Taking You Into The Weekend

I had a different post automatically set to go up but I deleted it. UNLV cheerleaders were cute but that just didn't seem to be appropriate on the day of the second worst mass killing in U.S. history. Especially with all of  the children involved.

On that note, I'm set to attend an elementary school choir's Christmas pageant tonight. It may turn out to be the most emotional unscheduled memorial service ever. At least for me.

New York Post's Current Headline

Kindergarten class?

The Killer ....Edit: Not So Fast

Per CNN based upon this Slate tweet.

Edit: What a screw up.  Online magazine Slate quoted CNN as naming Ryan Lanza the killer (which is true) but then Slate linked to a facebook page.

Turns out the Facebook page linked to was not him!!! That's where I got the photo above.

Amazingly, Lanza listed his "hometown" as the location of the shooting.

Edit: It looks like this is Lanza's real twitter account.  Edit: Heck, now I'm not even sure that's correct. This is insane.

Edit: Good grief. Instant news is instant inaccuracy.

News From Earlier Just Took A Turn For The Worse

This will keep the gun debate going.

Google news feed here. ABC news feed here.

Edit: Oh, my goodness . . .

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The "Elf On The Shelf" has made an appearance at the house. I had never heard of this thing/concept until a couple of years ago, and the book I read last night (which I believe it is based upon) was copyrighted in 2005. Is it that recent?
• He was up on a ledge this morning about 12 feet high. This whole concept kind of creeps me out. It feels more like Chuckie instead of an elf.
• The dress code for the club that Josh Brent was in before the fatal crash is unusual. I support the "no Ed Hardy shirts" but the code for women seems pretty strict for the club scene. And, of course, I know club scenes.
• I would support a "no Ed Hardy shirts" policy for the planet Earth.
• Up at the courthouse yesterday, I heard someone mention they had received duplicate charges for a credit card transaction at Walmart. I looked at the bagofnothing.com blog this morning and he mentioned he had been double charged there as well. What's going on?
• Mitt Romney's "47 Percent" gaffe tops Time's Top Ten Quotes of the Year. 
• The "no parole" aspect for the Continuous Sexual Abuse law in addition to the 25 year minimum is truly insane. Those that practice criminal law understand this, but it's almost impossible to get the public to agree unless a specific case were to be analyzed. 
• Fox 4's Clarice Tinsley really irritates me. 
• The Ranger's first home game next year will see Josh Hamilton return as a member of the Los Angeles Angels. The boos will come pouring down. I think. 
• Who would have the lower SAT score: Josh Hamilton or Dez Bryant?
• The Freshman-In-The-House has to read Animal Farm for school. I kind of want to read it since it's been decades since I last have. I might actually understand it this time. 
•  But I did remember and proclaimed in the house, "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." I got a lot of stares.
• How many people attend a function for the Wise County Fossil, Rock and Mineral Society? Seriously.
• Saw someone comment to the effect of, "The less you are attached to things the less suffering you will have when those things change."  
• I don't know deer, but that looks like a big deer shot in Wise County.

Josh Hamilton Really Is An Angel

The Rangers let crazy Josh Hamilton "get away" as the Los Angeles Angels sign him for 5 years and $125 million. The pastor of Dallas Prestonwood's Baptist Church (membership greater than 30,000) is not happy on twitter. (Above)

In other news, it's safe to go to the bathroom in Sherlock's now.

Oh, and a flashback from Josh's wife earlier this year in Sports Illustrated:

"Fans and reporters are so far off base with where we are," Katie says. "They'll say, 'Oh, Josh doesn't care about the money.' No, we don't really care about the money so much for us, but we have huge plans for this money and, no, it's not strictly for our bank account. It is for a hurting world."

So maybe Pastor Graham doesn't need to be upset at all.

Punishment Verdict In Wise County Case

Messenger's Joe Duty Not Shooting A Christmas Card Photo Of Defendant

60 years in prison. No parole for Continuous Sexual Abuse under Texas Law. Defendant is 44 years old.

(Live from courtroom)

Facebook Rumor and Innuendo: News

• NBC DFW

  Breaking news: Kaufman Co Sheriff's Dept has confirmed a small plane has crashed on the Kaufman/Ellis County line near the Trinity River: We have crews on the way...

  Like ·  · Share · 11 minutes ago · 

• 26 people like this.
• 2 shares
• 

  Sharon Harris Harrington Prayers going out!

  9 minutes ago · Like
• 

  Alex Elmo Gallegos I have family there 

  8 minutes ago · Like
• 

  Christine Lutz r there ne survivors?

  8 minutes ago · Like
• 

  Ron Behr Nothing left but a smoking hole. It appears to be a military aircraft. My thoughts and prayers go out to the people that were on board.

  7 minutes ago · Edited · Like
• 

  Lorretta Summers Is there a way to see what you show on tv through the Internet? I don't have a tv.

  6 minutes ago via mobile · Like
• 

  Rachel Cook I heard wasn't..

  6 minutes ago via mobile · Like
• 

  Karen Christine Hall Praying!

  5 minutes ago · Like
• 

  Gwendolyn Loper prayers going out to the familys

  4 minutes ago via mobile · Like
• 

  David Mach Jr It is in combine

  2 minutes ago via mobile · Like
• 

  Brenda Briggs Prayers for all aboard & families!

  2 minutes ago via mobile · Like
• 

  Andrea Maupin Looks like chopper5 just got an accidental close up of what appeared to be a body face down. How sad!

  about a minute ago · Like

Looking at the comments, we've got a military aircraft down with a body on the ground?

The Wife Of Olympic Skier Bode Miller

But this isn't a Pick Me Up. You see, Bode and his wife decided to go golfing yesterday. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but Bode hit her in the face with what Mrs. Miller referred to as a "line drive."

Photo evidence? Oh, my.

I've Got A "60 Minutes" Type Expose!

Wait a second!! The "Crime Report" which had been appearing in the Messenger, referenced on Jay Leno, and featured by Texas Monthly (after the Messenger complained it was being ignored) was not written by the Messenger but by the Sheriff's Office? There are Sheriff's Office comedy ghost writers? I'm grabbing my camera crew and reporters and heading out to 200 Rook Ramsey Boulevard to get to the bottom of this.

• After six hours of deliberations, the guy on trial in Wise County for "continuous sex assault of a child" was found guilty yesterday evening.  The punishment phase begins today with the range of punishment being no less than 25 years and no more than Life.  He cannot get probation. There is no early parole. (And I can predict what will happen -- it will make sense tomorrow when I can say more.) 
• I mentioned that the range of punishment for Intoxication Manslaughter is 2 to 20 years and the possibility of probation. A girl in Wichita Falls yesterday received a three year sentence yesterday from a jury for that offense wherein her brother was killed.
• Cowboy Josh Brent's blood alcohol level was released yesterday: .18.  I'm more stunned by how quickly it was analyzed than the level.
• Horrible and strange story of a lawyer who was apparently "beaten" on Greenville Avenue in Dallas and now is in a medically induced coma. From a report this morning, however, it sounds like it might have been one blow to the nose causing him to fall back and hit his head. 
• That low hanging front end on Mrs. LL's Gangsta Mobile is a nightmare. But I've become an expert in inconspicuous zip tie repair.
• Saw someone write that Decatur was on "Shipping Wars" last night. I don't know what that is. 
• One of my weird greatest joys: Taking two swigs of tomato juice immediately upon waking up. 
• The guy who carved a pentagram in his son's back then took the blood and smeared it around his front door.  I'm guessing he watched the Passover scene in The Ten Commandments. 
• Decatur attorney Mark Howell emailed me yesterday to say that he won the Punt, Pass and Kick Competition as a kid.  
• As the malls are packed and everyone attends Christmas parties, a homeless man was crushed to death yesterday in Fort Worth after the dumpster he was sleeping in got picked up by a trash compacting truck. 
• I watched some of the Sandy concert last night. It was a heck of a lineup. It was a heck of a Geriatric Convention. 

This Guy Does Not Understand Christmas

Story.

But I bet this was him when he got into a tussle in Pennsylvania.

Am I Missing Something?

This story is all over the place about the Plano cop who stopped a man for expired registration. When asked why that was so, the guy said he could either choose to feed his family or pay for the registration.

The cop, who is being hailed as the next George Bailey it seems, writes him a citation but slips him a $100.

Hey, he wrote him a citation!!!!!

And In An Old Man Voice . . .

. . . "In my day, we watched kids engage in the Punt, Pass and Kick Competition."

Above The Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Fox News is all over the "news" of reporter Steven Crowder being hit by "union thugs" yesterday in Michigan. Hey, I'm against violence but Crowder went in there looking for a confrontation (and that may be the most edited video in the history of ever.)
• The Ticket's Gordon Keith made a good point today: How is it that Jane McGarry is fired by KXAS for DWI but Josh Brent is embraced by his employer for Intoxication Manslaughter?
• Hey, it's 12/12/12.  (Which makes me realize it's less than two weeks to Christmas.)
• Former Cowboy Eugene Lockhart will be sentenced today for mortgage fraud. Not a good week for the Cowboy brand.
• Idiocracy: Heard a mortgage company ad the other day offering a customized mortgage that they referred to as a "your-gage".
• Watched an old Seinfeld last night. That series for the last two seasons was horrible. (It was the episode where Elaine was mistaken for a "Susie" at her work. It's almost impossible to describe it was so bad.)
• John Wiley Price, in reference to a point made by Maureen Dickey during commissioners' court, said yesterday, "Honey Boo Boo has spoken." Oh, man. 
• I'm pretty sure Mrs. LL slept walked for about three minutes last night. I was scared to disturb her it was so weird. After three minutes, she got back in bed without saying a word. I asked her about this morning and she had no memory of it.
• Jenna Bush is pregnant. It's the equivalent of a U.S.'s Kate Middleton pregnancy only completely different.
• There was a lawsuit filed that claims Storage Wars is fake/set up.  I'd be stunned if someone thought it wasn't.
• The winner of the Dallas Marathon was a big Russian guy who had the worst teeth ever and sounded like Borat. 
• Anti-big government Rick Perry endorsed legislation yesterday to allow government to restrict abortions. 
• I think the Update is wrong about the criminal trial going on. If the guy is convicted of the original charge, he faces a minimum of 25 years. 

Morning Pick Me Up: Heisman Edition

Tennis Player In Hot Water For Mocking Williams Sister?

Dailymail – Caroline Wozniacki has been accused of doing a ‘racist’ impersonation of fellow tennis player Serena Williams after stuffing her bra and shorts. At a recent exhibition against Maria Sharapova in Brazil, the former world No. 1 stuffed courtside towels down her kit to replicate the body of the curvaceous Grand Slam champion. But now the 22-year-old Dane, whose boyfriend golfer Rory McIlroy was in the crowd, has now been accused of racism by some observers. On feministing.com, an article read: ‘Given the history and current-day context of racialized standards of beauty, and the hypersexualization of people of color, when a white woman makes fun of a black women’s body, especially in a way that hypersexualizes her and draws on the stereotype of black women’s big butts, it’s racist.’ The joke was not lost on her friend Williams, also in Brazil to promote the 2016 Games, who tweeted: ‘Do they make Brazilian bikinis for, um, well, me?’.Wozniacki mentioned during a press conference after the game that she was performing an impression of her friend and fellow tennis player Serena Williams.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The reaction to this Cowboy tragedy is really surprising to me. Jason Garrett fully supported Josh Brent yesterday at the press conferences and said he is fully welcome at the Cowboys' facility.
• What happened to the lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key mentality?
• And the boys on The Ticket were speculating that the Cowboys would pay for Brent's criminal defense. Two words: No. Way. 
• The victim's family said yesterday that they didn't want Josh Brent to go to prison. Note that they don't make the call, the DA's office decides whether to push for that. But it is always interesting when a victim's family and the DA's office get cross-ways.
• But what in the world was the victim's mom and grandmother doing on Piers Morgan last night? That wreck was barely 48 hours old and they are flying to New York to be on TV. Sheesh. 
• Jerry Jones said on The Fan this morning that Josh Brent will ride to and sit with the victim's family at the memorial service today.
• The range of punishment is 2 to 20 years in prison, but a judge or jury could suspend any sentence and place Brent on probation. (Yeah, I know the "deadly weapon" aspect tricks it up.)
• The charge is "Intoxication Manslaughter." Not "voluntary manslaughter" or "involuntary manslaughter". 
• The fact that Brent had a prior DWI out of Illinois does not change the range of punishment.
• There was a lady who came forward yesterday to say Brent wasn't trying to get the victim out of the car after the crash and she, in essence, had to "coerce" him to help.  I was skeptical when I read her account. When I heard the audio of her describing it, she sounded credible.
• But a drunk and stunned Brent may not have been the clearest thinker after the wreck. 
• There were 12 Dallas Cowboys at the club along with Josh Brent?
• Some are saying that the Cowboys victory at Cincinnati on Sunday may be one of the team's greatest victories of all time because of the tragedy. I don't get that at all. 
• Mark Cuban hosted TMZ the other day in place of Harvey Levin. That sleazy and cheesy role is perfect for him. 
• Last night I coaxed those in the house to watch an episode of The Three Stooges. Everyone was laughing except Mrs. LL who had a "McKayla Maroney is not impressed" look on her face. 
• How are they not tracking the bomb threat calls to Decatur High School? These kids using a burner phone ala The Wire? Edit: According to the Update, the threat wasn't made via phone and three teenage girls have been "arrested."
• I went 12-2 in the Wise County Courthouse Fantasy Football league, finished the regular season in first place, and then got bounced in the first round of the playoffs. 
• There's a sexual assault of a child case starting this morning at the courthouse. It's a He Said/She Said which are always the hardest cases of all.
• We got our Christmas tree up in a timely manner but the guy who normally puts our lights on the roof (I ain't getting up there) isn't returning our calls or emails. (Oh, and I think we've trained the Family Pup to attack the Family Cat every time the cat gets near the tree. Mrs. LL put bells on the lower branches to warn us when the cat's War On Christmas begins.)

New Big 12 Member West Virginia's Mascot Is Apparantly Authentic

The school issued a statement when they learned of a video  of this guy shooting a bear with the actual musket that he parades around with during the game.  I hope this isn't a pattern where he'll now start blasting longhorns and horned frogs.  I've seen the Wonderful Whites Of West Virginia. Those people are crazy.

Worst Free Throw Ever

Another Bomb Threat At Decatur School

I think it's the high school.  Edit: Confirmed.

Developing . . .

Waiter Identifies, Uh, Rather Large Girls As "Fat Girls"

And, of all things, they wanted their meal comped. Story.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• A wrong way driver in Dallas demolished the car he hit. 
• And we had someone strike a police car with their vehicle. They just keep coming. 
• The sideline reporter for the Cowboys game, Laura Okmin, reminded me of Ann Coulter.
• Isn't it about time to see the commercial of the guy who gives his wife a Lexus for Christmas?
• The start and conclusion of the Army/Navy game is really, really neat. The game itself, not so much. (But if you saw the crying Army quarterback you kind of wanted him to "man up" after about 10 minutes.) 
• Sheriff Joe tweeted a picture of him in a parade and must have been oblivious to the fact that there was a aorta-potty directly behind him. 
• I wish Jerry Jones would fire Rob Ryan based upon principle. He reminds me too much of his daddy. 
• Every time Jason Garrett looks at his play sheet to select a play my confidence level in him drops.
• The two Cowboys who were in the wreck causing the death of one of them had been at "Privae Dallas, a private club where comedian Shawn Wayans performed Friday night" according to 105.3 The Fan. 
• Tommy Tuberville leaving the head coaching job at Texas Tech to go to Cincinnati is baffling. I'm just guessing he felt he needed to get out of there before he was fired. 
• The Mark Davis Show on the radio this morning is a taped replay from last week with no explanation as to where he is.
• The 30 for 30 on Bo Jackson was really, really good but my DVR recorded version stopped about five minutes to early because some show about "the Heisman" ran long on Saturday night.  Jackson's professional career was so short. 
• Got to witness two teenage girls in the house cry at the end of Titanic despite the fact they had seen the movie a million times.
• Mrs. LL and I watched Magic Mike. Good grief. 
• Some Mexican singer named Jenni Rivera has been killed in a plane crash.  I don't think she is as big as Selena but it sounds like she was pretty famous.