Liberally Lean From The Land Of Dairy Queen: 5/1/11

5.07.2011

Breaking: Small Plane Crash Near Chico

That's the report I'm getting.

Any info, folks?

Edit: My loyal readers come through! (Thanks, Brian!) Looks like no serious injuries. Channel 8 was the first one to post something.

Random Front Page Of The Day: The Spoils of War

5.06.2011

Cop Treats 15 Year Old Like He's LB Ray Lewis

Story. (Gal was rolling on the ground fighting with momma before cops arrive.)

Original video. (Girl needs to back away from the cheeseburgers.)

We've Got Another Emergency We Didn't Know About

Story.

And that sound you heard was Brian Loncar and Jim Adler blowing up.

Edit: Here's the Plaintiffs' Lawyers response (which probably is only entertaining to Plaintiffs' lawyers.):

Edit: I don't know much about politics, but Tort Reform II passed the House late Saturday in what sounded like a free for all.

Meet The Radical Right's New Sweetheart: Ann Barnhardt

This young lady is getting Internet Famous for posting two videos which, admittedly, I haven't watched. The first one was some rant about defending the First Amendment which I don't have any problem with. But the second one involves burning the Koran which she bookmarked with strips of bacon. The description of the second video pretty much convinced me that I don't care about anything she has to say in the first.

All info and videos here.

Conspiracy Update: First Spotting Of Osama

(Hey, any faithful reader that's going to photoshop the Decatur Begger and Osama is going to get it posted.)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

The Mississippi River is rising and some are predicting the state of Mississippi is about to see the greatest flood in its history. Talk about a story that's been buried because of other news.
It was National Day of Prayer yesterday. I actually saw a group of about six people observing it on the courthouse lawn but that's about it.
I'll find out more on this: A 17 year old Jack County kid was charged with "offensive touching" (a Class C misdemeanor -- the equivalent of a traffic ticket) of a 15 year old on a school bus. Now the County Attorney and a prominent* Jacksboro lawyer are battling in a JP court.
The price of oil dropped 10% yesterday. I'm sure that's just the natural result *cough* of supply and demand.
The texture of food has never factored in to what I will or will not eat.
The sound of a drawer off of its grooves and grinding against the frame as it is pulled out drives me insane.
I wonder if those Japanese nuclear reactors are still leaking.
It's hard to get any news on the Granbury double murder trial going on, but it doesn't seem like a particularly strong case. (Latest update which has a reference to First Financial Bank.)
Economy news this morning: The unemployment rate ticked back up to 9%. (Someone will tell me that will be a bigger factor for Obama's re-election chances than Bin Laden, and I'll probably have to concede that point.)
I should have recorded it, but Steve Eager read a Viewer's Voice email on Fox 4 News last night, seemed confused, read it again, and then proclaimed, "I don't understand that." I didn't either.
The last time the Lakers played the Mavs in the playoffs was in 1988. I got to go to Game Four for free when my secretary, on the day of the game, walked into my office and asked me if I wanted tickets. (And I thought things like that would happen all the time for the rest of my life. Nope.)
If the Navy doesn't use the Bin Laden capture as a recruiting tool, they are idiots at marketing.
The SEALs used dogs in the raid? Wow. And they had titanium teeth at a cost of $2,000 a piece? Well, that report yesterday was not true.
That 9/11 Ceremony was a little weak yesterday.

_________
*Friend of mine who I thought about throwing under the bus.

5.05.2011

I Get Lots Of Accidental Email

Since I'm the Donald Trump of www.wisecounty.com (meaning I own it), I get lots of email. Specifically, if anyone sends any email with wisecounty.com as the extension, I get it. It can be a treasure trove.

Just got this one a second ago with the message, "I've got another one to add to our slideshow!"

Girl, I'll give you $1,000 to trade cats.

Fox 4's Becky Oliver Was Busting Heads Again Last Night

This time she ~~wasted~~ spent countless hours watching Lockheed Martin employees drink beer across the street during their lunch hours. I was more offended by their littering. Story.

It's "sweeps month" isn't it?

Poor Stopwatch

Sure, the guy falling and killing himself is why this video got posted on the Internet, but it's the reaction of the trainer which is my high point.

There might be a five ruptured discs in the back of the other guy, but he tosses that stopwatch aside because his fancy pull up bar contraption has been destroyed.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

When I was young, I once asked my buddies when Cinco de Mayo was going to be that year. Sadly, I wasn't that young.
If we really did seize the computer stuff from Bin Laden's compound (10 hard drives, 5 computers, and over 100 external storage drives), I'd love to be the guy who gets to go through them. (Assuming I knew Arabic and was an encryption expert.)
Watch it just be episodes of Southpark and the Jack Ass movie series.
The Messenger reports a second Tea Party has formed in Wise County. This one is in Bridgeport and formed by a Hispanic who wants to dispel the notion that the party is full of racists. Directly under the quote is an unrelated picture of a guy in a sombrero.
Speaking of movies, the three top grossing films so far this year are named Rango, Hop, and Rio. I'm guessing they are kids' movies, but I honestly have no idea.
Mavs up 2-0 over the Lakers? My prediction is in trouble, but they were up 2-0 over the Heat in the Championship Game a few years back. Still not a believer.
If you turned on the TV at 3:44 a.m. this morning, you would have seen the end of a Major League Baseball game. Edit: Oops. Make that 1:44 a.m.
UNT is trying to revamp its image and has hired a consulting firm to help. That's an easy fix: Bring back the 1970s neon green flying worm emblem.
Mrs. LL returned the confiscated soccer balls to the Neighbor Boys yesterday. I bet they thought it was like the Grinch returning to Hooville with the presents.
Three U.S. Senators public ally announced they had seen the dead Bin Laden photo when they had actually seen a fake Internet one. Makes you feel confident in their judgment, doesn't it?
Pippa Middleton really giving it the What For on the dance floor.
Star-Telegram fluff piece on Trophy Club today quotes a resident as saying, "Here I can get anywhere I want to go in 15 to 20 minutes." I guess that's true if he only wants to go to Grapevine.
Rick Perry is still whining about the feds denying disaster relief for the Texas wildfires. It might have something to do with the fact Perry included 252 counties in the request (yep, even Wise is in there.)
Of all the books that will be written about the invasion of the Bin Laden compound, I hope Jon Krakauer writes one.

5.04.2011

Kim Kardashian At The Beach

I'm issuing a Tsunami warning.

Breaking: No Picture To Be Released

If you thought the Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy was big, you have just seen the beginning of a new one that will dwarf it by comparison. And this one has a built in audience: There are those who hate Obama so much that they want to be convinced this is just some manufactured political stunt. It will spread like wildfire.

Huge Edit: Reuters has obtained some photos taken by a Pakistani security official who entered the home after the Americans have left. Some have been released. (Graphic.) Or here.

Antonio Romiro Romo?

Heck, I'd use that name before I'd go with "Tony".

(Credit: Sportatorium.)

Hey, Wise County Made "The Tonight Show"

Video here (it's the first item). Sadly, no reference to the location of our little slice of heaven here in Texas.

Credit: Trey on the find.

A Helping Hand

That's 14.3% to be exact. Texas is even higher with 15.4%.

The hatred of the poor will begin in three, two, ......

Article.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

The National Geographic Channel may be better at history shows than the History Channel.
I sometimes put a coke in the freezer for a few minutes in the morning. I did that yesterday then forgot about it. Mrs. LL wondered what that explosion was.
Everyone was raving about Trader Joe's coming to Dallas. The name sounds familiar but that's about it for me.
Fox 4 ran a story about a "naked man eating in woman's apartment" about one hundred times yesterday. Let me guess, Naked In Title = Ratings.
On the same day, the Texas government took a Pro Death stance by executing a man and took a step towards passing the Pro Life sonogram bill.
With the Obama Administration releasing conflicting details about the Bin Laden killing, the conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day splicing the clips together for a documentary. It's perfect: Secret mission, DNA in hours, body disposed of mysteriously at sea, conflicting statements . . .
For those that think the Bin Laden dead body photo would be "too gruesome" to release, we've been able to handle the Zapruder film pretty well.
D Magazine's cover story is about the 20 best steakhouses in Dallas. I'll go to one on a rare special occasion, but I'm not sure I've ever thought of one as an option on an average Saturday night.
I don't know why I'll always remember a friend's relative in high school saying, "One thing I'd like to do is go down to Dallas and get a big ol' steak and then get a hotel room 'cause I'd be so sleepy." All the adults in the room agreed. It just seemed so - I don't know - excessive.
Casa Torres in Decatur is expanding. Hope they remember to expand parking along with it.
A Texas State student (that'll always be Southwest Texas State to me) died after jumping out of a window in the middle of the night. It was on the first floor with the ground six feet below. If that's not strange enough, another girl who went out the window at the same time is still hospitalized.
Second Grader In The House This Morning: "We get to go to the park for an hour and a half on our field trip! That's like a thirty minute lunch and an hour recess!"
For the longest time, the murder of two young women in Granbury went without an arrest. (Jarhead?) Now a trial is going on which sounds like it will be Wheels Off. It's never good when the DA has to start his case with an opening statement that paints an "unflattering picture" of the victims and includes the phrase "ménage a trois". Story.
If you're crammed in a subway in New York, you might not feel like engaging in a "USA! USA!" chant. Now that's the America I know.
Heard a lawyer giving loud advice to someone on a cell phone yesterday that included the phrase, "Go ahead and do it, you can always declare bankruptcy later." Sheesh.

5.03.2011

But Nothing Shocking

Bin Laden not armed
Wife was not killed but was shot in leg.
A different woman was killed in the crossfire on first floor, but she was not used as "human shield".
Once team got to the compound, there was no visual or audio monitoring of them by White House.

Story.

Story.

Post Bin Laden Killing Pick Me Up

Go America

You Mean The Fake One Going Around Yesterday?

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

A Steelers running back thinks 9/11 was an inside job. (Yet another reason NFL players should stay off Twitter.)
I saw the Wise County alleged-murder-for-hire lady in court yesterday. She's still in jail.
Pope John Paul II being beatified over the weekend had a hard time hitting my radar screen.
The Family Cat is weirder than ever after her surgery. The dang thing runs around the house at a hundred miles an hour.
These cases are all over the map: Plea bargain in Tarrant County for DWI Manslaughter results in a probation requiring the defendant to wear a bracelet with the victim's name on it; reimburse her mother $22,271.46 in funeral expenses; and spend Christmas, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and the dates of the victim's birth and death in the Tarrant County Jail.
The second that I heard of an unplanned presidential address on Sunday night (I was fortunate enough to be watching CNN when the first mention of it occurred), I knew it was going to be big. I couldn't remember the last time a president made a national address with one hour's notice.
I said it yesterday, but there will be an Osama Is Not Dead Conspiracy and it will be huge.
And that's why they've got to release the photo of his corpse. (But there's some speculation that there wasn't much left to look at -- that the one shot to the head report is a gross understatement.)
ABC News said this morning that the latest information is that the White House is "seriously" considering releasing one photo today.
I hope whoever/whomever fired the fatal Bin Laden shot(s) never is identified. That would be much cooler than being on Oprah and writing books. Not as lucrative, but definitely cooler.
When the helicopter malfunctioned at the Bin Laden compound, you know all of those monitoring the situation thought of the failed attempt to rescue the Iranian Hostages in 1980 which turned into a disaster due to, yep, helicopter problems.
If there were any potential Republican presidential candidates who were deciding whether to run, they might have serious reservations now.
WBAP's Hal Jay this morning: "Do those Navy Seals ever think of [themselves] being killed?"
The Evil Empire's baseball coach cusses out his players a lot. (Serious language warning.) That doesn't make him look like a scholar or a gentleman.
The Zombie Walk last weekend in Irving was a little weird.
Mavs beat the Lakers last night? (Sounds like a wild game, but you might want to tap those brakes.)
A brand new teenager's birthday party and Mother's Day in the same weekend for me.

5.02.2011

At A High Tone Downtown Hotel

Story

And I guess I've got an answer to my last question from this Random Thought last month. His friends allegedly found him the next morning.

Watching It Unfold - Maybe

There were some rumors that Obama watched the whole Bin Laden mission via a camera feed mounted on either the helicopter or a Navy Seal. I'm not sure that's true. (Edit: CNN says "kind of" with lots of qualifiers.)

This official White House photo release refers to this group "receiving an update." Still, it's pretty dramatic.

Edit: Man, so many people are saying "they watched a live feed of every second of it". That misinformation will go down in history as fact.

Osama's Compound

Rumors of it being a "mansion" were greatly exaggerated.

Source.

We Have A Winner

It'll Drive You Crazy But Still Pretty Funny

And another funny Fox affiliate flub (note the location):

Edit: A fellow blogger points out that a very recent Tom Clancy book (I've seen the movies but the books are longer than War and Peace), had a plot very similar to the capture of Bin Laden. But in the book, the Evil Doer was in Las Vegas. Coincidence?

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

So what exactly do with do with Bin Laden's body? What's that? He's already been buried at sea? Let the conspiracy theories begin.
The killing couldn't have been more dramatic. And it kind of fits Bin Laden who has been a ghost like figure over the past decade. He leaves us as he lived: In a cloud of secrecy.
After about two or three years removed from 9/11, I never thought we would get him.
Anyone else feel a little weird about the people shouting and celebrating in front of the White House and on college campuses? It just seems very middle eastern-like
I know a lot of you scoff at Twitter, but it is the source for breaking news. The first word of Bin Laden's death came from Keith Urbahn, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's chief of staff. From there, the national press picked it up.
Ann Curry "broke" the news at around 3:00 a.m. (I bet she was asleep and didn't realize it until she woke up for work.)
Then there were some funny tweets: "Donald Trump demands to see Bin Laden's birth certificate." "Waldo 1, Bin Laden 0", and one from the fake Jesus: "You're at the wrong gate, Osama."
Fox affiliate typo last night.
Edit: And one I heard but haven't tracked down: "It's amazing what America can accomplish when the Playstation Network is down."
One guy in Pakistan tweeted what he was hearing when the raid was going down obviously not knowing its significance.
Pakistan is odd partner in this War on Terror. They won't allow American troops on their soil, but we go in anyway with special forces.Odds are, we didn't tell them ahead of time because they cannot be trusted. (Although there are conflicting reports on this.)
Bin Laden lived in a million dollar "mansion"/fortress which is right by Pakistan's version of West Point. Hmmmm.
Edit: And everyone knows you don't want to have the biggest house in neighborhood. That was his mistake.
As many have pointed out, yesterday was the eighth year anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech.
President Obama is getting some criticism in using the "I" work a little too much in last night's announcement (i.e. "Today, at my direction . . . .) Hey, everyone remember how President Clinton was criticised for "letting him go" and "he had him"?
The U.S. was offering up to "$25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Usama Bin Laden." Assuming someone helped, does "killed" equal "apprehension"?