10.03.2014

Above The Fold

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Kim Kardashian Forgets Kid



Loved her looking into the vehicle and thinking, "Oh, sheesh. Forgot the baby. Be cool. Be cool. You gonna turn around and walk right back in there and get him."
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I Think This Is What Is Called "Mixed Messages"



Doctors: "Hey, you morons, we are experts. You cannot contact Ebola without the exchange of bodily fluids. So nothing to worry about here."

And now let's cut to the Ebola patient's apartment:


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GIF Fun



The ball boy with the pink hair glaring at Oregon's QB for fumbling last night makes me smile.
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The TDCAA Article In The "The Prosecutor" Referenced This Morning



Beginning of second page enlarged:

Here's the The Texas Prosecutor I mentioned this morning wherein a prosecutor refers to a defendant as, uh, crazy. (I said this morning that this article was not placed online, but it is there now. I'm not sure if I missed it, or it has been subsequently added to the end of the list despite being the lead article.)

But I'm stunned they didn't take heat for this. For a government employee to call a citizen crazy and incompetent in print is, well, crazy. Everyone I've talked to has the same opinion: How did that get past the editors?

Not to mention that TDCAA thinks that an article written by a prosecutor from a traffic court is worthy enough to get the front page in the first place!!!! "We tried this Class C window-tint case with all the seriousness of a first-degree felony," she wrote. [Insert me screaming.]

And as to my continued assertion that there are too many prosecutors, how much taxpayer money was used to prosecute this traffic ticket? Let's go to the author: "At the end of the day, was it worth it? Six weeks of my life for a $200 fine?"  That county has enough prosecutors that they can dedicate one for six weeks for the prosecution of a traffic ticket. That's just bat s&%$ crazy.
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Random Friday Morning Thoughts



  • Ben Affleck's Gone Girl opens this weekend. Christina Morris, a girl who went missing from the Shops at Legacy in Frisco a month ago, is still gone. 
  • Breaking: U.S. Employment rate falls to 5.9% -- lowest since July 2008. And the Stock Market is on a "six year bull run" according to the Dallas Morning News.  2008? 2008? What changed in 2008? 
  • I got hit with a full page pop ad this morning on the Star-Telegram's site advertising tickets for TCU/OU tomorrow. That's not a sellout already? Has to be. 
  • Anyone else see the irony of government employee Rick Perry showing up to assure us that government is doing all it can in this Ebola health care "crisis"? (He's known to often say that government shouldn't be in the health care business.) 
  • Who is paying for the Ebola Guy's health care? 
  • The name of "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Decatur" which is in the Update, made me think of Dan Aykroyd in The Blues Brothers when, before hitting the gas on the blues mobile, said, "Our Lady Of Blessed Acceleration, don't fail me now." 
  • I wouldn't mind being arrested for criminal trespass by Denton PD if I had a head of hair like this guy. 
  • Whatever happened to Katherine Harris? (She's the former AG of Florida who was instrumental in manipulating the Bush/Gore election).  It sounds like after a brief political career at the federal level, her wheels fell off. 
  • The funeral of J.D. Clark's dad began with a ZZ Top song. Heck, that's fine. The service wasn't in a church (it was at the Chico football field) and it meant a lot to the family. (And I'm on record as saying I want my ashes shot out of a cannon from the courthouse bell tower  so who am I to judge?)
  • The official journal of TDCAA (that's Texas prosecutors) had a silly article on the prosecution of a "sovereign citizen" for a traffic ticket as it's front feature last month.  Shockingly, the author/prosecutor wrote that the defendant who demanded due process was "bat shit crazy." (I'm not making that up. That's a direct quote. In print.) TDCAA normally posts all the articles of the publication online but that one is mysteriously missing when all the articles went up. No doubt, it's been scrubbed. I'll provide proof of all of this later. 
  • Mississippi is excited about tomorrow with the Aggies going to Mississippi State, and Alabama (and College Game Day) going to Ole Miss. All teams are unbeaten. Unfortunately, my college football joy was crushed when I pulled up the Mississippi paper below and saw that the Feds are still taking people's money on the assumption they are drug runners. (The Feds say the guy admitted it. Riiiiight.)


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10.02.2014

This Dog Killing Is Different


One of my many sources is hearing that the guy came home, found his cat mauled, and then went all Dirty Harry and took off to go track down the perpetrator of said cat mauling. (Not confirmed. But, if true, you heard it here first.)

Story.

Edit: Once again, I'm the most trusted man in reporting rumors that turn out to be true.


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Firing It Up


How it looked at 2:19 p.m.:


And Pete tried to scare us:


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Assuming He Lives, We'll Give Him The Good News When He Comes To




Heck, maybe be Liberia has too many cops and too many prosecutors, too.
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Baylor Is Doomed!!!: Matthew McConaughey Spoke To The Longhorns!!!!


Video.

Baylor asked Leonardo DiCaprio for a reaction:


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Index 1968: Car Carnage


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Index 1958: Article On Machine Gun Kelly


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Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  • Dallas DA Craig Watkins used forfeiture funds to hire a company to sweep his office for electronic bugs (listening devices.)  I love how former Channel 8 reported Debbie Denmon is his spokesman and has to cover for the guy.  I bet she fires off a "screw this", drops the mic, and walks away one of these days. 
  • Anybody who beheads people because of their point of view is “dangerous.” – George W. Bush on Fox and Friends this morning. I don't even have to comment. 
  • Hey, Obama-Is-A-Thug-Clown guy: As someone who is obviously politically savvy,  I would love to know who your top three choices are for the next Republican nominee. (Oh, and here is a free comedy tip: Just saying something over and over does not make it funny or clever.) 
  • Hey, if you want me to believe that we have the Ebola situation under control, don't have Rick Perry be the messenger. 
  • Cowboys VP Stephen Jones on Tuesday: “I think our head coach as well as our organization has been very clear with our players on domestic violence and on several other issues that if you are involved and have this type of issue you are going to be accountable.” This morning: We learn that Cowboys defensive back C.J. Spillman has been playing despite being under a sexual assault investigation for an alleged incident at the Gaylord Texan since September 20th. 
  • NFL Evilness Reminder: "As the National Football League celebrates breast cancer awareness during October by featuring players, coaches and referees in pink game apparel, a report by Business Insider reveals that only 8.01 percent of money spent on pink NFL merchandise is actually going towards cancer research." (And then we have to recklessly trust those organizations to spend that 8.01% wisely. I'd keep your money.)
  • "FIRE DEPARTMENT RAFFLE – Runaway Bay volunteer firefighters are selling raffle tickets for a gun."  Something about the firearm only being described and identified as "a gun" strikes me as funny. 
  • I didn't understand all the ruckus about the Emirates Airline's Airbus 380 landing at DFW Airport until I saw this photo of it next to a standard American Airlines jet. Holy, cow. 
  • A Houston "Emmy winning" reporter tweeted yesterday: "Curious -  anyone planning to go to Dallas for the #Texans #Cowboys game this wknd? Changing your plans because of Ebola?"
  • I was shocked by the cover of Newsday below but, when I googled the story, I found an ESPN article which called it the "third death in recent days" of a high school football player. Good lord. 


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10.01.2014

The Craziest "And Another" Ever - Louisiana


Uh, those are two different teachers. At the same school. Oh, my.
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CNN Anchor Says "Any Way You Slice It" Three Times In Eight Seconds While Discussing Beheading



That's just weird.
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We Can All Relax: Gov. Perry Has Arrived In Dallas To Fight Ebola!



And I love it when even the Texas District and County Attorney Association jokes about how politics will be shoved into any situation if at all possible . . .


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"All Politics Is Local" - Tip O'Neill



Hatfields vs. McCoys.  Montagues vs.Capulets. Spartans vs. Persians.

The heck with all that. We got us Wise County Democrats vs. Wise County Republicans.

The Wise County Democrats are calling foul over the recent appointment of Jim Parker as Elections Administrator.  It seems at the time of the appointment Parker was the Vice Chair for the local Republican Party. The lawsuit (below) sites a statute which says you can't do that. On its face, it sounds like a legitimate complaint.

Now could the appointing committee agree they were wrong, convene again, and appoint Parker since he has now resigned his post? Is that legally something that could be done? Is that something that politically the Republicans would want to do?

We need more fighting like this. It's no fun being in a one political party county.

The petition.
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The Ambulance That Carried The Dallas Ebola Patient Has Been Quarantined


Right out of a movie. No one was safe from "Ambulance 37", the scariest vehicle since . . .


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Jump = Funny. Play By Play Kid = Funnier.

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Poster Child For Current Status Of U.S. Criminal Justice System/War On Drugs


NYDN – A Georgia woman was mistakenly jailed for one month after cops confused her SpaghettiOs for meth. Ashley Gabrielle Huff was first detained on July 2 after officers in Gainesville found a spoon with a dried substance baked onto it inside her car during a routine traffic stop. The 23-year-old, from Commerce, claimed it was residue from the canned pasta that she liked to eat in the vehicle. Police, however, believed it to be methamphetamine. Huff, who had no criminal history, was sent to Hall County Jail for two days so cops could conduct crime lab tests on the mysterious texture. While she was waiting for the results to come back, Huff was also ordered as part of her court arraignment to seek drug counseling. When she wasn’t able to make all of the appointments, however, she was again arrested. Unable to make the bond payment, she was put in jail from Aug. 2 until Sept. 18, reports the Gainesville Times. She was finally released Thursday after tests on the substance proved it wasn’t meth — and showed that it was in fact, as she’d claimed all along, spaghetti sauce.

 Too many cops. Too many prosecutors. Gotta find people to arrest and jail even if it means guessing.
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Random Paradise Shooting - 1958


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Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • Color me confused: Let's go wall-to-wall Ebola news coverage in order to tell us we have nothing to worry about?
  • WBAP a tweeted this morning that there was breaking news of a "possible second case of" of Ebola in Dallas. Two things to tap the brakes about: (1) They said "possible." (2) "They" are "WBAP". 
  • I can't help but think of the old movie Outbreak during all of this. Patrick Dempsey transported a deadly disease by taking a plane trip. Later, when he infects someone else at a hospital, the camera pans up from the new victim's bed to an a/c vent and follows it back into Dempsey's room. Doctor Dustin Hoffman then yells, "It's airborne!"   During the press conference yesterday, one of the doctors in Dallas specifically said, "It is not an airborne disease." 
  • I predicted the Black Widow would be convicted and crushed. She received 60 years yesterday. And that wasn't much of a defense they put up. Not even a witness called in the punishment phase. I don't understand that. 
  • Sad Denton Book In photo.
  • The American Bar Association is now onto the silly tweeting Justice Willett asking if it is "unseemly."  Yes, it is.
  • It's October which means its the beginning of the beat down of seeing pink everywhere. 
  • The Rangers interviewed pitching coach Mike Maddux yesterday for the manager position. Interviewed? He's been there six years and you need to interview him? That would be like me interviewing someone who works in the Wise County Courthouse. Heck, I know what I would be getting. 
  • Which reminds me that UT wanted to interview Art Briles for the open coaching position last fall but Briles balked. Basically, he told them to offer him the job and then he'd give them an answer. The Empire, being the Empire, refused. Later Briles would say, "There were some conversations [with Texas], but nothing to the extent that ever got me feeling like I cheated on my wife." Love that guy. 
  • An Arkansas gun range owner has declared it a Muslim Free Zone.  Let me express this hot political opinion . . . wow . . . the owner is a "Hey, Now." (But, legally, that gun range better be a "private club" or she's in big trouble.)
  • I watch Comedy Central for news (Jon Stewart) and Fox News for comedy (Hannity). 
  • While jogging the other day, I smelled the unmistakable odor of weed. I looked around but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Unless it was the car with the very tinted windows parked in front of a house. 



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9.30.2014

Above The Fold

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Welp, It's Been Nice Knowing All Of Ya




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Tuesday Afternoon Pick Me Up


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Paradise Couple Goes All Bonnie and Clyde In Arkansas

Google news links.

The guy was arrested in Wise County on theft charges earlier this year.

Edit: Wow, is this the same guy???? From when I wrote "The Spin" in 2001:


Edit: There was a robbery in Norman, OK earlier this year. After a news story, someone pointed the finger at this guy in the comments.

Edit: Oklahoma Record:


Edit: Wise County Record:


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I Thought That Rang A Bell

This week in Texas:



From 2002 in Tarrant County:


It is almost unfathomable that a jury can make this mistake. The same form is used in every case. Throw in the fact that the defense lawyer will always ask for "probation" and the prosecutor will ask for pen time, there shouldn't be any confusion.
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Random Wise County History Lesson

The Waggoner Mansion.
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The NFL Is Gonna X-Out Muslim Prayers?

Link.
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Index - 1958


We've talked about that plane crash on here before. Here's a link to the AP story about it. 

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Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts


  • The New York Times is on to the tweeting Texas Supreme Court Justice Willett, but the article was neither critical or positive. I'm not sure why no one calls him out on the fact that most of his "comedy" tweets occur Monday through Friday during the day when he's supposed to be earning $150,000 a year of your money. 
  • Update on that non-injury helicopter crash at the Decatur airport in June: "The contract flight instructor who had initially been scheduled to fly became unavailable and an FAA flight instructor was scheduled. The accident flight was the student’s first flight with the FAA instructor and the instructor’s second flight of the day . . . ."
  • Caught the end of The Usual Suspects last night. I've always understood the payoff, but I'm not sure I understand anything else. 
  • I learned that this summer a lifetime Bridgeport resident had a serious health scare while vacationing in Europe. Stuck in a hospital where no one spoke English, his doctor/son bolted into action and was there within 24 hours. This is the kind of story that the Index or Messenger should focus upon. 
  • I went back to listen to a podcast of the Mark Davis Show from last week in order here his rant in favor of book suspension at Highland Park. (Once found, it was like being in a time warp back to the 1940s). But I also got to hear a caller talk about "that Muslim" who killed his co-worker in Oklahoma and said, "It looks like it is time for some Redneck Justice."  I love Davis' voice at times like that when he realizes who his audience has become. 
  • If I ever see a Facebook/Twitter post that ends with "and you'll never believe what happens next" followed by a link, I ain't clicking on it. 
  • From the Update regarding the train/truck wreck yesterday: "Because the wreck happened on private property, Texas Department of Public Safety officers on the scene said the railroad company would conduct the investigation."  Say what? If someone ends up dead in a residence can someone just answer the door and say, "Uh, it was just an accident on private property. See you later." 
  • The prosecutor in the Black Widow* trial yesterday made reference to "Daddy Warbucks" in his closing argument. Am I too cynical in believing that no one on the jury understood that reference? (*And isn't it patently unfair to refer to her as the "Black Widow" before the verdict?)
  • I was called "evil" yesterday for not liking Ted Cruz. Up until that point, I didn't know that opposing Cruz was the moral equivalent of opposing Jesus. Ironically, Cruz once said, "I do think in the media there is a tendency to describe conservatives as one of two things: stupid or evil."
  • And someone pointed out that I was wrong saying that the "Come and Take It" motto belonged to the Tea Party when it actually belongs to the Gun Rights folks. Duly noted. Then again, if I had to draw a Venn Diagram of the two groups, I would only have to draw one circle. 
  • Baylor is a 16 point favorite over UT in Austin this Saturday. The Ticket was speculating that might be the largest home underdog margin ever for the Evil Empire. I want to doubt that, but I can't think of a game to call that assertion into question. 
  • I stumbled upon a National Geographic show on cats over the weekend and got sucked in. Those little suckers are nothing other than domesticated tigers. (The Family Cat will mess with dogs just for fun more than the dogs mess with her.) 
  • My ISP address at work comes back to Killeen. Any of you tech guys have an explanation? 
  • If a local public official isn't on the job when they are paid to be on the job, is that theft? We know that public officials in this county have been indicted over $250 of allegedly taking property, so is there a difference?
  • I gave up using cash whenever possible about six years ago and went straight debit/credit card. The news yesterday was the average ATM fee was $4.35? You kidding me? Is that right? 


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9.29.2014

Index - 1973


The more things change . . .

It looks like the Sheriff wasn't pleased with the constable acting like Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

I think there were some political ramifications over this. I'll try to find it.
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The link will be worthless but something has happened

DFW Scanner (@DFWscanner)
Major Accident (Wise Co, Paradise) Paradise FD, Wise Co EMS has requested 2 helicopters, Air Evac 68 and CareFlite … therenow.co/events/1147

Download the official Twitter app here


Barry
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Please, please be true!!!

Aman Batheja (@amanbatheja)
Top of Drudge Report right now: "CRUZ IN" Links to @dcexaminer story but their site has crashed. pic.twitter.com/MLhjDhvUgq


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Jerry Jones Channels Mr. Burns of "The Simpsons"



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Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • That goofy Texas Supreme Court judge who I always dog, Don Willett,  tweeted on Friday that he would be working all weekend "#BecauseServant". Sheesh. He then proceeded to do silly tweets all weekend and revealed he watched the Baylor game, attended a wedding, and went dove hunting on Sunday morning. (A quick Westlaw search only revealed six opinions this year that began, "Justice Willett delivered the opinion of the court".)
  • I saw Konni Burton speak on Inside Texas Politics. (She's running for Wendy Davis' old state Senate seat.) What a strange and simplistic woman.
  • Couldn't the headline for the Oklahoma guy who killed his co-worker be: "Man With Jesus Tattoo on Chest Beheads Co-worker"?
  • The original Yahoo! Directory, which debuted in the 1990s, is now officially dead. The concept was simple: Index every website by placing it in a category then sub-category then sub-category etc. I bet it took them two years to decide that it was completely unmanageable.  
  • I've love going back and reading the "Shootin' Blind" columns from old Index papers. Last week, the Index published a picture of the author, Harlan Bridwell, celebrating his birthday at Dos Chiles. I think it said he was 97. 
  • Regarding that Greg Abbott traffic commercial: I'm guessing they staged and filmed that at dawn on a Sunday morning. That can't possibly be real traffic because everyone would be acting a fool in the background for the camera. And I say Sunday morning because they wouldn't have shut down a street at a meaningful time. 
  • The Rhome City Council, Mayor, and Police Chief are at odds again per the Update. If Wise County towns comprised a family, Rhome would be the drunk uncle. 
  • Sports: (1) I'm completely confused by the Cowboys. I understand how they can score points. It defies logic, however, that they can stop anyone. And I'm still not convinced. (2) OU vs. TCU. Baylor vs. Texas. Both are next weekend but, dang it, both begin at 2:30 p.m. Then the next week it flips: OU vs. Texas. TCU vs. Baylor. Man, I fear TCU. (3) Michigan coach Brady Hoke needs to be fired for almost killing his quarterback. I actually saw it live on TV and was appalled. And the student newspaper wants him fired for it. He was punished for indifference to player safety ten years ago. (4). How in the world was Cowboys Stadium designed in a way to allow the sun to blind the players? It was never more apparent than in the late afternoon game of Aggie/Arky. (5) I've got one of my great Football Trips planned for October. Details later. (6) Mrs. LL on Al Michaels last night: "Did he just say baaawwwllll?" (6) After losing to Texas, Kansas fired Charlie Weiss.  Notre Dame owed him $19 million after they fired him and now Kansas owes him the remainder of $2.5 million for this year. (7) I find it amazing that the NFL has packed stadiums when you can watch it at home. Why do people go through the expense and beating? 
  • Mark Davis defends the (now repealed) Highland Park ISD book suspension. Never has a man sounded so out of touch.
  • Mark Davis this morning on Chelsea Clinton giving birth this weekend with her Jewish husband: "On Chelsea and Marc's to-do list: determine who converts.  Charlotte [the baby] will one day ask if Jesus is the Son of God.  A debate should not ensue." 
  • The Black Widow didn't testify. She'll be found guilty and get absolutely crushed with punishment, right? 
  • Email I received: "Dude  . . .   I just finished watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO and there is a segment that will make your day.  They rip apart Ayn Rand and included in the bit is a ripping of Mark Cuban."
  • Roger Goodell visited the National Domestic Violence Hotline center for the cameras. Incredible. Now if ten years from now he were to write a book and reveal that he had done it secretly because he wanted to get a better understanding of the issue, I would have the utmost respect for him. But to do it as a publicity stunt provides more evidence that he thinks the public is stupid. 
  • Too many TV shows exist: Some show called Highway Cowboys on HGTV filmed at Runaway Bay recently. 
  • The BagOfNothing guy today wrote about going to his high school reunion.  He actually went there with an open heart which isn't the norm for high school reunions. 
  • CNN had a round table discussion on Sunday Morning over the topic: "Is Barack Obama morphing into George W. Bush?" 


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9.28.2014

Cowboys On Sunday Night Football



I'm pretty sure he cares a little more than I do.
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Body Slam Of The Day By Ohio State Assistant Coach





The crowd cheers, but I bet the administration was none too pleased. He might want to leave that to the security folks next time.


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