The Return of "Above The Fold"

It's The Weekend - Let's Get Out Of Here

And let's all try not to fight this weekend. 

when an egg avatar account tries to shade you but you not havin it today https://t.co/9RO9lPxBfq

— Mike Taddow (@taddmike) January 8, 2016

Greg Abbott Is Actually Radio Talk Show Host Mark "Screaming" Levin?

Abbott today:

Wait a second! Where have I heard of proposing amendments and using a constitutional convention by the states to do so? That's the same thing that Levin spends all his time on promoting his book on his radio show:

I May Stare At That Picture And Read Those Two Sentences All Weekend

ArsTechnica – A federal judge on Wednesday said that a monkey that swiped a British nature photographer’s camera during an Indonesian jungle shoot and snapped selfies cannot own the intellectual property rights to those handful of pictures. US District Judge William Orrick was tasked with hearing a lawsuit brought by the People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Big Government 3.0

Edit: Briefly Twitter had a video of a line of people coming up to huge Dallas DA after the announcement. It was quickly taken down. I'm not sure why. I've replaced it with the above photo.

Dallas DA Susan Hawk will not be suspended after a hearing this morning.

But look at the number of employees there to watch who are supposed to be working. Those are lawyers who are being paid a fortune. And I can't get over this sentence from a story this morning: "Ellis County and District Attorney Patrick Wilson, who was appointed to pursue the case on behalf of the state, filed affidavits from two top lawyers who used to work for Hawk but were fired under controversial circumstances." Wait a second. The taxpayers are paying for another government lawyer to try and remove another government lawyer? And is he getting paid extra above his normal salary or is he just getting paid by Ellis County taxpayers who are paying him to work for them?

Not to mention the judge, court reporter, court clerk, bailiffs, court space, court electricity, etc. which the taxpayer is paying for.

What a machine. There needs to be a Rage Against The Machine because The Machine has gone insane.

Edit: Oh, and we just had this happen on Government vs. Government taxpayer waste at the hands of lawyers.

Big Government 2.0

Maverick County Wardens seize chorizo sold w white tailed deer meat. Cases & restitution pending; meat donated pic.twitter.com/SOmsqoBT0d

— Texas Game Warden (@TexasGameWarden) January 8, 2016

And that may be one of the funniest law enforcement photos of all time.

Side note: Someone want to speculate about this "crime"? I thought it might be that they thought the deer was killed a few days after deer season ended but Maverick County is in the South Zone.

Edit: You can't sell deer meat? Can you give it away?

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Weirdest note of the year has already occurred: The Affluenza mom flew commercial back to the Tarrant County yesterday and Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen were on same flight.
• Mrs. LL to me this morning: "I had a dream I was unfaithful." Me: "You sure it was just a dream?" Her: "Shut up. It was with [The Ticket's] Junior Miller. Then he started stalking me and opened up a restaurant next door to us so he could taunt you at dinner time as he prepared delicious meals." I had a question mark form over my head at that point.
• Speaking of, Junior had a great question this morning: Whatever happened to Hoop It Up, the three on three basketball tournament? I went and watched it once in the West End and it was wildly popular.
• A Bridgeport man who just happened to be Hispanic was found not guilty of Indecency With a Child yesterday in Wise County.  I heard opening statements and commented to someone afterwards that I hope there was more to the case than what I heard. Despite being exonerated, that man will always be associated with the charge. What's the famous saying?: "Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?" 
• I plan to watch all of Making of a Murderer this weekend.
• I walked by the IRS Building in Washington a couple of weeks ago and yelled, "Boo!" Yesterday they the headline was: "IRS Nixes Controversial Plan To Collect Social Security Numbers Of Charity Donors." Coincidence?
• Very clever tweet from an unnamed local reporter this morning: "Police scanner: Minor accident on TX 114 north of [Paradise]. Two occupants, uninjured but dazed and confused. (Alright, alright, alright.)"
• The President took a lot of tough question at his CNN "Town Hall" meeting last night regarding guns. Why didn't the NRA show up? They could have thrown at least one hay-maker.
• That was a fantastic sunrise this morning. 
• Also this morning: "The U.S. economy added 292,000 jobs in December while unemployment held steady at 5 percent."
• A guy got shot outside a Dallas strip club at 5:15 this morning. (Always a bad sign if you are in a strip club at 5:15 at any time.)  Fox 4 referred to the club as "a popular Dallas nightclub."

What Would You Do If You Won The Powerball Lottery?

Bandidos Indictment Referencing Wise County

Thanks to a faithful reader for finding this.

Hey, let me be clear. I'm not saying anyone is guilty. We all know that an indictment means nothing -- especially these days. And, throw in the federal government, and it might be even be more worthless. And throw in the moronic prosecutions in Waco, and who knows what is legitimate these days.

But if you want some crazy reading material, start at page nine whether any of it is true or not. But I kept waiting to see some big murder or bloodbath and it never happened. It's just two groups giving each other hell. And it never even mentions Twin Peaks in Waco.

Get Me This Owl!

Snowy owl spotted soaring on Montreal traffic camera: https://t.co/lzUqvdJdBL pic.twitter.com/lCHPud5rCQ

— CBC Montreal (@CBCMontreal) January 7, 2016

Car Owner Not Happy With Flooding

CBS News 8 - San Diego, CA News Station - KFMB Channel 8

This whole clip is about five seconds around the 25 second mark.  That's just a funny way to put a flooding news video together.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I can't find the story, but there is a Channel 8 tweet about a federal indictment about a member of the Bandidos and there's a reference to a rival gang's "hangout" in Wise County in the photo. 
• The Texas DPS trooper who arrested Sandra Bland has been charged with perjury.
• Trump going after Cruz's right to be President based upon being born in Canada is funny. Cruz showed some comedy as well by tweeting a picture of Fonzie and saying Trump had "jumped the shark."
• I got a part of All In The Family last night on one of the channels. That show was so shocking.
• I had an interview with a Jacksboro reporter yesterday who asked me a great question which gave me pause: "If your heart is in Wise County, why is your house in north Fort Worth?"  I paused.  I thought about coming up with some BS but decided to have some Trump-like honesty. I told her I'm a loner. I'm not a people person. After my work day in Wise County is done I simply want to get lost. Go home. Eat dinner. Watch a little TV. Spend time with the family. Go to bed. And then get up and head back to Wise County before most people wake up. But, Cherry, that was a heck of a question. 
• And to the three people which are so concerned about "residency", Mrs. LL came up with a genius idea last night. We become Bridgeport Lake rats. Summer is coming. The lake is full. And we have kids who would love to do it. And it is all set up. And maybe we never leave. 
• NFL coaches are being fired left and right. Tom Landry's record in his first six seasons: 0-11-1, 4-9-1, 5-8-1, 4-10, 5-8-1 and 7-7.
• To the one Dennis Prager fan out there: He is now doing commercials for a firm which sells gold. That makes him either a fraud or a sellout or a snake oil salesman.
• The judge in the AG Paxton prosecution has ordered Collin County to pay the multiple "special prosecutors" $300 an hour. I like that judge, and I'm stunned he did that. The county had tried to limit their fees. That amount is robbery in this day and time. I'm not sure a court appointed lawyer for an indigent defendant in Wise County gets $300 for representation from beginning to end.
• Channel 8 immediately reported the Power Ball numbers last night. The bad part was that they showed the wrong numbers. They corrected it in about 10 minutes. 
• The City of Dallas is having a debate about marijuana and none of them seem to know what the issue it. Texas law allows for an officer to write a citation for possession of marijuana under 2 ounces instead of arresting the person and making them sit in jail or bond out. Either way, the case still goes to the same county court and remains a Class B misdemeanor. In listening to some of the politicians and reporters yesterday, you would think that the decision to write a citation made the "crime" a lesser offense. 

Dateline: Kentucky Court (So Much Going On Here)

WDRB 41 Louisville News

• The racial slur.
• The defense lawyer getting slumped shoulders and just wanting to get the heck out of there.
• The judge in a beaten down voice saying, "And the New Year starts."
• The defendant trying to explain he directed it to his brother.

Big Government?

Link.

Suspicious? Yes. Crime? No. Nevertheless, the government not only arrests them but plans to take the money.

Houston Chronicle Random Headline

Trump Agrees With Me! I May Have To Be His Running Mate. Trump/Green 2016.

And both have five letters. That's aesthetically pleasing.

All I'd have to do is just go around saying, "Sometimes he talks a little crazy, but I'll keep him from going over the ledge."

Trump says Obama's tears during Tuesday's gun control announcement were sincere. https://t.co/ic23blar4X

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 6, 2016

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Someone told me yesterday to watch Netflix's Making of a Murderer because it would make my head explode. I watched the first episode last night. Uh, my head almost exploded. It's a documentary about a guy falsely imprisoned because of cops/prosecutors who were either incompetent, lazy, arrogant or crooked. Or maybe all of those. (And it happened in a county only slightly larger than Wise County.)
• One part made me stop down was when the documentary pointed out that "three" of the ladies in the DA's office told the DA, "We think you've got the wrong guy." 
• By the way, is Netflix streaming not the best deal in the country? $7.99 to $11.99 a month. 
• NFL: Seattle will play Minnesota this weekend and it will be outdoors. Temperatures around zero.
• The weirdest halftime show visual from any Mavs game in the history of ever is here.
• I understand people having trouble with the President's gun proposals (or the method of imposing them) but to say his tears and emotions yesterday were fake seems to come from some deep seeded hatred.
• Radio guy Mark Davis, who said the tears were fake, mocked the President this morning saying the press conference was the equivalent of standing in front of a GM plant and saying, "These cars kill people!" You know, it kind of is. Guns, like cars, need to only be in the hands of responsible people who know how to handle them. And even cars are registered.
• Oil has dropped to $35 a barrel this morning -- the lowest price in 11 years.  I'm not sure we've seen the big Texas economic hit happen yet. And housing may be in for a shock. 
• Allen High School's head football coach has been beyond successful. "He won four state titles in 12 seasons, going 147-17, including a 57-game winning streak."  Yesterday, after 29 years with Allen, it was announced that he was resigning to go take over at Barbers Hill. My first thought was, "Where is Barbers Hill?" It's by Houston. And then I learned of a Wise County connection. The only reason Barbers Hill is looking for a new coach is because Decatur's Ronnie Gage was stepping down. 
• A marine might have killed that UNT student?
• Heard in The House last night, "It's the premier of Dance Moms!!!!!!" I headed upstairs. 
• Talk about trolling . . .

Trump: You Might Be In Trouble

The greatest stats genius ever, Nate Silver, who correctly predicted the results in all 50 states in the last presidential election says Trump cannot win.

We Have A Photo of Johnny Football With a Wig and Fake Mustache in Vegas

Vegas Wig story is 100% true Drunk @ practice true Sad to say confirmed 100% #BillyManziel #BillyFootball pic.twitter.com/cZpyn9yCfN

— Believeland Insider (@Believeland24x7) January 5, 2016

So full throttle.

And I'd be a little nervous if I were him about that little vixen on the right.

Edit: I was duped on that being a photo from last weekend. It is him, but it's old. (But still fear the vixen.)

WhereWhitePeopleMeet.com -- It's Real

And its owner lives in . . .  Dallas.

Story. 

But at least we have the answer to this decades old question  . . . 

Ted Cruz's New Ad On Immigration

Love his slogan: "Trust Ted". I could only think of . . .

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of one of the greatest National Championship games in history: Texas vs. USC. Who would have ever dreamed that so much would change?
• Everyone is telling me to watch Making a Murder on Netflix because it will make me insane. (But the petition to have President Obama pardon the guy has a problem: It was a state crime and a state conviction.)
• Johnny Manziel may be one of the most Wheels Off individuals in NFL history. He was in Vegas on Saturday and Deadspin reports: "Our sources tell us Manziel was at a popular night club on the strip Saturday night. The QB entered wearing a blonde wig, a fake mustache, glasses, and a hoodie. Manziel introduced himself as 'Billy.'"  Maybe he suffers from Affluenza?
• I'm stunned how someone would actually threaten me. Especially when they have so much to lose.
• One of the most mundane things I do as a lawyer is a driver's license hearings. They are important but boring. But with a ton on new lawyers on the scene, the drama of "cross examining" a witness at one of these hearings seems like the most important moment of their lives. Buddy, you are in front of an administrative law judge who doesn't care about your dramatic tone of voice.
• We now have a 21 pound cat in the house, and I'm guessing he will never leave. I can almost hear Hotel California playing when I walk in. 
• I watched Donald Trump give a speech in Massachusetts last night. The guy is a political genius. And I'm learning what he is doing. Be a rebel. Be unconventional. Say things no one else would say. Go all out with no limits.
• I'm hearing great things about that new Quentin Tarantino movie. 
• There was a police chase last night in Dallas which involved drugs. "The 2 lbs of meth seized by DPS agents in NW Dallas has a street value of $100,000. 5 suspects in custody, 1 is still on the loose." Two pounds is 32 ounces which is 896 grams. So the police value the meth at $111.60 a gram?
• Even though TCU's win in the Alamo Bowl was great, it was horribly called by play by play man Brian Estridge when he yelled, "Remember the Alamo!" as the game ended. 
• Fox 4's Clarice Tinsley (she's the gal who reads those goofy Facebook responses on air) just posted a picture of her standing by a gold bar dispensing machine in a 5 star hotel in Dubai.
• I'll say it again: Mrs. LL with a drone running the controls is comedy of biblical proportions.

Hover Board For Everyone!

While Texas Goes "Open Carry", Let's Check In On The Northeast

Story.

Who was this? Marcellus Wallace and his buddies?

Random Images

Ted Cruz's bus in Iowa . . .

Fox News show host . . .

Infamous Williamson County in Texas thought this was a good idea . . .

The Service These Days!

I would think this is just an urban legend/fake but a Fox affiliate in Indy is running with it. 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• "According to Alfredo Corchado, a reporter at the Dallas Morning News' Mexico bureau, Ethan Couch [the affluenza kid] stayed in his room for much of his time in Puerto Vallarta. On one night when he did go out, he availed himself of a local strip club, before being escorted back to his hotel by a waiter and manager from the club. He didn't have enough cash to pay his bar tab, so [his mother] had to pay it for him."  (Source: Dallas Observer)
• I still can't get over that TCU game.
• Cue the orchestra music. This is what Mrs. LL and I saw last week in a span of 24 hours: The Washington Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery (which includes the JFK Immortal Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), Ford's Theater, the IRS building (Boo!). The Capitol. The Supreme Court. We drove by on a tour bus by the Jefferson Memorial and the WW II Memorial. We were running out of time.
• Mrs. LL and I began a bit of taking silly political pictures. Here is an example. 
• I spent a lot of time in huge crowds over the holidays. That is the same thing as saying I was surrounded by down jackets and yoga pants. 
• The size of the Washington buildings are unbelievable. The Department of Education building would cover all of downtown Decatur -- from the site of the old Wells Fargo location on the west to the post office on the east. And I may be underestimating it. (It is also 6 stories. And the department has a budget of $77.4 billion. And what exactly what do they do at the federal level?)
• And then we moved via Amtrak. That was fun. Look out the window and see the country.
• We stayed with friends in New Jersey and they picked us up in Trenton. "Trenton?" he said to me. "Could you pick a spot more in the hood than this? Are you crazy? I was scared to get out of the car." I had no idea. I told him I had read 1776 and I thought it would be cool.
• From there we moved to Manhattan after two days.
• The 9/11 Memorial, Central Park, The Dakota building where John Lennon was killed and then on to his "Imagine" memorial about a block away. Times Square.
• There is nothing more comical than watching us try to navigate a subway system. We did fine in DC but not so much in NYC.  Apparently there is "local" and "express".  We found that out when Mrs. LL looked up and discovered we had shot by Central Park and were in Harlem.
• You fall asleep on a plane, you're fine. You fall asleep on the subway, you're screwed.
• But subways, once you figure them out, are fantastic. How the "great State of Texas" has not figured that out is beyond unbelievable. 
• Mrs. LL made me feel like an old man when she scolded me with, "You do not walk off by yourself because you'll get lost, and I'll never find you!" She was probably right.
• I'll say it again, Virgin America is fantastic. I watched the TCU game on a screen in front of me for "free". And the fare was cheaper than America or Southwest.
• I've noticed an obvious pattern: If you are traveling southbound on 287 in Wise County with license plates from the South, DPS will stop you. Why? They want to search you to see if you are transporting weed from Colorado.
• ESPN sees a 36% drop in overnights for the College Football Playoff semifinals. That's what happens when for some inexplicable reason you schedule them on New Year's Eve.
• On a more serious note, the 20 year old UNT student shot in the head during a possible road rage incident on New Year's Eve was a horrific story. 
• I've still have to figure out the President's plan on Executive Order on guns, as well as the "armed standoff in Oregon [by] a group of militia members". Oh, and the stock market is down 300 points. 

Trump Goes After Camera Man

The guy is crazy. And the people love it.

That Was Insane: TCU Comes Back To Win After Being Down 31-0

Here's the Win Probability chart from #AlamoBowl -- TCU win probability bottomed out at 0.9% pic.twitter.com/WgSyDY21c9

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 3, 2016

Oregon's quarterback got hurt, but TCU was playing with their backup after their idiot one decided to sneak out in the middle of the night and got suspended.

Maybe the craziest college game ever.

And, in an absolutely unrelated game, this was funny. "The play is over when I say it is over!":