John McCain Might Want To Head On Back To Arizona. His Work Is Done Here.

That Video Board At The Death Star

Check out the people in the background looking up.

Our Own Little Pentagon Papers

FORT WORTH -- Visiting Judge Elizabeth Berry issued a sweeping gag order Friday in a capital murder trial that prohibits the news media from reporting or disseminating anything that happens in open court outside the presence of the jury . . . . Among other restrictions, Berry's order states that the media may not interview attorneys, litigants, employees of the district attorney's office, parties, witnesses, victims or relatives of victims until the trial ends.


That's baloney, and I'm proud the Star-Telegram is going to fight it. We have conflicting constitutional rights of giving someone a fair trial vs. freedom of speech, but this is insane. You'll often hear of "gag orders" which prevent lawyers from discussing the case (which I'm not sure the Supreme Court has ever addressed) and that makes some sense when one party is trying to influence a trial or potential trial. But telling a newspaper how it will gather and report news is downright frightening.

Messenger Above The Fold

LeeAnn Rimes Still Killin' It

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Boy, metroplex news stations are obsessed with the Porsche-in-a-canal story (but so am I.) A 41 year old lawyer with a couple in their early twenties running around in the middle of the night? I bet something seedy was going on.
• And he might have been a good guy, but a 40 something asbestos lawyer who drives a Porsche is near the bottom of my list of people I would want to hang out with.
• I heard this morning that his wife had filed for divorce two days after Christmas. I bet she finally locked on to those give-your-wife-a-Lexus-for-Christmas commercials and he didn't deliver. 
• The Cotton Bowl played at night on January 6th is just wrong.
• There was a small earthquake between Dallas and Irving overnight. With no science to back me up, I'll blame fracking.
• Ryan Seacrest's "Hey, Now" girlfriend at the beach.
• Rick Santorium is now denying that he even said "black people" in Iowa when he clearly said, "I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money." Mindboggling. 
• Breaking this morning: The unemployment rate falls to 8.5% as 200,000 jobs were created in December.  Now if you are a right wing Republican, that makes you happy doesn't it? You want prosperity, right? There's no part of you that wish unemployment would skyrocket before November, 2012, right?
• I used to stay up until midnight all the time. These days I'm normally asleep by 10:30 p.m.. (And I can always fall asleep within 10 minutes of my head hitting the pillow.)
• I like Tim Tebow. I think his days as an NFL quarterback are numbered, but I like the guy.
• Here's a pic of the four Aggies that sat behind us in the Alamo Bowl. It looks like they would be a beating, but they were really pretty funny.
• But one of them was whipping me with hot sports opinions. 

Bridgeport ISD Made Channel 8

The story made reference to "a blog" but, once again, I was denied recognition for being the most trusted source.

Link.

LeAnn Rimes Making Strong Case For Official Liberally Lean Girl 2012

I Didn't Think . . .

. . . you could even get three people in a Porsche until I remembered Risky Business with Tom Cruise. I'm pretty sure Miles was in the backseat when they were being chased by Guido, The Killer Pimp.

Story.

Edit: According to the Star-Telegram, the victims have been identified by the Dallas County medical examiner as Kenneth Lark, 21, of Austin, Kaat Debeuckelaer, 21, of Colleyville and Ronald Eddins, 41, of Southlake

This is the gal per Facebook (don't know if that's the guy):

Everyone Has Been Telling Me To Post About This

I don't know about you guys, but that gal looks like she's not done killin'.

Edit: Wait a second. There was a moment in the video when they referred to this lady's husband as having died over the holidays after a bout with cancer. Then the they showed us the picture below.  I don't want to be callous, but that picture looks like it was taken in the 1970s, and he looks to be over 30 way back then. I then wondered how old little Calamity Jane was and it turns out she's 18. We gots us a whole nuther story!

And did the graphics person take this story serious enough?

Edit: Thanks to the comments, good stuff here.

Not that you're going to Jefferson County but . . .

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• More visual proof that Mark Cuban is far closer to classless than the common man. Yep, I can't stand that guy. 
• Saw this on Twitter last night: "Sobering reality: Khloé Kardashian Odom has 1.39 million more followers than the New York Times."
• Best moment of the Orange Bowl last night was seeing an Orange Mascot getting tackled in the end zone.
• I really don't want to question how someone grieves, but what Iowa Causcus Golden Boy Rick Santorum and his wife did upon her having a stillborn child isn't exactly, uh, "normal."
• I didn't know former Southlake/UNT coach Todd Dodge had spent the year as quarterbacks coach at the University of Pittsburgh.
• The front of my thighs still hurt. Weird. 
• Kyra Sedgwick "Hey, Now"?
• Forgot to mention that Amberly and Debbye on the third floor of the Wise County Courthouse won our fantasy football league. (We all laughed at them when they drafted Cam Newton at the beginning of the year.)
• I'm interested in the identities of the two bodies found in the submerged Porsche yesterday which ended up in a canal near Las Colinas. (By the way, I've never understood the thrill of driving fast.) Edit: Driver identified as 41 years old Ronald Cary Eddins. There's a Dallas asbestos lawyer named Ron Eddins who seems like a high-roller but I have no idea if that's the same guy. 
• Mrs. LL declared she was cooking a Cajun meal tonight. (All I thought of was Newman on Seinfeld saying, "Jambalaya!" in the Soup Nazi episode.)
• Former Cowboy Sam Hurd was indicted by the feds yesterday for trying to be a drug kingpin. He never would have been, but he told the wrong people that he wanted to be. That'll get you locked up in this country. 
• More good news for the President: Unemployment claims dropped again for the last week of December (that's four drops in five weeks.) 
• It's fun to listen to Limbaugh and Hannity try to sabotage Mitt Romney as being too "moderate" while realizing they'll have to end up supporting him. (And John McCain endorsing Romney yesterday just killed them.)
• Update of the shooting of the 8th grader: Two officers. Three shots. One to the back of the boy's head.. . . 

Trophies Thrown Out At Bridgeport Middle School . . .

 . . .  allegedly to make room for art in the trophy case.  Some people ain't happy.

Developing.

Dallas Judge Who Ruled Death Penalty Process In Texas Unconstitutional . . .

. . . looks different on TV . . .

. . . that she does in her campaign pictures.

(And that's why I'm the most trusted legal analyst in the Southwest Proper.)

"What Was Going Through Your Mind?"

One of these days, some kid from Wise County will kick a game winning field goal in college or in the pros. It'll be epic.  And then in the press conference, he'll be asked what he thought about before the big moment.

"Random Thoughts Girls," he'll say. "Ever since I've been in the big time, I've thought of Random Thought Girls whenever I line up for a kick. Everybody back in the 'hood knows what I'm talking 'bout."

I'm here for a purpose.

This Is Weird

A few days ago I read about a guy who was shot and killed when he tried to enter the wrong home in Fort Worth. The shooter was a woman and the lone occupant of the house and had even called 911 while the guy was trying to enter. She shot him once.  From all accounts, it sounded like an intoxicated guy got lost and tried to enter a home that wasn't his.

Turns out the guy was an SMU graduate and somewhat of a Fort Worth socialite.  Growing up, he did all of the Fort Worth high tone things: Country Day High School and the Steeplechase Club.

I wonder what the story is on this.

(And "Castle Doctrine" or not, this is the kind of case that would never be prosecuted regardless of the black letter of the law.)

Obit.

I Hope That Was Absolutely Necessary This Morning

Updates.

Edit: Based upon the comments, I'd like to say "My bad." I had forgotten that Police Shooting = Justified before any facts are released. Liberally Lean apologizes for this error.

Edit at 4:52 p.m.:  Oh, my!!

This Girl Ever Going To Get Old?

More.

Bachmann Will Not Make Obama A One Term President. Neither WIll Perry, But At Least He'll Try

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Dallas prosecutors announced yesterday that they are in favor of overturning a conviction of a man who has spent 31 years in prison. The reason: Prosecutors back then failed to turn over evidence as required. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
• And to think prosecutors love to refer to themselves as wearing the "white hats". In Dallas, that's ironic on a couple of levels with the color being one of them. 
• It sounds like Rick Perry is about to drop out of the Presidential race. (He said he was heading back to Texas to re-evaluate his campaign). I knew he would be exposed as having a bag of nothing, I just didn't think it would happen so quickly. But I don't know why he would go this far and then drop out even before South Carolina. Stick it out a couple of weeks and throw a Hail, Mary. 
• Breaking news this morning is that the Queen of the Tea Party, Michelle Bachmann, has called a 10:00 a.m. news conference and may be gone as well. 
• That GOP field is a mess. A complete mess. 
• Panda Express is coming to Decatur (in the Walmart parking lot, to be exact.) Who knew people actually ate panda?
• Irony: Me in the back yard trying to round up the Family Cat this morning. I had to go back in and ask for help from Mrs. LL because I had a conflict of interest. 
• Jessica Alba's post-baby body is killin' it in Cabo.
• Regarding the Tarrant County DA's office printing the names of DWI suspects: “What’s hard to say is ‘how many would we have had if this wasn’t out there?’” asked Asst. District Attorney Richard Alpert. That's easy to answer: The same number. The DA's office did it for publicity. Plain and simple. 
• Illinois cop gives woman a ticket then later asks her out by leaving a note on her car at her home. She sues. This one is easy: What does she look like? 
• I've always wanted to see the spot where Bonnie and Clyde were gunned down (talk about an execution). This is the only monument marking the spot in Louisiana.

Iowa Caucus: Meet The Dysfunctional Family

The Field Responds To Mitt Romney

Looks like a three way race between Romney and, yep, Ron Paul and, yep, Rick Santorum.

Edit:

Messenger Above The Fold

Kind Of Hard To Explain

I linked to the "Pedobear" appearing at the Penn State game in the Cotton Bowl yesterday, but I think I failed to appreciate the planning that went into it. Deadspin explains what it means and how the Longhorns were behind it.

And Fox 4's Richard Ray got in a pic:

First Pick Me Up Of 2012

Maria Menounos wishes Wise County A Happy New Year

The Tarrant County DA's Office Has Begun It's Public Shaming

"You have not pled guilty. You have not been found guilty. Yet, we will shame you not because we ourselves are blameless but because we have the power to do so. We are your government."

2011 "And Another" Winners

Texas: Yep, slow year. She's from Amarillo.

National winner: Carrie Shafer from Kentucky.

Honorable Mention: From New York

The Plan Is So Crazy That It Just Might Work

Do you have change for a million-dollar bill? Police say a North Carolina man insisted his million-dollar note was real when he was buying $476 worth of items at a Walmart. Investigators told the Winston-Salem Journal that 53-year-old Michael Fuller tried to buy a vacuum cleaner, a microwave oven and other items. Store employees called police after his insistence that the bill was legit, and Fuller was arrested. The largest bill in circulation is $100. The government stopped making bills of up to $10,000 in 1969. Fuller was charged with attempting to obtain property by false pretense and uttering a forged instrument. He is in jail on a $17,500 bond, and it isn’t clear if he has an attorney. He is scheduled to be in court Tuesday.

I'm dying to see a mugshot of this guy, but I can't find one. Any man who can stand at a counter and "insist" that a million dollar bill is real, has got to have eyes like Charlie Manson.

But, you know, there was a chance he could have pulled this off. I have this vision of some part-time Walmart clerk just counting out change in the amount of $999,524 and then Fuller just walking off with the cash into the parking lot like he just pulled off Ocean's 11.

And he also has something in common with Sam Hurd and his desire to be a big time drug dealer: If you are going to go, go large.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Everyone ready to get back at it? Anyone? Do I see a hand in the back? No? Ok.
• It's 2012 and I heard someone on the radio do a Forrest Gump impersonation this morning. 
• Oregon wore a mirror helmet in the Rose Bowl last night. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was really cool. 
• Saw where The Fan's Richie Whitt was trying to get to Belize with his girlfriend over the holidays but the flight was overbooked. After the old auction trick didn't work, he and his travel partner where selected to get bumped off the flight. The were routed through El Salvador instead and arrived in Belize 24 hours later. Oh, and they were written a check for $1,300 a piece on the spot.  I think I'd do that deal.
• A beach "Hey, now."
• I always thought the next 10 years would be the "decade of travel" for me. Now I just need to pull the trigger. 
• I've had the weirdest pain in the front of my thighs over the last couple of days. It's like an exercise pain but it's the only place I hurt.
• My New Year's Weekend reaffirmed my belief that, "people are crazy." 
• An old (and funny) piece that The Onion wrote which reported that the Dallas Cowboys had "released" Jerry Jones started circulating again yesterday. I had a "bless her heart" moment when I saw one of my Facebook friends and her many friends were talking about it as being real. 
• I knew the Cowboys were doomed when the television cameras caught Keith Brooking doing one of his goofy "rah rah" speeches on the field before the Giants game. He rarely plays anymore, but I'll be glad to see him go. 
• Facebook pic of Slidell girl injured in accident over the weekend. 
• I had all the outside Christmas decorations down by New Years Day. Mrs. LL laughed at me because I drew a schematic diagram on the biggest box to tell me next year exactly how everything was hooked up. (Maybe it was bullet point #10 that read "There is no string of lights #4. Made mistake.")
• Rare chance to Baylor brag: The men's basketball team is unbeaten and #4 in the nation and the women's team is unbeaten and #1 in the nation. 
• There was a big strip shopping center built a couple of years ago along 287 in Decatur (its on the east side before the northbound 51 exit). It still sits completely empty and has never had a tenant. 
• Kathy Griffin took her shirt off in Times Square with Anderson Cooper on NYE.  
• And today the Republicans rely upon a bunch of Iowans to make some sense out of the mess that has been created.

Crazy Westboro Baptist Church Showed Up At A Game At The Cotton Bowl Today

I think I feel pretty good that they hate Obama. But, man, some of their signs are insane.

Edit: On a kind of related note, it would be hard to pull off a Penn State Scandal joke at the game, but someone did.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• ERATH COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) – A 35-year-old man shot and killed his 3-year-old grandson before turning the gun on himself after becoming enraged on how his 15-year-old daughter was raising her child. Good grief (on so many levels).
• I saw there was a new TV series on NBC based upon John Grisham's "The Firm." And Fox has a new animated series based upon "Napoleon Dynamite." They are out of new ideas, aren't they?
• There were two babies that get the honor of being the first baby born in 2012. Both have Hispanic surnames. Have I preached politics and demographics before?
• Told ya the Cowboys wouldn't win.
• I couldn't believe that Jason Garrett began his press conference with "the process", "look at the tape" and "get better."  Those Cowboy fans want to hear something different. It's like the polar opposite of Tony Romo's "If this is the worst thing that ever happens to me" remarks from a couple of years ago, but equally frustrating.
• Mrs. LL got a little sick last night. I then got to proclaim to the Kids In The House that I just cooked them the best frozen pizza they ever had. (And it might have been since I checked it every 15 seconds.)
• Owner of Dallas Ghostbar found dead of apparent suicide. There are a ton of jokes about how the Ghostbar could prompt one to suicide but they would all be inappropriate.
• There's something oddly hypnotic of watching CSPAN's weekend coverage of presidential campaigns. They'll follow a candidate at a campaign stop, commercial free, and without commentary. Weirdly, you get to listen to all the small talk and handshaking. This weekend I got about 15 minutes of Mitt Ronmey's wife stopping by a coffee shop.  What a beating she was going through. 
• These holidays after holidays are weird. 

Cowboy Game Analysis