Messenger Above The Fold

Something Doesn't Seem Quite Right

Story.

North Texas Taking You Into The Weekend

No Wonder They Didn't Draft Him -- They Couldn't Find Him

Story.

Sports: Good Old Days Syndrome

This is the 30th Anniversary of "The Catch" where the 49ers beat the Cowboys to advance to the Super Bowl.

I was always proud of myself for knowing that Dallas almost won that game despite that play.  Danny White, on the next drive, hit Drew Pearson across the middle who almost got away.  Conventional wisdom is that Pearson would have scored if Eric Wright had not got a hand on his collar.

That play can be viewed here. When I went back and looked at it I didn't recall  #22 being downfield.  Yeah, he might have been blocked if Pearson had broken away, but it is no foregone conclusion that Pearson would have scored. History keeps changing on me!

But, man, it was fun to care back then.

North Dakota Visitors Bureau Gets Creative

"Arrive a Guest. Leave a Legend."

At Least Those Pesky Playoffs Won't Interfere With Practice Right Now

You White People Better Step It Up

I mentioned that the overall figure was 43%, but I had no idea the Caucasian faith was smaller than a mustard seed.

Source.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Bridgeport's Colin Jones has moved to wide receiver for 49ers playoff game. I'm not sure he'll see any action, but it's something to look for. 
• I've decided not to coach softball this Spring (although Mrs. LL has signed up for an assistant coach position for some team.)  It was fun, but I also missed out on a lot of our own private practices with the Girls In The House as well as missed some of their games due to scheduling conflicts.  I didn't like that. 
• The would-be Paradise model.
• There were reports yesterday that Delta was eyeing an American Airlines takeover. That just seems, well, unAmerican. 
• I'm not that big of a Facebook guy, but it drives me crazy when I see a post of some child in a hospital bed with a caption of "If this picture gets 1,000,000 'likes', his life saving surgery will be free."  Really? You falling for that?
• I feel fat. 
• The Office just isn't the same since Steve Carell left, but we knew that would happen. 
• Styx is at Billy Bob's this weekend. Fifteen years ago I saw them play two songs outside of The Today Show studios in New York City. I guess I was literally outside of "30 Rock."
• I would absolutely love for the Tebow Bronco's to beat New England this weekend. The aftermath would be absolutely entertaining. (43% of Americans believe that God is helping Tebow win.)
• I could have sworn I saw what  looked like a bobcat (or something) out of the corner of my eye when I was jogging in the dark a couple of weeks ago. Never thought I would need to jog with a pistol. Who's crazy enough to do that? 
• On my DVR is last night's  new documentary  from  HBO on the "The Memphis Three."  Mrs. LL is staring at the remote right now doing all she can not to hit "play" since she promised me we'd watch it together. (I think the gal is obsessed with whodunit-death.)
• You can feel the passion being sucked out of right wing talk radio as they all come to terms with the fact that the Spartan that will lead them into battle against President Obama is Mitt Romney. Freakin' Mitt Romney. I think they fear this will be like 300 without the resistance. 
• ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski was on WBAP this morning to promote his new book about the Duke/Kentucky game 20 years ago that ended with the famous Christian Laettner turn around jumper -- a shot that some people think is the greatest moment in college basketball. WBAP's Hal Jay started the interview by saying he wasn't familiar with it. 
• Former ESPN spare Craig James apparently went off (and I mean really off) on a questioner during the Senate debate last night in Austin for asking a "gotcha" question of "Do you know who the Secretary of Defense is?"  I'm looking for the video.

"The Rhome PD Motorcycle"

At least that's what an emailer sent me.

(Thanks, Shannon.)

I'm Changing My Views On Police Chases

Me advocate a "no chase" policy? Not anymore.  The second the cops pulled out the rocket launcher/hand cannon, I was locked in.

If this doesn't become the new DPS Training Video by the end of the year, it is proof positive that we no longer care about keeping our roads safe.

Irony. She Haz It.

I've been dogging the Tarrant County D.A.'s office for its new PR person's press releases/tweets.

Look what she just tweeted. When are they going to do something about crime down there?????

What is this thing?

Mrs. LL sends this dispatch from Fort Worth Highway 287 in Wise County:

• 12 axles (approximately)
• "looks like some motorized contraption designed by the pigs from angry birds" (Editor's note: What the heck is this crazy lady talking about?)
• There are two motorcycle cops in front of it and a long line of vehicles behind it unable to get on the freeway because he's blocking the on-ramp. 

Edit: She tracked the thing down later at Harmon Road and 287, and I enhanced the photo in the Liberally Lean Laboratory.

This Guy Will Not Let Court Interfere With Sleep

Not the best picture, but this guy at the Wise County Courthouse this morning didn't budge for 30 minutes as he slept with a jacket over his head. (The red is a kid I cropped out -- momma was up there, too.)

The funny part is that a new Grand Jury was empaneled today and they had to walk past him to get to the jury room.  I'll bet they'll be in an indicting mood now.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Now that's a cold wind out there.
• New controversy: U.S. Marines urinating on the dead bodies of the Taliban. We're better than that. Or at least I think we are.
• Rhome PD has a motorcycle? Hearing reports that the answer is "yes". 
• Saw a headline where a guy in Lubbock pled guilty to capital murder to avoid getting the death penalty. He had met his victim through a "dating service", it said, so I had to see what it was. The answer: BootyCall.com. What could possibly go wrong?
• People's Choice Awards observations from last night: (1) Adam Sandler is no longer funny, and (2) Faith Hill has discovered botox.
• The Tarrant County DA's office has turned into Pravda. Their PR person tweets yesterday, "Eddie Dorris [sentenced] to maximum 20 yrs in prison this afternoon for aggravated assault for brutally beating his ex-lover."  They failed to mention that they had charged him with, but failed to receive a conviction for, Attempted Capital Murder which carried with it a maximum of life in prison. 
• Paying for a product or service on the spot with your cell phone makes a lot of sense. I'm just not sure how it will work.
• Hot water heater issue: Mine seems to not be producing as much hot water. I checked it last night and the pilot light was on, and I saw the full flame kick on once someone was taking a bath. The only thing I can think of is that its internal temperature gauge is screwed up by reading the water as hotter than it actually is. I mean, if the full flame stayed on longer the problem would be solved, right? (The temperature knob/doohickey was set to "Very Hot.") ........Edit: I never knew that my readership was 100% composed of the Ghost of George Carlin. 
• Comment on "tankless hot water heater" in three, two, . . . 
• Today's Update oddly informs you about what dumps are closed for MLK Jr. Day:  "MLK DAY CLOSING – Wise County Development Services and the Decatur dumpsite will be closed Monday, Jan. 16, for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. The Boyd, Chico, and Cottondale dumpsites will close Wednesday, Jan. 18, for their holiday."
• Fox 4's "Job Of The Day" yesterday was Landmark Industries in Decatur which was looking for welders. 
• Who would have ever thought the Republican nominee would be a Mormon Gordon Gekko but without the personality? (Now if I can only find where to buy stock in Teldar Paper.) 
• "Super Agent" Leigh Steinberg declares bankruptcy and blames it on alcohol. I'm not buying it. I'm guessing he simply lived beyond his wage.
• My flimsy basis for that opinion: Back in the 1990s, I used to watch The Ricki Lake Show. Every wheels off guest who didn't have a job and screwed up every relationship he had would say, "I really had a problem with alcohol back then." They may have but that didn't prevent them from getting up and going to work. It was an excuse. 
• A lot of people are upset with the Dr. Pepper/Dublin news yesterday, but I have no idea what the controversy is about. 

Fun While It Lasted

Official as of the 3:00 p.m. press conference.

Rush Limbaugh Went Crazy Over This Today

But since I don't understand 95% of what Rush says, I'm not sure why he went nuts.

Story.

Tuesday Morning Pick Me Up (Edit: I Have Confirmed It Is, In Fact, Wednesday)

That's Rita Rusic (I have no idea), and she's 51 year old. Killing it. Absolutely killing it.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Whatever happened to Ted Turner?
• I'm sure he will, but ESPN Chris Mortensen has twice reported that Baylor's Robert Griffin III will enter the NFL draft only to have Griffin say he has not made a decision. (Mortensen must really want to be first with the news.)
• That dump the Osama Bin Landin lived and died in was "built last year" per Fox 4 this morning as they reported Pakistan is going to tear it down to prevent it from becoming a shrine.  They really are different in the Middle East. Over here we would give it a corporate sponsorship, sell tickets, and turn it into a War On Terror Graceland. 
• There were two guys sitting amongst the Mavericks on the bench last night just kicking back and drinking beer. Really.
• I forgot my belt. I don't remember every forgetting to put a belt on before.
• Pic of A-Rod's new girlfriend. I think her stomach looks like mine. 
• Oklahoma voters, in a matter that had to be an absolute emergency, approved a state constitutional amendment in 2010 barring Oklahoma state courts from "using Sharia Law" meaning  "Sharia Law is Islamic Law ... the Koran and the teachings of Mohammed." A federal court struck it down yesterday. I don't know if the court relied upon the Free Speech clause, the Separation of Powers clause, or the You People Should Have Other Things To Worry About clause.
• The rest of the GOP field has turned into a spread-the-wealth choir as they attack Mitt Romney's business record. Rick Perry called him a "vulture capitalist." Up is down. Down is up. 
• James Carville called Perry the worst presidential campaigner in the history of the United States. That may be true. He started on top, had a war chest of money, and the circumstances couldn't be more perfect for everything to fall into place for him. Instead he drove his campaign right into the wall on turn one. 
• That 18 year old gal from Oklahoma who shot and killed one of the two very alleged burglars is now facing the spotlight concerning allegations she knew the guy she shot and that he might even be the father of her new baby (instead of the 58 year old guy she had been married to for about a month before he died of lung cancer.*)   [*Insert Ticket drop of "Off.']
• But one thing that caught my eye about that story: The other "burglar" has been charged with murder in connection with his accomplice's death. Say what? Now that's creative prosecution. 
• I did an impromptu "Flying Super Dog" routine with The Family Pup last night ("I'm Super Dog here to fight Cat Violence wherever it happens in this house!!") only to find out I was secretly videotaped. There should be some kind of immunity. 
• The Dallas Cowboys fire secondary coach Dave Campo. Why? It's his fault that secondary doesn't have the athletic ability to cover even me?
• College football: For those who thought Oklahoma State should have been in the title game instead of Alabama: What if Oregon had not lost to USC giving them one loss for the season (27-40 to LSU in the first game of the year.)  In that scenario, which one loss team should have played LSU in the championship game: Alabama, Oklahoma State or Oregon. Doesn't Oklahoma State seem to be the clear third choice?
• One thing I want to know about the tour bus accident in Rhome yesterday simply out of curiosity: The bus was going from where to where? 
• A Fort Worth whistleblower suit was settled yesterday for $145,000. I wonder why it was filed in Wise County? (But I know the lawyer is a Blog fan so I bet we'll find out.)
• The Update generates revenue for the Messenger of around $150,000 a year. 

Messenger Above The Fold

A Bus And A Truck (And More) Got Tangled Up In Rhome . . .

Graphics by Liberally Lean Graphics Department. All Rights Reserved.

. . .  this afternoon and caused a traffic jam on Northbound 287. The Messenger says minor injuries.

Edit: Traffic cleared to go at 5:04 p.m.

(Thanks, Paul.)

Dog Days #2

ABC - On Saturday, Florida Highway Patrol troopers say that a drunk driver fleeing the scene of a prior accident struck and killed a 53-year-old Sarasota woman while she was walking her dog. The driver of the vehicle, Blake C. Talman, 22, lost control of his Nissan Altima and hit Donna L. Chen and her dog Barney on a city sidewalk. Chen was killed in the accident, and Talman is facing DUI manslaughter charges while being held on $121,000 bail. The accident took place on State Road, and Barney was so terrified that he fled the scene, made his way to the beach, and swam for the horizon. Most would expect that to be the tragic end to an already sorrowful tale, but fate had other plans for Barney. A local fisherman in his kayak happened upon the waterlogged dog just as he was pulling far away from shore – likely too far to make it back.


Man, this has to stop before I want to adopt every dog in the country.

I Was About To Call This County Out!!!

Does This Look Like A Puppy Who Is On Death Row?

The Wise County Animal Shelter has a genius idea of having a Facebook page where they post pics of pups and cats that are about to meet their Maker. Mostly it's a bunch of mutts and they all can't be saved, but the postings tug on enough heart strings that probably quite a few get new homes. 

Anyway, a picture of this little fellow (a mix between a Yorkie and a Dachsund) was posted over the weekend. What the the heck? If I had seen it I would have dropped the Family Cat off for an (un)even trade in a New York minute. Cuteness must be saved!! If someone else  in this county hadn't of stepped up, we might as well have shut the whole place down. We'd be nothing but a bunch of Barbarians. 

Never fear. The pup was adopted and saved. Faith in humanity restored. 

Tarrant County DA's Office Is Prosecuting Serious Crime This Week

Certainly there's more to this, but a quick search of the Internets didn't reveal anything.

And I'll admit that I didn't know what a "Fort Worth deputy marshal" was. But I learned: "The primary responsibility of this position is to serve various arrests warrants and misdemeanor writs issued through the Municipal Court on an assigned shift; to perform computerized warrant searches; and to serve as court bailiff in an assigned courtroom." It pays $42,244 a year.

New Hampshire: Four Years Ago

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The first question by ESPN to winning  Alabama coach Nick Saban concerned what his deceased father would think of the win. I soooo wanted Saban to say, "Did you seriously just ask that?"
• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, with Mitt Romney at his side, says something pretty shocking to a female heckler. (And what size is his belt? "Equator"?)
• Hostess filed for bankruptcy/reorganization. Do they make Ding Dongs?
• Ticket fans: If you are being driven insane by those Sweetjack commercials and wondering why that company we spend so much on advertising, look who owns both the Ticket and Sweetjack.
• Mrs. LL upon seeing the new Tom Hanks movie trailer last night (as I sat beside her not paying attention): "You want to see that?" Me: "Uh...I'd have to see the trailer again." Her: "Back it up then." Me: "I don't want to see it that badly." Her: [Glaring]
• A popular doctor at Cook's Children's Hospital dies at the age of 51 after falling off of his bike. I bet that news made lots and lots of families stop down across the metroplex.
• As the Right Wing realizes that Mitt Romney is nothing other than John McCain 2.0, I bet Newt Gingrich makes one last big run at the nomination before everything is said and done. 
• Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church (one of the hip mega-churches in the metroplex) will spend 24 hours in bed with his wife on the roof of the church to promote their new book, "Sexperiment." (If they were to get hit by lightning, I'd absolutely believe it was a bolt directly from God.) 
• I don't think I've ever seen so much high school basketball coverage in the Update. (And I'm not real sure much of the county is worried about Slidell's streak --- no offense to the loyal readers in Slidell.) 
• Baylor could have scored on Alabama. They might have been beaten 70-7, but they could have at least scored. 
• Snoop Dogg gets arrested in Texas for marijuana possession. The most interesting thing about the story is that he just received the equivalent of a traffic ticket for the Class C offense of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (like possessing a roach clip, bong, or rolling papers). But the story says he had over two ounces of marijuana which should be a Class A misdemeanor (the equivalent of DWI-Second, Theft of $500, Assault-Bodily Injury, etc.)
• Mrs. LL asked me what note we should put in The Family Cat's collar. I suggested, "This is a suicide mission. Help a kitty out."

I'm Watching The National Championship Game But This Southern Belle Is Now Stuck In My Head

Edit: At halftime, it is a barn-burner with three field goals scored.  College football has been transformed into NASCAR.

Edit: This gal scares me.

The Power Of Liberally Lean

There is no way this is a coincidence. I start suggesting that LeAnn Rimes might be the new official Liberally Lean Gal and the next thing you know she's throwing a concert in Fort Worth.  If this isn't a full court press on her part to replace Britney and Christina, I don't know what is. Heck, I suspect I'll get free tickets in an envelope with a lipstick impression on the back.

And Another (Wait. What?)

This one is a little tricky. He is accused of engaging in sexual conduct with a high school student who is 17.  In Texas, that wouldn't be a crime but for the fact he is a teacher and she is a student.  And it doesn't matter that he doesn't even teach on her campus (he's a middle school teacher; she's a high school student.)

Edit: Wait a second! This is obviously a political prosecution by conservative, right wing local authorities who just got mad because they say this on his Facebook page . . .

Edit: Mrs. LL tracked down this guy's "YouTube Channel"

I Think Mary Has A Legitimate Question

Holy, Cow

MSNBC story for those interested in more.

President Obama Is Dallas Maverick This Morning

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Krishonda "Shonda" Leann Townsend, 19, went missing a couple of summers ago in Palo Pinto County after spending the day at Lake Bridgeport.  With little news coverage, she was buried over the weekend after her bones were found back in October. 
• Rick Perry said in the debate of Friday night that he would send troops back into Iraq. Does he understand that he's supposed to try to get votes?
• The "Deadlist Sniper" seems to want to make some money promoting his killing expertise in the Middle East. He proclaims that he has killed 255 as a Navy Seal. (All terrorists, I'm sure.) And if you've ever known a war vet who has seen ugly, ugly things, you know one thing: They do not want to talk about it. 
• Tim Tebow, in his amazing win yesterday, passed for 316 yards. Uh, John 3:16?
• Tebow and the rookie QB for the Texans, T.J. Yates, now have as many playoff wins as Tony Romo.
• Have the folks over at Fox 4 always pronounced reporter Saul Garza's name as "SAWuul"? I heard that this morning.  
• Horrible accident in Boyd this weekend that killed a young man, but are dead cows normally hauled off into the woods?
• More craziness in the Porsche-in-a-Canal case.  All three had been to a strip club together before the crash. 
• Was there one long thunder last night? 
• Spent a much delayed Christmas afternoon (a sequel) at my parents on Sunday. I never knew watching girls open up gifts of clothing could be so intense. 
• Despite the receipt, her name was not "Lady Chinky Eyes."
• You would think Bourbon Street after the LSU/Alabama game tonight would be down right dangerous.
• Water related: (1) Ryan Seacrest's girl can dive, (2) If you ever thought about bungee jumping, you won't do it after this, (3) Lake Bridgeport is 12 feet low but has basically remained constant since October. 
• There's a commercial running on the radio about some cyber "dog" who will go and fetch the best deals on the Internet for products. Wasn't there a search engine years ago that used the same type of advertising campaign?
• Edit: Then bungee jumping gal is a "Hey, now!"