7.21.2025

Random Monday Morning Thoughts



The Dallas Morning News took a hard look at how Bridgeport had won the high school basketball state championship earlier in the year.

  • So we were told 97 were missing in the Texas Hill Country floods, but now the number is just 3 instead?  Seems like this was (or should have been) figured out a lot sooner than Saturday afternoon when they did the press release.  

  • The death count is up to 93.  I'll never understand why we just turn a blind eye to Israel's infliction of atrocities in Gaza.

  • Maybe it is just me, but I'm seeing more and more wrecks out there. People drive like nuts. 

  • The brother of the late Pat Tillman, who gave the unhinged speech at his brother's funeral in 2001, has found himself in a bit of trouble. 


  • This felt a lot more dangerous than Beyonce's flying car failure the other day. Video,


  • We've been beaten down with the Coldplay/Affair scandal, but I had no idea the screen at the concert was this big and prominent. 

  • A grand jury got away from a prosecutor on this one.

     

  • This is right out of a Final Destination movie.

  • Yesterday, Trump tweeted on his own platform (1) a video of a girl in a bikini catching a snake, (2) an AI generated video of Obama being arrested, (3) a Brady Bunch like image of fake book-in photos of political opponents, and (4) that the Washington Commanders should change their name back to the Washington Redskins. The Mad King is not well. 

  • Trump followed through on his threat to sue the Wall Street Journal.  He'll lose, but Trump doesn't care. This is all performative to scare any media outlet with less resources to be careful what they say about the Fuhrer. 

    • Also, he filed the case in federal court in Florida but this time his case was assigned to a judge other than his fanboy Aileen Cannon.
  • And this case went to arbitration instead of a jury.

  • Oh, good grief. 

  • The Texas legislature meets in a 30 day special session beginning today. At the direction of Trump, they will try to redraw Congressional districting lines in order to try and and flip five districts from Democrat to Republican.  Jacksboro's David Spiller in on that committee. 

at 8:30 AM

7.18.2025

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

at 2:30 PM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts





After the shootings at a recruitment office in Tennessee earlier in the week, Cleburne responded as you would expect Cleburne to respond. 

  • The plea is actually 5 years deferred adjudication probation, 30 days in the Dallas County jail as a condition of that probation, and restitution of $115,000.


    • Bur I'm not sure the last time I saw a DA's official press release about a plea deal include an insert from the defense lawyer. That had to be part of the plea bargain.

  • The Wall Street Journal reported last night that in 2003 "Ghislaine Maxwell was preparing a special gift to mark the occasion [of Epstein's 50th birthday]. She turned to Epstein’s family and friends. One of them was Donald Trump. Maxwell collected letters from Trump and dozens of Epstein’s other associates for a 2003 birthday album."


    • "The letter bearing Trump’s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy—like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist, mimicking pubic hair."
    • "May every day be another wonderful secret." Put that on a throw pillow.
    • Trump's response to the story last night, a call to release a small fraction of the Epstein files, had a lot of qualifiers with "pertinent" doing a lot of heavy lifting.  Man, he is really bent out of shape about this. But the best media manipulator in all of politics has misplayed this whole thing in a shocking way.

       
    • I don't understand why Trump has chosen the word "hoax" to deal with this scandal. Elon doesn't either.


    • But in the end, this new revelation will be a big bag of nothing. The old video of Trump and Epstein ogling at women seems far more damaging -- and that didn't move the needle at all. And if the "grab 'em by the P" video didn't hurt him, this certainly won't. 
  • Israel continues its haphazard killing of civilians in Gaza. And I'm not buying that it "deeply regrets" anything. 


  • It was not a "total obliteration", but the news cycle for the story is long gone. 
  • Say what?

  • Ten to 15 years ago I would never have dreamed this guy would become mainstream for Fox Sports.

  • Legal nerdy stuff: A felon in possession of a firearm case tried in Jack County, and prosecuted by the local DA's office, was affirmed on appeal yesterday. It's not legally significant, but two facts got my attention: (1) the defendant had a scope on his rifle that was capable of recording audio and video -- that sure didn't help him, and (2) the defendant's lawyer on appeal listed his address as being in Florida. 
  • Lauren Whitener Clock: 6 years and 13 days.



at 8:30 AM

7.17.2025

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




Hodgepodge of bullet points. 

  • Bad cop.

  • The accompanying video this company put out was pretty wild, and it kind of brings to the forefront the elephant in the room: There's no question that a small drone that fires the equivalent of a handgun would be easy to manufacture. But just wait until it gets combines with AI.


  • Trump doubles down on his very strange claim of a Jeffrey Epstein "hoax."

    • Even the crazies are turning on Trump.


    • He's even lost the Babylon Bee. 

    • This didn't help his case yesterday afternoon.


  • So long (?) PBS and NPR after a 2:30 a.m. vote.

  • The Oval Office, then and now.

  • Call me crazy, but the headline and the subheadline don't seem mesh. (This is on the front page of both the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News today.)
  • The Business Second™. There is no question this is true.

    • Yesterday and 2017: 

  • Messenger - Above the Fold


at 8:30 AM
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