11.04.2016

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here.

Bits are fun.
Never get out of your car at NASCAR.
Ain't no humor like Old Testament humor.
I wonder if that ring went flying.
Her ability to laugh makes her a "Hey, now."
"I told you not to lay on me!"
at 3:00 PM

Tarrant County Prosecutor's Closing Argument Gets Case Reversed

What was it in this murder case?
Was there any evidence of that? Uh, no. That's a problem.

And since the political atmosphere at the time of the trial in 2014, some of the relevant news events were listed in the opinion. Edit: I didn't word that very well.

Opinion here. Concurrence here. Dissent here (which condemned the comment but said that trial counsel did not preserve the error for appellate review.)
at 11:47 AM

The Cubs Parade Is Hours Away And It's Already Turnt'd Up




at 11:05 AM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts



  • I don't think I've ever watched Good Morning Texas but the local townsfolk appear to be excited about its road show this morning. 
  • I went to vote today and was asked, "May I see your ID?" Whoa. Wasn't the Texas voter law struck down? Yes. But, under a settlement of that case, the alternative is to fill out a "Reasonable Impediment Declaration" under penalty of perjury with the contradictory disclaimer of "The reasonableness of your impediment or difficulty cannot be questioned." From there, you either had to have your voter card, or one of the following: A certified birth certificate, current utility bill, bank statement, government check, any government ID (showing address or photo), or paycheck. Sheesh. I gave up my five second act of civil disobedience and showed the ID.
  • And you still think there is voter fraud in Texas? The most trusted man in news, entertainment, and pop culture almost didn't get to vote this morning. (But I got a couple of bullet points out of it -- Which is nice.)
  • The creepiest thing you'll read all day: "South Carolina police have found a woman who has been missing for two months 'chained up like a dog' inside a storage container on a 100-acre property, the local sheriff said." It was on the property of a registered sex offender. Her boyfriend, who went missing along with her in August, has still not been located. 
  • Do you think there will be anyone who gets up at 2:00 a.m. to adjust their clock because they've been told to do it at 2:00 a.m.?
  • Dallas Police had a bad day: "Senior Cpl. Justin Shaffer was fired Thursday after he was found to have lied about his work and harassed his ex-wife, and Officer Ricardo Solis resigned amid allegations he approached two girls for sex last year, police said."
  • Death penalty cringe: With an eight member Supreme Court, it still takes five votes to stay an execution for review. Yesterday, four voted for a stay to review a case. Justice Roberts finally joined them writing that they were wrong but would do so as a "courtesy". That just seems a little fast and free with the issue of life or death.
  • This looked like a mess in Arlington after a truck lost its load of propane tanks:

  • Everyone on Fox News promotes their own book but now Megyn Kelly has joined the group. Her's is interesting in that she "details of her alleged sexual harassment by her former Fox News boss, Roger Ailes" including that he "to help 'advance' Kelly's’s career in exchange for 'sexual favors.'" Recall Fox News settled with Gretchen Carlson after she sued Fox over the harassment.
  • George Soros has donated $2 million to the opponent of Sheriff Joe and $1.5 million to the Democratic challenger in Houston's DA race. Not only are they state races, they are county races. 
  • College Football: Don't rule out a 2 loss Oklahoma team making the Final Four before all is said and done. And the Aggies could actually pull it off if they win out (and Alabama wins out including SEC Championship game)
  • I've mentioned before that Dak Prescott might end up being seriously underpaid. But can he do anything about it? All rookies sign a four year contract and the very important labor agreement provides they are paid according to how they are "slotted" (picked) in the draft. Dak could hold out but can the Cowboys pay him more if they wanted to? The answer appears to be no. The labor agreement says that rookie contracts cannot be renegotiated during the first three years. (Otherwise the pay scale based upon slotting would be meaningless.)

at 8:39 AM

11.03.2016

From Earlier This Week




The link has the probable cause affidavit displayed.
at 3:04 PM

November 3rd


at 9:05 AM

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts



  • National election polls for the presidential election are meaningless. It's all about the swing states. And the great fivethirtyeight.com now says Florida is an absolute toss up but still gives Hillary a 67% chance to win the election.
  • Mark Cuban is really acting odd on this election with his Trump hatred. He said the other day ago that if his stance costs him all his money, he doesn't care. (And it has nothing to do with Trump being short of "details" as he says. This is purely personal.)
  • Thanks to the great Internet investigative skills of Mrs. LL, I may have finally figured out who ALL CAPS guy is. I think he's a guy who isn't very smart pretending to be dumb in a very dumb way.
  • And my bet proposal with him on the election still stands. We just need to agree on someone to hold the money. (We had a bookie offer his services in the comments yesterday. I've already proposed a mutually agreeable bank.)
  • I'm not a baseball fan, but that was an entertaining Game Seven last night. (I actually fell asleep during the rain delay and woke up as the game resumed and, through sleepy eyes, for a second thought it was the 18th inning instead of the 10th. But I did stay awake to see the end of it.)
  • Cubs Thought: I'm a fan of Bill Murray but he might want to take it down a notch. The same with Eddie Vedder.
  • Baseball managing is so overrated. Anyone with half a brain could do it with thirty minutes notice. Compare being an offensive coordinator in football and try to do the same thing and you would have a disaster on your hands. (And I've even read George Will's Men at Work.)
  • The only "play" a baseball manager needs to "call" is to bunt with no outs and a runner on base. Other than that, let them play and make the very rare obvious changes.
  • Joe Buck is really, really good at what he does whether it be baseball or football.
  • Troy Aikman said on The Ticket this morning that he went to the Adele concert last night and got a text that the World Series game was in "overtime." 
  • The Cleveland manager last night in his post game press conference said "It hurts when you care." That sums up life like nothing else. 
  • Why isn't there a easily accessible record of every time the cops search a car based upon their perceived probable cause and find nothing or every time a drug dog "hits" on a car and nothing is found. 
  • The Des Moines guy who killed two cops was crazy, but his video at the high school game (see post below) presented a great First Amendment issue: Can you be kicked out of a high school stadium for holding a Confederate Flag when doing so upsets people? The answer has to be "no." (Side note: The police telling him he was being asked to leave "private property" made no sense.)
  • Unrelated.
  • Things to invest in right now: Drones and Virtual Reality.


at 8:38 AM

11.02.2016

Alleged Des Moines Cop Killer Update

He took a selfie of himself with a Confederate flag in front of African Americans. Escorted out of game and films it. And then comments on the video.




at 12:21 PM

"I Want Candy"



Daily Mail - A woman in New York got a little too grab-happy when it came to Halloween candy and stole an entire bowl. The unidentified woman from Westchester, New York, was caught on surveillance camera nabbing the sweet treats on Halloween. There were no children in sight when the woman scooped the candy. A sign on the bowl is there to indicate children who are trick-or-treating may take candy from the dish.

 Thoughts (1) That run at the end might be the most exercise she's gotten in a couple of years, (2) I have that song by Bow Wow Wow stuck in my head now -- which I just discovered has nothing to do with candy, (3) Any chance this is a rigged bit by Ring.com?

at 9:53 AM

Above The Fold


Full readable page.
at 8:51 AM

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • I learned for the first time yesterday that Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bruce Lee were in a movie together. That's funny.
  • There was a huge cross country fuel card theft ring that pocketed over a half million dollars. Some of the charges where in Bridgeport.
  • I'm still amazed that I posted about Sid Miller yesterday (see below) and then he became national news for being naturally offensive. I'm not sure the Texas Republican Party of God and Family needs him on their team. Or is he the face of the team? Edit: To commentor "DF Mary Magdalene" -- that was funny but there's no way I'm going to publish it. 
  • As Showtime airs a show on the Baylor scandal, the school's star receiver retweets a video of a guy drinking and rapping not so female friendly lyrics. Good lord.
  • Cher lived in Burleson as a girl? 
  • "Fort Worth Police Arrest 1,500 Thieves With Bait Cars". If your job depends on crime and there isn't enough crime, you create crime. (Thanks emailer.)
  • I'm fascinated with the fall in ratings for NFL games. I don't know the reason other than for years I've said the games are boring. And when every point spread is about three points which means everyone is the same, how can you care?
  • I don't know why I watched some of Shark Tank last night but that show, like any show which says it is a reality show, is horribly scripted. 
  • The Messenger has a front page story on a woman from Alvord who was arrested after her child drowned in a tub during a "booty call." (Their words. Not mine. Well, words they are quoting from a witness.)
  • Illegal Adderall possession (which seems to be possessed by every college kid) has been reclassified to a misdemeanor in Texas but a lot of DA offices didn't know it. (Now the legislature needs to reclassify THC.)
  • We had a police ambush in Des Moines overnight leaving two officers dead. Mark Davis began his radio show this morning suggesting it was the result of Black Lives Matter but wanted to hold off until he had all the facts. Good thing. The alleged shooter is a white guy.
  • I always look for commercials disguised as content and the Ticket has been guilty of late. Out of nowhere, a reference to Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports was shoehorned into three segments over the last 24 hours. (I'm guessing it has something to do with a cross-promotion agreement with Fox Sports whose Joel Klatt also has a weekly segment on the station.) And The Hardline, which rips country music constantly, just happened to have a positive segment on the Country Music Awards show which just happens to air tonight. Paid ad. Corby Davidson almost laughed when he began, "I was thinking about the Country Music Awards . . . uh . . . and I know that sounds really weird."
  • Hey, ALL CAPS guy tried to call me on my election bet proposal yesterday. It just so happens that I'll be at a luncheon for a presentation by a Trust Department of a local bank on Monday. Maybe we can agree on someone to hold the money. Email me. Call me. Let's work something out. 

at 8:39 AM

11.01.2016

When An Alligator Almost Eats Your Swimming Partner



Daily Mail – A couple’s late night frolic in a lodge’s pool in Africa nearly turned into a blood bath after a crocodile suddenly jumped in.

 Terrifying CCTV footage shows the 6 ft crocodile creep up on the unaware victims between empty sun loungers.

 It then lunges into the water immediately snapping at the bikini-clad woman who desperately begins fighting it off.  

 The man quickly jumps out of the pool leaving the woman fending off the huge reptile alone as it splashes around underwater.

 Luckily, she manages to avoid being forced deeper into the water and furiously paddles back to the shallow end.

 By that time her partner has seen sense and returns to the poolside to try and distract the animal. 
at 3:10 PM

Sid Miller Is Trump's Right Hand Man

He also billed the Texas taxpayers once to get what he called a "Jesus Shot" in Oklahoma.

Edit: What a crazy coincidence that I referenced this crazy guy and now he is catching heat because of a deleted tweet where he called Hillary a, uh, name. Here is background of how he blames a staffer (after first lying about being "hacked".) He must have forgotten that four days ago it was only him in charge of the account:

at 2:55 PM

Austin Bridge Troll




And for the life of me I can't remember the story of a bridge troll and riddles. Wasn't there some fable we were told as kids?  Even the Google has failed me. (Although I accidentally stumbled upon Three Billy Goats Gruff which I haven't thought of in decades.)
at 12:42 PM

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • Halloween and trick or treaters is pretty fun. Cute kids. Sweet kids. Older kids. Rude kids. Kids who climb on rocks. (But uttering the phrase, "Trick or treat" literally doesn't make sense, does it?)
  • We had one girl come up to the door who was obviously going through chemo.  That sight was a kick in the gut that I probably needed to get some perspective. 
  • The Eighth Grader in the House was gone for quite a while with friends last night but came back with very little candy.  I wonder if she was up to hood rat things? I sure was back in the day on the mean streets of Bridgeport on Halloween. 
  • I've mentioned before that our group lobbed a bunch of eggs at a highway patrol car that was in my neighborhood on Halloween when I was in high school. The police response looked like something out of Smokey and The Bandit as about thirty of us scattered into the woods behind my house. They came in after us. My superior back country night skills prevented me from being apprehended. 
  • Saw this online: Fake Gary Patterson sweating with his towel girl right by him. 
  • And this was some good sports humor: 
  • Horrible news out of Baltimore this morning:
  • I think I was in a grumpy mood when I wrote yesterday's Random Thoughts. 
  • The reward for the missing ZuZu is now at $200,000. I'm not sure I've ever heard a figure that high before. 
  • Can Baylor please get some scene control on this scandal? They got hit by the Wall Street Journal on Friday and will be hit by 60 Minutes Sports on Showtime tonight. When they fired Briles they should have just come clean. Make is one massive explosion instead of an ongoing civil war that seems to never end.
  • I've mentioned before  these weird fentanyl overdoses that have been rampant throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania. Now we've got maybe five such deaths in Lubbock.  


at 8:39 AM

10.31.2016

Guy vs. TSA: Who Ya Got?

at 12:51 PM

I'm A Little Confused By This


at 9:40 AM

Random Monday Morning Thoughts






  • Mrs. LL and I just happened to be looking at the remains of a house fire early Saturday morning when a guy walked up to us and asked us if we were the owners. He said he was "public adjuster." There's no such thing, right? What the heck was he up to? (And once he found out that the fire involved a fatality, he left.)

  • The Evil Empire beat Baylor on Saturday. Hot sports opinions: Baylor isn't very good, I'm not sure Art Briles' son didn't throw that game, and K.D. Cannon is the biggest waste of talent in Baylor history. And it's on him. 

  • Jim Harbaugh on Saturday looked like Kiefer Sutherland from Designated Survivor.

  •                                  

  • Mark Cuban has to be coloring his hair. It's blacker than black.



  • And yesterday Cuban said on Fox News that Trump called him "a couple of times" at the beginning of the campaign. No way. No how. 

  • That vague letter to Congress from FBI Director Comey to Congress is just, well, weird. 

  • I have an official lock bet: Hillary will win the election. And I'll go one step further: I'll bet ALL CAPS guy any amount he wants. $100? $1,000? 10,000? Keep it coming.(Edit: I'll cap it at $25,000. I'm not crazy.).  Condition: He has to put his money in the hands of a third party whom I approve of beforehand.

  • There was a great bet on Liberally Lean many years ago between two commentors on the outcome of the first Obama election. I was to hold the money which, I recall, was $100. It was delivered in a  sealed envelope in my office. When the winner showed up to collect his winnings, he opened the envelope to find it full of worthless shreds of paper. (I did a blog post about it with a photo but I can't find it. A Google search for a Google hosted blog post is ridiculously awful.) 

  • Comedy gone wrong:



  • "A state forensic scientist whose work has been called into question will no longer serve as an expert witness or perform lab work in drunken driving cases in Dallas, Collin, Denton and Rockwall counties." That is huge, huge news criminal justice news. But this next sentence confused me: "At the request of court officials in those counties, cases pending trial that were worked by Chris Youngkin will be reanalyzed by another DPS forensic scientist, according to a statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety." At the "request of"? There is no way that's an accurate statement.

  • I watched half of Cape Fear yesterday. What a weird movie. It's chillingly great and creepy for the most part and then ends as a horrible action movie. And I never noticed at the end they were on a  house boat which was basically in the odd combo off a swamp and a hurricane. 

  • Off.



  • And I saw a portion of Gran Torino yesterday which re-affirmed my belief that Clint Eastwood may be one of the worst actors and surely one of the worst directors in history. Million Dollar Baby, anyone? (Think the GOP wants his "empty chair" speech back?)

  • And to think that tax dollars pay someone to sit around and post things like this:



  • Speaking of Fort Worth PD, the father of Texas Tech's quarterback was arrested at TCU game on Saturday -- by an off duty police officer. Too many cops?

  • The Messenger used the Stranger Things font generator this weekend on a Halloween story. You can, too.



  • Someone threw a sex toy onto the field during an NFL game yesterday.  WBAP's/TCU's play by play man Brian Estridge said this morning, "Does anyone know where [Traffic reporter] Laura [Houston] was yesterday?" And that is why the Trump supporters will lose.  The old, white, and oblivious male no longer controls the country.





    • at 8:41 AM

    10.30.2016

    Above The Fold


    Full readable page.
    at 12:12 PM
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