Messenger Above The Fold

Basketball Tourneys Taking You Into The Weekend

Edit: On to the conference championship game. Honey Badger don't care.

I Think Chris Christie Would Have Had A Shorter Shelf Life Than Rick Perry

But some still wish he had entered the GOP race. He makes Mitt Romney look pretty good.

Liberally Lean Tourney Prize Update

"Enter the tournament or bad things will happen"

The current list:

• All Wise Garden Center has pledged a $100 and $50 gift certificate for in-house purchases.
• Bloomoon Pet Resort in Chico has pledged a $50 Visa Gift Card
• Wise Liquors in Bridgeport has pledged a liter of Crown Royal for the last place finisher. (I'm guessing they are serious.) 
• A signed Lebron James jersey with a certificate of authenticity donated by attorney Paul Belew
• A $100 Visa Gift Card pledged by Chris Miller's Farmer's Insurance Agency in Bridgeport

I'll probably let the first place finisher have the first choice of one prize, the second place finisher the second choice of one prize, etc.  For any "last place" prizes, the entire bracket must be filled out. No submitting an empty bracket just to try to win the last place prize -- I know how you guy's think.

Enter here. You'll have to complete your brackets once the teams are announced on Sunday evening.

Edit: For those having difficulty with that link, try this one and use Group ID# 26162. There is no password. 

Flight Attendant: "I am not responsible for crashing this plane."

Sounds like a wild scene at DFW this morning as a flight attendant was ushered off a plane. I think she meant "I will not be responsible for the crashing of this plane."

Edit: CNN has a video where you can hear her scream in the background. Sounds like The Exorcist.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The Bacon Rating System guy might hate me this morning. 
• Breaking economic news: Unemployment stays at 8.3% but the U.S. added 227,000 jobs in February.  It keeps turning around.
• That Kony 2012 campaign took off even more yesterday, but it did give rise to some criticism of the masses who suddenly care. Those critics fired off: "Watch a 30 minute youtube video. Suddenly become a social activist" and "Before you can protest Kony, you have to be able to find Uganda on a map."
• The big health news yesterday came from the Surgeon General who reported that one in five high school students smoke cigarettes. I don't believe that (and I can back that up with absolutely no proof whatsoever.)
• A Fort Worth cop was fired yesterday for looking at porn at work. There may be worst ways for the world to find out that you are fired, but that's got to be right up there.
• Watched a little bit of the local morning news on Channel 8 this morning. Still painful but that blond weather gal is kind of hot. Edit: Might have been the traffic gal. 
• "I love my family. Potato, potato, potato." - Final words of Robert Towery who was executed last night by the State of Arizona. (I have no idea what that means, but it's kind of funny.)
• There was a story this week that gun sales had increased because people "feared" the President's re-election and what he might do to gun control laws. Everyone was acting like this was big news when the same knuckleheads did the same thing four years ago.
• I actually don't mind the rotten weather this weekend. It'll make next weekend even better because it always feels like Spring with the first weekend of March Madness (plus we'll have the extra hour of daylight.)
• Reminder for the Liberally Lean Pick 'Em Tourney with the Top Prize being a $100 Visa card provided by Chris Miller's Farmer's Insurance Agency in Bridgeport . (No other merchant stepped up yesterday which clearly proves there is a malfunction in their Bang For Buck/Advertising Dollar Analysis.)
• Edit: A Decatur attorney who wishes to remain nameless (but who is named "Paul Belew") just called and said he will donate a LeBron James signed Miami Heat jersey complete with a Certificate of Authenticity.) "I won it at a silent auction and now I hate the guy."  Double edit: It's now sitting on my desk. 
• A cameraman on one of those tall cranes almost got hit by a golf ball yesterday at this week's PGA event. (Video.)
• Ticket Fans: Bob Sturm revealed on the T.C. and Jake Podcast that program director Bruce Gilbert wanted to hire Arnie Spanier instead of Dan McDowell back in the 1990s but a contract issue prevented it from happening.  Gilbert has since moved on to 105.3 The Fan where Spanier now works. 
• Pat Robertson said yesterday he favored the legalization of marijuana. A faithful reader sent me a photo of billboard for the Olive Garden Carino's suggesting that Robertson might have simply been confused. It read, "Legalize Marinara."

Calling Joe Duty!

Did I Do It Again Or Did I Do It Again?

Last month:

Today:

More.

Once again, the most trusted name in news analysis in the Southwest Proper.

Andy Dufresne Has Made A Break For It

Probably on a beach in Zihuatanejo

Obviously the result of some diabolic plan. Story.

(The goofball was only being held on a misdemeanor.)

Those Baylor uniforms in real life

Here's What Is Coming

He inherited two wars and a Depression.  If you want to see what a political machine the GOP nominee (whomever that will be) will face this Summer and Fall, just take a look at that trailer. Sure it'll just make most Texans pull their collective hair out, but for those across the nation who are undecided . . . .

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I get asked daily in the house if I have "Temple Run" on my phone. I'm guessing it's the next "Angry Birds" (which I've also never played.) 
• Conservative Freak Out #1: "Bill Maher donated $1 million to Obama's Super Pac. Since he's said bad words about conservative women, why doesn't Obama send that money back?" Answer: Because it's a Super Pac which means the President has no control of it. (And I thought Republican's loved the big money Super Pacs?)
• Conservative Freak Out #2: "A million dollar lottery winner still gets food stamps!!" Answer: It's legal (at least that's what Fox News told me last night). And when we learned Mitt Romney only paid about 14% in income taxes, the Republican mantra was "How can you fault him for simply following the tax laws to his advantage?"
• Dennis Miller was funny one time, right?
• A potential LSU football player is a "Hey, Now."
• I promise you, the Tarrant County prosecutor who signed the dismissal better have had a great reason to do so or he/she is gone. And I wonder if the new PR girl in the office will do a press release about that story?
• We're going big time!: Chris Miller's Farmer's Insurance Agency in  Bridgeport has pledged to donate a $100 Visa Gift Card for the winner of the Third Annual Liberally Lean NCAA Tourney.  Now we're talking. Hey, any of you other merchants who want a month of advertising on the most trusted blog in the Southwest Proper, throw some money in the pot as well. I'll mention you when ever I mention the Tourney. Maybe we can have multiple prizes. 
• Jessica Simpson neekid and pregnant on the cover of a magazine.
• Sean Hannity was hyping an "Obama College Tape" all day yesterday. It turned out to be a big bag of nothing.  If anything, it showed the President as a law student taking a leadership position. 
• Motorcycle death! Well, not quite. But a trooper did decide to shoot a motorcyclist yesterday in Cooke County. I hope that was necessary. 
• Mrs. LL was at some event at Byron Nelson High School last week ("It's huge!!!"). So I did a double take when I read a 15 year old on that school's softball field was Careflighted out of there yesterday after being struck in the head by a bat. (Facebook link.)
• DPS issued a warning for those on Spring Break not to travel to Mexico. I almost understand if DPS issued a warning about the border, but what business do they have in issuing a warning about an entire country. They ain't the State Department. 
• Kony. (You'll learn the name. All I know is that a 30 minute video exploded on the Internet yesterday which may or may not be accurate.)
• I watched a documentary once about the Golden Gate Bridge and how it is "popular" for suicides. Last year, the bridge set a record with 37 such deaths.
• The only way I'd sign Peyton Manning is if he'd play for the league minimum salary. I don't trust that neck at all. (But isn't this amazing: The release of Manning by the Colts is not on the front page of the Indianapolis paper today.)
• Fox 4's "Deal or Dud" guy did a segment on Secondipity last night. That was a100% paid commercial disguised as as news. No question about it. (His giving a "promo code" at the end of segment was the clincher.)  Keep your eyes open for these tricks. It's happening more and more. 
• Daryl "Moose" Johnston will (for some crazy reason) endorse Craig James for the U.S. Senate. Upon hearing the news, James said, "When people see the two of us walking around, they’re going to see two people who’ve been successful in life." (I predict C.J. Wilson will be next to endorse.) 

Mrs. LL Just Sent This In

Car driving down the road. I wonder if he has a blind spot anywhere?

Is It Racist To Chant "USA! USA!" . . .

. . . at a high school basketball opponent when the other school just happens to be 96% Hispanic?

(I'm glad for this small typeface because I wouldn't want anyone to know that I thought this was kind of a funny bit.)

Big Regional Spelling Bee Today At TCU

And for a second I thought we had the greatest typo ever about the event from the education reporter from the Star-Telegram.  But, of course, everyone knows about the degradation of land in any drylands caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities. I was just talking about desertification this morning along with the Colts releasing Peyton Manning.

(Good thing for the Google. I was about ready to make sure she underwent a process whereby she would no longer be certified -- whatever the word for that is.)

Get Me These Goats In Sweaters!

Family Cat, your days are numbered!

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I thought about going to the TCU/Baylor baseball game last night but I'm glad I passed. There was an NCAA record 13 hit batsmen (10 by TCU) as well as 11 walks. The game took just under four hours to play.
• That was a horrible car/pedestrian accident yesterday near Boyd, and it appears to be just that: an accident. But this line from the Messenger story makes absolutely no sense:  "Investigators said there were no indicators, such as skid marks on the roadway, to lead them to believe speeding played a role."
• There was a car chase by about ten DPS troopers through Rowlett yesterday that was televised by the local stations. The best part as when all the troopers jumped out of their cars on a bridge, their cowboy hats all went flying in the high winds.  I've said it before: There will be a Car Chase Station some day, and I'll watch it all the time. 
• John Wiley Price has been under investigation for months, and I have no idea if he's guilty of anything. But I wish my "more small government" friends would at least protest a little when the Feds seized $50,000 of his money this week.
• Now that Missouri and Nebraska are gone from the Big 12, will the Conference Tournament (which begins today) get moved back to Texas in the future? They are contractually bound to Kansas City through 2014.
• The guy who wrote "It's A Small World After All" and other Disney classics has died. He also wrote Ringo Starr's "You're Sixteen" which caused The Ticket's Gordon Keith to ponder this morning how "he got a pass" on the lyrics, "You're sixteen, you're beautiful, and you're mine." 
• I think the oldest girl from Modern Family looks like Mila Kunis (Black Swan.)
• Loving my Manhunt book about the Lincoln assassination. I knew John Wilkes Booth was an actor, but I didn't know he was a famous actor.  He was recognizable even in other parts of the country. 
• And Booth enlisted three others to help in the killing (and other simultaneous planned killings -- including the vice president and secretary of state). Much to their surprise, he dropped off a sealed envelope to the local paper containing an announcement taking responsibility for Lincoln's killing and signed all of their names to it. That is, he dropped it off even before the assassination took place. 
• I don't think I've ever seen the GOP leader limp to the finish line like Romney is doing -- despite spending a fortune to get there.
• And I heard this on the radio this morning: There simply aren't enough conservatives in this country to get a conservative nominated or elected for the presidency. You know, I think that's right. And if it is true right now, it'll never change. 
• Good grief: Joe The Plumber won the Republican nomination for a Congressional seat in Ohio.
• Don't forget to enter the Third Annual Liberally Lean Pick Em Tourney. (And UNT won't be in it after last night's heartbreaking loss.) 

Messenger Above The Fold

True?

And Another - Florida

We've had a setback. Link.

Just When Baylor Had Turned The Corner

Baylor announced today that the team would wear new uniforms during the conference and NCAA Tourney. What the heck? My eyes!!!

That reminds me. Where's my highlighter?

"I Work Out"

I've always heard people talk of Jimmy Fallon's impression of Neil Young, but I've never paid much attention because Neil Young's voice has always been like nails on a chalkboard to me.  But there's been quite a bit of buzz about his recent performance of "I'm Sexy And I Know It" the other day with Bruce Springsteen.

I'll say this, his Young impression is spot on.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The trial of the Texas Bernie Madoff has quietly been going on down in Houston over the past couple of weeks. Now that trial of alleged ponzi scheme mastermind Allen Stanford may end up in a mistrial as jurors say they are unable to reach a verdict. I thought the Feds had him. 
• I'm getting back into audiobooks and have begun Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer.
• A boxcutter was found on a commercial plane in Texas yesterday, so Fox 4 had an "aviation expert" on last night to talk about it. He opined there was no way the object could have gotten past TSA screeners. I opine he ain't much of an expert.
• It's Super Tuesday. It sounds like it is all about Ohio. (And I'll hear that "four dead in O-hio" song all day long in my head.)
• When I went up to Montague County the other day, the place was littered with huge campaign signs for District Attorney and District Judge. What's going on up there?
• News broke over the weekend that NFL coach Gregg Williams used to put "bounties"/bonuses out for big hits causing injuries to other players. Yesterday, most sports talking heads said such a practice was "common knowledge" around the league. Really? I've never heard them talk about it.  I think they all just jumped on the common knowledge bandwagon because to do otherwise would make them seem out of the loop. 
• This morning: "ACCIDENT (Irving/Dallas) Major accident involving motorcycle has WB 183 at Elm Fork Trinity River main lanes closed." Fatality?
• You know what looks like fun? A small cruise through the harbors of New England. 
• From the Update: Chico's second year athletic director has been offered a new job. True or not, the school board believes they will have to give him a raise about his $67,980 salary to keep him. He coaches football and only went 4-10 last year, but those four wins came after watching 26 loses in a row. Tough call.
• People have begun signing up for the Liberally Lean NCAA Tourney (and the funny team names have returned once again.)  Hey, the tournament will start in about a week so sign up. 
• Sudan won the Girls 1A Texas UIL Basketball Championship last weekend. It would be cool if they nicknamed themselves "The Lost Girls." 
• The UIL boys basketball tournament is this weekend. That's something I've always said I wanted to go but have never remotely made the effort to do so.
• I'll admit I'm not rationale or objective when it comes to this Rush Limbaugh controversy. I want that radio empire figuratively burned to the ground. 
• We used to have trouble with the Neighbor Boys but somehow that war has ended. They even waved the other day. Hope and Change. 

Seen On The Decatur Square Today

What's Spanish for "Texas Hammer" or "Strong Arm"?  I've got to one up this!!

(Thanks, emailer.)

"Pizza!!! I said PIZZA!!!!"

It took me a second to figure out why dad was yelling "pizza", but then it came to my world-class-athletic brain that he was telling the kid to point the tips of his skis together to get a snowplow effect.  Little Junior didn't listened to well, did he?

Everyone who has watched this video is concerned about the kid but not me. I'm worried about the dad. Either that kid is giving up skiing for life and will turn to life of solitude, books and the arts, or he's going to realize that experience he just had was kick arse, and he'll be back up that mountain within 15 minutes.

Hope little Jean-Claude Killy does the right thing. A father's joy depends on it.

Dog Is Killing It

Autotune that, run it through a synthesizer,  and add Lady Gagas vocals and you've got a #1 hit there, puppy.

And Now The Number Of Advertisers Who Have Left This Guy Is Up To Eight

• Sleep Number
• The Sleep Train
• Quicken Loans
• Legal Zoom
• Citrix (gotomypc.com)
• Carbonite
• ProFlowers
• AOL Edit: Which Owns The Huffington Post
• Edit: Tax Resolution Services has bailed since this was posted.
• Edit: Sears announced this afternoon it was suspending ads.
• Edit: Now ad Vitacost
• Edit: All State Insurance joins the crowd late this afternoon.
• Edit: As of Tuesday morning, the list is up to 20. Updated list here.

And the list grows.

Seriously?

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• A Sheriff Joe tweet from late last week: "My condolences to the family of conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart who passed away 4 hours after he called me."  Let me translate: "Hey, everyone who is talking about that guy who died. He called me! He called me!" 
• Look at the state of the construction at Allen High School's new stadium. Wow.
• Another police car was struck over the weekend -- this time in Carrollton. It was demolished.
• And we had a motorcycle death in the metroplex (but I only heard about it because the TV was going in a different room last night. No link yet.) Edit: Link.
• I watched a documentary yesterday on the late chess champion Bobby Fischer who basically went nuts in his later years. I then immediately watched a 60 Minutes segment online about the new modern day Fischer: 21 year old Magnus Carlsen.  If you want to see one of the most amazing feats of mental strength ever, watch the first three minutes of that 60 Minutes segment.
• Threw the softball yesterday afternoon. That's one of life's great joys. 
• I finally found at least one report of arrests in the Traffic Ticket Roundup. 32 in Waco and 39 in San Antonio. The article doesn't say if those were the result of home visits or if they were just random traffic stops - a huge distinction. And those numbers are tiny.
• I saw The Lorax this weekend at the Movie Tavern in Bedford and, you know, not bad. Some have criticized for its "green" message, but that's downright silly.
• Hey, go northbound on Central in Bedford, go under 183 and make a left westbound to get on 183. Due to the construction, you'll get a chance in about four miles. 
• Mavs coach Rick Carlisle on goofball Lamar Odom:  "It’s not about his numbers. It’s about his energy, the engagement in the game and the full commitment."  Really? You don't care his numbers? If you are only looking for energy and engagement then just pull some season ticket holder out of the stands.
• Early notice: We'll do another Liberally Lean March Madness Tourney this year. (Don't worry about the fact that I still haven't gotten a trophy to last year's winner, County Attorney James Stainton.) You should be able to sign up here. I tried to send out a group email this morning to those which joined last year. 
• I did touch up spot painting on the house walls this weekend. I finally found an activity where the Family Cat would follow me everywhere I go -- her head goes back and forth with the brush like she's watching a tennis match.
• Then I spent a while making some type of concoction to get the ashes out of the grout in front of the fireplace since the dang cat decided to kick a bunch of ashes out of it. 
• While you were sleeping:  "A gang of gunmen disguised in military-style uniforms and carrying forged arrest warrants killed 25 police Monday, then hoisted the battle flag of al-Qaeda in a carefully planned early morning shooting spree in western Iraq, officials said." Seems to be going well over there. 
• Parker County incumbent judge's campaign literature: " I am working to make Parker County safe from those who threaten our way of life." Hey, what if your duty of enforcing a person's constitutional rights does not equate making Parker County safe? What will you do then?

Scorned Woman?

Just flew by the end of the Honda Classic (that's golf) to see Rory McIlroy win, hug his father, and then walk by this lady.

You kill her dog?

Random Craziness: Batman and Robin Chased By Teletubbies

More.