Another Notable Death

Shot to death. It reminded of me when I was in an airport in September of 1994 and saw this cover of Sports Illustrated in a book store. I remember thinking "Who?" especially since the college football season had just begun. If memory serves me correctly, he didn't win the Heisman. Not that it matters now.

Why Do I Always Get Hooked On "16 and Pregnant"?

Recruiter asks her, "Have you ever used, possessed, sold, or transported any illegal drugs, including marijuana, even if upon an experimental basis?" Note to military: You can't be that picky.

Gone!

Not like in dead. Like in resigned. What a nut case. Her (what looks like) hastily called press conference, was a little bizarre. She seemed out of breath and went on a right-wing-agenda rant. But if she wants to run for president, she makes this announcement on a Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend? The absolute worst time to get your message out. Edit: The national media wasn't even there to broadcast the resignation speech. They had to rebroadcast the footage from a local Alaskan station. So odd.

Legal News You Can Use

A couple of folks under the post below asked whether, and I paraphrase, "The Man can jack with you by stopping your boat on Lake Bridgeport even if you are not doing anything wrong?" Shockingly and amazingly, our "free" country allows law enforcement to stop a boat without probable cause or reasonable suspicion that any crime has occurred. Translated: They can jack with you at their discretion. Game wardens with unfettered power. That's all we need.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I get a kick out of John Wiley Price needling Dallas County DA Craig Watkins who whines about having to cut his budget like everyone else. "OK. Whatever. If they haven't learned in all this time how to manage it, then maybe they are not the right people for the job."
• Bucket List Wish: Watching a couple of tennis matches at Wimbledon.
• Speaking of, I'm watching Roger Federer in the semi-finals right now. He's probably the greatest player ever and most people wouldn't recognize him on the streets.
• My Costa Rica trip, now planned for January, is coming closer to fruition.
• I never use the word "fruition."
• There's over 100 hours of Michael Jackson rehearsing for the upcoming tour? Hello, documentary. And the little footage released so far is great.
• And if the production company owns the rights to that footage, it'll make more off of it (once slickly produced) than the concert would have ever brought in.
• And the Jackson/Production Company contract had to be broad enough to cover the splitting of profits from "any and all reproductions, rebroadcasts, or use of video footage" of the concert or rehearsal. Right? Maybe.
• Good weather for Lake Bridgeport this weekend: Hot with little wind. (High winds can ruin a day on the lake quicker than anything else.)
• I finally found the Jacksons movie on VH1 -- it's five hours long!!
• Eleven horses die in Parker County because of no water.
• It's a holiday for me. I was jogging outside at 7:00 a.m. (It was a combination of I can't sleep late, and I wanted to get it over with. The heat, even at that time, is brutal.)
• After my home Internet nightmare from a couple of weeks ago, everything is fine now.
• Being good at Guitar Hero = Kinda Cool. Being World Champion of Guitar Hero = Spare.
• Ted Nugent is on the cover of Texas Monthly in connection with the magazine's lead article. Either he's got a Red Neck act going on or he's just a Red Neck. Either way, I'm not a big fan.
• The ol' U.S. turns 233 tomorrow. Anybody else remember celebrating the Bicentennial which seemed like yesterday?

Watch Out For Those In Car Cameras

The Chief of Police had to resign over this? You gotta be kidding. Did you see how hot the female cop was? I would let the local troopers stick a thousand needles in me on No Refusal Weekend if it meant I got to make out with that chick. What's this world coming to? Come on, people. Back the Blue.

Obama's Tweet At 1:10 P.M.

Well, this should solve that 9.5% unemployment rate. (Yep, even I think stuff like this is silly.)

Thursday Afternoon Pick Me Up

Jessica Simpson before singing the National Anthem yesterday at some pro-am golf tournament where her celebrity boyfriend, and part-time Cowboy QB, Tony Romo was playing with Tiger Woods.

Keeping Up With Our County Neighbor

In an exclusive interview with a Jacksboro ISD Board Member*, I learned that the new Tiger Stadium (which is behind the new school under construction in the above pic) will have artificial turf. _________________ * Meaning I saw my buddy David Spiller at the courthouse.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Fireworks = Celebration Of Liberty or Fireworks = Chance To Blow Up Stuff?
• As U.S. troops engage in a 4,000 person "major offensive" in Afghanistan, the Taliban has captured a U.S. soldier. This could get messy.
• The oldest Jonas brother is engaged? Let me be the first to say, "Kid, are you out of your freakin' mind?"
• And why do they call it a "proposal"? That sounds like the opening offer before extended negotiations. Then again, maybe that's the way it should really work.
• News released this morning: The U.S. unemployment rate is now at 9.5% -- the highest in 25 years. I still think we could be in for another economic implosion.
• Rhome PD appears to be picking on rock trucks lately.
• Speaking of Rhome, whatever happen to the wacky news that the mayor, city council, and police used to give us on a weekly basis? I hate stability.
• South Carolina still has an adultery criminal statute. (Or so said my radio.)
• "Two Fort Worth lawmakers seek independent inquiry into Rainbow Lounge incident." That's just grandstanding. They are lawmakers, not enforcers.
• (Note to Ticket fans: There's news about The Hammer)
• New book I downloaded: Assassination Vacation.
• They still haven't caught that "pervert" in Grapevine.

Want A Do Over?

What's More Bizarre?

The Cleavage Squirrel or the Wacky Anchors?

Get Ready For This In Your Inbox

The world saw the disappearance of an Air France aircraft [this month] during a trans Atlantic flight between Rio to Paris. Two shots taken inside the plane before it crashed. The two photos attached were apparently taken by one of the passengers in the aircraft, just after the break-up and before the aircraft crashed. The photos were retrieved from the camera's memory stick. You will never get to see photos like this. In the first photo, there is a gaping hole in the fuselage through which you can see the tailplane and vertical fin of the aircraft. In the second photo, one of the passengers is being sucked out of the gaping hole. But I thought they looked familiar. First correct guess gets a free Liberally Lean t-shirt (as soon as I create a Liberally Lean t-shirt.) Edit: That was quick. First response was the winner. Edit: And it appears a Bolivian TV station was fooled by the photos.

Don't Jack With Steve Ryan

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• South Carolina governor Mark Sanford failed to, uh, shut up yesterday calling the Girl From Argentina his "soul mate." (I told you after his first press conference that he loved her.)
• A bomb killed 27 in Iraq yesterday - the first day that U.S. troops pulled out of . Yep, this war has gone swimmingly.
• I'm almost finished with my book about the downfall of Bear, Stearns and, although a lot of it is over my head, it was fascinating. (You probably don't recall that the Wall Street firm went belly up last year after at one point having it's stock sell at around $170 a share.)
• But there was an incredibly rich guy named Joe Lewis from Orlando that bet the firm would pull out of it when the stock hovered around $100 a share (before the plummet.) He was worth about $2.5 billion and gambled just shy of $1 billion when he purchased about 9.5% of the firm's shares during the crisis. Bad call. Very bad call.
• I may be on vacation in a couple of weeks but I'm trying to get this blog to do some automatic uploading of "best of" posts. I care about you that much.
• I've never voted in the Major League Baseball All-Star contest but I read that you can vote a maximum of 25 times online. Sheesh. And that's only from one computer.
• I wrote about Outliers a few weeks back. If you get a chance to read this book, do it.
• New Minnesota Senator Al Franken (yep, he was declared the winner yesterday by some "liberal winnie" court) is a heck of a lot smarter than you boys think he is. I saw him on Celebrity Jeopardy about 15 years ago where he absolutely smoked the competition (and me.) And his three books are simply great.
• A constable should never be involved in a police chase.
• The Messenger is doing its "Best Of" contest this year, and I noticed for the first time they have a Best Blog category. I would like for the Liberally Lean Army to gather up your pliers and blow torches* if I don't win. Decatur will make Tehran look like a family picnic. [*Pulp Fiction reference]
• I don't get beaten down by all the Michael Jackson coverage as everyone else, but why in the world does the Rev. Al Sharpton keep showing up on my television invention?
• If you get to see the most famous documentary of the singer, called "Living With Michael Jackson", do it. It's great. Especially now.
• And there is going to be a 130 mile motorcade from LA to Neverland (photos) on Thursday where Jackson's body will be available for public viewing? Oh, my. What a scene.
• And Neverland could make far more money than Graceland . . . I think.
• So you're a third year law student at UT and think the world is your oyster? What about when the recruiting coordinator tells you that visits by law firms for interviews is down 45%?
• My continued belief that you can get arrested for anything: Even for having a miscarriage in Tarrant County.
• Fox 4's Heather Hays said last night, "A pervert has been slinking around the Tinseltown theater in Grapevine . . . . " Kind of shocking. But the guy "just" touches young girls on the leg. That carries with it a maximum punishment of $500.

Dallas Cowboy Miles Austin . . .

. . . rarely catches a pass but can throw one heck of a birthday party. Link.

My Eyes!!!!!!

See all seven of this would be vixen at Runner's World.

Make That "Former Boyd Pastor" As Well

Link.

Flashback

A 1996 Dallas Observer article about then Wise County Attorney Stephen Hale who refused to prosecute marijuana cases. You've got to love this excerpt:

That's because Wise County has been a Democratic stronghold in countywide elections since Reconstruction, and "those damn Republicans don't have a chance up here," says Elaine Davis, Wise County Democratic chairwoman.

How time flies.

The Police State Cometh . . . To Us

I've got it on pretty good authority that Wise County will conduct a "no refusal weekend" starting Friday on most, if not all, DWI cases. That means if you refuse to provide a sample of your breath or blood after a DWI arrest, the officer will go and obtain a search warrant for that red blood of yours. Then off you go to the hospital where they will take it by force. It's like Twilight but with a badge. (Dallas Observer article on the subject.) Edit: Just got work from a very reliable source that the blood draws will not be done a Wise Regional Health System (aka the Decatur Hospital). That's where they have always occurred in the past when the officers decided to get a warrant on a case by case basis.

Stop The Internet

I think I understand most video clips. From the seedy to the funny. From the educational to the mindless. From puppies running in a yard to a stripper falling off a pole. Those are the clips which make life worth living. Until I stumbled across this one. We've got a "lady" crushing beer cans with bare hands causing them to explode. Huh? Why? And how many times does she do this? Six? I mean, if you can do it once do you really need to prove it five more times? But the crazy part is the husband/boyfriend/coach/stalker guy who is running the camera and keeps encouraging her. It's like she's trying to set a world record in the bench press and he's there to make sure it happens. I'm marking this date down as the moment I finally became old. The Internets have passed me by.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The guy that smashed into the fleeing car yesterday afternoon in Dallas (video below) was almost giddy in the post crash interviews on the news last night. That was weird.
• There was another high speed chase this morning in Dallas-- at least until the tires were shot out and she (yep, she) went 20 mph forever on rims.
• I saw a DPS trooper changing a girl's flat tire this morning on 287 outside of Rhome. I'm not sure I've ever seen that before.
• I've been reading for a few years how the federal court in Marshall, Texas is a hot bed for patent lawsuits. In fact, it may become what the Rio Grande Valley is to personal injury lawsuits. Evidence: Yesterday's $1.67 billion verdict. That's with a "B".
• I felt dumb this morning. There was a graphic put up on NBC about a jet crashing this morning with 153 people on board off the island of Comoros. But next to Comoros was the island nation of Madagascar. I had no idea. Movie, yes. Place. no.
• At 6:52 a.m. on Channel 5, the local newscast did a story on "Chuy's" opening up in Arlington. There is no way it wasn't a paid commercial disguised as a news story. That drives me nuts.
• I never take 380 to Denton but it sounds like the construction is going to be a beating.
• The Fort Worth cops are trying to justify their raid of the gay Rainbow Lounge is a little tough considering it had only been open for a week. (No personal knowledge here -- read it in the Star Telegram.)
• Hey, some of you legal eagles out there, explain this to me: What good will it do to try and attack the arrest warrant in the Russ Martin case in a pre-trial hearing? Unless evidence was found as a result of the arrest (and I don't think there was), winning that motion will mean absolutely nothing.
• The Rangers have a big series with the Angels this week. How big? So big that only 16,985 showed up last night in Arlington for Game 1. And that number looks generous compared to the empty seats on TV.
• Stop the presses, WBAP's Hal Jay actually made me giggle this morning. After sports guy Steve Lamb said it was "Free Kid Tuesday" at the ballpark tonight, Jay quipped, "They are giving away free kids?"
• U.S. troops have now withdrawn from urban areas of Iraq. But we're still hanging around in other parts of the country. Who would have thought that it would take longer defeat Iraq than the Germans and Japanese in WWII.

I'm Insane Now

Octomom Stalked By Ernie

Cow Carnage

Not earthshaking, but as the old school newspapers move to the "get it on the web fast" movement, you'll see some interesting developments. This afternoon, the Dallas Morning News reported that 35 cows in Denton County had been found dead with an estimated financial loss of $65,000. This evening the story had been amended to read 23 cows valued at $11,500. (But as a side note, I'm still disturbed of finding what I recall to be about 10 cows dead in a pasture that is now a high tone subdivision on the east side of Bridgeport. They appeared, shockingly, to have been gutted and all of the cows were, oddly, within a 30 yard circle. I ran home and told my dad about it who called the owner of the land, but I'm not sure we ever got a straight answer.)

Joe Jackson = The Devil?

If I were ever to have a famous Little Barry who died way too young at age 50, I don't think I'd first pimp my law practice when I addressed the media. (And I never saw that Jacksons movie which was a docu-drama, but it's supposed to be replayed on VH1 this month. Apparently it doesn't put ol' Joe in a very good light. After this, that's not too surprising.)

Man Runs from POleeece

Channel 8 was apparently broadcasting a police chase a few moments ago when [insert John Madden voice] "BOOM!" How the guy survived, I have no idea. But he did. Video. Edit: The higher ups at Fox 4 told me I'd better put up a link to their high quality video of the chase up or they are sending Becky Oliver after me.

Monday Afternoon Pick Me Up

Let's just say that I've got Mrs. Green #9 in sight. I'd like for you to meet Oskana Kondakova and I took this pic of her while she was frolicking at Black Creek Lake over the weekend. Sure we have a little communication problem since I don't speak Russian and she doesn't speak 'merican, but I'm pretty sure this is the one. But I guess I'll really find out this weekend when she has a chance to celebrate the 4th of July. Girlfriend needs to understand who won the Cold War.

Morning Beat Down: Who Ya Got?

• Madoff gets 150 years. (But where's the billions?)
• Team USA beats France 78-0 in football. (France? Football? Our kind of football?)
• Judge Sotomayor gets reversed by Supreme Court (allowing Rush Limbaugh to call her a "racist" yet again.)

One For The Ladies

From the Boston/Atlanta game yesterday. (Wait for the escorting off of the field.)

If interested, a guy got a couple of pics of it over the weekend. Edit: Or I could be wrong.

Not A Good Way To Start The Week

We've had shocking news on Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Billy Mays. Now we've got another one. Britney has killed her blonde hair and has gone brunette. Absolutely unacceptable. (Credit.)

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Best role of judge in any movie:Fred Gwynne in My Cousin Vinny
• I finally got my fence/gate repaired. There's quite a bit of satisfaction in doing something like that.
• I'm back to watching The Wire and I'm up to Season 3. It's still great.
• Idiocracy #1: Transformers 2 opens up the weekend with $201 million in box office receipts.
• Idiocracy #2: The Oxygen Channel has a new "reality" show for fat people who dance called "Dance You Ass Off."
• Any high school girl that thinks getting pregnant would be romantic needs to check out MTV's "16 and Pregnant."
• Cops raided a gay club in Fort Worth on Saturday night and arrested a few folks for public intoxication. The clubs in downtown and at Northside must have been drunk-free that night.
• I was not familiar with "I Survived" on The Biography Channel but a faithful reader told me that Episode 5 was about Fort Worth lawyer Jerry Wood who ran off a road in Palo Pinto County in 2006. He had been in Decatur earlier that day.
• I continue to be suspicious of anyone who brags about their marriage. (I'm seeing more and more of it.)
• I missed this last week: A Texas lawyer gets arrested on his way to a murder trial.
• I tried to watch the USA/Brazil soccer final but decided that it had the excitement level of baseball.
• I won't be upset if swindler Bernard Madoff gets 50 years today.
• Michael Jackson's full time physician is probably sweating right now. And his lawyer out of Houston was on Fox, CNN, and The Today Show this morning.
• I had forgotten how much Janet Jackson sounds like Michael.
• And I rarely listen to Kidd Kraddick, but I caught him this morning doing a pretty good defense of Jackson against the pedophile allegations.
• I've already registered for the White Rock Half Marathon and Fort Worth Half Marathon. (Last year I waited too late for the White Rock and now Fort Worth is going to put limits in place for the first time.)
• Fox News is all up in arms over an energy bill that was narrowly passed in the House on Friday.
• Billy Mays dies over the weekend. I'll be honest. I watch a lot of TV. Way too much. But I can't say I've ever seen a Billy Mays infomercial.
• Weekend shocking news: One wreck in Oklahoma claims 10 lives.
• Ran by the NFL Channel last night and they were replaying the last game in Texas Stadium. Who scored the last Cowboys' touchdown? Terrell Owens.
• And I got to see Wade Phillips look confused on the sideline. So we've got that to look forward to this year.