Above The Fold

Just Your Typical Swashbuckler In A Sports Bar Taking You Into The Weekend

There Was A Jacksboro Murder A Couple Of Days Ago

Completely missed this.

You Know It'll Get Nasty When Utah Valley and NM State Get Together

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• There seems to be a whole lot of politics going on with the Allen ISD's shut down of their $60 million stadium. It looks like there were some cosmetic cracks which were noticed by stadium critics, those critics tipped off the Dallas Morning News, the News makes open record requests to obtain emails about stadium, and the ISD then holds a news conference to do damage control before the News could run a big story. 
• Freezing rain on Sunday afternoon?
• "A protester filmed what is possibly the first public footage of a Supreme Court . . . ." It's about as boring as you would expect.
• Just when I thought nothing else was left to break in the house, the "coil" on our garage door popped. We went from a "single coil" to a "double coil" which doesn't mean much to me. 
• It's been a while: Driver slams into Dallas cop car overnight. 
• Weird shooting in Bridgeport yesterday. Suicide attempt? 
• WBAP's Steve Lamb says he had a "mini stroke".
• I'll be at the courthouse fairly often when I'll run into a government employee who'll go off on a Big Government Rant. 
• Missed this Channel 5 story: "A Wal-Mart store in Decatur dismantled a dog food display that was stacked almost to the ceiling, amid questions about the safety risk." (Photo) That was ridiculous. 
• A hot chick, whom I'm sure I featured, sued a mugshot website for using her image. 
• For those of you who want to be beaten down with Margaritaville for the zillionth time, Jimmy Buffett will do his tired old bit again in Frisco this summer. (Can't stand that guy' music.)
• I mentioned that I watched an episode of True Detective the other day and really liked it. I also had no idea what was going on since I hadn't seen this six prior episodes. I may catch up on it this weekend. 
• Good radio this week when The Ticket interviewed Tom Landry, Jr. on what it was like when Jerry Jones flew down to Austin to tell them about the hiring of Jimmy Johnson. Everyone has always criticized Jones about the way he "handled" the firing, but what more can you do than fly down to Austin and handled it face to face? 

Random Giggle: Happy Gilmore Drive

"Sydney Rae Leroux (born May 7, 1990) is a Canadian-born American professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist. As a forward, she currently plays for the Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)."

Don't Taze Me, Bro!

I have it on really good authority that we had an accidental Wise County deputy on deputy tazer attack this week. I'm still trying to get the details.

It Might Be The Weirdest Story Ever

Hey, I normally shy away from stories involving barnyard animals in compromising positions, but this story has it all.

And some major market needs to hire that on the scene reporter. Loved that delivery. "Two men are in jail. One cow is dead. And three cars are totaled."  And then he just throws a haymaker with that Jell-O reference.

Crandall Cop Allegedly Kills Wife, Self In Dallas

This is yesterday's news but some more photos and a video of the guy shooting a shotgun have emerged. No real motive other than some have referred to the guy as "jealous."

(And in the absolutely-irrelevant-but-caught-my-attention, some outlets referred to the couple being found by Dallas police and firefighters in "their home in the Cedars".  I had never heard of the "Cedars" area of Dallas.)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Our state rep. Phil King got scammed out of almost $46,000.
• I thought the Arizona governor would veto SB 1062, but I didn't think she would do it so quickly. (And the text of the bill has been read by basically no one -- it never even mentions sexual orientation.) 
• Funny line from The Ticket this morning about Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer: "She looks like she has a box of wine every night."
• "A Plano man was killed early Friday morning after returning inside a burning home to retrieve his cellphone."
• I finally watched the new episode of Aerial America featuring Texas. It was incredibly disjointed (but it did show Palo Duro Canyon and zoomed in on a high peak that Mrs. LL once climbed to the top of in a death defying stunt.)
• We are taking a Family Trip which requires a plane flight in a couple of weeks, and this has all sorts of potential for disaster. (And I've been yelling "you girls are packing light" for the last three weeks and receiving blank stares in return.)
• The Messenger has an article this week looking back on the 1988 military helicopter crash near Chico that killed ten. Of all the possible litigation that could have happened, I ended up helping defend, of all things, a worker's compensation claim filed by one of the paramedics who was in one of the careflight helicopters out of Fort Worth. It actually ended up in a jury trial in Decatur. 
• I was skeptical of the story of the Texas high school kid who claimed he "accidentally" packed a beer instead of a soft drink in his lunch. But I didn't know he's the one who reported his mistake to his teacher. Kid might be telling the truth. 
• There's a story making the rounds of an Austin man arrested for DWI who blew 0.00 and then agreed to give blood which tested negative for drugs. But the cops say that it "is still possible he was intoxicated with a drug, including marijuana, that may not have shown up in the blood test." That quote makes absolutely no sense to me. Every DWI case I've seen where they've screened the blood for drugs, they've screened it for marijuana. 
• I've never been down to the boys or girls UIL basketball tournament in Austin but I've had buddies swear that it's a heck of a fun experience. Hey, has either Bridgeport or Decatur ever made that tournament? 
• It's a weird world when Seth Rogen speaks before a U.S. Senate hearing and then calls out a bunch of senators for not attending or leaving early. 
• I've told folks who visit the Wise County Courthouse all the time that the district courtroom once had a balcony which would have made the place look like a scene from To Kill A Mockingbird.  But I've never seen one single photo of the way it used to look -- and I've never met anyone who has. 

Forget Arizona, They Are Coming For Texas!

Federal judge voids Texas' gay marriage ban, though he delays order from taking effect immediately. http://t.co/saWj3VGoPG
— Bob Garrett (@RobertTGarrett) February 26, 2014

Edit: Dan Patrick had a great typo after the news was released . . .

Mid-Week Pick Me Up

They have baseball cheerleaders? (With the exception of watching TCU/UT at the Ballpark in Arlington many years ago, I don't think I've ever been to a college baseball game.)

Legal Stuff: Texas Highest Criminal Court Just Ruled That Your Cell Phone Isn't "Like A Pair Of Pants"

This case raises the issue of whether a person retains a legitimate expectation of privacy in the contents of his cell phone when that phone is being temporarily stored in a jail property room.  The trial judge granted Anthony Granville's motion to suppress, concluding that the high-school student did not lose his legitimate expectation of privacy in his cell phone simply because it was being stored in the jail property room after he had been arrested for a Class C misdemeanor. The court of appeals affirmed that ruling. We granted the [government's] petition for discretionary review, but we reject its argument that a modern-day cell phone is like a pair of pants or a bag of groceries, for which a person loses all privacy protection once it is checked into a jail property room. We therefore affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.  More.

And Another - California

Link.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I was going to give a hot legal opinion on the proposed Arizona law that would allow the discrimination against gays based upon religious freedom but, after looking at the text of the bill, it seems to be a political controversy -- not a legal one. I'm not sure how that proposed law changes anything.  How confusing. (But I bet the governor vetoes it -- she's getting a ton of heat.)
• Please let the primaries be over. Yesterday I saw an ad for a Texas Supreme Court judge who pointed out that he believed in a "loving God" (I guess that's better than believing in a vengeful one) and added he was the son of a police officer (but the Texas Supreme Court does not handle criminal cases.)
• All the news outlets were acting nuts yesterday about an "online minor sexting" case being dismissed by the Tarrant County DA's office after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals struck the statute down last year. (Hey, I wrote about the court's holding last October). And that has to be one of many, many cases dismissed because of the ruling. It's not like the DA's office had much of a choice. Calm down.
• I bet there is 1,000 times more money being spent on the litigation regarding the guy hurt by falling ice at Cowboys Stadium before the Super Bowl than is spent on your average felony criminal case.
• Dallas DA Craig Watkins pretty much said yesterday that a lot of old timers just can't seem to believe that Dallas has a black DA. He will throw out the race card on you. 
• Finally caught a little bit of Matthew McConaughey in True Detective. Pretty, pretty good. 
• Big anniversary day yesterday: Jerry buying the Cowboys 25 years ago, Ali beating Liston 50 years ago, and, under the radar, SMU received the death penalty 27 years ago.  All occurring on February 25th. 
• "Built by RSI Racing Solutions, a small company from Bridgeport, Texas, known for slamming twin-turbos into these SRT- and Dodge-badged supercars, the Viper you’re about to see . . . . " Wait. What?
• Headline from a couple of days ago: "Pentagon Set to Slash Military to Pre-World War II Levels." Today, I'm hearing new advertisements for recruitment for the Marines on The Ticket. 
• "Kiss announced today that the band won't be performing at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in April because disputes over the lineup churned up ill will among the members."  Well, at least the audience caught a break.
• The Family Unit is becoming obsessed with Jeopardy. We have to hit pause after every question and seem to rarely get one right, but it's fun when we do. 
• Not that there's anything normal about it, but the murder of the 22 year old manager of a Red Wings Shoe Store in Arlington in broad daylight yesterday is bizarre. Police are to release some surveillance footage today. 

Above The Fold

And On The News Of An Former Aggie Getting Arrested . . .

UT comes out with this news.

Before There Was Johnny Football There Was Bucky

Not exactly an earthshaking story, but I hadn't thought about this guy for years. And I had completely forgotten that he spent a year with the Cowboys (although profootballreference.com doesn't list him as throwing a pass.)

But he was creative. I remember against Baylor once he did a play action pass where he just stood completely flat footed with the ball hidden behind his back before he hauled off and threw it. Hated the guy. But he was great.

Creepiest Mascot Ever?

And without pants!

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The "got milk" campaign is going away.
• It better rain this Spring - a lot - or Lake Bridgeport is going to be a disaster. Heck, that can almost be said about it now.
• I went to a legal seminar on Friday and actually spoke out from the audience. I'm not sure I've done that in 25 years. (And, upon reflection, I really didn't have all that much to offer.)
• Mrs. LL and I saw the play Venus in Fur at the Circle Theater in downtown Fort Worth on Friday.  Get this: It was a two person play that ran for 90 minutes without an intermission. (And, man, that was an older crowd.) 
• And if you haven't been to downtown Fort Worth since the recent renovations, check it out. It's fantastic.
• The President issued a statement on the death of Harold Ramis.
• The Ticket has been talking all morning about the 25th anniversary of the Jerry Jones buying the Cowboys, and they had Ivan Maisel on to talk about the iconic photo of Jerry and Jimmy at Mia's. If you go to the restaurant on Lemmon Avenue, they have that photo hanging in that booth. 
• The ex-girlfriend of almost indicted Dallas district judge Carlos Cortez is pretty hot. 
• I watched a little of Ted Nugent on CNN last night. He's not quite as happy go lucky as he once was. In fact, he's almost an angry old man.
• I flip over to WBAP for about five minutes every morning. Today they had a new sponsor: Food 4 Patriots which sells pre-packaged survival food. What the heck is going on over there? 
• From the Update: "The Bridgeport Class of 2018 . . . . " I couldn't read anything past that. 
• It looks like Tarrant County won't be coming Democratic any time soon. Early voting shows Republicans are outvoting them by over a two to one margin. 
• Two ex-SEALs on the "Captain Phillips" ship might have died from a drug overdose. 
• Not that anyone cares, but there was a "controversial" ending to the Argyle/Celina girls basketball game that sent Argyle to the State Championship Tourney after double overtime. 
• There are abortion protesters at Paschal High School in Fort Worth this morning? Why?
• The Star-Telegram has a cover story on Highway 114 this morning. I remember when it went through downtown Rhome. 

America's Needs Will Be Met: Taco Bell Is Getting Into The Breakfast Business

Link

Oh, no: Harold Ramis Has Died

"No, we're not homosexual, but we are willing to learn."

Ghostbusters, Stripes, and more.

Story.

Wise County Assistant D.A. In Texas Monthly

He'll be leaving us soon to return to private practice. He'll also leave behind a reputation as a prosecutor who was honest, smart and reasonable.

A portion of the article is available here. The back story, which is riveting, is here.

Do You Have A Right To Carry A Gun?

We don't know.

Sports Geeks Only

Johnny Football (4.56 - impressive) vs. South Carolina's defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (4.47) in the 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Everyone keeps telling me to watch Friday Night Tykes.
• I watched American Beauty again yesterday. That may be in my top five of all movies. 
• I had a life changing moment on Thursday. I'll tell you once I can find the words to describe it.
• Something I intend to read from of the Dallas Morning News: The rise and spectacular fall of Eric Brauss. Is he still alive?
• I didn't watch a second of the Daytona 500 and have still not watched one moment of a Dallas Mavericks game. And I feel better for it. 
• But apparently during the rain delay of Daytona they replayed last year's race which prompted some media outlets to report the wrong winner of this year's race. 
• I'm almost done with the first season of House of Cards. It's good. But I wouldn't say great. 
• Ever been to North Side Outlaws bar in the stockyards? A grandmother is dead from a stray bullet outside of it over the weekend. 
• I've got that Nancy and Tonya segment from NBC last night on the DVR. 
• I was at a legal seminar on Friday. The difference in speakers was stunning. On one hand you had someone actually understood what it was like to stand in front of a jury and on the other you would have some fraud who was trying to impress an audience.
• Flipping through the channels this weekend a came across a movie I had never heard of starring Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch and  Thomas Haden Church. I'm always surprised when I see a movie with so many stars that has slipped by me. Then again,  I suppose I had never heard of it because it looked bad.
• I thought the TCU assistant athletic director would get in trouble for mindlessly mocking the Aggie bonfire tragedy but, man, that was quick.