Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

At the time, there were two White House dogs: Bo and Sunny. Bo was actually from Boyd, but it was Sunny who committed this assault. 

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• Another day in America: Three dead in a shooting at a college campus. 
  
  
  
  
• The shooter has a little different profile than what we are conditioned to expect: He was a 67 year old professor who had recently and unsuccessfully sought a job at the school. He also "wrote a 15-page theory on the Zodiac killer and posted about 'powerful organizations bent on global domination.'" Good lord. 
  
  
  
• I noticed a Wise County murder case (background here) involving Daniel Trevino Hernandez  is set for a plea on December 12th.  It got my attention because he was back in jail this morning. 
• Chris Christi is a breath of fresh air on the Republican debate stage primarily for realizing that if Trump is nominated, the Republicans will lose. But his best moment last night was when he put smarmy Vivek Ramaswamy in his place.   Video. (By the way, Ramaswamy said January 6th was an "inside job" last night.  How are nuts like him at the top of the Republican party?)
  
  
  
• At the same time, he also came to the defense of Nikki Haley.  "This is a smart, accomplished woman. You should stop insulting her . . . . And Nikki and I disagree on some issues, but I’ll tell you this: I’ve known her for 12 years, which is longer than he’s even started to vote in the Republican primary."
  
  
  
• In a few short months, Kevin McCarthy went from Speaker of the House to quitting Congress.
  
  
  
• Flashback: 
  
  
  
• Let's check in on Trump's right hand man and renowned racist. There's a conspiracy around every corner with these guys: 
  
  
  
• Everything you know about U.S. oil production/exports is wrong.  After setting a record of producing 13.5 million barrels a day in August, we now are exporting a "near record' 6 million barrels a day.  Oil dropped to below $70 a barrel yesterday. 
  
  
  
• The Fort Worth City Council is bent out of shape about police/fire department vehicles being driven home when "home" is a long way from Fort Worth.  Four of them are routinely driven to Wise County based upon a report presented to them. (My graphics department added the green dot for Decatur and the red circle.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What First Amendment?: The Dallas Morning News has a story today about a jury verdict based upon alleged misrepresentations by a home solar panel company. But my eyes bugged out when the defense lawyer was interviewed. Buddy, it doesn't work that way: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Sunset, Texas got a shout-out from Fox 4's weatherman.
  
   
  
  
  
• From today's DMN. Blackstone is one of the world's largest private equity firms based in Manhattan. 
  
  
  
• Extremely nerdy legal stuff for practitioners: Since 4/1/22, any magistrate who sets bonds in Texas is supposed to first review a "public safety report" about the criminal history of the defendant. (It's just a modified criminal history printout). But what happens when you later ask the trial court for a bond reduction -- must the trial judge also review that "public safety report" in order to accurately assess whether the bond should be reduced? This Court of Criminal Appeals said "yes" yesterday. "If the trial court did not consider the public safety report required by statute, then it erred . . . ."
• Side note: The law which created the need for the public safety report also mandated this statewide public database of every bond decision. Its clandestine purpose was to out the magistrate if a bond decision goes wrong. 
• Fun Fact: I don't have much interest in the Heisman Trophy, but this will be the 30th year that the presentation has been hosted by Chris Fowler. 
• Messenger - Above the Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Ran across this in the Messenger from a decade ago. Figured some local guys, now in their late twenties, would like seeing their names. 

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• Quite a lot of action around Austin yesterday. It started with a shooting at a school where a school resources officer was injured. He was finally arrested deep into the night.
  
  
  
• Blurred the faces to protect the insurrectionists from law enforcement? Video of him saying it. (His office later issued a statement saying he actually didn't mean that.) Plus, he can't be very smart if he thinks the FBI didn't already have the footage. 
  
  
  
• A combative divorce, alcoholism, and lawsuits filed which were full of grievances? That checks all the boxes.
  

  
  
  
• Time's Person of the Year was revealed this morning. Hey, I'm sick of her, too, but she had a year that rivals the Beatles. Heck, she probably surpassed even the group's biggest year. 
  
  
  
• The UIL has released new attendance figures. Here are the largest high schools in DFW. These are single campuses, by the way. 
  
• Pro-Publica does such great work. Yesterday they released a comprehensive Uvalde piece to go along with the Frontline documentary.  It should be noted that all bodycams and recordings featured in the two have come from all agencies except DPS which has refused to release them.
  

  

  
  
• The failed football coach from the South finally threw in the towel.
  
  
  
• This headline is a wrong and it bugs me. What actually happened was a current employee, Mr. Y, referred Mr. X as new hire as a detention officer. Mr. X was hired, then Mr. Y, the current employee, received the $500 for the referral. Mr. X then immediately quit. Mr. Y continued his employment albeit $500 richer. 
  
   
• Today in "Things are expensive":  That's not $1.9 million for a new building. That's $1.9 million to design the renovation of an existing building. 
  
  
  
• Let's check in on Fox Business. Yes, he actually said that last night, but I expected the channel to say he was taken out of context. Instead they embraced it.
  
  
  
• One of the men from the West Texas Oilmen's PAC is about to get richer.
  
  
   
• Breaking entertainment news: TV icon Norman Lear has died at age 101.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

A decade ago, Texas Monthly profiled had bad things were bad for the Longhorns after another bad season.  

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• I think there is an interesting Intoxication Manslaughter case going to trial this morning in the district court in Decatur. If I remember correctly, it involves a head-on collision on FM 730. 
• This truck driver had quite the scare yesterday near downtown Dallas.  They were able to hoist him out of the cab after he spend hours dangling off the bridge.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• There's video of this event that went down last night and it is indeed something. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• There really aren't any details about what happened in this domestic disturbance last night on I-30 near Eastchase Parkway other than the person who fell was on the hood of the car. Don't do that. 
  
  
  
• The video (on YouTube) has been released of the shooting of the Tarrant County deputy during a planned robbery in Fort Worth that happened last week. It's pretty wild. The deputy returned fire despite being hit. (But if you look closely at the 53 second mark, you can see his gun accidentally fire when he first tries to get up.)
  
  
  
• This story has been around about a week, but we still haven't seen a picture of the trigger happy homeowner. An 80 year old had a medical incident at 8:00 in the morning, crashes through a fence and into the home of someone, and then that homeowner comes out an open fires.
  

  

  
  
  
  
• A bunch of conservative white dudes on the Fifth Circuit are about to have a new bunkmate.  She was confirmed in an unusual 80-12 margin.  
  
  
  
• He's a very strange guy.
  
  
  
• The field is getting cut down in the battle to go head to head with Trump as the primaries  in Iowa and New Hampshire are right around the corner.  I'm guessing Nikki Haley will end up being Trump's main foe. I don't know if she can ever catch him, but very weird things always happen between March and May in election years. 
  
  
  
• Cowboys 3.5 point favorite over the Eagles. The Evil Empire is a 4 point favorite over Washington.