The Evil Empire Comes To Baylor Today To Play A Football Game

I can't watch such carnage. Edit: The Longhorns had to resort to cheating in order to squeak out a 47-14 win.

Playing It Safe

Boring Legal Stuff

I saw this headline in the Star Telegram about a Denton County case, and wondered what new evidence they had. I mean, you just don't let a murder go unsolved for years and then haul off and indict someone for it. Uh, well, I guess you do:

Jamie Beck, first assistant criminal district attorney, said she cannot go into details because the case is pending. "All I can tell you is that new evidence isn’t what brought the investigation to go forward," she said.

So what happened? Well it looks like prosecutor Cary Piel (who filled in a couple of years ago in the Wise County DA's office when they were shorthanded) tried a murder case, won, and went looking for more:

The case got a second look in August after Denton County prosecutor Cary Piel had finished another murder case, Beck said. He asked Texas Ranger Tracy Murphree after the trial if he had any cold cases, and Murphree mentioned the Stobaugh investigation, Beck said.

So what got Piel so excited? My super power memory led me to recall this case in August where the Denton County jury convicted a former cop of murder seven years after the "fact" with almost no evidence to support their decision. It's almost as if the prosecutor thought, "Sheesh, if they'll convict that guy, who else will they convict? Hey, Ranger, what else you got in your filing cabinet?" But let's ask Cary Piel directly. What do you think about this new/old case?

Piel is not allowed to talk to the media, Beck said . . . .

I don't think that's meant as a slight at Cary. She probably meant, "I'm the designated spokesman for the DA's office and all communication will come through me" but, if that's true, they might want to find a better spokesman for the DA's office.

Risky Business Reenactment Fail

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I've got a purple tie on today.
• I think I got ripped off last night buying some towels at Bed, Bath and Beyond, or are they just expensive in general?
• Countdown to the first comment about me being in a Bed, Bath, and Beyond: Three . . . two . . . one
• The news was reporting yesterday that former Texas Ranger and Argyle resident John Wetteland was "suicidal" when cops were called to his house. Today's story was a bit more ambiguous. (And every sportswriter I've ever heard to talk about Wetteland says he is a tremendous jerk.)
• First excerpts are out of Sarah Palin's book to be released Tuesday: She never mentions Levi Johnston. How is that possible when they paraded that kid out at the Republican National Convention?
• I think I'm obsessed with Palin. If she's on my TV screen, I stop down.
• This is only the second sellout of TCU's stadium in 25 years? I bet the last one was when the Evil Empire came to town in the mid-1980s when TCU finally rose from the dead. (Wise County connection: James Maness of Decatur was on the TCU squad and Debbie O'dell-Selz of Bridgeport was a TCU cheerleader.)
• Wait. TCU is a 20 point favorite and Utah is running out a freshman quarterback? What's all the excitement about?
• While you were sleeping: The lawyer for the Ft. Hood shooter says he (the shooter) is paralyzed.
• There's only a couple of people/entities that I have their Twitter updates delivered directly to my phone via text message. The Messenger is one of them. Note to the boys over there: You have got to STOP the 15 tweet onslaught when the paper comes out -- especially when five of them are dedicated to obituaries.
• When I was a kid, I'd catch horned frogs all the time. The rumor was they would spit blood, but I never saw that happened. But I can't remember the last time I saw one in the wild.
• Not many people notice when it's Friday the 13th (As 90% of you reading this realize it is Friday the 13th.)
• To become a DPS trooper, you normally have to go through a 26 week training program in Austin. Not any more, at least if you are a certified police officer. Now they are offering just a 10 week training course with a HUGE catch: You must agree to border patrol duty for the first two years. Starting salary is $2,982.25 per month. (Note to recruiters: You might want to add $18 to that because $3,000 a month sound a lot better.)

Rhome City Council Excitement

Jennifer Ruiz is the former Rhome Police Officer that was terminated in a messy situation a month or two ago. (From Facebook.)

Is This Real?

A faithful reader emailed me this. Oh, my.

Talking Sportys Tax Money

Here's the breakdown of the combined salaries of assistant football coaches in the Big 12. (The salary of head coaches is not included. Also, Baylor is not included since it's a private school and doesn't have to respond to those pesky Open Records requests.) 1. Texas: $2,948,698: (high $900,000, low $152,942), national ranking, 2. 2. Oklahoma: $2,464,600: (high, $406,500, low $201,900), national ranking, 6. 3. Missouri: $2,164,020: (high, $320,200, low $201,800), national ranking, 8. 4. Oklahoma State: $2,130,000: (high, $335,000, low $125,000), national ranking, 10. 5. Texas A&M: $2,100,508: (high, $404,633, low, $166,161), national ranking, 11. 6. Nebraska: $1,934,160: (high, $376,000, low, $151,000), national ranking, 20. 7. Texas Tech: $1,913,300: (high, $332,500, low, $167,500), national ranking, 21. 8. Kansas: $1,795,300: (high, $306,100, low, $148,000), national ranking, 29. 9. Kansas State: $1,735,000: (high, $265,000, low, $120,000), national ranking, 31. 10. Colorado: $1,515,960: (high, $217,776, low, $100,000), national ranking, 43. 11. Iowa State: $1,385,000: (high, $275,000, low, $100,000), national ranking, 47. Source.

Dear Far Right: Gov. Perry Wants You

I haven't watched all of this, but he starts off with some pretty hot opinions.

Boring TCU/Texas Tech News

Or is it? Tech has booted TCU off of its 2010 schedule and replaced them with Weber State. Edit: Still a little up in the air, but it looks like a done deal.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• The lawyer for the Ft. Hood shooter sounded really smart on the radio yesterday (NPR) but looked really wheels off on TV.
• I don't think TCU is a bad team. I think they are really good -- probably Top 10 worthy. But if they lose on Saturday, they'll never live it down.
• While you were sleeping: A family died and their two dogs in a North Dallas fire overnight. Fires in North Dallas get more publicity than fires in South Dallas.
• When the news of the retiring of Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle broke, there is not a fan of The Ticket that didn't think, "Did you not like your job? I'm mean, did you not like your gig? That wasn't the question."
• Fox 4's news footage "of the inside of the Fort Hood shooter's apartment" last night was a little silly. But I was shamefully interested.
• I completely missed the Country Music Awards last night. Not that I would have watched, but I would have at least given it a couple of minutes. When did Taylor Swift become a superstar?
• I replaced a tub faucet last night. It's the easiest job in the world assuming that screwing the thing on is even considered a job.
• Oh, man. Ex-Miss California Carrie Prejean, the chick that gets naked on camera but is anti gay-marriage, went nuts on Larry King Live. This is three and half minutes of entertaining video.
• I want the Mavericks to fail because I detest their coach.
• If I ever committed a heroic act (very doubtful), and I was to be interviewed on TV, one of the conditions would be that the word "Hero" not appear on any on-screen graphic. I've been seeing that a lot lately.
• Everyone on the radio was talking about the Oprah show yesterday where a disfigured-monkey-attacked-lady made an appearance. You know, I have no desire to see her face. What's wrong with me?
• The Ft. Hood shooter made $90,000 a year? (Or so I heard this morning.)
• A guy tries to send flowers to the Ft. Hood shooter and the FBI gives him a visit? Both acts are equally offensive.

Fox News Lies? Sean Hannity Lies? Say It Isn't So!

Absolutely amazing. Edit: And Hannity called it an "inadvertent mistake." Puhleeeeze.

Veteran's Day: Doggies Welcome Soldiers Home

Ugh. I Forgot To Post The "I LIke Turtles" Kid On Halloween

Liberally Lean apologizes for this oversight.

I Live For This Stuff

Ole Miss, a fine university in, I think, Mississippi (and the college home of at least one Blog reader), is in a bit of a tizzy today. It seems as if fans that showed up for football games had a propensity for chanting "The South will rise again!!" during the fight song. (Example at the 50 second mark below). Well, the the Grand Poobah of the university, who obviously was not raised in Wise County, said that the chant is offensive and, in light of the fact that the crowd didn't heed his warning last week to "cut it out", has now banned the fight song completely. I'm sure the chanting students will retaliate with "State's Rights!" signs, but we'll have to wait and see.

LSU girl expresses shock about news from Ole Miss

I Didn't Know There Was An App For That

For 99 cents you can get a "911 Scanner" app for the iPhone that includes a link to the Wise County Sheriff's Office? And look at that fancy "record" button. Then again, I've had it on for five minutes and haven't heard anything. Someone go commit a crime so I can test this thing.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I had two back to back dreams: (1) I ate dinner on a yacht, which I owned, surrounded by 50+ empty tables but all decked out with lighted candles on each, and (2) I was on trial for an unknown criminal offense with the proceedings being held in Paradise under a pavilion that was flown in by helicopter every morning.
• My dreams are more exciting than my weekdays.
• Obama did a good job at the Fort Hood Services yesterday.
• I had never seen the "roll call" where the name of the deceased soldier is called out among the names of other soldiers that are present.
• But Obama is "seriously considering" sending 35,000 more troops to Afghanistan? Sheesh. Don't do it.
• Texas executed someone else last night. And three more are scheduled next week. Must be the holiday season.
• I always thought Sesame Street, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, was just a little weird.
• Jarhead unfriended me on Facebook and Twitter. And he didn't even tell me we were breaking up.
• Getting "unfriended" is a new social phenomenon.
• Hottest double amputee ever. Seriously.
• A caller on Rush Limbaugh yesterday said the Obama Administration didn't want to refer to the shooting at Fort Hood as a "terrorist act" because that would prove "Obama has failed to keep us safe like President Bush did." Rush agreed.
• Texas Coach Mack Brown referred to playing Baylor this weekend as a "great challenge." Really? Maybe a great challenge not to score 70.
• It seems weird that you can wear sunglasses in those ESPN poker tournaments since having a "tell" is apparently a big deal. Why not wear a full mask?
• It took me forever to figure out that those "Left For Dead 2" billboards were for a video game.

Edit: The Messenger now has a blurb on the Chico coach which has been mentioned in the comments all day.

I'm Officially Organizing One For Wise County

"World's Largest Bikini Parade"

I'm A Little Worried About The Local Democrats

(Posted on the bulletin board in the courthouse.)

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The "rank the girls" commentor has his work cut out for him today.
• I broke my left click button on the built-in mouse pad on my laptop. Beating.
• TCU is tricking up their uniforms for this week's high profile game with Utah. Warning: Don't mess with charma. Edit: Make that "karma". What the heck is "charma"?
• The question has nothing to do with veterans or military service: Should "The Cold War" be referenced in the same list that contains "World War II", "The Vietnam War" or the "Korean War?" Seems like a fair question that rationale people could debate.
• NPR, while doing a profile on the Fort Hood shooter this morning, mentioned that "On at least one occasion he tried to convert one of his mental health patients to Islam saying it would 'save his soul.'" Is that a big deal? Would the fact that a Christian mental health care provider tried to convert a patient to Christianity because it would "save his soul" be newsworthy?
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has cancer. But he's a Muslim so we don't care, right?
• Speaking of cancer, I read this yesterday which stopped me down.
• There's an article today in the Star Telegram about defense lawyers subpoenaing records from the City of Fort Worth in criminal trials (primarily information held by the police department). Little known fact: A subpoena can be issued by the State or the defense without the judge's approval. You just fill out a form, file it with the clerk, and then hand it to someone over 18 years old to go serve it. Seems wrong.
• Insignificantly significant: The Star-Telegram's sport's section on Sunday had a blurb about Baylor's win over Missouri but did not have an article about the afternoon game. Not even an AP article. I know these are hard newspaper times, but I never remember that happening before.
• You want to run me off from your business? Refuse to leave me alone. Case in point: A cashier in Fort Worth sandwich shop yesterday who loudly told a co-worker, "He always orders the same thing. And then he's going to take his paper and go and sit at the table over there with his back towards the door."Good bye.
• A 21 year old won the World Series of Poker yesterday (and over $8 million.) His winning hand (as I try not to think of the the song Brick House)?: A pair of nines.
• I'm happy I have no desire whatsoever to shoot a deer.
• Fallen Miss California, Carrie Prejean, is all over Fox News promoting her new book. She's the oddest "family values" individual the network has ever embraced considering the recent news of a sex tape she made as a teenager for her boyfriend. Not to worry, "it's all a campaign to silence me, " she said this morning. Yep, it's all a vast left wing conspiracy.
• And does everyone have to write a book?

I'm Conflicted

This lady lied about having breast cancer (very bad) only to raise $10,000 and use the cash on breast implants (good) only to then have this book-in photo taken (bad). And we just had Breast Cancer Awareness Month (triple bad timing.) (Story from near Waco.)

Holy Cow

Background.

Monday Afternoon Pick Me Up

Scariest Play In College Football This Weekend

I said a couple of months ago that I think we'll see someone die in pro football. Heck it might be in college football. But this kid will be OK.

Messenger's Bridgeport v. Decatur Video

Game winning catch @ 3:50 mark.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Choctaw Casino in Oklahoma is huge. (At least it is from the road.) And they've built, or are building, a pretty swanky looking hotel.
• For some reason, my iPod screwed up on my early morning run yesterday so I had to do without it. Listening to the birds, my breathing, my steps, and everything else around me was not a bad thing.
• ESPN's College Gameday is coming to TCU, who somehow is now ranked #4, on Saturday. That may not happen again. Ever.
• "Muslim" does not equal "bad person."
• "Different from you" does not equal "bad person."
• I removed caulk from my shower yesterday which was a tremendous beating. But I giggled when I found out that a product called "Krud Remover" that I had purchased from Home Depot actually worked.
• Book-In Photo fun: Fairly hot 30 year old was arrested for Public Intoxication in Denton yesterday.
• But hotter.
• I actually walked in a Michael's store yesterday because I had to. Not fun.
• On the afternoon of the Fort Hood shooting, everyone was referring to the shooter as the "alleged gunman." I understand the qualifier "alleged", but on that afternoon who exactly was it that was making the "allegations?"
• It's amazing the military reported that he had died before that was confirmed.
• I forgot to mention that there was a four jet flyover at Arkansas game this weekend. Me loves me the flyover.
• I think I saw this weekend's NASCAR winner (whoever that was) firing the fake pistols he is given for winning the race. Even with blanks, that seems dangerous. Wasn't some kung fu movie star killed by a blank once?
• Cowboy fans might want to tap the Super Bowl brakes. December is coming.
• Five teens beat a 28 year old man to death in his front yard over the weekend in Wylie. Allegedly.
• In Fayetteville around 10:00 p.m. I went into a convenience store and spoke briefly to a stressed and young female clerk who was worried about whether her replacement for the third shift would show up. "I have a kid to take care of," she told me. I wonder if she has health care?
• WBAP's Mark Davis says he is wearing a Demarcus Ware jersey this morning. I was laboring under the delusion that he was a grown man.
• A Messenger reporter used the word "methodically" in two separate stories this weekend.

While You Were Sleeping

We need health care reform, but no one of those Senators knows what's really in the monstrosity. As I told a buddy of mine the other day, lawsuits are fought every day about one sentence of one bill. And this thing is what? About 2,000 pages?

Fayetteville Is A Long Way Away

• I thought I was a fan of driving. I'm not.
• On the was home I went through Southern Arkansas and Southwestern Southeastern Oklahoma. I had no idea it was that beautiful. I had no idea it was that desolate.
• Before the game, I got there really early and found a parking garage. It had an automated credit card pay system that I used. When I returned my car was booted by a private company. Sheesh. I called the number on my sticker, a guy shows up in five minutes, believes my story (which was true), and lets me go on my way. Amazing.
• The University of Arkansas has a crazy and cool tradition. Every graduate gets his or her name etched into a sidewalk on the campus. That's a lot of names, but they have lots of sidewalks. You walk upon names everywhere you go.
• Most of the leaves had fallen but not all of them. I also came across a section of Evergreens in southern Arkansas which surprised me.
• And after a krillion hours on the road yesterday. I got stuck in a 30 minute traffic jam on LBJ (and kicked myself for missing the George Bush Tollway). I almost went all Falling Down on everyone.
• And the pic below may be my favorite. I snuck out the game early and came across a couple in their forties laying out a blanket on the campus grounds.