Late last night they tried again to get another nominee and chose election denier Mike Johnson.  Now we will see if he can get to 217.
  
  
  

  

  Video.

  
  
• Wise County's troubled representative Ronny Jackson yesterday morning threw his support, the third different person he has given his "full support", to someone who can't even win the nomination behind closed doors.
  
  
  
• What's wrong with the B-52s? I'm withdrawing my Biden support!
  
  
  
• I think Baylor would have settled a long time ago for that amount. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I posted this story yesterday, but this is a more accurate headline. 
  
  
  
• Very legal nerdy stuff: The case originated out of Wichita Falls and just got affirmed with a dissent. It's the weird case of a stepparent prosecuted for emailing a photo to himself.  He had found the nude picture on his stepdaughter's phone, but he and his wife, as part of a house rule, had full access to the phone including the password in order to monitor her activities. It doesn't matter why he emailed it to himself so long as he did it "with intent to invade [her] privacy." There seems to be a lot of legal issues which weren't addressed. 

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Lot's of nostalgia here. (1) Here's the story about the paintball event referred to, (2) That "Wise County Problems" account still exists but hasn't posted in years, and (3) Decatur and Bridgeport actually used to play each other -- Decatur won over the winless Bulls, 52-7 in 2013.

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• Breaking moments ago: Jenna Ellis is pleading guilty in the Georgia attempted coup case. She is literally pleading guilty to spreading The Big Lie. That "Elite Strike Force" team of lawyers really turned out to be something. 
  
  
  
• I present to you the 327 most civic-minded people in Wise County: Those who vote on the first day of early voting for constitutional amendments.
  
  
  
• Another day, another bad wreck in Wise County. This one last night around 6:30 on FM 730 just south of Boyd.  
  
  
  
• A crazy158 car pileup in Louisiana yesterday new New Orleans.  
  
  
  
• Oh, my. "An off-duty pilot who was in a jump seat in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight on Sunday was charged with more than 80 counts of attempted murder after he tried to cut fuel to the engines, prompting the plane to divert to Portland, Ore., the authorities said."
  
  
  
• He didn't give back the $3 million from the West Texas Oil Man PAC whose leader met with a neo-Nazi, but he did try this gesture. (No word yet whether the Decatur candidate who received $55,000 from them will give that money back. )
  
  
  
  
• There was a time when we all understood how dangerous words like this are. Heck, it would have disqualified you from any race. Video. And what exactly is "our religion" anyway? 
  
  
  
• We've lost our minds. This is right out of the The Handsmaid's Tale.
  
  
  
• Random photo this weekend from the Walmart parking lot in Decatur. (Thanks, Tara.) 
  
  
  
• This judge, who refuses to follow a clear Supreme Court decision, was featured in the Dallas Morning News this weekend. There was no mention that the County Judge over in Jack County tried the same stunt but his case was dismissed in federal district court. (He appealed to the Fifth Circuit but I don't think anything has happened on it.)
  
  
  
• Random photos/screenshots from last night's Rangers win:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  

  Flashback

  
  
  
  
• Nerdy political news: Last night the Tarrant County Republican Party elected a chairman who once took a half million dollars from the West Texas Oilman PAC.