6.28.2013

James Woods and His 20 Year Old Girlfriend Taking You Into The Weekend




at 3:49 PM

Young Man And The Sea



Worth watching until the end.
at 1:28 PM

Not To Beat You To Death With Twitter Posts . . .




. . . but this one got my attention. How much of your tax dollars are going to waste in this press conference? There are ten guys in the picture and there's no telling how many didn't get in the shot.

Edit:

at 1:04 PM

Rural Police News


Edit:





at 11:28 AM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts



  • I thought that Parliamentarian Karina Davis seemed pretty cozy with Dewhurst during the Wendy Davis debate. Turns out her husband was Dewhurst's senior policy advisor on redistricting in 2011.
  • "Zebra Mussels Larvae Confirmed In Lake Bridgeport."
  • Current Twitter followers for Wendy Davis: 111,289.  For wannabe governor Greg Abbott: 16,892.
  • NBA draft thoughts -- read #4 if nothing else: (1) The greatest afro from last night -- that's a cap on top of it, (2) The ESPN crew had no idea of trades being made until 15 minutes later, (3) Take it to the bank: There is no way that Dallas signs Dwight Howard, and (4) Great Wise County trivia: The first player taken in the first ever NBA draft was Clifton McNeeley who graduated from Slidell, Texas and Decatur Baptist Junior College. He opted not to play professional  basketball and would later be principal of Bridgeport High School.
  • Another Fort Worth police officer arrested for DWI. This happens about once every four months. 
  • Obscure tweet this morning about the Doobie Brothers appearing on Fox and Friends: "Someone needs to check and see if Rerun has a tape recorder." I feel like I might be the only other person in America that understands that. 
  • Amarillo paper: Elaine Hays, who "grew up in Bridgeport", is considering a run for Congress. She's 55. Anyone know her maiden name?
  • Zimmerman trial: (1) The defense lawyer got off to a rocky start with that dumb joke, but he's done well since then, (2) This seems like a crappy case for the State so far, (3) I figured Nancy Grace would take Zimmerman's side but I was wrong -- I forgot she's always against whomever is accused regardless of the facts. 
  • The Chico school board deadlocked 3-3 last night on naming a new elementary school principal. They will vote again when board member Pancho Redwine can attend. So it comes down to him. In trying to make a point that "every vote counts", I tried to find how many votes he won by last year. But I can't find it. Anyone? 




at 8:29 AM

6.27.2013

Witness In Zimmerman Trial Taking You Into Thursday Evening


Obviously credible.
at 4:28 PM

"Ambulance Chasing Comes To Twitter"


Story and more examples.
at 3:14 PM

Talk About Being Dressed Down



Military Times – Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill, lost her legs and the use of her right arm as a helicopter pilot in Iraq in 2004. She was awarded a Purple Heart for her combat injuries. Braulio Castillo broke his foot in a prep school injury nearly three decades ago at the U.S. Military Preparatory School, which he attended for nine months before playing football in college. He owns a technology business certified as a service-disabled, veteran-owned company eligible for government set aside contracts. The two met at a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing Wednesday in an exchange neither will forget anytime soon. For background, what brought them together was a months-long House probe into whether Castillo’s company won IRS contracts thanks, in part, to help from a top contracting official and friend inside the IRS named Greg Roseman, who pleaded the Fifth Amendment when called to testify.While much of the hearing delved into questions about Roseman and Castillo’s friendship, lawmakers from both parties wondered aloud how a prep school injury suffered so long ago could result in Castillo’s company getting special set aside contract status from the government at a time when so many injured veterans are looking for work. But among hours of testimony, Duckworth’s questioning of Castillo stood out.

 And this is her first year as a Congressman. 
at 1:35 PM

Texas Country Reporter In Decatur



This came out a few months ago. Never saw it.
at 11:52 AM

Flashback: Man Not Happy With McDonald's In Decatur Walmart



I posted this years ago but still makes me laugh.
at 10:51 AM

Final Minutes Of Fillibuster



It's edited a bit, but does give you a great feel of what went down. It starts when Dewhurst calls the third strike.

And a great moment is the parliamentarian, looking up at the loud gallery, mouths, "Wow!"
at 9:47 AM

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts



  • First Baptist Church of Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress was all over the news last night bad mouthing the Supreme Court decision on DOMA.  How the deacons of that church let him do that is one of God's greatest mysteries. He is doing incalculable damage to that church.
  • And he acts like a wannabe lawyer as he constantly fires off hot opinions about past cases. But he did say this, "The Supreme Court doesn't set trends. It follows trends."  Yeah, right. They were so far behind the curve on segregation. 
  • Mrs. LL and I ate at the convenience-store-restaurant called Chef Pointe Cafe in Watauga last night. I had heard about it for years but had never been there. Observations: (1) It was probably a convenience store at one point but now they are just doing a bit. There's a wall of refrigerated soft drinks and gas pumps but, other than that, it is 99% a restaurant. (2) The food? Beyond fantastic. 
  • Was this on the news? A water main broke in Fort Worth and fired water directly onto a house and ripped off the shingles. Pic. 
  • The girlfriend of Travon Martin testified yesterday. (She's pictured in a post below.) When the defense lawyer told the judge yesterday that he had two more hours left of cross-examination she yelled out, "Say what!!!!"
  • New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested for murder yesterday. Then TMZ released a "selfie" photo of him holding a glock. That may not raise an eyebrow in Texas, but the gun fearing Northeast will freak out about that. 
  • I'm almost through the new Netflix season of Arrested Development. I don't know of any show which causes me of having so many moments of smiling broadly and thinking, "I got that joke! I got that joke!"
  • And, as a commentor mentioned, I did see last week's 60 Minutes which had a piece on the falsely convicted Michael Morton. Former prosecutor Ken Anderson needs to be in jail.  There is nothing more dangerous than a prosecutor that pursues cases based upon speculation and conjecture. 
  • Nit-picky: I watched a panel discussion of "experts" on Fox News about the George Zimmerman trial and they all referred to "opening arguments." It's not opening "arguments", it's opening "statements". It's "closing arguments" (at the end of the trial) when the term is used.  
  • Maybe my best prediction ever was the one from two days ago when I wrote that Wendy Davis will "become a star today." (By the way, she now has more Twitter followers than Ted Cruz.) 
  • But with the Voting Rights Act temporarily dismantled, the Republicans will gerrymander her district to get rid of her (if they haven't already.)
  • I love this: Photos of interns grabbing newly released Supreme Court opinions and sprinting to their bosses. (Credit: BagOfNothing.com)
  • Texas executed it's 500th person last night since the Supreme Court re-instated the death penalty in the 1970s. What's the saying? Oh, yeah. "Every life is precious."
  • The Update leads off with weather saying that Wise County might hit 100 degrees today. Do we have an "official" temperature gauge somewhere? Who runs it? 




at 8:39 AM

6.26.2013

I Think The Guy From "Breaking Bad" Is Defending George Zimmerman



at 4:04 PM

State Troopers In Action Last Night


at 10:42 AM

Breaking: A Win For The Gay. Defense Of Marriage Act Struck Down.


Still trying to figure it out. Developing . . .

Dissenting: Roberts (George W. Bush appointee), Scalia (Reagan appointee), Thomas (George H.W. Bush appointee), Alito (George W. Bush appointee)

Ironically, I think they struck it down because of of State's Rights -- a mantra of the The Right. But it might be an Equal Protection ruling.

And Google goes all rainbow when you search "gay" right now.


And from Facebook:


at 9:13 AM

Above The Fold

at 9:01 AM

David Dewhurst Has Awakened





Official Democrat Response:



Edit: From last night, Wendy Davis goes home.


at 9:00 AM

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts -- SB5 Edition


  • I stayed up until after midnight watching the filibuster and, I'm telling you, it was the most entertaining television I've seen in years. I'm serious. It was riveting. 
  • Wendy Davis was allowed "three strikes" during her filibuster with David Dewhurst being the biased umpire  -- it was like the coach of the the other team calling balls and strikes. It was beyond ridiculous. The third strike occurred when he ruled that Davis, when comparing the pending abortion bill to a previous sonogram abortion bill, was speaking about a subject that was not "germane."
  • At the moment he ruled the third strike occurred, the public gallery erupted in anger. And I do mean erupted. It was like a Duke/Carolina basketball game. Mrs. LL and every kid in the house stopped down wanting to know what just happened.
  • I'll find a video of that. I can't do it justice in words. Whatever side of the issue you were on, it will send chills down your spine. And the look on Dewhurst's face was priceless.
  • That crowd sent the Senate into one of the funniest panics you've ever seen. They truly didn't know what to think. And as they staggered around, the clock struck midnight and the session ended. Shockingly, Dewhurst continued the vote and, for a while, proclaimed the bill had passed. At 3:00 a.m., he finally conceded that it didn't. (Someone had to have gotten to him and convinced him he had a political disaster on his hands if he continued to break the rules. It might have been business as usual for him, but this time there were actually people watching. He couldn't get away with it.) 
  • The "second strike", by the way, occurred when another senator handed Wendy Davis a back brace. 
  • Dewhurst later called the crowd an "unruly mob." Sir, that was over a thousand citizens expressing their displeasure with what you were doing. They wasn't a protest. That was democracy. 
  • Here's a picture of the crowd in the rotunda. Wow. 
  • Here's DPS troopers after clearing the gallery. And some of those guys manhandled some women in a shameful way. 
  • Last night was a cluster for Republicans.  Look, they could get that bill passed easily. First, let her filibuster until midnight and then call a special session and pass it then. Or use the "three strike rule" in a capricious manner and end the filibuster within the first hour of the filibuster. Instead, they made Wendy Davis a star -- an absolute star -- and, by calling the third strike on a silly point of order while the whole nation was watching in prime time, made the Republicans look like a bunch of middle aged white men bullying a woman.
  • Then again, it actually was a bunch of middle aged white men bullying a woman. 
  • Rick Perry will address the National Right To Life convention in Dallas tomorrow. The chance of him calling a special session during the speech? 99.99% Chance of the abortion bill then passing? 100%. That's why last night was so disastrous for the Republicans. You didn't have to give the Democrats that spotlight. 
  • I always said I'd never run for public office again, but I sooooo wanted to be in the middle of that last night. 
  • How Dewhurst has been successful in politics is beyond me. He's clueless. He actually handed the gavel over to someone else at about 11:00 p.m. last night when he realized that the whole scene was becoming a disaster. Then again, he couldn't even beat Ted Cruz despite the fact that Cruz represented "the Chinese."
  • For those who watched it, you could not take your eyes off the female parliamentarian who was on stage. Every time a senator made a point of order about the rules, Dewhurst would lean down and she would whisper the answer in his ear.  This easily happened over 100 times. 
  • Standing and speaking in one spot for 13 hours would be the equivalent of running a marathon. At least a half marathon.  Davis wasn't allowed to eat, drink, sit, lean on the podium, or leave the podium.  The very strong rumor was that she was equipped with a catheter. I bet that's true.
  • Blue State Rising. 



at 8:33 AM

6.25.2013

And Another - California




Story. For some reason, she seems happier when her mugshot isn't being taken.
at 4:49 PM

Funny


at 1:55 PM

If Interested: The Filibuster Begins


Link.

And she is pretty hot.




Edit: Hey, she's wearing pink sneakers right now. That gal means business.


Edit: Fun filibuster facts:

Are there any rules for a filibuster?
Filibusters are governed by the Senate rules and by precedents interpreting the rules. 
 
Rule 3.02 prohibits eating or drinking in the Senate chamber.
 
Rule 4.01 requires a member of the Senate to stand at his or her desk to address the Senate. The member speaking may not sit, lean, or use a desk or chair in any way. Bathroom breaks are not allowed.
 
Rule 4.03, which governs the interruption of a member who is speaking, allows other senators to raise objections if a speaker does not confine his or her remarks to the issue under consideration or if his or her voice is inaudible.
 
Is there a way to end a filibuster?
If a point of order is raised that the senator speaking has violated the rules for decorum or debate, the presiding officer will warn the senator twice; after a third violation, the Senate may vote on the point of order. If it is sustained, the senator speaking must yield the floor. 
 
What is the longest filibuster?
Senator Bill Meier holds both the state and national record for his 43-hour filibuster on SB 1275 during the 65th regular session in 1977. Senator Meier objected to a provision of the bill which would have prevented public inspection of the records of the Industrial Accident Board.
at 11:25 AM

Not So Fast My Friend


All the headlines are saying a "key provision" of the Voting Rights Act was killed by the Supreme Court this morning. I don't think so at all.  Stolen from the great scotusblog.com :

Today’s holding in Shelby County v. Holder, in Plain English: Today the Court issued its decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the challenge to the constitutionality of the preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act. That portion of the Act was designed to prevent discrimination in voting by requiring all state and local governments with a history of voting discrimination to get approval from the federal government before making any changes to their voting laws or procedures, no matter how small. In an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts that was joined by Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito, the Court did not invalidate the principle that preclearance can be required. But much more importantly, it held that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which sets out the formula that is used to determine which state and local governments must comply with Section 5’s preapproval requirement, is unconstitutional and can no longer be used. Thus, although Section 5 survives, it will have no actual effect unless and until Congress can enact a new statute to determine who should be covered by it. [Emphasis added.]

If they had killed the preclearance provision, we would have story. Now Congress just needs to come up with a new formula to figure out which states are racist and everything is the same as it was.

Edit: Well this is fast. And confusing.  The Obama Administration had challenged Texas Voter ID under the Voting Rights Act so that is dead for the moment. But couldn't someone challenge Texas' Voter ID law under the Supremacy Clause that just caused a similar law in Arizona to be struck down? (The Justice Department had approved Arizona's voter ID law under the Voting Rights Act.)


at 11:10 AM

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • I'm getting closer to getting wisecounty.com up and running again. It seems like something happened which almost crashed the server at the web hosting company so they disabled the account. I'm guessing it was a spam attack on the Free Classifieds which I'll probably have to take down (once I can get access to it.)
  • A reporter drops a double F bomb and gets a great reaction from the anchor. (But the real error was with the editor since it was a taped segment and not a live spot.)
  • Mrs. LL took a bunch of kids to Six Flags yesterday. I'm not sure how it went because she crawled into bed at 10:30 shortly after arriving home holding her elbow because one of the kids slammed the car door on it. She was then asleep within a couple of minutes. 
  • Ted Cruz will speak at the First Baptist Church of Dallas on Sunday morning.  That place has turned into the Southern Baptist version of Fox News.
  • State Rep. Wendy Davis becomes famous today as she will filibuster the abortion bill pending in the Texas Senate.
  • The George Zimmerman trial is going to be great. It's shaping up as a battle of drama queen lawyers.
  • Michael Jackson died four years ago today. Doesn't seem that long.
  • The Star-Telegram had an editorial on Sunday calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Texas. I loved this quote they used from Anton Chekhov: “The State is not God. It has no right to take away that which it cannot give back, if it should so desire.”
  • But I'll admit when ever I see the name "Chekhov", the first thing I think about is Star Trek.
  • I'm still so thankful that I hiked in the Palo Duro Canyon a couple of years ago. I was reminded of it when I saw a headline this morning that a man fell to his death there yesterday afternoon. 
  • Greg Williams responded to Richie Whitt's five part series yesterday via his podcast. He's angry and hurt but, surprisingly, he sounded more hurt than angry.  
  • Paula Deen loses her job at the Food Network and a ton of sponsors after admitting to using the N Word in the past.  That's probably an overreaction by corporate America. But she's 66 years old and a millionaire. She'll be OK.
  • Last night I was flipping through the channels and ran across the "Outdoor Channel."  Within two minutes I saw hunters shoot elephants in the wild at point blank range.  I literally yelled at the TV. So senseless. 
  • "LUBBOCK, Texas - A 14-year-old West Texas boy is dead after he ran into a bull statue on the Texas Tech University campus and impaled himself on one of its horns." OK, that's insane. (The link has a videoing showing the statue.)
  • "Tempted By The Fruit Of Another" was the return music yesterday at noon when BADD radio normally appears. (Although they agreed to stay with The Ticket and not leave for the The Fan, the hosts were off yesterday.)  
  • As of today, Lake Bridgeport's water level is -18.21 feet.  That's beyond bad. Someone always writes that it was much lower back in the 1960s or 1970s, but they permanently raise the lake level sometime in the late 1970s didn't they? When full, it's supposed to be 838 feet or so above sea level now. I think that number used to be lower. 


at 8:33 AM

6.24.2013

Worth Going Full Screen



This video by Ruud De Ruiter simply feels surreal. For three long minutes, a giant herd of deer quietly and calmly line up at a fence and jump over it one at a time. They seemingly line up like school children waiting for their turn to go down the slide. 

 But at the end of the soothing video there is a sudden twist! Something spooks the deer, and they all decide to return over the fence in a sudden surge of speed. It’s as if there was a glitch in the Matrix and someone hit the rewind button.

 Its interesting to watch how elegant they jump over the fence almost with order - 
at 5:09 PM

Abortion Fillibuster Drama In Austin


David Dewhurst is being David Dewhurst.

Here's the deal (stay with me here):  The Senate passed the restrictive abortion bill last week. This morning, after fighting all night, the House did, too. BUT they added a provision outlawing any abortion after 20 weeks. Because of the addition, it now has to go BACK to the Senate for a re-vote.

The Democrats, who don't have enough votes to vote down the bill, are planning on trying to filibuster the vote because the Special Session ends at midnight on Tuesday.  They just have to talk long enough until the clock runs out. And, since there is a 24 hour waiting period law before they can take up the proposed legislation, Democrats would only have to filibuster from Tuesday morning to Tuesday at midnight.

But wait.  The Senate, by some type of super majority (I'm not sure of the exact number), can vote on suspending the 24 hour rule which means they could take up the measure today meaning that the filibuster becomes harder. It would have to last until Monday evening to Tuesday night.

But wait again. Even though there aren't enough Democrats to vote down the abortion bill (simple majority needed), there are enough Democrats to block any attempt to suspend the 24 hour rule (super majority needed).  That is, if all of them are there.

Here's the problem: One of the Democrats is at her father's funeral because he was killed in a car wreck last week. Would the Senate take a vote today, with the Democratic Senator absent, on suspending the 24 hour rule?

You bet. David Dewhurst wrote her today and said the Senate was moving forward. 

Edit (almost immediately):


at 4:12 PM

Well, This Is Pretty Cool


Someone broke down video of Lebron in Game 7 and put all the shots going off at the same time.

Edit: During today's parade in Miami, they thought it would be a good idea to take the players under bridges.

at 2:00 PM

George Zimmerman Trial Begins



I've always said that the prosecution has bitten off more than they can chew. This is a tough case for the prosecution.

But that's before I realized he has the worst lawyer in the history of ever.
at 12:23 PM

I Mention That Patriot TE That Was Being Investigated




I had no idea his dog lived like a king.

(From Saturday.)
at 11:08 AM

Peace, Love and Understanding



I always mention how Kenny Chesney wants to be the next Jimmy Buffett.

This weekend over 70 people were arrested in and around his concert in Pittsburgh.

That ain't Margaritaville.
at 10:50 AM

Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • I got a message from the wisecounty.com's internet host that my account had been "disabled". And I can't pull the site up. Not sure what is going on.
  • There was an insane night at the Texas Legislature last night as the restrictive abortion legislation was being debated. Tons of protesters and a legislator placing a coat hanger on her mic as she spoke.
  • Horrible, horrible case out of Jacksonville, Florida over the weekend as a child was abducted from a Walmart by a convicted sex offender and found dead the next day.
  • The Freshman In The House made it through band camp. She told me one of the high points was watching a guy in a chicken suit do The Wobble. Say what?
  • High drama in sports talk radio over the weekend as The Fan made what must have been a huge offer to Bob and Dan of The Ticket owned by Cumulus ("the power of radio".)  Yesterday evening it was announced that Cumulus had matched or bettered the offer so they are staying put.  (For you hard core fans, you can jump to the 20 minutes mark here and listen to Dan on Friday pretty much telegraph that it was their last day on the station.)
  • Richie and Greggo while at the Fan have both said they made "six figures".  Those boys at The Ticket, I bet, are making in excess of $500,000.
  • I bought a newspaper over the weekend and a little kid who was staying with us (there's always someone staying with us) was just enthralled with the comic section. There's no question she had never seen a comics section before.
  • I watched a little bit of an old Joe Montana game on the NFL Network while he was near the end of his career with the Chiefs. I remember thinking about how old he at the time. He was 38.
  • And the helmet to helmet hits were amazing. What would get you fined now wasn't even referenced back then.
  • Speaking of age 38. That's how old James Gandolfini was when he first began his role as Tony Soprano.
  • I survived my night in a tent. I'm still debating whether I loved it or hated it.
  • The next day, Mrs. LL and I (and the Family Pup) found the hiking trails and made it to the top of hill for this spectacular view of "Old Baldy". 
  • Sports: The Longhorn Network is replaying the Alabama/Texas national championship game that I had never scene because I was out of town that night. I finally got to watch it. Mack Brown calling a timeout right before halftime and then having newbie Garrett Gilbert throw a shovel pass (which was intercepted and returned for a TD) may have been the most bone headed move ever. 
  • Richie Whitt was on Mike Doocy's show last night and, amazingly, this question was not asked: "So why did you write that five part series about Greggo and your leaving of the The Fan?"
  • A 20 year old from Decatur is listed in the death notices of the Update. What happened?


at 8:39 AM
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