Dust Devil At Rose Bowl Fanfest Today Taking You Into The New Year!!!

Run cow!!!!! Run!!!!!

Aerial Shot

Source.

What. A. Beating.

Random Conservative Dallas Talk Radio Show Host

Who's with me? #HappyNewYear #2015 pic.twitter.com/ViXYmE4bdo
— Mark Davis (@MarkDavis) December 31, 2014

Peach Bowl Intensive Preview

Pete Delkus Gets A Second Christmas!!!!

Lo and behold! A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for the entire Dallas/Fort Worth area for accumulating light ice late tonight!!
— Pete Delkus (@wfaaweather) December 31, 2014

Flashback: Alabama Chick Goes Crazy

That leap at the 30 second mark needs to go in the Internet Hall of Fame.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Channel 8 had a story last night about the Rhome shooting suggesting that the man shot may have been sleep walking.  He comes from a Mormon family which, in the story, was very well spoken. 
• The Messenger has their Top 10 Stories of the year edition out today, and I think there is a glaring oversight: There was no mention of the death of County Judge Bill McElhaney which was even more shocking because it occurred during a Commissioners' meeting at the courthouse. Throw in the fact that their #2 story was the election of J.D. Clark as County Judge and this omission is even more confusing.  Edit: Holy cow. The death was in October of 2013. It seems like yesterday. 
• Why does the TCU game start at 11:30 a.m. today? I can say the same thing about the Baylor game tomorrow but at least it's on an official holiday. 
• Hard to believe it has been 15 years since the Y2K "scare". 
• The Dallas Observer blog pointed out that nutcase Texas Legislator Jonathan Stickland has filed a bill that calls "for virtually unlimited open carry of firearms [and he] takes things a step further though, calling for the elimination of concealed handgun licenses." A commenter who represented himself as Stickland (and it sure sounds like him) said that wasn't true and linked to the bill. Then commenters pointed out the exact language of the bill which does exactly what the Dallas Observer said it did. Stickland never replied again. What an idiot. 
• Watched most of Killing Lincoln last night on Fox News. It's based on a book ghost written by Bill O'Reilly and almost an exact duplicate of the superior 2007 book, Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer.
• I don't want to go all Pete Delkus on you, but West Texas sounds like it is going to be an icy mess for the next couple of days. 
• Canada is thought of to be gun violence free, but yesterday a guy shot and killed eight people and then killed himself. 
• Play-Doh is in trouble. 
• You can get into the Orange Bowl game tonight for $3.26.

Above The Fold

40 Years?

Judge sentences Kim Williams to 40 years in prison for murders. Victim impact statements happening now. pic.twitter.com/1TrndObr7E
— Dionne Anglin (@DAnglinFox4) December 30, 2014

She testified two weeks ago she didn't have a deal with the prosecutors. Now she gets one for 40 years and will be eligible for parole in 20?

Get Me This Dog Teaching A Kid To Jump!!!!!

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• There seems to be a different news vibe to the Rhome shooting this week. It's hard to put my finger on it. 
• Looks like they found some of the wreckage and bodies from the downed AirAsia airliner.
• Texas and Oklahoma had combined bowl loss scores of 71-13. (Texas had only 59 yards with only 2 or those coming on the ground.) Not a good day for the Big 12. Makes me nervous for TCU and Baylor. 
• Mrs. LL went into a crazy cleaning spree yesterday and put up all the indoor Christmas decorations. 
• Ordered four Ticket posters from BobandDan.com as a gift and they never arrived. 
• Mrs. LL went back and re-watched the first four episodes of Breaking Bad. Knowing what ultimately happens make them even better. 
• Man jumps off bridge. Walks away like it was no big deal. 
• Sickness is one way to lose weight without having to exercise. I rather be able to jog again.
• Get ready for "Arctic Blast" news over the next two days.
• There's been an industrial size bag of Meow Mix in our office kitchen for the last month. I keep looking for a cat. 
• I guess we'll never know what really was behind the Ron Washington retirement. 
• Did Dale Hansen do his "Thank God For Kids" segment this year followed by a commentary? Five years or so ago, he really looked like there was something bothering him when he did it. 
• The Messenger says the alleged robber of a Rhome Bank has been identified as Temple Fern Jernigan who is now in the Tarrant County Jail. I googled the name and found that a Temple Fern Jernigan from Haltom City was murdered in 2008. I haven't done the math, but it's possible that was the son of the guy recently arrested. This appears to be the photo of the robbery suspect. 
• I'm not sure some of you understood my point yesterday of NYPD cops being disrespectful by turning their backs to the mayor. It happened at a funeral. Someone is dead. You are there to honor the dead. 
• Sounds like there was another earthquake in Irving this morning. I've lost count of the number. Edit: It appears to be exactly at the site of the old Texas Stadium.  

15 Minute Time Waste -- And Well Worth It

A little PG at times.

Bad Aggie In Game Going On Right Now

If you get ejected for targeting, you shouldn't celebrate.

Edit: Holy cow!! We've got an Aggie Graduate Assistant who has lost his mind. Twice.

Annual Gallup Poll Results

Poll: @BarackObama is the world's most admired man and @HillaryClinton the most admired woman: http://t.co/Ka5xeln7ka pic.twitter.com/B7S1yAv5Y5
— CNN (@CNN) December 29, 2014

And To Think All We Had Was The Texxas Jam Back In The Day

"Skrillex, Armin Van Buuren, Disclosure, Zed's Dead and Zedd all headlined the Lights All Night festival at the Dallas Convention Center this weekend. [Dallas Observer] Photographer Ed Steele was there to document the action."

Looks like quite the scene. Or something.

I Thought This Was Incredibly Disrespectful

The funeral for one of the two New York officers slain execution style was held over the weekend. As fellow officers watched the funeral on a big screen outside the services, they turned their backs on the Mayor as he spoke inside because the officers do not believe he has been supportive enough.

Newsflash guys: That funeral wasn't about you.

Boston College Coach Whacks Chain Gang Guy

I'm not real sure he had anywhere to go.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• So we have another missing airliner? If this one isn't found, I might join the conspiracy theorists.
• I've been sick for almost a week. It's worse than a cold and less than the flu. But I wake every morning and think, "Is it gone?"
• The homeowner who shot and killed a man in Rhome on the day after Christmas is described as "a  former peace officer with extensive firearms training." I wonder if this is him on Twitter. 
• Mrs. LL trying to describe geocaching to my side of the family over Christmas was a golden moment. You could almost see the question marks forming over their heads. 
• At Mrs. LL's insistence, she ordered The Interview. I watched most of it and found it stupidly funny (but my expectations were zilch.) 
• The Family Cat was roaming around and shattered a drinking glass in the middle of Saturday night. That'll wake you up. Except I was the only one who woke up.
• Sports: (1)  Jason Garrett was crazy for not pulling Romo, Murray or Bryant earlier. (2) Rewatched Baylor vs. TCU on Fox Sports No Huddle over the weekend. I have no idea how Baylor won that game. (3) What a vicious, yet clean, hit on Geno Smith (4) Josh Gordon was suspended after attending a Johnny Football party (Gordon was suspended because he missed practice the next morning. Johnny got suspended for missing treatment. What goofballs.) (5) Last spring, I saw a legitimate offer to enter a drawing for the opportunity to buy tickets to the college National Championship game but you had to enter it by a certified/registered letter. I actually did that and thought I might be selected since who would go to that much trouble for a chance just to buy tickets? I got a postcard a month ago telling me I was out of luck. 
• The Update "scooped me" in an area they shouldn't have: The Fort Worth Court of Appeals deciding the Terry Ross appeal. I normally check for released opinions every Friday morning (that's when they release opinions and not just orders), but I didn't do it this week because I figured there would be none because of Christmas. They released the opinion on Tuesday, and no one noticed. 
• The wife of the convicted ex-JP in Kaufman County is expected to enter a guilty plea this week. She testified in the trial she didn't have a deal with the prosecutors but she has one now. Are we to believe there were no plea discussions whatsoever before her testimony? 
• I read an article from early this year in Texas Monthly about a triple killing in farm house in Pampa, Texas in 2005.  I had never heard about it. Man, it's almost exactly like In Cold Blood -- but with a survivor.
• Rep. Phil King filed a bill to undermine anti-fracking ordinances as they did in Denton.
• Watched some of the original Vacation this weekend and noticed, once the Griswolds got to California, that gas prices were over $2.00. The movie was released in 1983.

Above The Fold

Free Screech!!!!

Link.

Year In Review: Adults Engaged In Go Kart Brawl

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• "Rhome Police confirm robber shot in house, Wise County Sheriff investigating"
• An armed robbery of a convenience store in Bridgeport? 
• I'm not sure Wise Countians have a grasp of the true meaning of Christmas.  
• Our living room looks like a disaster area. It has nothing to do with a robbery/burglary, but it looks like it. 
• I've battled sickness all month long it seems. And I'm normally pretty healthy. Throw in Mrs. LL on Tamiflu and were close to being a M*A*S*H* unit.
• It's the 10 year anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Almost a quarter of a million dead is still mind-boggling.  Just by chance, I watched The Impossible the other day -- which was gut wrenching. 
• I think Best Buy has changed its policy of salesman trying to get you to upgrade your purchase or buy something else.  I had a great get in/get out experience on Christmas Eve.
• Fox News keeps showing commercials that they might be dropped by the Dish Network. (Insert joke here.)  But stuff like that happens all the time, and an agreement is always reached.
• The Longhorn Network showed four hours of a grazing Bevo on Christmas morning.
• Odd recruiting news: Tech had a five star quarterback decommit and then, within days, announce he was going to Baylor.  Baylor already had a highly touted quarterback recruit, but he then immediately decommitted and announced he was going to Tulsa. Tulsa? He had offers from both Tech and Texas. But Tulsa had just hired Baylor's offensive coordinator as its head coach.  I'll admit it: This is weird.
• I bet I may be the only husband who bought his wife a "Trapped In A Room With A Zombie" adventure.  I bet I may have the only wife who reacted like she had just received a new Lexus. 
• I watched most of A Christmas Story yesterday.  I still laugh when the "old man" receives the lamp in a wooden box, sees "Fragile" written on the outside, and says, "Aaah! "Fra-GEE-leh!" It must be Italian!" (Side note: I saw the movie in a theater when it was first released.)
• "Baby Jesus stolen, replaced with real pig's head".  I thought that was the craziest Christmas headline ever until I read, "Topless woman snatches baby Jesus from Nativity scene at St. Peter's Square in pro-choice demonstration."
• Is this the most under the radar place in Wise County: "The Center for Animal Research and Education is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to education, research, rescue, and long-term care for exotic animals. Located on 20 acres in Bridgeport, TX. CARE currently provides a permanent home to over 50 animals including snow leopards, mountain lions, African lions, tigers, black and spotted leopards, ring-tail lemurs and a coati."
• It's GIF city!!!!!

Boat Accident 1953

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Christmas seemed to come early this year. Or, maybe, the older you get, time flies faster. 
• I received some vintage looking Ray-Bans and a vintage (authentic) LBJ bumper sticker for Christmas. Both are beyond fantastic 
• I've always thought a movie could be made about the "woman caught in adultery" from the Bible. Take a little poetic license about the back story, and then end with a big finish of Jesus writing something in the dust. 
• 38 dead in a suicide bombing in Baghdad. 
• The Interview is now going to be shown on Christmas Day. I'm not prepared to believe it, but was all of this controversy just a publicity stunt? 
• For some reason I ended up watching Deliverance in the middle of the night. It's beyond fantastic, isn't it?
• Mrs. LL caught me watching Deliverance in the middle of the night. She didn't say anything but she did release the dogs on me. 
• But after watching the movie,  I couldn't stop thinking about Smokey and the Bandit or the Seinfeld episode of Jon Voight's pencil.
• BagOfNothing went on a pro-Obama rant this morning. Go get him!!!!
• The economy under a President is nothing but luck, and it had no where to go but up when he took office. But I wanted President Obama to do three things: Get out of Iraq, get out of Afghanistan, and close Gitmo.  I'll take two out of three. But I might get all three by the time everything is said and done. 
• Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been confined for over 10 years without a trial. We are so better than that. 
• I got hooked into a Lifetime movie yesterday about babies getting switched at birth. I need to learn to just walk away. (But it had the kid from Little House In The Prairie in it. And she played the uppity rich mom! How you gonna walk away from that?) 
• Mrs. LL isn't a crier. Seriously. She can experience deep emotions but she'll never cry. (Her words, not mine.) 
• Heck, I'll cry during a Charlie Brown's Christmas.
• I've always loved Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day. As with anything, the anticipation is more fun than the moment. Oh ....... Merry Christmas. 

Get Me This Dog Who Chases The Ambulance Which Is Carrying His Owner!!!!!

Worst People of 2014 List

• Ray Rice (Wife beater)
• Joe Jamail (UT embarrassment, Yep, I'm obsessed as of late.)
• Mark Cuban (His promotion of his stupid app is driving me insane)
• Sean Hannity (How is he still on the air?)
• Jodi Arias (Hey, even I know she's guilty)
• Roger Goodell (Incompetent NFL commissioner who makes millions)
• Joel Osteen (Snake oil salesman)
• Ed Young (Pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine and also a snake oil salesman)
• Mark Davis (Talk show host who is a shadow of his former self because he's gone all Sean Hannity on us.)
• Gary Patterson (TCU coach. He really didn't do anything this year but I'm not going to leave him off this list because of spite.)
• Nick Saban (Alabama coach who might actually be Satan.)
• The Blade Runner (Stop crying, buddy.)
• Ferguson cops.
• Ted Cruz (I think people are beginning to realize what a nut case he is)
• Peter King (Sports writer who has nothing to offer). 
• Pete Delkus (That crying wolf will get someone killed some day)
• Jonathan Stickland (A Texas legislator who loves cheeseburgers as much as starring in his own Idiocracy)
• Jerry Jones' grandson Spalding.
• Chris Christie (Crooked Governor and fake Cowboys fan)
• Justice Don Willett (Twitter goofball who is doing damage to the bench)
• Wendy Davis (What a horrible campaign)
• David Dewhurst (A worse campaigner than Wendy Davis)
• Greg Abbott (Get ready, people. This is going to be bad.)
• Dan Patrick (Lt. Gov. elect. This is going to be triple bad.)
• The Texas Tech cheerleader who loves to kill animals.
• Brian Estridge (WBAP talk show host who gets away with shocking right wing comments only because no one listens)
• Ed Bark (Angry TV critic with thin skin who thinks he is an expert of every subject.)
• Jean Jacques Taylor (Local sportswriter for EPSN who hasd become an afterthought. Unless you think of chicken wings.) 

Your nominations?

Dallas Cowboy's House Burns

Rolando McClain’s $1.5M home in Alabama burns down http://t.co/KY8C0y3w64 pic.twitter.com/OH8tV2A6pr
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 23, 2014

Christmas Items In Bridgeport - 1967

Mormons Gone Crazy!

Edit: The greatest slow mo of a punch ever? . . . .

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Mrs. LL is sick but was smart enough to go to the doctor immediately.  But now I'm not feeling very well. Maybe just sympathy pains? Naaaaaa.
• Christians are fatter than atheists? There would be nothing more ironic if that is true.
• Cowboys are in the playoffs and gas is under $2.00. Hello, 1990s!
• The Sixth Grader in the House was dressed so crazy for church on Sunday that I told her she looked like Cindy Lauper.   I shouldn't have been surprised when I got a confused look in return.
• The Wise County Courthouse is closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Huh?
• If anyone disagrees with my hatred of Joe Jamail, watch this. And to think the University of Texas has his statue side by side with the great Darrell Royal.
• Former Bridgeport resident Allen Vaught is in the Dallas Morning News.
• I'm so conflicted about that goofy Texas Supreme Court Justice.  He's no idiot. Yet he's not that smart. But he's definitely a nerd on Twitter. And then he upped his game on Friday when he dissented in a decision by quoting Ferris Bueller (in a decision saying that the court should interpret how much protection bloggers have.) He did it only to get publicity and it worked. Crazy like a fox?
• The Dow just broke 18,000 this morning. It was 7,949 when the President took office. 
• If the U.S. knocked out North Korea's internet access for a few hours, I'm pleased we can actually carry out something out successfully.
• I failed to mention it yesterday, but the fact that one of the Wise County Sheriff's Office's servers was crippled by a hacker is the story of the year. A $500 ransom? In Bitcoin? You're kidding me!
• I'd like to have an accounting from the Salvation Army.
• This is my 17,924th post. That's insane. 

This Could Be A Christmas Card Nightmare

The great Roger Staubach. Jordan Speith. And, uh, some goofy Dynasty guy. 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• We had Mrs. LL's side of the family over for the weekend for Christmas. One of them hates me beyond belief and just bludgeons me with passive aggressiveness. I spent most of the time trying to do the facial expression of, "Oh, no, you didn't!"
• I finally got around to reading the article in Texas Monthly about Joe Jamail.  I have a very short list of people who I think are miserable human beings but he's close to the top of it.  The University of Texas should be embarrassed to be associated with him.
• I almost want to see American Sniper but I'm afraid it does nothing but glorify the guy. I think everyone now agrees, after having lied about Jesse Ventura and lying about shooting two guys to death in a gas station in Texas, that he had a little trouble with telling the truth. 
• I just looked up and saw Madonna on the news (she's releasing a new album). At 56 . . . dare I say it . . .  still pretty hot. 
• I've convinced the Sixth Grader in the House that upon my death I should be cremated, my ashes mixed with glitter, and then shot out of a cannon from the Wise County Courthouse bell tower. She gives me a look and a smile of, "That is so weird but, between me and you,  I'm keeping this in the back of my mind because it's insanely funny." 
• Shout out to Messenger sports editor Richard Greene. I had noticed that he ran the Dallas Marathon and finished at four hours and a few seconds. As much as I respected the guy for finishing the race, I wondered how he didn't gut it up and finish under four hours. I got my answer: In a column this week in the Messenger he revealed it was a malfunctioning running watch. 
• I've finished 11 half marathons but cannot comprehend turning around at the finish line and going back to do it again.
• Cowboys. Cowboys. Cowboys. But the game could have been completely different if that guy would have caught that fake punt pass in the first quarter. A crazy gamble that should have worked.
• That field goal block by a Rams' player was crazy. He jumps over the center and then jumps again to block the kick. 
• Mrs. LL wakes up with an alarm that plays weird Zen music which slowly gets louder. 
• Mrs. LL got mad at me this weekend for watching the 30 for 30 episode on The University of Miami Part 2 without her. That's so weird. That's so hot. 

Someone Blew Up Aggieland!!!!

#KyleField has taken the next step in becoming the premier football venue in all of college football #12thMan

A video posted by Aggie Athletics (@12thman) on Dec 12, 2014 at 6:01am PST

Or maybe they are just doing renovations which will cost more than Baylor's new stadium.

My First Bowling Green Post

Because they look like thugs . . .

Linemen got into a fight and this was the best angle: https://t.co/TH23EtZUUw
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 21, 2014

At least one player earned a suspension for their first game of 2015 thanks to targeting + kick-catch interference: https://t.co/4tksV2UJjC
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 21, 2014

And then they win with a little over a minute to play . . .

BGSU had a 78yd pass with a minute left to take the lead almost as soon as they'd lost it: https://t.co/f4Br5NAOaG
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 21, 2014

Crazy Story

Link.  (And using the word "executed" is not hyperbole.)

Above The Fold

Cindy Lou: Then And Now

(I'm actually a little late on this. More.)

Pat Robertson Speaking Truth And Speaking Crazy

We start off with a question from a gal in some crazy church. They can't date? At all? Ever? And Pat gives her some pretty good advice: That church is crazy so get the heck out of there.

But before that, for a reason that can't be explained, he throws out the hot opinion that gays will die out because they can't reproduce. Hey, I'm no scientist, but I think there's a flaw in that theory.

Random Index 1969

• Bobcat killer
• Were the "Harlem Stars" anything like the "Harlem Globetrotters"?
• Sudden death of County Clerk

Crazy Russian Ex-Girlfriend Goes All NASCAR

Story.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• To me, there's a distinct difference between the hacking of Sony and the threats if the movie was shown. The Interview was pulled because of the threats, not the hacking. The killing of the movie could have occurred because of the threats alone. 
• But all of this North Korea controversy reminded me how shockingly funny Team America: World Police was. I remember talking to a Wise County prosecutor shortly after it came out. He thought the movie constantly made fun of liberals. I thought it constantly made fun of the Right Wing.  It actually did both.
• The way ISIS has been quickly beaten back, they really were the J.V. A vicious little J.V., but the J.V. nonetheless. 
• My outdoor Christmas lights have yet to  blow a single fuse or trip a single breaker. It only took me five years and a billion extension cords to get it right.
• Mark Cuban is spending 90% of his time on social media this week promoting a silly app called Cyber Dust which is destined to fail. 
• I get Slumped Shoulders when anyone involved in American sports yells "We just shocked the world. baby!" after a win.
• The Star-Telegram has an editorial today encouraging a smooth transition between the outgoing and incoming Tarrant County DAs. What's the point of an editorial like that? Is there someone who desires the opposite? It's like encouraging civility during Christmas, respecting your neighbor, or safe driving. Not exactly a hot opinion. 
• The Junior In The House had a female friend over last night and then two boys showed up.  (Ugh.) I was feeling pretty good about them until I went outside and realized they had arrived on skate boards. 
• I'll be throwing up later after I read the new Texas Monthly article on Joe Jamail entitled, "The Greatest Lawyer Who Ever Lived."
• Sports (1) Evil Empire news: I don't know who those two high school kids are, but the fact they announced they were signing with Texas caused my Twitter timeline to blow up this morning. (2) It looks like all the remaining Texas high school championship games will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest, (3) The Mavs trade for Rajon Rondo is the equivalent of going all in. If they don't win this year, it will be considered a stupid move. And they only win if Tyson Chandler stays healthy and Dirk doesn't peeter out. Good luck with all that.  (4) Watched the end of the Notre Dame/FSU again last night. Notre Dame got screwed. The announcers even incorrectly guessed at who was called for interference. Edit: The penalty wasn't on the receiver pushing straight back. It was on the receiver running the slant. 
• Hey, they stole my catapult!!!! (If my catapult had turned into a functional monster)  . . .

Pregnant Dancing Gals

Nothing says Christmas like that.

Uh, "Hey, Now"?

"Elizabeth! I'm Coming To See Ya!"*

Two Florida men were dying to own a Barbie car so desperately that one of them faked a heart attack to create a diversion to allow the other to steal it from a Walmart. Tarus Scott, 30 and Gerard Dupree, 27, were arrested after their alleged ploy to steal the girl’s toy was caught on tape, reports Wesh.com. Surveillance footage from the Lake Wales Walmart on Tuesday shows two men loading a cart with a power wheel Barbie car, a Leap Frog tablet, and a Barbie Glam vacation house before trying to dupe store security. Scott appears to roll the stolen goods out of the store as the man who police have named as Dupree fakes a coronary to distract customers and employees from the theft. Concerned passers-by stop to help the suspect in apparent distress and one even appears to make a 911 call.

Story.
______________
*Very dated Sanford and Son reference.

Gal Gets Car Booted. Won't Be Denied.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• If you object to restoring relations with Cuba, you are living in the 1960s. Doing what the President has proposed seems like a no brainer for at least the last 20 years. 
• It will take decades, but Cuba will eventually have a ton of beachfront hotels and casinos which will be huge destinations for Americans. Win-Win. 
• Sony's decision yesterday not to release The Interview came after the top five movie chains announced they would not show the movie. I still think my civil liability theory I proposed yesterday is behind all of this (as opposed to "bowing to terrorists"), but I haven't heard anyone else mention it. 
• A good movie would be one about how the making and releasing of a movie caused an international incident after computer hackers got involved. 
• Mark Davis this morning said that every theater should have released the movie even if it took "six cop cars" around every one of them and if "anyone so much as looked crossways at you they would be taken down." Good grief. Talk about "terrorists winning". 
• Starting today, there will be ten state high school championship games at Cowboys Stadium this weekend.
• It'll probably be in the Update, but southbound 287 out of Decatur was shut down this morning because of a wreck in the construction zone. Completely shut down. 
• The death sentence, even in this era of rare death sentences, was pretty much expected in the trial of the Ex Kaufman JP. 
• I can kind of understand the post verdict "victim impact statements" in that case (although I'd never give one -- what's done is done), but I don't understand a judge grandstanding after the sentencing (which he had no control over.) The judge said, in an effort to pander for the cameras, "You murdered a little old lady, and you would have murdered two other innocent people if you would have had the opportunity. That puts you right there with Charles Manson and Jeffrey Dahmer and Richard Speck. But the people of Kaufman County know you've been scared for the last couple of years. There's no reason to be scared anymore."
• And I'm not sure those last two sentences make any sense. 
• I suspect most people don't know who Richard Speck was. He's been dead for almost 25 years. 
• And the post verdict prosecutor/investigator photo op drives me nuts. There's a great phrase I've always loved for those engaged in public service: "Do your job and then go home."
• Mrs. LL recorded Survivor and watched it when she finally could last night. I woke up near midnight and she was still downstairs. 
• I have no control over whether that crazy Captcha keyword requirement appears for comment posting, but it sounds like it is gone. 
• Beginning right now in 1983, the metroplex would experience 295 straight hours of temperatures below freezing. Man, I remember that. 
• Hey, I don't care about the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, but how would you like to be a player for the University of Pittsburgh? In the last 24 hours, your coach resigned to go to coach Wisconsin and the school then fired the Athletic Director. Now go out and practice!
• No injuries this morning, but this is a pretty crazy picture after a school bus T-boned a car in Grand Prairie. 
• It snowed on Christmas here about three or four years ago.  I was smart enough to sit back, relax, and watch it realizing I might never see that happen again. 

We've Got Us Some Wise County Heros Right Here If Wise County Were In Alabama

 Pink handle on that gun.

 Hey, now.

Not daughter and father. Also not Mrs. LL and me. 

Someone drives by who you recognize from your surveillance tape as the people that broke into your home. Do you call the cops? Not in Alabama. No siree. You draw down on them.

P.S. Does everyone have surveillance cameras these days?

1982 Channel 4 Christmas Commercial

There's Dale Hanson in there before he got fired.  If interested, [Grumpy] Uncle Barky has some background on this.

Back then, Channel 5 was still with NBC and Channel 8 was still with ABC.  However, Channel 4 was actually affiliated with CBS, while Channel 11 was an independent station.  Then at some point (the 1980s?), Channel 11 become an affiliate of CBS and Channel 4 became a Fox outlet.  So suddenly one day, the Channel 4 news crew had "Fox" instead of "CBS" in its graphics. (I'm pretty sure this video was when Channel 4 was still part of CBS. That Fox 4 News graphic in the corner seems to be added later.)

Deer vs. Bicyclist: Who Ya Got?

I guess that's really not much of a contest.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• The testimony yesterday from the ex-wife/co-defendant of the ex Kaufman County JP on trial for capital murder was beyond bizarre. Putting aside how she came across as almost happy to have memories of the killings, she fully admitted to assisting in the offense of capital murder. Now she has, at the very least, a guaranteed life sentence without the possibility of parole in her own trial. At worst, she'll get the death penalty. 
• But didn't she have a deal with the prosecutors in exchange for her testimony? She said no. The prosecutors said no. So if a plea bargain is reached for anything other than life in prison, alarms are going to go off. As they should. 
• There is now a threat of a 9/11 like attack of any theater which shows The Interview -- the comedy about a scheme to kill the leader of North Korea.  Don't movie theaters have a huge liability issue here? If a bomb goes off, you can just hear a Plaintiff's lawyer say, "You were warned that a theater would be blown up and you showed the movie any way?" And the only other option is to provide metal detectors and other over the top security -- not exactly conducive to a good movie going experience. Or a profit. 
• When I first heard the premise of The Interview months ago, it made me uncomfortable. 
• The catapult project for the Sixth Grader In The House must be made of one single coat hanger. 
• The Family Cat decided to play basketball with a Christmas tree ball after we went to bed last night. I think her game went into overtime. 
• I was confused that Deion Sanders wife was sentenced to seven days in jail for child custody violations during a hearing on a claim of defamation by Deion. Seems like those would be two separate cases. (At least that's the way it was reported.)
• Nice book-in photo of her, by the way.
• And regarding the defamation claim, the judge granted a temporary injunction against the ex-wife and "ordered her to remove any statements from social media or videos posted online by her or people connected to her that could be construed as damaging to her ex-husband." First, that's a very vague order. Second, I didn't think a judge could order the alleged defamatory material removed but that the only remedy was money damages. But in Texas, at least for now, a judge can do that. However, he can't order the defendant to not repost the same material in the future. It doesn't seem worth the effort. 
• When anyone in the house hands me an Android phone, I might as well be reading Japanese. I don't understand either.
• One thing I forgot to mention about The Reluctant Astronaut: The great Leslie Nielsen was one of the co-stars. If Don Knotts said something crazy, Nielsen would get that confused look on his face which later would become a staple of the Airplane and The Naked Gun movies. Funny. 
• We could have Bush vs. Clinton in the next presidential election. Ah, America. Where anyone can grow up to be president.  Edit: I knew I read that yesterday but didn't remember it was commenter Katy.  The Liberally Lean Editorial Staff regrets this oversight. 
• Texas penalty for abortion providers in 1879. If the mother died or the fetus had been viable, they weren't messing around.

Above The Fold

Bill Clinton Still Livin' Large

Obviously A Case Of Mistaken Identity

2nd suspect arrested in fatal shooting at Fort Worth bar http://t.co/NDcDIW85J0 #txcrime pic.twitter.com/cInaXBXNPP
— Star-Telegram (@startelegram) December 16, 2014

Get Me This Turtle!

Speaking Of . . .

Britney Spears looks nothing like Britney Spears on this magazine cover http://t.co/bA7StYTpUq pic.twitter.com/OJ50fthEsi
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) December 16, 2014

. . .  What have they done to Britney!!!!!!

Very Generic Announcement

I am excited to announce I will actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States: https://t.co/luY4lCF2cA.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) December 16, 2014

Wise County Scam Alert Update

Just got a call from a friend in Decatur who, this morning, almost had parents scammed in the exact same scheme I almost fell for. (Documented here in October.)

The M.O. was exactly the same: Call a kid's grandparents, pretend to be the grandson, claim to be in jail, ask for money via a special money card, and give instructions of "don't call my parents, please."

Incredible.

Fortunately, the grandparents did call my friend who had read about my experience.  Plot thwarted.

A quick Google search shows this scam has exploded in the last couple of years.

Edit: I'm trying to get the phone number of the scammers.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Meant to mention yesterday: There was an arrest over the weekend in connection with the missing Fort Worth girl who disappeared after leaving the Shops of Legacy. That seemed like some pretty slim evidence they have against that guy. 
• "It didn't take long for New York Magazine's story on a 17-year-old stock whiz with a rumored net worth of $72 million to make a splash. But the story's juicy premise unraveled almost as quickly." There sure have been a lot of screwups by major publications lately. Rolling Stone. Boston Globe. New York Magazine. 
• There's nothing more ironic than Ted Cruz trying to jack with the Senate Rules in order to jack with the President only to now be blamed by fellow Republicans that his maneuver allowed the confirmation of 12 judicial appointees of the President. He's got a lot of Mark Cuban in him: Only believing he's the smartest man in the room.
• Speaking of Cuban, he slighted Dallas City Councilwoman Jennifer Staubach Gates in a series of emails.  Dude. She has "Staubach" in her name. You're in Dallas. Do the math.
• I'm no expert in questionnaires, but whoever prepared the official questionnaire for Bridgeport High School students inquiring if they are interested in soccer doesn't want a soccer program. It might as well have asked, "Are you willing to give up everything that is dear and sacred to you in order to have a soccer program?" 
• Did you see the video of the diabetic in Rockwall County who was just driving on the grass alongside the road? I'll give big kudos to the Constable who stopped him for his quick assessment of the situation. So many cops just assume alcohol or drugs are involved in a case like that, but he knew right away he was a diabetic. 
• Bridgeport and Decatur Boys are both in the Top 25 in basketball. 
• The Sandy Hook parents have sued the manufacturer of the AR-15 used in the school shooting because, the best I can tell, it was a perfectly functioning AR-15. 
• A Cowboys thought: It's not probable, but Demarco Murray may have played his last game for the Cowboys. How? His injury keeps him out the last two games, the Cowboys lose both and miss the playoffs, they can't reach a contract with Dez Bryant so they use the franchise tag on him, and Murray goes somewhere else for bigger free agent bucks. 
• Confusion in the Dallas Marathon: A female relay runner shot past the winner of the female full marathon division at the last second preventing the winner from receiving the satisfaction of snapping the tape. And it caused a question mark to form over the heads of the announcers.
• Overnight: The Taliban stormed a school in Pakistan and killed 126.
• Shoutout to a loyal reader (and a stranger) from Bakersfield, CA who sent me a Britney Spears DVD for Christmas. Yes, you read that correctly. 

Outgoing DA Moving Into The Advertising Business?

I'm sure there's an explanation of why the Dallas DA's office is tweeting out a link to an app on the iTunes store.  Link was originally here. We'll see if it stays up.

Supreme Court This Morning: Cops Can Detain You Even If You Did Nothing Wrong

As of this morning, we now have a new rule made up on the fly.

If a cop makes a "reasonable" mistake about what the law is, he can stop you for violating what he believes the law to be even if he is dead wrong. Incredible. Simply incredible.

In the new case, the defendant had only one taillamp working. The cop mistakenly believed that North Carolina law required two taillamps. He was wrong.  It only required one.  Up until this morning, the rule was that if the cops stopped you for a traffic violation that wasn't actually a violation, any evidence they discovered after the stop couldn't be used against you.  Not only would the ticket be thrown out, but anything else they found could not be used against you.

Now, the ticket still gets thrown out, but if other evidence is discovered which is incriminating, the cops and prosecutors still get to use it. (Count down to some goofball who fires off the, "Well, don't have anything illegal in your car and you won't have to worry about it" line.)

But this will give rise to just a ton of more issues. For example, most cops in Texas believe that if you have a broken taillamp that you have committed a traffic violation.  That's not true. So long as there is SOME red light coming from the broken taillight, that's not a violation.  Can they stop you for that now and simply say, "I was mistaken about that law"? Doesn't that sound like a reasonable mistake? However, does it matter that a court interpreted that statute almost thirty years ago to say any red light emitting is sufficient? Do the cops still get a pass? Does it matter that the court case was taught a seminar they attended? Do I now have to find out what a particular cop was taught at a seminar? Isn't it to the cops' benefit that they don't teach/learn about that one court case thirty years ago? Or not to learn details about the law in general?

Rate The Safety Of This

Look, I was suspecting to see this gal bounce off the ground or something but it doesn't happen. That being said, I'd rather stand all day on the solid double yellow line on highway 114 than do that. The odds just seem better.

Coach Launches Player By The Hair For Almost Joining Fight

The most confusing thing is that the girl was suspended. Coach, for now, got a pass.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• The hostage situation in Sydney, Australia is bizarre.  The guy wants an ISIS flag? Sounds like a lone wolf. 
• Edit: The hostage taker has been identified: "Monis lost an appeal Friday to have charges against him overturned for sending 'offensive and deplorable letters' to the families of servicemen who died in Afghanistan. Monis was also charged with being an accessory to murder in his ex-wife's 2013 death, and was charged this year with indecent and sexual assault of women in 2002. Monis was hit with an additional 40 charges in October."
• A van rolled over on the freeway early on Sunday morning in Bedford and nine people were ejected? Nine? Ejected? All of them? Is that right? Shouldn't that be pretty big news.
• Last night a guy got kicked out of a bar in Arlington and came back and fired 20 shots into cars and into the bar. 
• Emmitt Smith, after every touchdown, used to keep the football and hand it to a guy who would mark it and put it in a storage case for safekeeping. Whatever happened to all of those?
• For some reason, I re-watched The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and The Reluctant Astronaut over the weekend. (Those are old Don Knotts' movies from my childhood -- I've got a full throttle life going on.) Verdict: Still pretty, pretty funny with some very subtle and shocking adult jokes thrown in. But Mrs. LL did a lot of head shaking. 
• Knotts has been dead since 2006.  I put up a quick post about him at the time and referenced The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. 
• Lake Bridgeport is now officially more than 24 feet low. And sits at a shocking 38% of capacity. 
• What timing: On Friday morning I created a post below criticizing the grand jury system. On Saturday, a Tarrant County Assistant DA penned a column for the Star-Telegram in defense of the system.  He wrote, "The old saying that 'a DA can convince a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich' has never applied in Tarrant County."   If I had the number, I would insert at this point the number of cases the Tarrant County grand jury indicted last year and the number they no-billed. 
• And Another update: DNA comes back negative and kid recants. Case dismissed. She was indicted by a grand jury by the way. 
• The Sixth Grader in the House notified me that she also has a catapult project due. Oh, great. I've still got the one for the Junior in the House but that would give rise to an ethical issue.  But then I learned the new project can't involve the use of wood. Which has me very confused.
• The Wise County Commissioners, or more specifically the new judge, has "added to the agenda a community forum, in which citizens may share comments or observations related to county business. There is a three-minute time limit, and large groups should designate a spokesperson." My guess is that they will rarely hear from anyone.