Above The Fold

"It's so bright and vivid...It's so beautiful...What does it mean?"

And It Appears To Be Finished

On the Brazos. On I-35. On campus. Oh, my.

And for the upcoming football season, I still feel like Walter White with a machine gun with scores to settle.

Government Out Of Control vs. Too Many Prosecutors vs. Politics

Background.

And this case involves the allegation of, essentially, bullying a Democrat DA who was convicted in the past year of DWI. It may have been justified. Maybe not. I have no idea. But this government vs. government crap is becoming more and more common.

You guys yell about Big Government? Do you not see what is happening? Do you know how much this will cost you, the taxpayer? Government just looking anywhere it can to create work to justify jobs -- especially government lawyers. State v. Tom DeLay (Democrat motivated), Kenneth Starr vs. Clinton. (Republican motivated). The U.S. vs. Microsoft. (Democrat motivated). It began in the 1990s and now it is so commonplace and no one blinks an eye.

The "special prosecutor" seems to be an idiot who will eventually have his arse handed to him in this deal. But you will pay for his fine services. And the Governor's first response on Friday evening came from his "general counsel". That's not a private lawyer but a government employee who you are paying for.

Idiocracy.

Aggie Coach Cancels Practice To Take Team To Movie

Never have so many people been so excited to see a movie.

The Saddest Class C Book In Photo Ever

08/15/2014 10:17:30 Melissa, 35 yrs old ♍ Bond: $377 CELL PHONE IN SCHOOL ZONE http://t.co/rWrSAYThKV pic.twitter.com/Thtylua5IQ
— Arrests by @DentonPD (@DentonPolice) August 15, 2014

(You'll see people arrested for Class Cs - traffic tickets - all the time in Denton. I think, but I'm not sure, it is normally for missing a court date for a previously issued ticket.)

"Wait, For It"

That was the complete text of the email from the guy who sent this to me. I don't think I've ever gone from "I can't post that" to "I've got to post that" in such a short time.

I'm insane now.

Edit: Alternative link.

Pig GIF

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The FBI says that 80% of police officers are overweight. 
• Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas says people crossing the border could have Ebola. I guess "could have" gives him lots of wiggle room, but that guy is crazy. 
• Speaking of, that doctor who contracted Ebola is expected to be released from the hospital? An almost fatal disease turns out not to be? 
• I really like Hard Knocks but now I'm watching it with the perspective that the NFL is just chewing up these guys for profit. 
• It's not an earth shaking opinion, but the Fort Worth Court of Appeals has just affirmed a conviction for drugs out of Bridgeport. (It basically says that there was a probable lawyer screwup but, in the last footnote, said it wouldn't matter any way.) 
• I blew past Nancy Grace last night but I could have sworn she took an anti-police position in the Ferguson, Missouri controversy. If she's against the police, the police are in trouble. 
• And we will learn the cop's name this morning.
• I'll wake up ten minutes before the alarm goes off and then debate whether to try to go back to sleep as I know the minutes are ticking down. But knowing the minutes are ticking down makes it difficult to go back to sleep. I hate those ten minutes. 
• Yu Darvish is on the DL and there is talk of shutting him down for the year. Any chance he just doesn't want to pitch for a team 26 games back in 100 degree heat?
• Uh, a kid in the Little League World Series is 13 years old, 6'4" and 229 pounds. 
• Does no one understand the rules of a four way stop? I'll slow down and intentionally come to a stop later than another approaching driver so that there won't be any question that they have the right of way. But I'm constantly faced with someone who then stares at me with the "Do you want to go first or me?" look.
• That Tony Stewart murder/not murder case will quietly go away. 
• I don't watch Shark Week but a guy on The Ticket has been on a rant this week because one of the shows was a fake documentary that he believed to be real. 
• I've thought about this, too: Driverless cars, like those Google is perfecting, would transform the legal criminal defense profession, law enforcement, and insurance industry. And by "transform" I mean "gut". 

Cops In Missouri Out Of Control

VIDEO: Police in Ferguson, Missouri remove TV news crew's equipment. http://t.co/tjtmF9vTwC pic.twitter.com/h2Z4Aiv1H9
— keyetv (@keyetv) August 14, 2014

This is really getting crazy. Cops shoot an unarmed kid. Civil unrest. Cops arrest journalist. Cops jack with media equipment which should scare you to death.

I've never understood why the anti-Big Government crowd just sits back and watches stuff like this with approval.

And this is a small town police department?

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Who does that girl look like? She's the "spittin' image" of somebody but I can't place her. 
• Random funny line from the radio about U2 this morning: Guy 1: "Bono likes Adam more than the others." Guy 2: "Where did you read that, Tiger Beat?"
• The Family Pig experiment might be over. We have us, uh, a urine problem. Thankfully, I cut the very odd deal with the seller at the time of purchase: We don't want a refund but we can take him back at any time. 
• "For more than two days, a runaway Texas teenager ate, slept and changed clothes undetected inside a 24-hour Wal-Mart near Dallas . . . ." That's the subject of a book, right? 
• In one of the old Bridgeport Index covers uploaded to Facebook, there was an article about a man prosecuted for selling obscenity to a 17 year old. It wasn't a video. It wasn't a magazine. It was a book. The 1970s Wise County jury acquitted him which makes me think we were smarter back then. 
• The BagOfNothing guy mentioned fireflies this morning. What the heck happened to them? When I was a kid they were everywhere.
• The price of SeaWorld stock plummeted 33% yesterday. "The Orlando, Fla.-based company also conceded for the first time that attendance at its theme parks has been hurt by negative publicity concerning accusations by animal-rights activists that SeaWorld mistreats killer whales."
• Front page of the Dallas Morning News: "[Greg] Abbott sided against other victims of sexual assault."
• I tend to sleep in the fetal position and The Family Pup, for the last month, has slept right in the middle of it. Odd.
• As crazy as Decatur can be, it has a shockingly stable city government. There are people who have held their jobs for over twenty five years without any complaints.
• I'm not sure what the Ice Bucket Challenge is, but it looks dumb. Except when the USC Song Girls do it. 
• I've been forced to see a bunch of Robin Williams' comedy routines over the last few days. I've said it before: He was a great actor but a horrible comedian. If you have to jump around and do voices you might be compensating for lack of substance. (Insert moment of silence.) 

Get Me This Chihuahua Who Isn't Afraid Of A Great Dane!

Colonia Chiques vs. Southside Chiques

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — The joint practice between the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys went just about how the coaches scripted it Tuesday with high intensity in an emotional environment. Then things went a bit over the line when a hard hit by Dallas cornerback Morris Claiborne on Oakland tight end Mychal Rivera led to a brawl that nearly spilled over into the stands and featured a Raiders fan swinging a helmet at a Cowboys player and cornerback B.W. Webb retaliating with a swing at the fan.

If I cared, I'd try to find the Oakland fan swinging the helmet. What's the time stamp on it?

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

USA! USA! USA!

• "A father and two sons in Vermont were all arrested for separate DUIs as a result of only a single-car crash as two members of the Woodward family were three times the legal limit, according to Vermont State Police." 
• Cowboy  Orlando Scandrick was suspended by the NFL for four games for testing positive for X? Yet Ray Rice gets suspended two games for beating his girlfriend unconsciousness? Stolen line: You beat up Molly you get two games, but if you take Molly you get four games. 
• Still mind boggling: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was paid $44.2 million in 2012. And today in some NFL football camp, a 21 year old will have his football hopes dashed because his knee has been torn to shreds. They will pat him on the butt and send him on his way. 
• Junior Miller on the Ticket this morning said that Jason Garrett's press conferences are "insulting". I couldn't agree more. I used to think he was very smart but cautious about his words. I no longer believe that. If he thinks we are actually buying the crap he throws out, he is incredibly shallow. (This rant was based upon Garrett saying that he was "excited" about Scandrick's suspension so that other guys could "step up.")
• Lauren Bacall has died. Honestly, I really didn't know much about her work despite knowing that name all my life. But I was surprised to learn she was married to Jason Robards. Hot opinion: Robards was more accomplished than Bacall. 
• Of course, now I can't get  "We had it all / Just like Bogie and Bacall" out of my head.  
• "God prefers full custody over weekend visitation." - Sign on Decatur church. Then again, maybe he would settle for Wednesdays and every other weekend. 
• I'd never noticed how similar the Marine seal is to the NRA seal. 
• I really haven't followed the killing of unarmed black man by a cop in Ferguson, Missouri, but I heard this morning the police department isn't releasing the cop's name. You kidding me? 
• Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow is horrible at picking subject matter (not to mention writing) but at least he took on the Texas "surcharge" law today. (He's only about five years too late.)
• If a young Wise County politician were smart, he would begin recruiting the Hispanic vote as a Democrat. Listen to them. Learn about them. Register them. And then, one of these days, boom. You would win in shocking surprise a decade before it will become common place. 
• A University of Texas law professor trips over an extension cord and sues the school claiming, in part, he could no longer play tennis due to an injured shoulder. Makes me want to beat him with a tennis racquet. So far, he's losing. 
• I haven't read it yet, but the New York Times took on Deion Sanders' Prime Prep Academy. (I suppose there's no way they could sneak in, "Oh, a phong is ringing!")
• Robin Williams hung himself but was found in a sitting position? Uh, is there something they aren't telling us? 

Above The Fold

Hail To The Victors?

Is there anything worse than the sucker punch?  Story. (Man, security cameras are high quality these days.)

He played in one game last year for Michigan as a true freshman.

Dang It!!! Just When I Thought I Had A Chance!!!

Story.

This Is Getting Crazy

I swear I wrote about this case when it first happened and said it was a crappy criminal mischief case against this woman. Some middle school kids staying at her house (a pretty high tone house by the way) caused some damage to a neighbor's home. And, as often the case, everyone gets charged including this lady.

To no one's surprise, the Tarrant County DA's office backed down and dismissed the case after she wrote an apology. Now the DA's office is upset because the "apology" filed with the District Clerk is not the same as the apology which later appeared on the lady's Facebook page. You gotta be kidding.*

Nevertheless, the prosecutor in the case, Mark Thielman, has filed a "Notice of Filing to Make the Record Speak the Truth." What the heck is that? We pay people with taxpayer dollars to spend time filing stuff like that?
____________
* (The only interesting legal aspect of this is that the image of the "fake" apology letter on Facebook bears a file mark by the District Clerk. I'm trying to read between the lines but there is almost an assertion that an original apology letter was handed to the clerk for filing and a "copy", which wasn't a copy, was file marked as well and maintained by the person who filed it. That person is mysteriously referenced as "a well-dressed man." Edit: If that did happen, and I'm not saying it did, I don't think that's a crime. I could be wrong, but nothing in the Penal Code jumps out at me.)

From The Liberally Lean Archives

Found this one I did in 2006.  There are a few comments. The opinions back then are pretty much what you hear today.

Mugshot Tuesday -- Greatness

Background.

Background.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Robin Williams, who suffered from depression and alcoholism, supposedly stopped drinking for twenty years until he made a film in Alaska. He said, "I was in a small town where it's not the edge of the world, but you can see it from there, and then I thought: drinking. I just thought, hey, maybe drinking will help. Because I felt alone and afraid." (emphasis added.)
• Maybe my favorite Robin Williams film is One Hour Photo.
• I was never able to make it through The World According To Garp. Even to weird for me. 
• Mork and Mindy was a spin-off from Happy Days where Williams was an alien who met Fonzie? I'm insane now. 
• The radio interview of some spare Dallas Cowboy is an instant power down for me. 
• I think the over/under for total wins for the Cowboys has moved to 7 1/2. I'm making an official sports prediction: Take the under. Write this down. I have had a Sports Genius Epiphany. 
• Junior Miller of The Ticket has calculated that today, the second Tuesday of August, at 2:00 p.m., is the worst moment of the year. A beaten down month. A beaten down day. And a time which is right after lunch but long before you get to go home. He may be right. 
• Wise County deputies will now switch from "58 .357 Sig pistols for 70 9 mm Glocks with GT Distributors". Someone translate that for me. 
• The death of four people from one family from Argyle while on vacation is heart breaking. 
• There would be nothing more entertaining than if the GOP nominee in the next presidential election were Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, or Rick Santorum. 
• Illegal aliens will cost us? Hmmm. More cops, more teachers, more jobs? Let's take it to the other extreme. What if no one was here. An abandon wasteland with just you. Which situation do you want?
• I just looked at the MLB standings and noticed the Rangers are 26 games out. That's astonishing. 
• The Sixteen Year Old in The House finally got her driver's license. To see her drive away to go to band practice was incredibly unnerving. 
• For the longest time I thought I was a technical wizard. As each year passes, I'm feeling like I'm being left behind. 
• I think Messenger sports guy Richard Greene is really good. 
• I saw one of the original Planet of The Apes movies as a kid in a theater in downtown Bridgeport. I have no idea which one it was. But the thought of Bridgeport having a movie theater downtown is now mind boggling and incredibly cool.

Wow. One Of The Greatest Actors Is Dead

I didn't care for his comedy (hated it, in fact), but his roles in things like Good Will Hunting were fantastic.

Random Bridgeport Index Post

I mentioned that someone on Facebook had been posting images from the Bridgeport Index. (All available archives are here.) Some of them are fascinating. Look at this one from 1975. That's a lot of news.

Pig News

Miley Cyrus got what I wanted:

This is what I'm afraid I've ended up with:

"'I'm just trying to be the best teammate I can be."

The original:



So the Houston Texans' cheerleaders decide to do a bit because bits are fun:

Celebrity Audition Tapes

Language warning. (Yes, I always post language warnings.)

If the phrase "time flies" doesn't cross your mind when you watch this, there's something wrong.

What? A 13 Year Old Girl Pitching Her Team Into The Little League World Series? And She's Good?

BRISTOL, Conn. -- Female pitcher Mo'Ne Davis led her team into the Little League World Series, throwing a three-hitter Sunday to lead Taney Youth Baseball Association Little League of Philadelphia to an 8-0 victory over a squad from Delaware. More.

Legalize marijuana. Gay marriage. And now this?

Well Maybe That Border Crisis Is Still A Crisis

Irony: Anson residents protest illegal immigration around statue of Texas President Jones /pic by @BrianBethel_ARN pic.twitter.com/t5GDJm9RSd
— Bud Kennedy (@BudKennedy) August 11, 2014

Edit:

At a protest in Massachusetts that was crashed yesterday. h/t @curlyseamonster who was there pic.twitter.com/FXyGjl7uA2
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@RealAdrianC) August 11, 2014

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• James Brady's death has been ruled a "homicide". Not to start a rant about the arrogance of medical examiners but, in their defense,  there is a crazy "but for" rule in criminal law. That is, "but for" the bullet, Brady would still be alive. 
• I rewatched American Hustle this weekend. Man, I may have underrated it. It has moments of brilliance. 
• Kudos to whomever mentioned the current HBO Nixon documentary to me. It is fantastic. And the parallels between Iraq and Vietnam are shocking. 
• And if you love that sort of stuff, watch the first three minutes of this video which shows him before he addresses the nation and resigns. I find it riveting. 
• I'm pleased and and comforted that we haven't invaded a different country over the last six years. 
• The Waggoner Ranch, with ties to Decatur, is for sell for almost three-quarters of a billion dollars.
• What if Charles Whitman would have had drones deliver him food, water and ammunition? (Assuming he had been smart enough to lock the door.)
• I didn't know there was a major league pitcher from Bowie. 
• There was a "legal analyst" on ESPN yesterday talking about the Tony Stewart incident. He said, "the issue will be whether he intended to commit murder or manslaughter." Intent to commit manslaughter? By definition, manslaughter means a reckless killing? I sighed heavily. 
• Football superstar Devonte Fields was kicked off of the TCU team, and he decided to transfer to Stephen F. Austin. But now a "committee" from the school has ruled that he can't play immediately and has to wait a year. How sorry is that? Let the kid get on with his life. And I have a sneaking suspicion that Gary Patterson is behind it. 
• I got called out by the Texas Tribune on Friday for posting one of their photos without credit. I apologized and fixed it. 
• Last night: Six dead in police chase near Houston. 
• I listened to the It's Just Banter podcast this weekend (Ticket related) and they played some of the youtube videos of the guy behind the Jerry Jones hot-girl-pictures. That guy is mentally ill, and he needs help. Despite millions of people in the metroplex, we will just ignore him instead. 
• Wise County had 12 people hurt in two accidents over the weekend? (And I'll admit I had never heard of "Fossil Pointe" before.)
• That first Wendy Davis ad is fantastic. I'm guessing it might not set forth the legal issues involved, but it serves the point of landing a right hook.  She won't win, but at least she's fighting. 

Did Tony Stewart Murder A Guy?

I don't know why I'm awake at the crack of dawn of Sunday morning, but I turned on ESPN to hear the very odd story of Tony Stewart running over a guy during a dirt track race. "No arrest has been made." Wait. What? Arrest? He ran over a guy during a dirt track race? Wouldn't that be an accident?

Maybe not.

I doubt he'll be charged. If charged, he won't be convicted. Not that he didn't intend to kill the guy. There's just no way to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.