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7.02.2011
7.01.2011
To Quote The Prosecutor From The Movie "JFK"
(Unless by "available" DPS means "troopers that don't otherwise have the day off.")
Random Friday Morning Thoughts
- My haircut gal (seems like a new one every time) asked if I wanted a product that was on sale for $29 to help with my thinning hair. Hey! Don't mention my thinning hair and don't try to practice witchcraft on me.
- Almost motorcycle carnage! Fifteen to twenty speed style bikers ran up on a Harley last night in Carrollton causing four to go to the hospital. No deaths. Edit: One death
- We are into being landlords for one week and the air conditioning unit has a major malfunction. Ugh. But I totally expected something like this.
- Last month was the third hottest in DFW history. I believe it. (Global warming debate in three, two . . . . )
- The Associated Press has an iPhone app that sends out breaking news alerts. It sent one at 1:00 a.m. last night announcing the NBA lockout taking effect. That's the lockout that had been announced ten hours earlier.
- When I see the Casey Anthony party pics my first reaction is: Kind of hot.
- I changed the color of active links on here to red the other day. Ok? Edit: I've changed the color of followed links to blue.
- Random mascot. (Thanks, Michelle.)
- The "no picture" policy of the Wise County Animal Shelter caused the Sheriff to receive an email yesterday from a lady in Durban, South Africa.
- There is no way this is true: A lady drowns in a public pool near Boston on Sunday, the pool is open on Monday with swimmers, and the body is finally noticed in that pool on Tuesday. The first blog to post this story started off with: "Am I on planet Earth?"
- I've had an impromptu runway fashion show and a cheerleading competition break out in my house this week. Am I on planet Earth?
- "Hey, now." And I do mean, "Hey, now."
- It's Vampire Weekend (aka "No Refusal Weekend") in Wise County and in most counties around the state. It's kind of hard to explain, but that really means "We're going to get a warrant this weekend for your blood even though we could get a warrant for your blood on any weekend we wanted to."
- If you are really into the John Wiley Price story and the mystery that surrounds it, Dallas Observer reporter Robert Wilonsky said this morning to remember the words "shakedown" and "inland port" which was summarized by WFAA in a story in 2009 here.
- Baylor had its best football season in years so the school is selling season tickets based upon the temperature in Waco on July 4th? And that will make them cheaper than the currently cheap rate of $23 a game?
6.30.2011
I Just Figured It All Out: The W Hotels Are Cursed!!
Remember the pic I put up about a month ago where two gals crashed through a hotel window to their deaths in Atlanta? Well, it was a W Hotel.
And yesterday when a guy fell to his death in Dallas? It was a parking garage by the W Hotel.
My hot off the presses Random Thought story from Tuesday of the Austin chick who worked at a hotel and walked away only to be found dead a month later wedged in a parking garage? She worked at a W hotel.
And yesterday, in a D.C. hotel, a woman falls 10 floors to her death from an outdoor bar in the .........you guessed it: W Hotel. (Speculation is that is was suicide.)
Hotels. Cursed. Case closed.
(Gawker got me to thinking as did BagofNothing, but nobody has put these all together like a supercomputer as I did. I'm a modern day Columbo - who died this week, probably at a W Hotel. Hey, AP: I want credit once you pick this up!!!! And all you DFW media outlets, too!!!)
Got My Hands On The Official Press Release
Obviously, Greg Love may think he knows something about business but he doesn't know Wise County. If you want to survive, you better mention something about the restrooms. We like 'em "new". Preferably with catfish on Fridays.
(What's a Chester's Chicken?)
President Gets The Age Of His Child Wrong?
Malia is actually 12 and turns 13 on July 4th.
The President was obviously "ambushed" here with a "gotcha" question. But, you see, he was technically correct. Malia has been on this earth almost 13 complete years. In fact, she's 98% closer to the 13th anniversary of her birth than the 12th. To say she is "12" might be the common answer to those unfamiliar with the intricacies of days and years, but he was trying to give a complete answer. I'm going to edit Malia's Wikipedia page to make this clear.
(If he had only referred to her as the Almost Eighth Grader In The White House then he could have avoided this altogether.)
Edit: I'm starting to sound like those defending Palin for her Paul Revere remarks? Really? Despite the fact that I used the words "ambushed" and "gotcha" and made a reference to changing a Wikipedia page (as some Palin fans did to Revere's page), I certainly could not have been intending a Palin parody post. **shaking head**
I'm Covering Sports Like No One Else
You probably didn't even know that the Women's World Cup was going on, did ya? Well, I happen to be a patriot which means I've been supporting my country while you guys have been concerned with things like work, bills, and family.
Meet Alex Morgan -- a member of the United States team.
Random Thursday Morning Thoughts
- Herm Edwards advice to NFL rookies yesterday: (1) Pick your friends, don't let them pick you, (2) Have only one piece of jewelry, and (3) have only one one wife or one girlfriend. It's kind of a modern day Ten Commandments (minus seven.)
- Anyone have any news on the wreck in Bridgeport this morning which required a helicopter ambulance?
- The Fan (105.3) did a segment yesterday afternoon called, "When Did The Miss Texas Pageant Start Tricking Up Its Contestants Names?" I support that theft of my extreme intellectual property. (Hey, where was Greggo yesterday?)
- I really have no opinion on John Wiley Price, but considering the FBI's all out intrusion into his life and home, there better be a conviction of a significant crime in order to justify the government's actions.
- This T-Shirt is being advertised everywhere on sports talk radio. Do you think Dirk is getting a cut since they are using his image?
- One final Mavs thought: It's no secret that I would have bet money before the season that they wouldn't win the Championship. But after I watched my first game (the dramatic choke job in Game 4 when they blew a 23 point lead against Portland in the first round), it is frightening as to how much I would have wagered if given the opportunity to do so at that moment. Don't bet on sports.
- A new Fox News poll now has Rick Perry in second place behind Mitt Romney. Michele Bachmann checks in at third place. I'm telling you, the Republicans better find them a candidate and those three aren't going to cut it. I'd bet on it.
- Do we still have "ozone action" days? Why haven't we had a dozen warnings so far?
- The liberal media? Time's editor-at-large, Mark Halperin, on MSNBC this morning called the President a very offensive name. Everyone is scrambling with an apology. That is shocking.
- Mrs. LL asked about a potential purchase yesterday, and I got to respond with a phrase I used to hear all the time: "Do whatever you think is right." (It really wasn't a big deal.)
- A little kid was abandoned on the side of a highway in West Texas yesterday but the outcry over that will never be as loud as the right to take pictures at an Animal Shelter.
- Guys, if you were a Nicole Eggert fan back in the day, do not click on this link. You'll never be the same. Never.
- FM 51 in Decatur in the area in front of Wendy's and a 1/4 mile either direction is huge beating.
6.29.2011
Come On, We've All Busted Out Windows For Less
I'm not exactly sure what's going on here because I'm too lazy to read the short story, but I've got a secret for law enforcement which will probably have me disbarred by noon tomorrow: Instead of avoiding the cameras and shuffling someone away from the cameras, do what that cop did: Take that person in front of the reporters and let them talk. It's the greatest evidence you'll ever have.
There's an old saying: You'll never find anyone deaf, dumb, and blind in prison.
Side note: Haven't had ice cream out of an ice cream maker since I was a kid. Do they still make "rock salt"?
Dumb Prosecutor. Dumber Defendant.
Anyway, Trent Archie's conviction for murder is bouncing around in Texas appellate orbit with it already being determined that the prosecutor screwed up. The only issue remaining was whether he should get a new trial.
So what does the defendant do? He escaped yesterday.
When Did We Start Tricking Up Miss Texas?
I heard on the radio that the Miss Texas Pageant was going on this week in Arlington and there would be thirty-three contestants. Of course, I guy has to check it out. But what happened to good ol' names like "Miss [insert Texas city]" or "Miss [insert Texas county]" And how does one become, for example, "Miss Trinity River"?
Can we enter a Miss Big Sandy Creek? A Miss Pasture Near Cottondale? A Miss Liberally Lean?
Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts
- A 26 year old referred to as an amateur photographer fell to his death in downtown Dallas this morning.
- I completely missed that TxDot is actually going to install a red light on 380 by the Sheriff's Office at the Business 380 exit. To quote Antoine Dodson, "You are so dumb. You are really dumb. For real."
- Reno (by Springtown) has one police officer who almost shot his pinky off on Monday. The Weatherford Democrat gets kudos for having the headline begin with "Reno 911".
- I saw where there is a case in the County Court at Law where a guy allegedly exposed himself in the Decatur Walmart on two separate occasions. How did we not hear about that?
- Switched my jogging routine to mornings when it is way too early to be jogging. It was still in the 80s today before the sun was up.
- Dave Campbell's Texas Football picks Bridgeport to finish 2nd and Decatur 3rd in the district with Bridgeport wide receiver Garrett Mullins is the magazine’s choice for the district’s Offensive MVP.
- Climbed up in the attic last night to inspect the AC Unit that is causing condensation to go to the overflow pan. I'm this close to believing I can unplug the stopped up PVC pipe by taking my handy hacksaw to it and then repairing it.
- The Soon to Be Third Grader In The House (who was the only one brave enough to go in the attic with me) said, "I think you might want to leave that one to the experts."
- I was surprised to learn Rick Perry is 61.
- Heard a conservative talk show host this morning say that Sarah Palin has a "Persecution Complex." Man, that is spot on.
- The felony docket on July 11th in Wise County has over 100 people on it.
- One weird thing on the docket is a Boyd teenager, who was originally indicted for Intoxication Manslaughter, is set to plea on three separate cases of DWI With Two or More Prior Convictions. I'm confused by that one.
- Belen Rodriguez
- WBAP's Hal Jay asked a guest this morning about this week's Supreme Court ruling overturning the ban on violent video games to minors. "That was a California Supreme Court ruling, right?" the guest asked. "Yes," Hal Jay replied. "Does anyone over there follow the news?" I asked myself.
- Two teens in Haltom City place "two dead dogs" on a railroad track? Uh, where did two kids who would be so inclined just happen to find two dead dogs?
6.28.2011
How Not To Tweet
This Poor Girl Is Going To Get Pummeled. Maybe Unfairly. But She's Got A Bull's Eye On Her
John Quincy Adams was nine years old in 1776. (From Good Morning America today.) I don't think in any stretch of the imagination he can be called a "Founding Father."
And from yesterday:
Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has a thing for John Wayne. In an interview yesterday with Newsmax, she said she wants to live in “John Wayne’s America.” And in the Iowa town of Waterloo today, where she announced her presidential candidacy, Bachmann told Fox News, “John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.” But unfortunately . . . the John Wayne born in Waterloo is John Wayne Gacy, the notorious serial killer who murdered 33 teenage boys and young men, not the iconic Western actor. Watch it.
Edit: Oh, yeah. I forgot that Tom Petty told her to quit using "American Girl" as part of her campaign. (Which, by the way, was the song the gal was singing right before she got kidnapped by Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.)
Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts
- Despite every media outlet in DFW trying to find out what the FBI investigation into John Wiley Price was about, they came up with absolutely nothing.
- There's a regularly scheduled Dallas County Commissioners meeting today. Hello, circus.
- A Johnson County Commissioner abruptly resigned yesterday after allegations arose he used a county Home Depot credit card for personal charges.
- Our taxes would be a lot less if people being paid by the taxpayer didn't have to investigate people being paid by the taxpayer for misusing taxpayer money.
- Two motorcycle deaths yesterday: Hurst and Dallas (couldn't find a link but he was knocked off a bridge onto the Dallas Tollway.) Edit: Found it.
- What a bizarre story: An attractive (for what it's worth) Austin gal who worked for the W Hotel got stuck in an air duct and was not found for over a month. Not a happy ending.
- Since when does everyone think they are saying something profound when they rattle off, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"? (And if that person then attributes the quote to Albert Einstein, cock an eyebrow because there's no proof of that.)
- Over the past month I've received an unsolicited Beach Boys CD and a packet of Kool-Aid from loyal readers. You think I'm a little nervous when I open up a package that looks like it could be from the Son of Sam?
- I was in a foot race last night. Yep. Against a girl. I'm guessing it was a quarter mile. My heart estimated it as run to El Paso.
- Everyone was up in arms yesterday about the search by TSA of a 95 year old, wheel chair bound, cancer-stricken woman at the airport who was wearing a diaper. Do we make an exception for 95 years olds? If so, there's your security loophole that everyone knows about.
- Side note: The 95 year old was flying to visit family and friends. Uh, how about the family coming to see her instead?
- The new Dallas mayor was inducted yesterday and he continues to preach about wanting to improve Dallas schools. Man, you've got enough problems without trying to fix something you have no jurisdiction over.
- After over two years, President Obama has finally nominated someone for the position of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas: Sarah Saldana. Talk about a gal who is low profile --- a Google search basically turns up nothing. (If confirmed, she will then be responsible for the John Wiley Price prosecution. And if President Obama loses the 2012 election, she'll be out of a job. Does she want that gig?)
- Did I see Sonic and Asian take-out on the dinner table last night? Yep.
- The official high was 99 degrees yesterday. Somebody want to check that monitoring equipment? And why is Wichita Falls consistently clocking in at 10 degrees hotter than us?
- On my DVR from last night is the HBO documentary "Hot Coffee" about civil lawsuits. My lawyer friends criticize me to no end for my anti-lawsuit positions and the program is about "misconceptions" that people like me might hold. Will I watch it? You bet. Why wouldn't I want to hear differing views?
- Random Texas front page only because the War on Drugs lead story was called "Operation Pill Crusher." You've always got to have a fancy name.
6.27.2011
Another Bad Wreck By Sheriff's Office On 380 and Business 380
This Picture Sent In By A Faithful Reader Will Not Win A Pulitzer Prize
Let me guess that it's either at location 1 or 2 on the map below. I'll go with 1.
This Girl Needs Some Parental Guidance
Bristol Palin, 20, has "written" her first book, and she is out today pimping the thing like nobody's business. I heard a little bit of her on Sean Hannity's radio show, and her description of the conception of her child sounded a heck of a lot like some of the criminal cases I seen in the courthouse. She's making a serious accusation but isn't smart enough to know that it's a serious accusation -- she totally rejects any notion that she was date raped despite her description of the event. And, once again, she's been put under an uncomfortable spotlight because those close to her hold the cover of People magazine, and the ancillary cash that comes with such fame, in high esteem.
What's the name of her mother again?
Juicy Legal Case To Be Heard By The Supreme Court
Can the police constitutionally install a GPS tracking device on a person's vehicle and, if so, do they need a warrant to do so? We'll probably know next spring since the Court decided to hear the case today.
I predict we'll move another step closer to a Police State. I suspect the issue will boil down to whether a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy as to the location of his car.
Edit: The "well-he-was-convicted-of-[insert alleged crime]-so-I'm-don't-care-if-they-slapped-a-GPS-on-his-car" comments are already rolling in. That never ceases to amaze me. What's the old saying? Oh, yeah: "Then they came for me . . . ." Those who claim to love the Constitution do not love it all if they pick and choose who they wish for it to protect,
Random Monday Morning Thoughts
- Rick Perry vetoed the "no texting while driving" bill which, although the right thing to do, is yet another huge sign he'll run for President on a No Big Government Policy.
- Bridgeport Tank Trucks runs a big ad every week in the Fort Worth Weekly looking for CDL drivers. Just seems like an odd place to do that.
- A triple murder in Arlington over the weekend leaves eight kids without moms.
- In case you missed it, the dead body found in Wise County last week is believed to be the result of a self-inflicted gunshot. The lady was from Southlake. (Photo and odd Facebook page.)
- A drainage dispute over the Flower Bed Project caused me to concede to Mrs. LL for the sake of peacefulness. Although it did require a lot of digging on my part to put the concession into action.
- We ate at Sardines over the weekend. It feels like a mob hangout.
- I may have mentioned this, but I tend to beat her down while dining because every time I have to fire off the line, "I'm beginning to think Buddy Holly isn't much of a waiter." (Pulp Fiction)
- The Wichita County Sheriff's Office has a great website for inmate information. We've been waiting on Wise County to relaunch the equivalent for months.
- I went out to the jail on Friday to visit an inmate and brought a Diet Coke along with me. Based upon the reaction from the other side of the glass, I learned inmates don't get Diet Coke.
- I feel badly because I think Casey Anthony is guilty when there really isn't much proof to support that conclusion.
- Baseball notes: (1) I can't imagine why someone would sit in the sun for a Rangers' game on Saturday or Sunday, and (2) Josh Hamilton can't hit a baseball during the day (he's 1 of 33 since coming back from the DL and struck out four times on Saturday. He blamed the problem on his blue eyes. Really.)
- My delayed retorts: (1) Breitbart showing the naked photo of Rep. Weiner certainly constitutes "releasing" the photo, and (2) if you think the Bill of Rights only applies to Congress, google "incorporation doctrine" (a doctrine that is silly but the law nonetheless.)
- But to those who think the Constitution is the greatest document ever drafted, think again. The First Amendment, for example, says Congress shall enact "no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech." That can't be any clearer. It is completely absolute. As written, Congress should not be able to regulate pornography, expressions of terrorism, copyright, and the list goes on. It took the courts to completely rewrite it.
- I woke up Mrs. LL to endorse a check this morning. She was so sleepy, I'm not sure she knows what she signed.
- Terrell Owens blew out his ACL and will have surgery. He's done.
