Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

It was definitely a wild scene.

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• As the story points out, the County Judge of Jack County can now sleep soundly since he no longer has to worry about being faced by this decision. And who knew that Jack County was such a hotbed of gayness?
  d. 
• The Fifth Circuit has upheld the Tarrant County Commissioners redistricting to create three out of four Republican districts instead of the current two out of four.   No surprise from that appeals court.
  
  
  
• I would think that this would get some publicity today. (Gift link.)
  
  
  
  
• Welcome to the Autocracy (all examples from just the last 48 hours).
• "WASHINGTON—The Pentagon has ordered the National Guard to create 'quick reaction' forces in every state and territory by January that are trained and equipped to respond to riots and civil unrest within the U.S., according to internal Defense Department memos."
  

  
  
  
• Yesterday: 
  
  
  
  
  
• Below are the highlighted offending words in the memo referenced in this story. A new sentencing memo was submitted which deleted the paragraph just as if January 6th had never happened. 
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
• You are finally here. 
  
  
  
• Last night: The Attorney General now has her marching orders from the Fuhrer. We've never seen anything like this. 
  
  
  
• Last night: We are going to "start testing" nuclear bombs?  (And none of the "facts" in the post are even remotely true.") 
  
  
  
• With a history of hiring Jumbo Fisher at Aggieland (and costing a fortune to fire him) and then hiring Brian Kelly at LSU (and costing a fortune to fire him), the governor of Louisiana is not going to let that athletic director hire the next coach.  And even this sports story won't let us get away from Trump. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Vice President really took that "you can't thow tortillas" policy hard. 
  
  
  
• This Saturday's college football weekend in 1975. You kids have no idea how much we suffered.
  
  
  
• Legal nerdy stuff:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Messenger - Above the Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Oh, my. A couple of weeks ago I reprinted the story of the Dallas jogger killed by a former Aggie football player with a machete. I had completely forgotten this horrible news in the wake of its aftermath. 

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• I noticed a forfeiture suit filed yesterday in Wise County seeking to confiscate $75,000, but I don't see any arrests associated with it.  That normally means the money was found during a traffic stop but there was no basis to arrest the occupant.  (Cause no. CV25-10-887.)  Edit: There was an arrest. California man. DPS was the agency. Book in # 115065.
• Buying elections. The American Way.
  
  
  
• That peace accord is going swimmingly. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Our government is still killing people in boats. 
  
  
  
  
• U.S. Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino appeared in front of a federal judge yesterday in connection with the immigration "crackdown" in Chicago.  Cops wearing masks and helmets in a federal courthouse? Totally normal, right? 
  
  
  
• Of course. 
  
  
  
• South Korea just gave Trump a gold crown. They definitely know how to play him.
  
   
  
  
  
• Government and Business in bed together:
• #1 What do you call it when the government owns the means of production? (Gift link) 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• #2 This is what you typically see. A company "investing" in Trump's new ballroom gets a major deal in return. 
  
  
  
  
• Flashback from August: "Trump’s latest investment filing with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics showed that he owned between $615,000 and $1.3 million in Nvidia shares at the end of last year."
• The Business Second™.  2,656 single-family homes? And that' development is not all that far from Rhome and certainly won't help highway 287 traffic. The housing market must be booming. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Uh, counterpoint?
  
  
  
  
• AI is coming for us all: 

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Wikipedia entry. 

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• "An F-150 lost control, hydroplaning on the wet roadway, and crashed into the deputy's squad car with the detained person inside. The deputy was between the car and the bridge railing. When the deputy was struck, he was thrown off the overpass and landed on Harry Hines below." The deputy survived.
  

  

  
  
  
• A deputy was leading the diving class that ended with a 12 year old dead? Story.
  
  
  
• This was a wild scene yesterday afternoon in Los Angeles. The chased ended when an off-duty officer rammed the motorcycle. Video
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The Liberally Lean Weather Team tells me that the wind will be blowing a gale by noon today in Wise County.  And with a low tonight of 47 degrees tonight, tomorrow morning will feel like winter. 
  
  
  
• I like her. No news as to where she is headed next. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Another day, another baseless lawsuit is filed by AG Ken Paxton. But as long he can make headlines, he's happy. 
  
  
  
• Normally, an U.S. Attorney General keeps a low profile to keep in line with the Justice Department's independence from the president. Pam Bondi not only runs to friendly news outlets, she likes to choose the White House as her background.
  
  
  
• The Business Second™.
  
  
  
• Let me tell you something, Fawlty Towers is one the all-time great comedies. 
  
  
  
• Here's the standard cognitive test that Trump claims he is "acing" every time he takes it. 
  
  
  
• If you didn't watch the World Series last night, this screengrab gives you an idea of the zaniness. 
  
  
  
• A meaningless sports term I'm hearing a lot this year: "Complimentary football".  Coaches say it like it is some revolutionary term when it just means that neither the offense, defense, or special teams screwed up. That's about as basic as it gets.