Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

The grand jury would no-bill the case. Sidenote: On the day after he shooting, a Montague County deputy tried to keep a reporter from doing a live shot near the scene. Video. 

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• The new Attorney General Pam Bondi is proving she might not be one of our greatest legal minds. She announced yesterday that "We have filed charges against the state of New York. We have filed charges against Kathy Hochul, against Letitia James, and Mark Schroeder." It's not "charges" -- it's a civil lawsuit.
  

  

  
  
  
  
• And another. The military has crashed a jet yet again.  Video of it hitting the water.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I told you no one will defy Trump, and no one will stop him.  
• A friend of Putin is confirmed. 
  
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• An anti-vaxxer is set to be confirmed as well. 
  
  
  
  
• Russia's winning of the war over Ukraine begins.
• Part 1: 
  
  
  
• Part 2:
  
  
  
• He was on bond for an Assault - Family Violence case with a condition of bond being no alcohol consumption. He teaches criminal justice. 
  

  

  
  
  
  
• Wise County's state rep thinks he's our daddy. 
  
  
  
• Not good. When any semblance of the media is gone, we're screwed. 
  
   
  
  
  
• That "unanimous" vote has a nice North Korea sound to it. He announced that he would take over the board last Friday. 
  
  
  
• Keeping up with Elon:  
• He posts on Twitter all day long. And he's so reckless that he's going to get people killed by the loonies. 
  
  
  
• He has the understanding of the role of the judiciary only slightly better than that of a toddler. Maybe.
  
  
  
• Hey, what's this meme coin for sale doing on official DOGE website?
  
  
  
• And news yesterday. He just wrote his buddy a check for no legal reason to do so. 
  
  
  
• Tit-for-tat. Story.  
  
  
  
• Messenger - Above the Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

The metroplex (and more) went all gaga for some reason over a woman who got out to wrestle with a car-jacker who smashed into the back of her car while fleeing. Video.

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• Elon Musk held court for 30 minutes in the Oval Office yesterday while Trump looked on. He brought one of his 12 kids along - the one named X Æ A-Xii.  We live in the dumbest times. 
  
  
  
• Tampering with Evidence, when the evidence is a human corpse, carries with it a maximum of 20 years. This guy got 30 in Collin County. Something else is going on here.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• With Maverick fans being kicked out left and right at the AAC for objecting to the Luka trade, Mark Cuban decided to become a villain two nights ago as his profane prompt got a season ticket holder ejected. Video.
  
  
  
• An American prisoner was released by Russia last night. Trump did a good job here, but he wouldn't tell us what we gave up for it in exchange. (I don't care about the price -- I would overpay for hostages, but I think we deserve to know.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• And Trump is getting even better at his showmanship.  Get the guy directly to the White House, wrap a flag around his neck, and meet him outside because there is a fantastic snow storm going on.  Perfect for the cameras And both of these pictures (above and below) were used in an official social media post by the White House. 
  
• So the president tell the press that if they don't report x as a fact because he says it's a fact, then they are barred from the White House? Consider how far this can go.
  
  
  
• Israel joined Trump's ultimatum for Saturday. You know, just a couple of weeks ago hostages were being released left and right and the cease fire was holding. So what has changed? Hmm. 
  
  
  
• Yesterday:
  
  
  
• The Official Liberally Lean Weather Team tells me that Pete Delkus is wrong because Wise County won't even hit 40 today.  And we won't tomorrow either. 
  
  
  
• The (Breaking News) Business Second™: Uh, oh.
  
  
  
• Two former Ranger pitchers almost went fisticuffs in New Orleans.  John Rocker is as much of a chowder head as he's always been. Video.
  
  
  
• As I said yesterday.
  
  
  
• Legal nerdy stuff:  A bond reform Texas Senate bill, which would require district judges to be the person who sets the original bond in a whole lot of cases, is already going to committee hearing today, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is there in the audience. 

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

The Messenger got a lot of blowback for somehow running that photo with that headline on Facebook when the wreck had nothing to do with a local girls high school basketball team. 

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• Aviation news. And old rock band news.
  
  
  
• Sheesh.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• It begins.  Trump is now ignoring court orders. This is a major, major deal. But no one cares because he's trying to "slash government spending." We are in strange and dangerous days.
  

  

  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• And there is no practical legal way to force Trump to comply.  What can the judge do? Hold him in contempt and order the United States Marshals Service, which is under Trump's new AG Pam Bondi, to arrest him or other government officials?  They wouldn't do it. 
• J.D. Vance told us this was coming back in 2021. Video.
  
  
  
• In a shocking move, AG Pam Bondi's Justice Department ordered the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to drop the prosecution against the New York mayor. One of the reasons for the order is that Trump needs him for immigration enforcement in NYC. That's not the way things are supposed to work. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The hits just keep coming.  He's also a former contestant on Trump's Celebrity Apprentice.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Trump has drawn a line in the sand in the Hamas/Israel conflict. And that phrase "all the hostages" is a big phrase in that sentence. 
  
   
  
  
  
• What are we doing? 
  
  
  
• In Page Six news:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• This was wild, and apparently there's a video with her in it. I'm not saying that Nancy Mace is just trying to get ahead of something consensual and embarrassing, but making the allegations on the House floor is notable since she has absolute immunity there from any defamation claim because of the Speech and Debate clause. 
  
  
  
  
• In an odd twist, Rep. Ronny Jackson has been added as a plaintiff to Trump's silly lawsuit against CBS and 60 Minutes for the Kamala Harris edited interview. "Trump filed the suit in Amarillo, Texas, where it is being heard by a Trump-appointed judge [Matthew Kacsmaryk]. By adding Jackson as a plaintiff, the Trump team argued the congressman was harmed by the 60 Minutes interview and that the case should remain in Texas."
  
  
  
• And for legal (and authoritarian) news regarding defamation, keep an eye on this case filed in the Supreme Court on Friday:
  
  
    
  
  
  
• Is there any chance that too many teams make the high school basketball playoffs? From last night:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Legal nerdy news for criminal practitioners: I don't know if it will pass, but a bill has been filed in the Texas Senate to extremely gut the Michael Morton Act. A long thread with a great explanation here.