Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

A wreck after the finish line was quite the sight in NASCAR. Video.

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• Whoa. It was just announced that The Dallas Morning News has been sold to the Hearst corporation -- the same entity that owns  the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Austin American-Statesman. This is not a good development. 
  
  
  
• Photos of many of the victims of Texas flooding so far. (Gift link)
  
  
  
• New information from the New York Times. (Gift link.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• It seems like lots of ambulances are stolen in the DFW area. This was from last night.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Two people in a vehicle ended up dead when hit by the train that runs between Fort Worth and Dallas. .
  
  
  
  
  
• We had another "Blue Alert" go off across Texas yesterday evening. They are looking for a former Marine in that strange ICE ambush in Alvarado which has already led to the arrest of 11 people. 
  
  
  
• And I just had to spend two hours in Tulsa the other night. Story.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• This is a little weird. Trump has endorsed every Republican in the Texas legislature who voted for private school vouchers. The whole thing has an odd "approval by the Fuhrer" feel to it. 
  
  
  
• Gov. Abbott announced congressional redistricting will be part of the special session. Make no mistake about it, this is an attempt to create more Republican seats in hopes of keeping the House of Representatives during the mid-terms. 
  
  
  
• Trump quote of the day yesterday while visiting with African leaders. Video.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• This is just the beginning. It will end with those on Trump's political enemies list being rounded up.  
  
  
  
• The Business Second™: I'm not sure I understand this.
  
  
  
• Messenger - Above the Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

A scandal that wrecked a long running ad campaign.

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• After a weather delay and rerouting of a flight, I got into to DFW at 1:30 a.m. this morning. But I'm back to reclaim the title as THWMISB™.
• I was in the northeast United States for a week, but that Camp Mystic/Hill Country story was front and center of the news up there. 
  

  
  
  
• And let me tell you something, Greg Abbott is completely wrong when he says rescue teams won't leave until every person is found or recovered.  There are some of those bodies which will never be found. 
  
  
  
  
• And flooding also struck North Carolina and Ruidoso, New Mexico.  Perfectly normal, right?
  
  
  
• So what else happened while I looked away for a few days?:
• The Big Beautiful Bill became law which proves Trump is 100% in charge of the Republican Party. 
• 60 Minutes paid Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit about a run-of-the-mill edit. Incredible.
• The Trump Administration, through AG Pam Bondi, announced that there is no "Epstein list", and MAGA lost its mind in response.
• Elon Musk is so angry at Trump that he wants to start a third political party. 
• Trump announced there will be a UFC fight on the White House lawn in 2026.
• Quotes I missed:
• Afraid that the Big Beautiful Bill will cut your Medicaid? Just go find a job with "good healthcare benefits" and the problem is solved. Video.
  
  
  
• The federal government felt "helpless" after the Hill Country flooding. That's comforting. Video.
  
  
  
• Skedaddle was defined. Video.
  
  
  
• Gov. Abbott added to the list yesterday. Video.
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• The government retweeted Fox News this morning. It's officially State TV.
  
  
  
• Actor Michel Madsen died last week. I was looking at his filmography and saw that he appeared in an episode of Real Detective, a police docudrama from Canada (2016–2017) on Netflix, where he played the role of Texas Ranger Phil Ryan who is also a former Wise County sheriff. And the real Phil Ryan is even listed in the cast. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Movie I just saw a few weeks back that stuck with me: The Florida Project - a 2017 film.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

D Magazine was onto this scandal of scandals.

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• Liberally Lean on official leave: Day 5 of 5.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

This was the first sign that we got that Ken Paxton would be prosecuted -- a prosecution which was finally dismissed only last month.  I wasn't supporting Paxton by this bullet point, I was just pointing out how much it costs when government goes after government.

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•  Liberally Lean on official leave: Day 4 of 5.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

Little did I know. But I wonder if Trump was watching Fox and Friends that day and decided to adopt "God Bless the USA" as his campaign theme song. 

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• Liberally Lean on official leave: Day 3 of 5.
• Lauren Whitener Clock: One day shy of six years.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

A "fire occurred at Formosa Fun Coast, a water park in Bali, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Staff of an outdoor 'color powder party' sprayed clouds of corn starch towards the participants, which ignited. The fire lasted 40 seconds and burned 508 people, killing 15 and leaving 199 in critical condition." Video.

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•  Liberally Lean on official leave: Day 2 of 5.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Hood County dueling marches faced off.

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• Liberally Lean on official leave: Day 1 of 5.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Katie Lang of Hood County (surprise) became the first county clerk to announce she would not issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

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•  Blog Alert:  This will be the last regular featured Random Thought for the next five work days. The hardest working man in show business is taking a break.  I will, however, have the "10 Years Ago" feature pre-loaded for each day.  Be strong. I'll return soon. 
• Incredible.  Life in prison isn't necessarily a bad deal for the State, but to do this without consulting the victims' families and then scheduling the plea to take place in court on Wednesday (as they scramble to get their), is beyond shocking.  
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• This is real. The grift never ends. The corruption never stops. There is no bottom. (And he even made a commercial in his normal video setting making it all seem government sanctioned -- which I guess it is. Price: $199 for men's, $249 for women's.)
  
  
  
• Trump will visit the Everglades Concentration Camp today (and that's exactly what it is.)
  
   
  
  
  
• And this is a real post by the Department of Homeland Security. This country is in serious trouble.  
  
  
  
• ICE raided a Home Depot parking lot in Cypress Park, California yesterday, and this is an actual photo of them. 
  
  
  
• Speaking of no bottom. 
  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  
  
• This was not a note the prosecution wanted to see. 

  

  
  
• Elon does not like what the Big Beautiful Bill will do to the country and the deficit. And that last sentence is a banger. (In response, Trump threatened to cancel all of Elon's government contracts which would cause him to "close up shop and head back home to South Africa.")
  

  

  
  

  

  
  
  
  
• Trump had other things on his mind yesterday other than the BBB.
  
  
  
• Update about the big accident near Terrell.
  
  
   
  
  
  
• I haven't listened to it, but a true crime podcast has been released which is looking at the Wise County case of Lauren Whitener.