Had this pic just sent to me from inside Cowboys Stadium

Edit: The Dallas Morning News has a great slide show here. Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones dancing? And apparently they opened the roof in the middle of the George Strait concert. Nice touch.

And The Most Intriguing Gals From The State Meed

Go ahead, pick one you think you could outrun: This girl with the wild hair competed in a ton of events. And well.: The girl in blue is Bonnie Richardson from Rochelle who last year won the Class A team title all by herself. She may do it again. But she runs like her wheels are about to fly off.: And the starter just made me laugh. For you Ticket fans, it looks like the Hammer found a new gig.: And I just liked this one:

Other Participants At State Meet Today

Decatur's Hanna Galloway: Decatur's Bianca Morrison: Slidell's Bobbi Clemmer (who finished as Silver Medalist in the 800 meters - which I just realized and should have made a bigger deal out of):

Decatur's Cynthia Carrillo Grabs Silver Bronze Medal Today At State Meet in 1600

And she tracked a gal dowh from behind at the last second making this guy very sad (he's either a coach or a dad, but he was barking instructions all the way.)

At state track meet. Will try to post Wise County results on Twitter

And the Red Hat Society must be making money doing odd jobs now.

Oh . . .

. . . My.

Attack Of The Water Sprinklers

It's been a busy work day and slow Internet day, but I thought I'd throw this out. Stick with it. The station goes from "nothing will stop the show" to "we'll stop down the show to laugh for about a minute." Good times. And what a beating for the reporter to have to go set up his own lights and camera all by himself. (We learn that at the end.)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I know we've got the youngest Mayor in the state (23 year old J.D. Clark of Chico), but I'm also told that Newark has a 95 year old city councilwoman.
• Overheard two days ago from one mother to another: "Kindergarten graduation is retarded."
• "But when Karen, 19, first moved from Colombia to Irving 10 years ago, she spoke no English and had to repeat the third grade at J.O. Davis Elementary, where she started out in bilingual classes" Today she is the Valedictorian of Irving MacArthur High School. (Her brother is the Salutatorian.)
• Good idea for the Messenger: Track down Wise County Valedictorians from 10+ years ago and find out what they are doing now.
• I'm halfway considering driving down to the State Track Meet. Added bonus: Texas and TCU are playing in the NCAA Baseball Playoffs in Austin this weekend as well. But I'll probably not do it.
• A football note you don't care about: The Baylor v. Wake Forest game will be an ABC regional game on opening weekend. Baylor hasn't been an ABC regional game (much less a national game) since 1997. That's sad. (And I still have my unused ticket to that 1997 game where Miami, with little known Edgerrin James, went into Waco and won 45-14)
• What size denim does Kelly Clarkson wear these days? Oh, My!!!!
• The "Air Guitar Championships" are back in Dallas. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is dumber.
• Oil is back to almost $70 a barrel. I guess the Barnett Shale boom is back on.
• Seventeen in North Texas are arrested on a drug investigation by "the FBI, ATF, IRS and a host of other law enforcement groups." And your government throws a fancy press conference with high priced graphics in order to justify their jobs.
• After I wrote that, I realized I had forgotten to look for a code name for that drug interdiction because there is always a fancy code name. I found it: "Operation Highwaymen." Sheesh.
• They need to call it "Operation Time Waste."
• Channel 8's Dale Hansen taking all of June off due to depression? Uh, I'm suddenly suffering from depression and would like to take all of June off with pay as well.
• Fox 4 reporter forgets where he is the other day. (But you have to wait through a 15 second commercial. Ugh. We know anybody over there that can do something about that?)
• Craziest line I saw written in anger yesterday by feuding Wise County relatives on Facebook: "You wouldn't know Jesus if he slapped you in the face." (And I'm not making that up -- somehow the fight broke out on my page.)
• Yesterday, there were some comments made on here about how much it will cost to park in the new Cowboys' Stadium. Today, Bud Kennedy has the answer.

FromThe Ol' Email Bag

Barry, I have an issue I need some info on. I know this is not Ann Landers, but, there is a very large, diverse and educated group of readers out there. This issue is about to split our home and my possible “next ex” is prepared to move out to prove her point.

Here’s the issue that I’d be interested in getting response about:

I have a sixteen year old step daughter. She is a very good kid and trusted completely. Her mother feels it’s okay for the step daughter have her boyfriend come over . . . at any time, go to our step daughters bedroom, go in, hop in bed and watch T.V. with the door closed until he’s ready to go home.

1. I am against him going into her room and closing the door. No matter how much she is trusted, it’s not appropriate.

2. I have set time limits as to how long he can stay....10 P.M. Sun. thru Thurs. nights....11 P.M. Fri. and Sat.

3. I require he knock on the door of my home before he just walks in unannounced like he lived there.

I have been told my ideas of today’s kids are different than her and that I need to come to today’s way of thinking. My wife is planning on moving out unless I “compromise”.

Opinions?

Now Confirmed

Shooting off of 407 in southern Wise County. "19 year old shot in the chest. " It may be in a relatively new subdivision just north of 407. Kincannon Drive. Edit @ 6:10 p.m.: It looks an accident, but the injury is very life threatening at this point according to a source. Edit @ 6:15 p.m.: Pronounced dead at Wise Regional. Edit @ 6:18 p.m.: Appears to be two or more kids/young adults shooting a 22 around a pond. All signs are of no foul play. A fellow blogger happened to be driving down the road.

Hippie Dance

If the hippies ever need a leader, I've found them one. It takes this guy exactly 1 minute and 20 seconds to create a dance party that Don Cornelius and the Soul Train Gang would be proud of. Heck, I almost stood up beside my desk, stripped down to my underwear, and joined in because I was so caught up in the euphoria. And I've never been, but this is pretty much the way I picture the Decatur Chamber of Commerce Auction party every year.

This Could Be A Crazy Poster

I was up at the third floor of the courthouse this morning and saw a guy, there for criminal docket, sporting a crazy T-shirt. I decided to take a pic of the back of it but I got a little too close. This is what I got.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• That's a good looking Dallas police car.
• The half-sized paper towel is a good invention.
• The Fox 4 weather guy showing us the lake levels every day drives me a little nuts. Hey, they don't change that much from day to day.
• Someone told me Liberally Lean was blocked at Bridgeport ISD. True? What about Decatur ISD?
• President Obama is over in Egypt this morning giving a speech as he trys to make peace with the Muslim world. Can you imagine how uncomfortable W would have looked walking into that room?
• "FORT WORTH — The death of a man who fell from a downtown parking garage Tuesday has been ruled a suicide by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office." This very short story provides no information as to how that ruling was made. And allow me to quote Kip Dynamite when I say, "Like anyone could possibly know that."
• I never have thought sports radio boys Ben & Skin were very funny.
• I would never eat at a "Tea Room."
• I can't wait to see what the traffic is like at the George Strait concert on Saturday night at the new Cowboy stadium. I'm not going. I just want to hear about it.
• I really want to see the stadium and not sure I want to wait for the OU game in early September (which seems easier to get into than a Cowboy game). But I think there's a soccer match before that which might be a good option - especially since I've never been to a soccer game in my life.
• Prosecutors dismiss a capital murder case in Fort Worth weeks before trial because they decide their evidence wasn't good enough? Uh, you want to make that decision before you charge someone with a crime that carries with it a minimum of life in prison. Oh, yeah, what about the one year he spent in the Tarrant County jail after the indictment?
• The recklessness of some prosecutors in seeking (and getting) an indictment for any case that comes across their desk is frightening.
• My neighbor's kid, who was a toddler when I moved into the neighborhood, is now mowing the lawn for the first time. Now I know why you guys have kids.

Stealth Cop

It's a little blurry, but that's a Bridgeport cop hiding behind a telephone pole with a radar gun. (His car is in the background.) Rambo couldn't hide that well. (Thanks emailer.)

Let's Bring Down The Lights

The comments were turned off over at the Messenger for a bit but apparently have been turned back on but, before you run over there and leave a pithy comment, understand that you have been given a stern tongue lashing by the new owner here.

 He's definitely "old school" believing that the majority of the public is a cautious, deliberate, and a slow to anger body who believes in intellectual debate. Yeah, riiiiiiiight. That's also why I post pics of scantily clad women every morning. A friend of mine (who currently hates me), once referred to those who comment on Liberally Lean as "a band of monkeys." You know, that's kind of true. It's a freakin' circus of idiots, geniuses, racists, tree huggers, Ticket listeners, public officials, pro-lifers, pro-choicers, moms, dads, kids, spider monkeys, Christians, atheists, comedians, country folk, and the double fake everything. But the potential for a civilized debate? Nothing could be further from the truth.

An Internet comment board is nothing more than a high tech bathroom wall. Things people would never say in public will readily be scribbled in the privacy of four walls -- secure in their veil of anonymity. It's human nature. I accept that. I embrace that. That being said, I haven't really set forth my very loose rules for comments on Liberally Lean. I easily approve 90% of all comments - maybe more. And by "approve", I mean I push a button that says "publish". It doesn't mean, obviously, I endorse a particular view. So what will I not publish? Get your popcorn ready:

• Don't drop an F Bomb
• But what if you drop an F Bomb but hide one, two or three of the letters with a "&;" or "#"? You know, I change my mind on that on a daily basis.
• I hate potty humor and don't allow it simply because I think it's stupid. Really stupid.
• S bombs? Sheesh. I've let them through if someone writes a smart and passionate comment and then drops it in because he's so mad. But, generally, I'll block that.
• Even I think it's silly that I have the rules on the F bomb and S bomb.
• Derogatory statements about named individuals other than me? If they are private individuals, I think they should be off limits. If they are a public official/public figure and it's a comment of opinion, I'll let it go.
• I'll let you criticize Wordkyle, MzChief, and Jarhead because they can take care of themselves. But I sometimes feel uneasy about that.
• An exception to public official criticism: Leave prosecutors and judges in the county alone because if they get mad at me, I'll have to get a real job. If they get mad at me, my life becomes much harder. This exception is based on personal, good old fashioned American greed. "Greed, is good."
• But even with public officials, I'll avoid statements of fact that I don't know to be true. I won't publish "School Board member Joe Blow committed an illegal act by stealing from the seminar training fund." But "Joe Blow is an idiot" would probably go through. It's a tough call sometimes.
• Sexual comments? Sheesh. If it's profane, I'll kill it. If it's a little creative and subtle and funny, I'll let it go.
• Racist comments? For years, I've let those go through because that's been a pet peeve of mine. All members of the "white club" walk around saying "there is no racism in this country" when I know just the opposite is true. So I'll let the n-word go through to the comments just to let people know that racism is alive and well. But even I've grown tired of those comments.
• Do I break these rules sometimes because I'm too lazy to read every word of every comment or I make a mistake? Oh, yeah.

Now I'm off to find the next Random Thought girl. I demand a civilized debate about her tomorrow morning or you will be banned.

Wise Regional Has Tricked Up Car

Credit.

People Are Crazy . . . .And Lucky

"June 2, 2009: JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli woman laid herself on the tracks just before a train roared through a crossing in an apparent suicide attempt. But seconds after the train passed, she got up and walked away almost unhurt. The incredible scene was captured on the closed circuit security TV system at the Kfar Vitkin level crossing in Israel's north."

Browsing Through THe Bridgeport Index

A faithful reader was roaming around the Bridgeport Index archives and found this blurb. It's actually from a 1974 issue that was reflecting upon what was in a 1960 issue of the Index.

It's That Kate Gal Again

Holy, cow. I watched that Jon and Kate Make Eight show once where she raised up her blouse to show her post-krillion-baby belly. Oh, my. I was so traumatized I could hardly change the channel to Cinemax. So there's no question she's had surgery. And kudos to the surgeon. Well done, sir. Well done.

Brazilian Soccer Team Celebrates . . .

. . . but weight-of-team-to-tumble-over factor not correctly calculated.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

Rare Photo Of Ex-Mrs. Green #3

• We've had three earthquakes recently (yesterday in Cleburne, May 16th in Euless and October 21st of last year in Irving)? What' going on?
• Some of the "I hate all drilling" crowd are blaming in the exploration of the Barnett Shale. My one semester of college Geology provides me with the expertise to say, "Heck if I know."
• There's a Mesquite elementary school that has shut down because over 100 students have the flu. If that had happened during the Swine Flu Panic of 2009, every school in North Texas would have shut down.
• I get a ton of mass forwarding anti-Obama racist emails like I'm part of some "white club" or something.
• I finally solved my home Internet problems. I almost had to go to therapy.
• After the tech guy installed my new router, he wrote down the new wireless key like he expected me to know what to do with it. I did, but would everyone?
• Will Ferrell is everywhere promoting the new Land of the Lost movie. Not interested.
• Oddest encounter outside the Decatur courthouse yesterday. A scruffy looking guy was carrying a bottle of baby oil and a lighter and then began to bombard me with questions: "What's in this bottle?" "Can I trust the label?" "Would you rub something on you that would clog your pores forever?" "Which one of these is more toxic?" I have no idea.
• I think I heard where our Texas government killed someone last night.
• Crazy story: A senior vice president of Frost Bank plummeted 14 stories to his death yesterday in downtown Fort Worth and no one knows what happened.
• Wow: The Bridgeport Index is in the process of placing every page of its paper online from 1957 to 1975. It's a little cumbersome but it does have a name index. I browsed around it a little bit and it's fascinating. (I tried to find my birth announcement, but couldn't.)

A Faithful Reader . . .

. . . put a lot of effort into this proposed logo change. The silhouettes of hot chicks in the background is a very nice touch, but we can't foresake Speedo Man, can we?

The Art Of Track

If you want to see Joe Duty's photo essay on Wise County track athletes competing at the State Meet this weekend. Here ya go. (That's a Slidell gal above.)

Wise County, I Don't Even Know You Anymore

Ran across this graphic on Facebook. I demand an explanation as to why I was not informed of this immediately.

Denton Police Arrest Of The Night

What's the world coming to when even this girl can't catch a break?

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Report of highway 114 shut down in Paradise at CR 3259 this morning due to a wreck -- and that's from WBAP.
• Crazy news that happens all the time: (1) a person driving the wrong way on the North Dallas tollway - happened last night, (2) a single car crash where the driver later turns out to be a gunshot/murder victim -- happened again in Fort Worth two days ago.
• If I set the timer on my microwave, I have this weird ability to sense when it gets under five seconds on the countdown.
• I'm just four chapters into it, but "Outliers" is one fascinating book.
• I'm pretty sure that there's a bill on Gov. Perry's desk which will allow the cops to take your blood without a warrant after a DWI arrest IF you have two prior convictions for DWI. And in a couple of years, they'll amend it to make it applicable to first time DWI arrests. That's how MADD works the legislature.
• GM declares for bankruptcy and the stock market goes up 221 points ---- all on the same day. Is there any question that we are living in Bizzarro world?
• And some "financial advisor" on WBAP said GM stock is pretty much worthless right now, and will always be.
• My closest friends tell me they get upset when I allow comments critical of me on here. "I just get so mad at those people," someone told me the other day. I've got lots of faults, but having a thin skin isn't one of them.
• I would have liked to have seen No Doubt last Saturday night in Dallas. Not enough to go through the arse whip of actually going, though.
• Do you think a new movie starring Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, and Mary Steenburgen would go straight to DVD? Yep, Into the Electric Mist. I watched most of it last night and it was really good.
• Texas/OU has been set for an 11:00 a.m. kickoff this October. I'm already excited.
• I don't recall a plane just vanishing like the Air France jet, but I don't know how you find it once it plummets into the ocean. Edit: ABC News just reported that it might have been found this morning.
• There was one American couple on board the plane (Michael and Ann Harris) who had moved to Rio last year from The Woodlands and were on the plane headed for a "seminar" in France. That sounds like a pretty good life that was gone in the blink of an eye.
• And he was a geologist for Devon.
• President Obama and his wife have a date night in New York on Saturday and the right wing goes crazy at the cost. Uh, folks, he's the President.
• Crazy storm this morning in Wise County, and this is what it looked like shortly before 7:00 a.m.

Afternoon Mind Bursts

• After I posted my "I've got a friend who I think is bi-polar" thought this morning, I had five people email me wanting to know why I said that about them.
• I have a lot of crazy friends.
• There was a district court docket today in Decatur today that was excruciating slow.
• As we all sat around in the back griping, one funny-man-lawyer said, "Sheesh, guys. It's not like you're out working on the highway for two hours."
• Whenever you represent a hot girl, every other attorney in the room will come by and give you the business.
• One of my court appointed clients showed up for court with the biggest hole in his jeans that you've ever seen. And, trust me, it wasn't a fashion statement.
• As we walked up to the judge, I tried to position myself to block the offending clothing from, uh, a person's eyes who would be offended. At one point I even discretely lowered my legal pad to block the clothing from his view.
• When I walked to the rear of the courtroom, I had this test text message waiting for me on my phone:

Another Record Month

Further proof that we all have too much time on our hands. You should all be very ashamed of yourselves.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Jimmy Johnson was at the invitation only grand opening of the new Cowboys' Stadium? I didn't see that on TV at all.
• After four months of receiving Texas Monthly as a Christmas present, I'm hooked.
• A shocking reminder in last week's issue of Newsweek, covering our history with Iran, about a story I had completely forgotten about: "January 20, 1981: The Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down an Iranian airliner it had mistaken for a fighter jet, killing 290 passenger." Edit: Someone pointed out the date is incorrect. That's probably my mistake and not Newsweek's.
• "Drag Me To Hell" may be the worst movie ever. After seeing some great reviews and learning the director had some street cred, I checked it out. I can't begin to tell you how much I hated it. Then I was also stunned to see it was rated PG-13.
• The Cowboy scout that was paralyzed in the pavilion collapse . . . . I wonder what this morning is like for him.
• Plaid shorts have made a comeback. I last owned some in the late 1980s.
• Jim Carey = Not Funny.
• Pink is now synonymous with breast cancer awareness. The color, not the singer.
• I walked out of a restaurant on Friday, got in the family truckster, turned the key, and .... nothing. Battery dead. After trying a variety of options, I ended up walking 1 1/2 miles. Nice night though.
• Kate, of Kate and My Beaten Down Husband Make 8, is in a bikini. Hey, now.
• Extreme Makeover, Home Edition is kind of a tear jerker, isn't it?
• The Rangers won 20 games in May. That's the most in team history.
• I think I've got a friend who is bipolar.
• The last survivor of the Titanic died this weekend. She was looking pretty old when she climbed up on that rail in the movie.
• I kid.
• The MTV Music Awards were last night and they had a bit on "Real mean walk away from explosions in slow motion without looking back." Funny.
• And, man, the crowd went completely bonkers over that Twilight guy. (Who, by the way, doesn't seem all that bright.)
• And the most awkward moment of the night: Miley Cyrus' acceptance speech: "I wanna thank God, helloooooo!" Wow.
• An Air France jet with 228 people on board is officially "missing" this morning after last being tracked over the Atlantic. World famous aviation expert Ann Curry speculates that it might be a lightening strike. Yep, that happens all the time.

I'm On The Shoulder Of Information Super Highway

So I've been having Internet issues at home and it takes A LOT before I'll call tech support. But I finally got frustrated enough to do so. Twenty-two minutes later, the really nice guy on the other end of the line told me he'd have to send someone out. And get this: He apologized because it would take until tomorrow (which was Sunday). Heck, I'm happy it would be within a month. But I had the dreaded window of 12 to 4 p.m. But my luck continued to roll when the guy shows up before 1:00 p.m. Meet "Dave" - the tech guy. He takes a look at the problem and decides that he's going to have to swap out the modem. No problem. Let's get after it. All is going well (with the exception of the awkward moment when Dave says, "It's awful quiet in here. Everyone run out on ya?") Buddy, do you have a minute? So I'm sitting in my favorite chair reading the paper expecting to have me some lightening fast Internet any second. And, then, a power down moment. Dave rounds the corner and says, "There's nothing I can do for you." Me: "What?" Dave: "They tell me it's a billing issue." Me: "What?" Dave: "They probably should have told you that when you called." Me: "But I've got it set up for automatic credit card billing." Dave: "Sorry, nothing I can do. Here's the number you need to call." Me: "Well, is that my tech problem? Is it cutting out because I'm behind on the payment? I would think they would cut it off completely. Will you have to come back?" Dave: "I really can't say." (And it was like he was following a manual that read, "If you find out you're in the house of a deadbeat, do NOT provide any assistance. Get out immediately. And fast.") As he drove off and a tear rolled down my cheek, I began to try and figure out what went wrong. Ah ha! It dawned on me that MasterCard had sent me a new card with a new number a couple of months ago because "my account, along with others, may have been compromised in a security breach." I had forgotten to update the new credit card number with the Internet company. OK, I'll just update it on the Internet. Uh....not so fast. So I dialed the number. Uh....not so fast since "Customer service is closed." Slumping in my chair. Oddly, my Internet fires back up and I'm able to make the change online. Then it died for a few hours. Now it's back up. Now if I can just get this posted befo

Ponder This

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Late-term abortion doctor George Tiller, a prominent advocate for abortion rights wounded by a protester more than a decade ago, was shot and killed Sunday at a church in Wichita where he was serving as an usher and his wife was in the choir, his attorney said.

Last Night's Leisurely Baseball Game: 7 Hours

(Above, Texas player is seen showing loyalty to the Devil by demonstrating some weird hand gesture.)

I like crazy things. This qualifies. Edit: And I just noticed the most shocking sentence of all: "Texas reliever Austin Wood pitched 13 innings, including 12 1-3 of no-hit ball before allowing a two-out single to Tony Sanchez in the 19th."