Talk About Capital Punishment

I just noticed that Texas Tech leads Sam Houston State 42-7 in the second quarter.

It Had To Happen

Amazed rescuers find 76-year-old man, trapped for 18 days in his home in New Orleans. He had no more food. He had no more water.

Uh, When A Protective Order Says "No Contact", It Means Something

Ok, this guy may not be the smartest man in the world, but I was more taken aback by the fancy names they have for crimes in North Dakota: "gross sexual imposition" and "surreptitious intrusion". That probably gives rise to some odd answers once a Defendant is asked, "Are you aware of the charges against you?" "Huh? Gross what? Surrepy . . . what?"

Clear My Driveway

Good news for me, Tori Spelling is back on the market after one year of marriage.

Maybe Her Shirt Should Have Read "Judge, Lighten Up"

[Edited to get the facts straight] This girl, who appeared in a court to face a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge (she allegedly damaged property), was thrown into a courtroom jail for a brief period of time this week in Tarrant County because she wore this shirt (it has "brat" and "naughty" checked) and popped gum when she stood before the judge. "Everyone has to accept the consequences for their actions. Ms. White just had a poor attitude, " said the judge according to the Star Telegram. Our government can lock someone up for having a "poor attitude"? The State accuses you of a crime and forces you into court, and they want you to bring with you an attitude they feel is appropriate? Has it come to this?

"My Dad And Uncle Are Going To Kill Me"

The youngest son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was arrested early Friday and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, law enforcement officials said. John Ellis Bush, 21, was arrested by agents of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission at 2:30 a.m. on a corner of Austin's Sixth Street bar district, said commission spokesman Roger Wade.

Heck, I Didn't Know The Government Was So "Lean"

"House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an 'ongoing victory,' and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget. Mr. DeLay was defending Republicans' choice to borrow money and add to this year's expected $331 billion deficit to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief. " "Asked if that meant the government was running at peak efficiency, Mr. DeLay said, 'Yes, after 11 years of Republican majority we've pared it down pretty good.'"

If I Were More Artsy . . .

. . . I would visit this photo gallery in Dallas.

This Woman Drives Me Insane

Dr. Laura has driven me crazy for years. She constantly berates any mother who places her child in daycare and always says, in no uncertain terms, that a single mother should never date until her children are grown. Why? Children are emotionally fragile and need 100% of our attention or else they won't turn out to be well rounded and healthy. What has always confused me is this: What if one of her callers was, in fact, one of those kids that didn't have the "perfect" upbringing, and, as a result, became emotionally screwed up? Why doesn't she cut them any slack? Isn't that what she predicts for the child not raised properly? Why does she berate people for not nurturing their kids in the way she demands, but could care less whether her caller was one of those kids not properly nutured? And by the way, you can pay $70 to hear her talk in Dallas in Arlington in October. Sheesh.

How Was A Guy To Afford A Trans Am?

Gold hit a 17 year high today selling for $463 dollars an ounce. I remember that when I was a senior in high school that the price of gold had gone through the roof causing senior rings to be incredibly expensive. I found this chart to show the amazing price of gold in 1980. (Click to enlarge).

Since I Spent It All

Heather Tallchief was 21 and working for an armored car company when authorities say she drove away from the Circus Circus hotel-casino with at least $2.5 million in cash. After being on the run for 10 years, she gave herself up this week.

Just Because A Lot Of People Are Interested

WISE COUNTY WISE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT SEPTEMBER 19, 2005 9:00 A.M. COUNTY COURTHOUSE, COURTROOM (3rd FLOOR) AGENDA

*

*

* 6. CareFlight presentation. [<----- purpose of this post]

*

*

* Dick Chase Wise County Judge

Maybe He Likes To Whittle During Take Off

"Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan was delayed from boarding a flight at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Tuesday morning after security guards found a knife in his carry-on luggage, an airport spokeswoman said. "The knife, with a 3 1/4 -inch blade, was spotted shortly before 9 a.m. when the former Houston Astros pitcher passed through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint"

Not That I Really Care

But it is interesting to see that ABC will not show live the induction of Aikman, Smith, and Irvin into the Cowboys Ring of Honor on Monday night during halftime. The network will show a fundraiser for Katrina victims instead.

Wow

"TRAGEDY ON U.S. 380 — Four people were killed this morning when the vehicle in which they were riding left U.S. 380 and flipped several times." See the Update.

I Almost Went Looking For "Three's Company"

I know I shouldn't get tired head during a presidential speech, but I just do.

And Let Me Say . . .

. . . I'm absolutely amazed by the number of responses to the Pledge of Allegiance [edit] topic (below). The comments, although some make me a slight bit uncomfortable, were great. Good debate. And let me add: Some of you are incredibly funny and witty.

Baseball Law

You are at the plate with a runner at first. You, like always, hit a home run. As the man on first rounds second base he tears his Achilles Tendon (I soooooo feel his pain) and crumples to the ground. The injured man isn't going anywhere and can't possibly get to home. The rule says that if the man hitting the home run passes a runner in front of him, he is out. What do you do? They found out last night in Boston. (And the torn Achilles - and this pic of his wife - belongs to one time Ranger Gabe Kapler).

I Always Thought That Contest Would Make You Crazy

Have you heard about the "Hands On A Hard Body" contests over the years - a group of folks compete to win a truck based upon which one of them can stay awake the longest with at least one had on the truck. Maybe it's not a good idea based upon this story that happened today. (And this photo, in light of the story, is a tad bit creepy).

Gun Racks

When I was a kid, every pickup you saw had gun racks on the back window . . . with guns on them. Even at the high school. How time's have changed. You know, it's still legal to have a long barreled rifle or shotgun in your vehicle, but no one does it anymore. Theft is probably the reason.

Yeah I'm Beaten Down From An Ongoing DWI Trial . . .

. . . but things are looking up since a certain girl is now back on the market (after being off the market for a whole four months).

Head's Up

It will come as sad news to hundreds, maybe millions, of faithful readers that "The Blog" will be a little slow over the next day or so. A guy in a robe up at the courthouse is demanding my undivided attention. Although I am considering showing up in court in the outfit that Michael Jackson recently wore to a swim party. (No comments - I don't trust you guys with this topic).

My Two Favorite Moments During . . .

. . . the John Roberts confirmation hearings today: #1 John Biden: "With all due respect, you've not -- look, it's kind of interesting, this Kabuki dance we have in these hearings here, as if the public doesn't have a right to know what you think about fundamental issues facing them." #2 And then, frustrated that Roberts would not give an opinion on anything, Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma finally resorted to this: COBURN: Right. I'm not asking you about legal significance. Would you agree that the opposite of being dead is being alive? ROBERTS: (Pause) Yes. (LAUGHTER) I don't mean to be overly cautious in answering it. (LAUGHTER)

The Machinery Of Death

Tonight Texas executed, for the first time, a black woman. It was only the third woman ever killed by the government in our state (at least through the criminal judicial process).

Not A Joke - Missing Child

I have been asked by the authorities to post the following information regarding a missing 5th grader in Decatur: http://www.wisecounty.com/missing.html Edit: Child has been found unharmed.

The Man Can't Even Go To The Little Engineer's Room

Back in the day, the press would cover up JFK's affair with Marilyn Monroe. These days, Bush can't scribble out a simple note without it being published.

Oh, And By The Way . . .

The lead story was that the kid that hacked into Paris Hilton's cell phone was sentenced to 11 months in a federal juvenile facility (After practicing law for 19 years, I had never heard of a federal juvenile facility - but I digress) . Anyway, I thought that sounded a little harsh. But then, after actually reading a whole story for once, I found this nugget buried in the text: "The charges included hacking into Internet and telephone service providers, theft of personal information and posting it on the Web, and making bomb threats to high schools in Florida and Massachusetts, all over a 15-month period."

Hit Me Baby One More Time

Now for some really important news: Britney Spears is a mom.

Uh Oh

"A federal judge declared the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools unconstitutional Wednesday in a case brought by the same atheist whose previous battle against the words 'under God' was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court on procedural grounds. " "U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled that the pledge's reference to one nation 'under God' violates school children's right to be 'free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.'"

I Had Forgotten

Remember Kanye West's "Bush hates black people" comment? I had forgotten that one week before the hurricane hit Kanye was on the cover of Time magazine with the by-line of "Hip Hop's Class Act".

I'm Not Sure I've Ever Been Mentioned Once

Former Bridgeport high school star Phillip Daugherty has been mentioned in the Dallas Morning News for two days in a row. Daugherty withdrew from Texas Tech last month and enrolled at Sam Houston State. The two schools play each other on Saturday in Lubbock. Yesterday the paper included quotes from Tech coaches as to whether they feared Daugherty would steal the the offense signals (they don't). Today the paper quotes Daugherty as saying he doesn't expect his knowledge of the Tech offense to play a factor. The Tech web site still believes he is a Red Raider.

I Missed This

The boys on my morning radio station were talking about a 4 hour program on the National Geographic channel this weekend about 9/11. It sounded great, impartial, and non-political. Plus there were tons of interviews (the ticket clerk who checked in some of the hijackers), rarely seen video (the hijackers hanging out at the airport) and some crazy facts (two of the hijackers rented adult movies in their Boston hotel on the night before 9/11 - kind of an odd tribute to Allah, but an interesting fact).

Cowboys / Redskins

Dallas and Washington play Monday and I hear all this talk this week of it being a "big rivalry". You know, it was when I was a kid but I don't think so anymore.

I wonder what happened?

Bold New Information World

In checking the Update this morning, it looks like Rhome is thinking of spending some big bucks for a combined library. I wonder about the future of libraries in general. I mean, with the click of the Google search button, I have more information available to me at my desk than any library could provide. And I don't even have to know the Dewey Decimal System.

And As The Water Recedes . . .

. . . chaos continues. Over 100 were killed yesterday by suicide bombers in Iraq.

Not So Friendly Skies

I'm no business guy, but the impending bankruptcies of Delta and Northwest don't seem like a good sign.

Stuff Like This Weirds Me Out

As a kid, I loved the Dallas Cowboys (although I could care less now). Many a time I watched place kicker Toni Fritsch line up for a kick in this crazy soccer style approach that no one had ever seen before. So as I roam around the Internet tonight, I learned that he died at the very early age of 60. Kind of depressing.

A 13 Year Old Boy, a $400 Million Inheritance, and a Wheels Off Dead Dad

This story is too crazy to be believed. But I was interested to learn that the dad's fourth wife was the winner of the U.S. "Miss Petite" contest. They have that?

More Judicial Confirmation Observations

Ok, I said I wouldn't be sucked in, but I am. I just watched ABC World News Tonight and got caught up on the John Roberts confirmation hearings. Knee jerk reactions: (1) the guy is smooth, (2) the guy is probably brilliant, (3) elected Senators are smooth and brilliant but I want to strangle all of them, and (4) I think I'm a smart guy, but I also believe I would crumble under all that national attention and pressure.

Liberal Media?

Heck, even I thinks so after seeing this about the Roberts confirmation hearings.

Now This Is Bad PR For The Evacuees

"FORT WORTH - A Louisiana man [Glenn E. Holloway, 28, - pictured] who fled Hurricane Katrina is in police custody today, accused of trying to abduct a 14-year-old girl Monday after she got off her school bus in east Fort Worth." - Full story in the Star-Telegram

Worth a Giggle

Funny video phone commercial.

I'm Looking For My Black's Law Dictionary

At John Robert's senate confirmation hearing today, Arlen Specter asked John Roberts if he considered Roe v. Wade to be a "super duper precedent".

Cowboy Up

Now this will play big in Wise County when it is released in December: "Brokeback Mountian" - a gay cowboy movie. Catch it in theaters before you head off to Northside.

I'm Pretty Sure . . .

. . . the use of cages is always a sign of bad parenting.

Now This Explains My Trouble With Women . . .

. . . because I made the exact same tape last week! Edit: The Comments have been deleted. Let's reel it in a bit folks. Reel it in.

Stuff People Will Never Know

At John Roberts confirmation hearing today, there was an odd scene. Cameras caught Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) working on a crossword puzzle during the day. But when it came his turn to speak, he became emotional and "seconds after asserting that 'a super-legislator body is not what the court was intended to be,' " he paused and wept." Those are the politicians that drive me insane. And need to be voted out of office. There will come a day when honesty and candor is all that voting public cares about. (By the way, I found this picture on his official web site. Sheesh.)

Horrible Stories Buried In The Newspaper

What makes news and what doesn't? I found the following on page 9B of the Morning News: "A 79 year old woman died from injuries she suffered after a teenager stuck her Saturday with his SUV, according to Grapevine police. Lois Lorenzano apparently walked behind the gray GMC Yukon as the boy . . . was backing up in a parking lot . . . . No charges have been filed." There is a growing, and stupid, trend in this state to file criminal charges when an individual never intended to harm another individual. I hope the prosecutor in this case leaves well enough alone. It's an accidental tragedy. Let's call it that.

Crazy Stuff

A half an hour before the Monday Night Football game tonight, we had a couple of crazy incidents. First was a fight between Falcon Kevin Mathis and Eagle Jeremiah Trotter - both were ejected (video is here - and I've never seen a referee throw a flag before a game). Second, after the fight, the two teams met in the middle of the field and a brawl almost started (video here).

We Knew She Shouldn't Have Gotten Drenched At the MTV Awards

Kelly Clarkson's concert tour has been delayed because of bronchitis. As we blogged about earlier, she was involved in a wacky lets-get-soaking-wet on stage performance at the MTV awards a couple of weeks back. Coincidence? Probably.

An Incredible Story . . .

. . . with a very sad ending.

Time Waste

Back by popular demand. (Drag her with your mouse to get her "unstuck").

nip/tuck

I love this show (as I work my way through the second season on DVD). I'm always one season behind on television. Then again, I like anything that makes me do a double take and say "Did I just see what I think I saw?"

Big Bag Of Nothing

The confirmation hearings over Supreme Court nominee John Roberts provide little, if any, interest to me. It's a time for grand standing and sound bits from Senators. It's a time for vague but intellectually honest answers from Roberts. Nothing will be learned, and no Senator will change the way he intends to vote as of today. Oh, for the days of Anita Hill. ------------------------- Edit & Update from Slate scorecard below:

• Senators acknowledging that Roberts is really, really smart: 18
• Republicans ranting about judicial activists: 7
• Republican Senators exhorting Roberts not to answer any questions more complicated than Roberts' choice of hair-care products: 6
• Senators referring to God and/or angels: 5 (Three of them Democrats)
• Senators offering grim estimates of John Roberts' extraordinary life expectancy: 4 (ranging from 25 to 40 years)
• Senators fretting about the constitutionality of microscopic tags that can be implanted in a person's body to track his every movement: 1 (Joe Biden, D-Del.)
• Senators referring to court decisions that limit congressional powers:4
• Senators referring to pregnancy, abortion, or choice: 5
• Senators referring to the failure of federalism and Katrina: 2 (Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.)
• Senators who cry: 1 (Tom Coburn, R-Okla.)

Let The Poor Kid Sleep

Listening to Kanye West? The Dixie Chicks? Talk Radio?

Mattie's Restaurant . . .

. . . on the square in Decatur is mysteriously closed.

I Think I'm Scared To Drive On The Highway

Random thought after checking the Update this morning: can we have a little more auto carnage?

Random National Security Thought

You know, the hurricane didn't cause the damage to New Orleans, it was the break of the levee (or the equivalent of a levee). So if there had never been a hurricane, couldn't the same disaster have been caused by one single bomb placed along the levee? After all, the possibility of the city being destroyed by a levee break was widely known. And wouldn't the casualty count been greater if the break had come without warning? Are there other parts of our country equally susceptible to such damage at the hands of one bomb? (By the way, that's a picture of Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park that is under water).

Kind Of Quick To Forget

I was in the grocery store check out line today when I heard one lady ask another lady what the date was. The second lady had to pull out her calender to find out. Once she said "the 11th" neither acknowledged the obvious. Or maybe it wasn't obvious.

Not The Best Way To Start A Date

Yesterday. Friend of mine comes over to my house. After a little bit we go to the garage and get in my car. Raise the garage door. Put it in reverse. Back out. And ..... ....run into the front of her car that was parked in the driveway behind me.

And Every Chapter Begins "I've Been Shot Nine Times"

While scanning the National Book Bestseller list in the Morning News, I noted that #10 on the Hardback NonFiction list was "From Pieces to Weight" by 50 Cent. The man is an author?

Random Saturday Football Observations

• The Texas Longhorns are very, very good.
• How would you like to be a TCU fan? One Sunday you beat OU and are on top of the world and the next you lose to SMU.
• Baylor (for what it is worth) wore green helments for the first time instead of the traditional gold. That drives me insane. You never see a big time college program change helments.
• And someone stole my lawnmower over the last 24 hours.