Covering News From All Parts Of The Clobe

Faithful readers and Wise County residents send in this photo from a restaurant in Waco that made news this week.

"The place was packed. All of the news pub had her almost completely sold out of food, not to mention no burgers ( we arrived at 6:30ish). Anyhow, items such as Soul-Ho, Fat Chicken-Ho, etc are all over her menu. We shall return to try a burger in the future."


Edit: So I check in after an exhausting weekend to see I typed "Clobe". Ugh.

Liberally Lean Tourney Standings

Brought to you by attorney Mark "The Decatur Hammer" Howell and myself. (Assuming he remembers to chip in.)

Complete list.

Almost Motorcycle Death In Wise County

Link.

Idiocracy In A Prosecutor's Office

I'm stunned a DA doesn't see a problem with this, and even more stunned that such a practice is legal. (Sidenote: How lazy is her office? Just five trials to qualify for a bag of money?)

Full story.

(Credit.)

From The Update

Considering they only have control over Class C offenses prosecuted in the municipal court (punishable by fine only), that's not much of a threat.

And did they also adopt a "We've Have Some Tolerance" policy for violations of other city ordinances?

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The San Antonio girl who was stripped of her her Ms. San Antonio title (because she ate to many cheeseburgers) won her jury trial yesterday to get her crown back. A few photos, some kind of funny, here.
• Morning TV news: Fox 4's Tim Ryan took off all last week for Spring Break, showed back up on Monday, and then has been gone for the rest of the week. So what? Having Dan Godwin anchor is no way to start my day. 
• The updated standing in the Liberally Lean March Madness Tourney sponsored by Decatur lawyer Mark "The Decatur" Hammer and myself are here. If you had Duke to go to the Final Four, you don't want to look at last night's scoreboard.
• What was that sound I was hearing just a minute ago?: The Family Cat decided to unroll half of a paper towel roll in the kitchen. The next sound might be one right out of a slasher movie. 
• Why would anyone read an email that begins: "Dear Sir/Madam"?
• Texas Motor Speedway National Anthem contest has two Wise County contestants: Kate Cowling of Paradise and Hannah Martin of Decatur. Vote.
• Great line from someone in Newsweek this week regarding life in general: "Desperate to figure out what I should do, I sat down one day and wrote two versions of my obituary. The first was the one that I wanted . . . [and] the second version was the obituary that I was heading for . . . . "
• A couple of rescue workers who were involved in the truck-dangling-over-the-overpass situation in Fort Worth were in-studio on Fox 4 last night for an interview. Can anyone just do their job without being labeled a "hero"?
• Some married guy wrote my wife on Facebook to chew me out about the Random Thought girls. I'm on to your game, buddy. 
• I want to gripe about the Texas Voter ID bill, but I really can't come up with a decent argument. 
• The DPS troopers are all over 287 this week. I wonder if they designate certain highways to target or do they pretty much have the option to patrol anywhere in the county that they want.
• Texas Tech hired Billy Gillespie (who is an odd duck) as its basketball coach this week . The Dallas Morning News posted his newly signed contract here which reminded me that when he got fired from Kentucky we learned he never signed a contact but instead was working under a strange "Memo of Understanding." It was worth something, however, because he sued the University and settled for $3 million. 
• Late night motorcycle death.
• Talked to a lawyer in the courthouse yesterday who was having a final meeting with his client in order to determine if the defendant wanted to take a plea bargain of 10 years probation or go to trial next week where, if found guilty, the range of punishment was 25 to Life. And you ask yourself why people plead guilty to crimes they didn't do? (I know nothing about the facts of that case or the defendant's guilt or innocence.)
• Can't believe I'm saying this, but that Lego exhibit at Grapevine Mills Mall looks pretty cool:

It's Like The Tornado Witch Project

Some pretty cool footage with a big finish provided by the kid doing the filming.

"Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby"

Six pilots who participated in a pregame flyover before last November's Iowa-Ohio State game in Iowa City — a show that prompted many, many YouTube tributes— have been officially reprimanded by the Air Force for flying too low and too fast over Kinnick Stadium. Specifically, four Talon T-38 Trainer jets cleared the press box by all of 16 feet at 400 knots (the speed limit for flyovers is 300 knots), a daredevil effort that has cost the lead pilot his right to fly military aircraft.[Associated Press]


Source.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• We've got friends coming over today and nothing - I mean nothing - causes a massive housecleaning more than having people over.
• So the Family Cat That I Hate has a urinary tract infection which caused her to act extra nutty over the past few days.  And vets don't work for free. Ugh.
• If you walk outside, you'll detect the faint scent of smoke. I heard on the news that it's due to fires in Oklahoma.
• Speaking of fires, there were about 10 small fires along 287 between Rhome and Decatur yesterday. But none of them were more than 30 yards long. Weird. 
• Crazy Dallas Mayor Dwaine Caraway fought like crazy to prevent the release of the police tape of his conversation with an officer that responded to his home back in January. We finally heard it yesterday. Turns out he was just trying to keep the metroplex from learning that his wife can act a little nutty.
• Speaking of, it's Mrs. LL's birthday. 
• One thing I didn't expect to hear from her last Friday: "Would you cut up my chicken fried steak for me?"
• The Wise County Grand Jury met yesterday and there sure looked like an unusual number of civilian witnesses going in and out of the room. I bet something high profile is going on. 
• That silly Rebecca Black's "Friday, Friday" song now has 42 million hits. 
• I loved the "Opulence, I Has It" commercial and didn't realize there was a new one. (Which isn't nearly as funny with the exception of a tiny giraffe on a golden treadmill in the corner of the screen. Screenshot.)
• I'm pretty sure the Cowboys are on "Idiot Alert" when it comes to Dez Bryant. 
• Fox 4 blew it this morning. In the 5:00 hour, there was crazy footage of the cab of an 18 wheeler dangling over I-35 on the I-20 overpass in south Fort Worth. (Photo). Fox 4 reported from the scene that the driver and two other occupants had been rescued earlier When I flipped over to Channel 5 at 5:28 a.m when Fox went to a commercial., they had a live shot of the driver dramatically being pulled out of the cab.
• When I flipped back to Fox 4, they were doing a live shot and still reporting that the occupants had been saved much earlier.
• All the Liz Taylor talk yesterday made me want to see the movie Giant.
• The bombing of Libya makes no more sense today than it did on Saturday.
• Somebody at the Dallas Morning News really liked Elizabeth Taylor:

"Mind If I Have A Bite Of Your Tasty Burger?"

She better look out. The next thing you know she'll have the feds surrounding her building with assault vehicles. It's getting about that time of year in Waco.

Waiting For Her To Die

I know media outlets have pre-packaged tributes and obituaries for famous people who have a chance of dying, but the author of Taylor's New York Times obituary died in 2005.

Speaking Of Education

AUSTIN (AP) – Hispanic students for the first time make up the majority of students enrolled in Texas public schools.

The Texas Education Agency reports Hispanic students this school year account for 50.2 percent of the state’s 4.9 million children enrolled in public schools, including pre-kindergarten and early childhood education.

But I'm not sure why it took until March to do the calculations.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Elizabeth Taylor has died. I honestly don't recall ever seeing one of her movies, but she's probably more famous for eventually just being Elizabeth Taylor than for being an actress. (Nope, haven't seen Giant, Cleopatra, or Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.)
• Nothing like walking out to the car first thing in the morning and seeing a flat tire. Beating. 
• I did yard work last night for the first time this year. Amazingly, the lawnmower and the weedeater cranked up with little problem. I was prepared for Tired Arm.
• And I'll be mowing until late September.
• The Update today says that Decatur ISD has a teacher buy-out program where it is possible for some of them to get $10,000?
• Cowboy Dez Bryant gets banned from Northpark Mall because he wouldn't pull his pants up and was cussing?  That's Boy Scout conduct compared to Michael Irvin back in the day.
• Then Bryant tweets that he's going back to that mall today. I hope that's true.
• Radiation in the water supply in Japan is bad news. Very bad news. 
• Some lady on WBAP this morning asked a national reporter in Japan if she had noticed a decline in tourism. Really.
• The kid and his parents who are promoting on national shows their best selling book, "The Boy Who Went To Heaven", are liars.
• I was watching Baylor's women's basketball team last night (fantastic, by the way) and I noticed that one of their players closes one eye when she shoots free throws because she has been having vision problems. Uh, something called "depth perception" tells me you can't do that and be successful.
• Chris Brown gets asked on Good Morning America about assaulting Rihanna so he assaults his dressing room after the interview. 

Breaking: Decatur ISD Brings In The Grim Reaper

Three administrators and 20 teachers are among those losing their jobs in a $4 million budget cut.

Messenger story should be here.

And remember, Republican Governor Rick Perry made Voter ID, Sonograms for those Seeking Abortion, and Sanctuary Cities as "Emergency Items" for legislative purposes. Oh yeah, he also said that the education funding crisis was not the state budget writer's fault but instead lands at the feet of local school districts.

And he'll continue to fiddle his 10th Amendment tune while Texas education burns.

Moving locally, this is from the 1/28/11 Update:

And from 1/21/11:

(As always, click to enlarge.)

I Think A Lot Of You Would Like This

I watched this during The Ice Storm Of 2011 and it's pretty insane. (Man, I love documentaries.)

Amazon link.

Lawnmower Man vs. Police

The neighbors' call the cops on him for mowing and watering their yard? Give the man a medal, not a beat down. (Buddy, you can move next door to me any day of the week.)

But as to resisting arrest, he said: "I was actively resisting being beaten."  I'm going to use that line.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• New Parker County district judge Trey Loftin was really playing to the cameras in the courtroom when he denied the alleged kidnapper/arsonist/rapist Jeffrey Maxwell a court appointed attorney yesterday.  "Sir, I don't think the people of Parker County want me to give you an attorney if you have this kind of financial ability."
• When the trash fails to get picked up (why was I the only one in the neighborhood?) it kind of puts you in a bind for the rest of the week.
• I had forgotten about the interview a few months back with the Fort Worth man who had a face transplant yesterday. Absolutely horrific what that accident did to him. (When I first wrote this I typed "faceplant" instead of "face transplant" which means I watch too many video clips.)
• A U.S. F-15 went down in Libya today due to mechanical issues but both crew members were rescued. (I suspect Maverick's ego was writing checks his body couldn't cash.)
• And Wikipedia tells me the cost of one of those planes is just under $30 million. We waste a lot of money being the World's War Machine. 
• Just saw a Wise County felony criminal court docket that has six defendants with Hispanic surnames charged with "Hindering Apprehension Or Prosecution of Known Felon" on it. I hope that was one very bad felon or that's overkill. 
• William Shatner is 80 today. He'll always be Captain Kirk to me. 
• A tuition hike at UNT will now bring "the average tuition for 15 hours to $4,391 per semester." Is that right? When did that cost explode?
• The Love's truck stop (or whatever it's called), has put its sign up at 114/287 in Rhome and the McDonald's golden arches are part of it.  That's Wise County's third one and a sure sign we've hit the Big Time. Edit: Oops. Forgot about the one in Walmart.
• The War on Drugs in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Oh, my. 
• Irving MacArthur coach Suzie Oelschlegel promised her girls basketball team that she would get a tattoo of the team’s motto if they won the state title. They won. The motto: “We n dat thang.” 
• The punk bully who got thrown down in last week's viral video went on A Current Affair and gives us seven seconds of video gold. 

People of Walmart?

This cell phone pic was sent to me today claiming to be authentic.

I don't even feel safe keeping the comments open.

(Alleged) Bad Prosecutor

The hypocrisy continues. Not to mention the stupidity for buying the stuff from his car from a street dealer.

 (But maybe it's just karma for picking on Paris Hilton.)

Story.

Let's All Sit Around And Second Guess The Police

This happened over St. Patrick's Day in Savannah, Georgia and that's about all I know. It starts out as a girl fight but the cops come in at the 1:30 mark.  Then the guy to the right of the screen will take a blow from a baton to his leg and goes down. One of the girls who was in the fight then takes about four blows to the leg but (amazingly) doesn't go down. For some reason, she walks away a little bit later and a cop goes and retrieves her by her belt loop and deposits her none to softly onto the ground.

If they are disobeying commands to get on the ground, then reasonable force can certainly be used. But this policy of beating someone with a stick to get them to go down seems a bit overkill.

Language Warning: For some reason, the Internet has proven that anyone who enjoys filming street fights also loves to cuss. Turn the volume off if easily offended (but you will miss the baton whacking sound.)

From The Messenger Update A Couple Of Days Back

I really don't mind them getting paid, it's just a strange way to do it.  I bet they'll have some nice lawns this summer.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• So we went to the Dallas Arboretum on Friday -- my first time to ever go there. Verdict: Beautiful place situated right along White Rock Lake. You'll never see so many tulips in one place.
• But combine beautiful weather, spring break, and an art show on the premises, and you've got traffic Armageddon. We ended up having to use a shuttle about a half mile away. (But it wasn't as big of a beating as you would think.)
• For lunch we went to go to -- get this -- Crystal's Pizza.  I used to go to the on in Fort Worth all the time as a kid, and I had noticed the one along 183 in Irving. It was just like I remembered, and that might have been because the video games and the carpet look like they hadn't been replaced in a couple of decades.
• A great portion of Saturday was dedicated to digging a hole for a weeping willow tree. Clay soil and rocks made that a joy. (And I fear death for the tree.)
• Charlie Sheen putting on a show at the American Airlines show in Dallas is ridiculous.
• AT&T buying T-Mobile for $39 billion is mind blowing.
• As to the bombing of Libya, is there some secret and arbitrary list of "acceptable" and "unacceptable" leaders in the world that we don't know about?
• And I've had Dr. Emmit Brown's voice from Back to the Future in my head all weekend saying, "Marty! It's the Libyans!"
• Tiger Woods has a 22 year old girlfriend. 
• The end of the Texas game yesterday was a disaster for them. Who know you couldn't call time out when throwing the ball in when the referee's count got to four. Edit: Seth Davis said that was the rule on TNT but later retracted it.
• The standings for the Liberally Lean Tourney sponsored by Mark "The Decatur Hammer" Howell and myself are here. (Funny: "Triple Fake LL Family Cat" is in second place.)
• Trying to teach the younger kid in the house how to bat when she suddenly went from hitting little dribblers to almost taking my head off with a line drive. Her laugh was more one of fear than humor. 
• I got confronted by the Neighbor Boys and their big brother on the street. Thankfully, the older brother had some common sense and decency about him. (When I asked the littlest hellion what he had done with our ball that had gone over the fence he said, "We took it inside and the next morning when we woke up it was gone.")