And A Would-Be Obama Conqueror Is Done

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The Evil Empire Comes To Waco

Luke Skywalker Confronting Evil

Someone mentioned yesterday that I didn't reference Texas vs. Baylor in Random Thoughts.  (Today at 2:30 on ABC.) You know, I didn't want to talk about it.  After over a decade of suffering (and I do mean suffering), Baylor has had a good to very good season. Eight wins including taking down TCU and Oklahoma.  Wishing for a win over Texas seems downright selfish.

But I want it.

A big offensive production and a win means a 9-3 record, QB Robert Griffin potentially becoming a Heisman favorite, and nirvana for me.  That's too much to ask, isn't it? We can't "spread the wealth" around that much. It's downright Un-American. In this 100th meeting, Texas holds a commanding series lead of 73-23-4. Sheesh.

Then again, Baylor fans have been wandering in the desert looking for the Promised Land for a long, long time.

Edit after 1st quarter: Baylor 14, Texas 7.  Get this: Baylor has run 7 offensive plays for 139 yds. 2 drives, 2 TDs

Edit after 2nd quarter: Baylor 24, Texas 21.  This is a bad Texas team depleted by injuries, and they may still win this thing. Baylor's defense is horrible. Secret tip to Mac Brown: Run the ball on every down.

Edit after 3rd quarter: Baylor 41, Texas 24.  How Texas cannot recruit a quarterback is beyond belief. McCoy is horrible. And a personal sidenote: UT Defensive back Blake Gideon is extremely overrated. Oh, and the game? I'm not comfortable at all. If UT would put Ash in but still run the ball, this thing gets tight. Huge. Quickly.

Edit after 4th quarter and end of game: Baylor 48, Texas 24. I'm weeping on my couch as I hold my Baylor pennant. (But if you didn't win after six turnovers, you should be crying for other reasons.) We have arrived at the land of milk and honey. And the college kids didn't even rush the field. Oh, how the might have fallen.  Did I say I'd be in nirvana? Cue Nirvana.



Edit: One final photo:

CiCis in Decatur got robbed.

Not burglarized. Robbed.
Developing . . .
Barry (from iPhone)

Edit: This came from a Facebook post that I thought was pretty reliable. They said it occurred while they were in the restaurant but didn't know it was happening at the time. They claimed that employees confirmed they had "just been robbed."

Since then, I've heard nothing about this. I find that odd.

Messenger Above The Fold

Anchor Has Hot Opinion About Santa. Gets In Trouble.

 A Chicago news anchor enraged parents when she announced during a segment on children’s gift expectations that Santa Claus isn’t real. During a conversation with her cohost about how long children should believe in Santa, Robin Robinson, a news anchor at Fox Chicago since 1987, argued that kids should learn early on that Santa isn’t real.  “Stop trying to convince your kids that Santa is Santa,” Robinson said to cohost Bob Sirott during a segment Tuesday night. “That’s why they have these high expectations. They know you can’t afford it, so what do they do? Just ask some man in a red suit. There is no Santa.”


For all you kids out there, of course there is a Santa. There is no way on Earth that your parents would lie to you about a fictional man who somehow is able to make iPads and x-Boxes in a shed at the North Pole, and then deliver those gadgets and toys all over the world in one night when the rest of us can't even make it past Denton because of all of the traffic. If they were going to lie, they'd do a heck of a lot better job than that. So don't worry about it. The anchorwoman is probably just grumpy because Santa gave her a hideous yellow jacket. 

But when you watch the video, she sounds just like Clair Huxtable on a rant. 

Something Else I Saw Earlier This Week That Stuck With Me

Sweet doggies.

Liberally Lean Weather Center

I have a very high placed source in the Wise County Sheriff's Office (I'll just call him "Sheriff David Walker") who will forward me emails that his office receives from the National Weather Service.  The NWS will create a Powerpoint presentation over the threat of a half inch of rain. Throw in the threat of snow, and they go crazy. They started off this time with a 5 page PDF report -- a portion of which is above. I like that confidence level.

The official forecast follows. Pete Delkus is probably learning the proper spelling of "Armageddon" at this moment:


The expected storm system is producing wintry weather in the Texas panhandle today. That system will continue to move northeast and will not play a role in our weather through Sunday. However, another strong storm system is approaching the Pacific Northwest today, and will approach our region late Sunday.  Colder air will begin to filter into north Texas around midnight Sunday night/Monday morning, giving parts of the area the potential for snow, or a mixture of rain and freezing rain.

I'm Changing My Name

God'sgift Achiuwa? You can be named that? Let me tell you, God'sgift Green rolls off your tongue a heck of a lot easier than this guy's name. (Technically, I think he spells it God's Gift Achiuwa. I'd probably just go with Godsgift and drop the apostrophe. I've thought a lot about it.)

And yesterday I thought God's Academy was a pretty bold name.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• There's a crazy trial going on in Waco where a lady is alleged to have shot her husband in the head, gone to work, and then came home and called the police. Oh, and she's also accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill him (before he was dead, of course.) Local connection? Bridgeport's Mike Simpson has a daughter who is part of the defense team.
• I dreamed I lived right by a busy freeway and saw, at least twice, a bachelorette party on foot walking behind a cement mixer covered in banners.
• There's a cold front coming in with 40 degree temperatures which will hit almost exactly the same time as the White Rock Marathon starts.  This will be my 10th half marathon and there's no way I'm going to miss it. 
• Obama's re-election chances are all based on the economy? That right wing explosion you just heard was the news released this morning that the unemployment rate had plunged to 8.6%! That's the lowest rate in 2 1/2 years. 
• I'd like to announce that there's a shortage of plastic lawn stakes for Christmas lights. I've got a project half done and I can't find those things anywhere. (I had some Clark Griswald going on last night, by the way.)
• Liberally Lean favorite Britney turns 30 today.  Sad to say, but I may have to upgrade in that position. 
• Tons of folks have sent me the story over the past couple of days regarding "Sheriff Incarcerated In Jail That Bears His Name".  I'm not sure why I haven't posted it. 
• We put the tree up but before we could put a single decoration on it, the Family Cat buried herself inside it. She was apparently bored with trying to claw a hole in the strong cardboard box it was packaged in. 
• There's a commercial for Academy Sports that features Emmitt Smith and Danica Patrick. With her being a diva and him having trouble delivering any line, I bet that thirty second spot took a month to film.  
• An appellate case decided this year involved a guy who won over $10 million in the lottery in the 1990s and got divorced in Wise County shortly thereafter. (You'll have to interested in assignments and child support offsets to read the whole thing. But I'll bet you click on it to see if you know the guy.)
• Long suffering Baylor fans will love this article that appeared yesterday in ESPN's Grantland.
• "Students [at Fort Worth ISD] will not be allowed to exchange gifts from student to student or distribute personal holiday messages during class this year, the district said . . . . [O]fficials announced Thursday that 'no longer can the district endorse or sponsor any religious activity or doctrine.'"  Those who will comment that "there ain't no separation of church and state in the constitution" in three, two, . . . 

Mrs. LL Found This In The Trash Can At A Car Wash

Now there has to be a huge story behind that.

Going, Going, Gone.

And Another

We've got us a strong -- to quite strong -- contender right here. Story.

Last Night

Girl's name is Taylor Young and she's fine despite landing on her neck.

We've Got A County Photography Crisis!!!!

But it would be nice to know where that shoot occurred.

 Pocketwizard Above (I think)

Viral Video Of The Day

Everyone says to look at the lady in the middle. Is she a bad dancer or is she just handicapped? Why is she in the video? What's going on here?

You know, I don't care. I can't take my eyes off the gal in the black tank top on the front row giving it the what for.  I guess that's what is mean by "everyone sees something different in a work of art."

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Local Fox affiliate exposes teacher's porn past. Gets him fired. World now safe.
• I was outlining the lawn with lights last night which required placing stakes in the hard ground.  I could have sworn I heard Pharaoh over me telling me to build bricks without straw once I was done.
• A guy jumped off the the Hulen bridge onto I-30 yesterday in Fort Worth, but somehow landed on the median instead of the freeway. If he wants to get attention, that's one hard way to do it. 
• Reflecting on past experiences with American Airlines, I always got the feeling that every employee tried hard at their job but couldn't wait for a break so they could talk about how much they hated management.
• American put some routes on sale yesterday.
• Anyone remember when Bridgeport's zip code was 76026? Why was it changed?
• Mrs. LL dang near ripped the front end of off the Family Gangsta Sedan by running over some sprinkler head in a parking lot. That was her explanation. 
• The Oregon governor stops the use of the death penalty for the remainder of his term.  I always go back to Justice Harry Blackmun's dissent in a case in 1994: " From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death."
• You wanted to see what our Christmas Lawn Monkey looks like? Here ya go. 
• New York Knicks TV reporter in a bikini  "Hey, Now."
• Goofball Dez Bryant has settled the unpaid $600,000 civil suit against him for unpaid debts. The settlement papers said,"The parties have determined that this controversy was the result of a mutual misunderstanding" -- a clause that was put in there solely for the media.
• Ticket Failed Bit: The radio station was playing a Fake Mavs vs. Fake Heat basketball game in Frisco this morning. This is the crowd 15 minutes before tip off. 
• I-35 around Alvarado will be shut down for three hours today so police can conduct an investigation of a "recent accident." What the heck is that about? 
• I don't want to cause a panic, but I saw in the Update that on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Santa will be at a breakfast at Young Elementary in Decatur and at the Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Department.

Murder Charge In DWI -- This Is A New One

It turns out that the wrong way driver in Fort Worth with the baby in her car had an alcohol level of .24.  It's a weird case because as cars left the roadway to get out of her way, one of those cars struck a man who died (he had stopped and had gotten out of his vehicle.)   The obvious charge was Intoxication Manslaughter (2 to 20 years) assuming the state could prove she "caused" that death (which they probably had a fair chance of doing despite the odd facts.)

But today the DA's office announced they would charge her with Murder (5 to 99 years). How? Murder normally means the intentional taking of another life. However, there's a fairly obscure provision of the penal code called "Felony Murder" that allows a person to be charged with Murder if (1) during the course of committing any felony, and (2) that person commits an act"clearly dangerous to human life and causes the death of another person."  There is no requirement of proving intent to kill.

The law has always been that the "felony" in Felony Murder could not be Intoxication Manslaughter. It had to be another felony. So what felony did she commit? Oh, that baby in the car! That baby becomes important! It is a State Jail Felony (the lowest felony on the books) to commit DWI with a child passenger younger than 15 years of age. So she is alleged to have committed a State Jail Felony and committed an act "clearly dangerous to human life" that caused the death of another person. The Felony Murder statute now kicks in.

Prosecutors first used the Felony Murder statute in a DWI case about seven years ago when someone had caused a death while committing their third DWI -- which is itself a felony.  This is the first time I've heard of the DWI With Child being used as the "underlying felony" in a Felony Murder Case

The Pirate Has A Job: Washington State

Uh oh. She has a history of crazy.

This Ain't Debra Winger in "Urban Cowboy"

Wednesday Afternoon Pick Me Up

Does This Look Like An Azle Man . . .

. . . who would shave a gal's eyebrows and head during an assault?  And I'm guessing it wasn't in retaliation for the cost of eyebrow waxing these days.

Girl Begs For Return Of Dog In Bikini -- Gets Stalked

I'm right there with ya, sister. If my little Yorkie went missing, I'd be out on the corner in a speedo faster than a Chippendale dancer.  It's sacrifice that makes us human.

P.S. Nice heels.

Story.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• A street racing incident in Dallas last night caused a four car wreck that look like a bomb went off and one death. Police have identified one of the cars racing as a BMW which is coincidental because someone commented yesterday (about the Corvette video) that BMW drivers no longer know what they are doing. 
• NBC Nightly News was funny last night because a fire alarm was going off in studio during the live show. It went on what seemed like forever but host Brian Williams handled it like a pro -- he could hardly contain his laughter at times.
• The judge who sentenced Conrad Murray was really playing to the cameras yesterday by giving a huge speech before imposing the maximum sentence. The best judges simply pronounce sentence and move on to the next case. They know there is no need for dramatics.
• There's a Parker County judge who kept doing the same thing in bond hearings for some crazy guy accused of murder but I haven't heard much about that case lately.
• Had to get up in the middle of the night and slap the Family Cat in the head since she decided to chew and scratch her way through a thick cardboard box holding the Christmas tree.
• I haven't mentioned it to Mrs. LL yet, but there's something very uncomfortable about the design of the lips on our inflatable Monkey Santa on the front lawn. 
• Mrs. LL picked up a different kind of deodorant for me. It had "Swagger" on the label. Idiocracy?
• American Airlines pays an average of $6.5 million per year for the naming rights to the American Airlines Center. 
• The guy who used to manage the Methodist Camp out at Lake Bridgeport is now the director of  the "YMCA of the Rockies' Snow Mountain Ranch."  I want a job at that ranch based solely on the name. 
• Fox 4 spent the first 13 minutes of its 9:00 p.m. broadcast on the American Airlines bankruptcy. I suppose that's OK since it employs a krillion people in the DFW area.
• Heard part of a comedian's stand up routine that actually made me laugh -- and I never laugh at stand up routines. And I had never heard of Aziz Ansari.
• Northwest ISD girls basketball team lost last night to "God's Academy."  That's a pretty bold name. 
• I don't care about Bobby Valentine being the new manager of the Red Sox, but I do acknowledge it was a funny bit when he was thrown out of a game one time only to return to the dugout in a "disguise."
• Good grief: A 13 year old Millsap boy tried to start a bonfire over the holidays with diesel and ended up with burns so bad that he'll spend "six month to a year" at Parkland. I can't imagine his pain or the heartache of his family. Facebook support page here.
• Jessica Simpson loves being pregnant and, apparently, eating cheeseburgers. Pic.
• Texas has a law that requires some office holders to resign if they announce their plan to seek office more than one year and 30 days before the date of filing. One such DA may have screwed up . . . 

Messenger Above The Fold

Breaking: Mrs. LL Is A Black Woman

Mrs. LL loves macaroni and cheese but she never told me it was a "black thing". What other surprises are waiting for me?

(And don't you think that lady really wanted to slap Pat when he fired off that question? I bet she walks off that set every day shaking her head and mumbling something about  "that senile old cracker.")

Redeemed! Crazy Couple Goes To Church!

Source.

Oh, No You Didn't

Photo cropped due to my "policy"

It's an age old story. Boy (who happens to be a tattoo artist) meets Girl. Girl dates Boy. Girl cheats on Boy. Girl wants a tattoo. Boy finds out about the cheating done by Girl. Boy then gets Girl all liquored up and goes to work on the tattoo.  The result: Oh, my.

Edit: The Smoking Gun says this viral story is FAKE!!

And From The State That Refuses To Jail Lindsay Lohan . . .

News.

I Love Cases Like This

And I Love This Man

Julian P. Heicklen, a 79-year-old retired chemistry professor, has often stood on a plaza outside the United States Courthouse in Manhattan, holding a “Jury Info” sign and handing out brochures that advocate jury nullification, the controversial view that if jurors disagree with a law, they may ignore their oaths to follow it and may acquit a defendant who violated it.

So what did prosecutors do? Indicted him for "jury tampering."  Sheesh.

His defense is that his conduct is protected by the 1st Amendment's Free Speech provision. Now it's up to the courts. 

Story.

(Note: I'm reminded that in some courthouses in Texas there are DWI prevention posters showing a disfigured victim hanging in the halls where DWI trials are ongoing. Texas courts have found no error in such a situation.)

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• If you own American Airlines stock, that stack of magazines over in the corner is worth more. AMR has declared bankruptcy. It's reorganization and your tickets are still good, however.  But I wonder what happens to frequent flyer miles? Edit: Flyer miles not impacted.
• Everyone was calling it "breaking news" in the 7:00 a.m. hour but that bankruptcy news made the front page of the paper edition of the the Dallas Morning News.
• I agree with what I heard this morning: Every time I fly American, the tickets aren't cheap, I pay extra for baggage, and the flight is packed. So how do they lose money?
• Baylor plays Texas this weekend and it looks like a win (BU is the favorite, but I'm skeptical) will put them in the Insight Bowl in Phoenix against scandal ridden Penn State. A win also puts Baylor at 9-3 -- something I thought was impossible. 
• Our local DA and his wife had another baby yesterday. They can now field a basketball team. Or are they now into the creation of bench players? I've lost count. 
• The White Rock Half Marathon is this Sunday which is odd because it normally doesn't come up the week after the Turkey Trot. But I'm more worried about the weather. Current forecast: 42 degrees, 14 mph winds, and a 20% chance of rain. And that chance of rain may skyrocket if the front moves through a little slower. Beating. 
• Wordkyle sent me this video of two Corvette owners considering racing as they sat at a stoplight over the Thanksgiving weekend in the Woodlands.  The "One Percenter"  is taking on a whole new meaning. 
• Jack Del Rio was fired this morning from his head coaching job with the Jacksonville Jaguars. I knew a Bridgeport girl who dated him when he was a Dallas Cowboy.
• Fox 4 almost got a jailhouse interview with the young girl who drove the wrong way on I-35 over the weekend which "caused" the death of another. An updated story indicates it might have been a suicide attempt.
• Wise County criminal cases I haven't heard much about: The murder-for-hire lady from Wise County Park, the murder case where the lady ran over the guy on FM 101 between Bridgeport and Chico, and the crazy murder-hide-the-body case out of Paradise. And there seems to be another high profile one that I have forgotten.
• Herman Cain is done -- Not because of the claims of sexual harassment or yesterday's news of an affair, but because he's losing credibility with his denials. 
• So of all the people to run against President Obama it's going to be Romney? Really? 

A Liberally Lean Opportunity Missed: Wise County Guns With Santa Photoshoot

 "We don't believe in shooting blanks. Merry Christmas."

 "We don't agree with Santa stealing babies, but we'll fight for his constitutional right to do it."

"Merry Christmas and remember to practice gun safety. Dakota, Jr. and I miss you, honey"

And to think the Scottsdale Arizona Gun Club came up with the idea. Arizona for crying out loud!!  The birth place of this gem of a brain blast should have been Texas. And it should have been mine. That blog fortune I've been waiting for slipped right through my fingers.

He's Like A Real Life Austin Powers

"Hate the playin', not the playa"

Does he
a) Have 15 kids
b) Have kids with 13 different females
c) Have a 19 year old pregnant girlfriend
d) Have another child to be born next year who will have a 17 year old momma
e) All of the above.

I Found A One Percenter!

Crazy Couple Goes Shopping And Lunch Time News

• The judge found guilty in Collin County of bribery cut a deal with prosecutors before sentencing for 10 years probation, a resignation, and a $90,000 fine (max of $10,000 on nine counts.) Smart move.
• There was a guy threatening to jump from the High Five in Dallas which was messing up traffic for those who were just thinking about killing themselves in Dallas traffic.
• Barney Frank announced he won't run for Congress again. John Wiliey Price says he'll run for county commissioner again. 

More Catch Up: Black Friday At Mesquite Walmart

Just a sample of what it was like out there.  "After all, what are we? Barbarians?"

Pick Me Up -- Make Up Edition

During the Aggie/UT game, the cameras kept catching the Aggie QB's fiance in the stands. If I hadn't been so tired, I would have blogged it at that very moment.

Hey, Now.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

Edit: I didn't notice that the coozie says, "Restraining Orders Are Another Way To Say I Love You"

• I took a trip to the Clinton Library while in Arkansas. Really interesting. And I felt a little geeky being especially interested in  96 notebooks - one for each month - that contained the daily schedule of Clinton for every day in office.
• A Barney Fife like security guard got on to me for standing by the entrance while waiting for Mrs. LL because "I don't know what you've got on you."
• There is a section dedicated to the Lewinsky scandal and the Impeachment.  Baylor's current president is (justifiably) not treated well.
• The Tea Party would have its collective head blow up during the tour. There was not a problem, it seems,  that wasn't tackled with new federal legislation. And then you see the section dedicated to the the economy in the 1990s where there was actually a balanced budget with a surplus.
• The portion of I-30 from downtown Dallas to Rockwall is depressing.
• Can't find a picture of her, but a cute girl with a six month old baby in her car was arrested for Intoxication Manslaughter after driving the wrong way on I-35 in Fort Worth over the weekend. Oddly, she never came in physical contact with the person who died.
• Sad to hear the NBA will be back.
• I think "Cyber Monday" doesn't exist. That is, I doubt this is the busiest online shopping day of the year. 
• A kicker did what on the sideline of a NFL game yesterday????
• Over the weekend, the house I was in became like the scene in Raising Arizona where Glen and Dot bring all their kids over to see Hi and Edwina. I retreated to a bedroom. Huge. Quickly. 
• And in there I came across the Kirk Cameron film, Fireproof. I started watching it because I was cynical, and the acting was just as bad as I thought it would be. But, you know, there was nothing wrong with that message. 
• Sports: (1) The over/under line on Baylor v. Tech was 102. 102!! And if you bet the Under, you lost; (2) In the first ever Pac 12 Championship game this weekend, Oregon is a 31 point favorite over UCLA; (3) Turner Gil got fired at Kansas after only two seasons and will be paid the $6 million still remaining on his contract; and (4) the Cowboy cheerleader who was tackled by Jason Witten had her Twitter account allegedly killed by the Cowboys.
• Crazy Sheriff Joe will endorse Rick Perry. That's the equivalent of stopping life support on his campaign.
• To not be a "people person", I sure have been around a lot of people over the last four days.