Above The Fold

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

Penalty. Unsportsdoglike conduct. Targeting. 

 Talk about an interview ending on a "hard break."

 Legs. Use them.

 Mother of the Year

Father of the Year

(The kid seemed to get a kick out of it.)

NFL Fans Are The Absolute Worst

VIDEO: Cowboys fan gets punched, loses pants https://t.co/sYK8FtEg3o pic.twitter.com/B86mTagGIc

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) January 6, 2017

School Grades Are In

 Decatur

 Bridgeport

Paradise

 Alvord

Chico

Slidell

Edit: Sorry, Boyd

Full report in PDF form (link fixed)

Wasn't Even Courteous Enough To Go With The Flow Of Traffic

A giant runaway spool of wire was spotted rolling down a highway in Pennsylvania - luckily everyone on the road avoided it pic.twitter.com/N35kBoeoBp

— CNN (@CNN) January 6, 2017

This Is Cool

Lake Effect Snow in Texas??  It's happening in the DFW metroplex!  Cold air blowing across warmer lake temps is producing light snow --> pic.twitter.com/oZXhDWxG2c

— Grant Johnston (@GrantJNBC5) January 6, 2017

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• So Trump didn't mean he would build a wall by forcing Mexico to pay for it. He meant you would pay for it if he can get convince "The Swamp" to spend your money: 
  
• Then he moved on to really important things and his replacement on The Apprentice.
  
• There's a criminal defense lawyer in Houston who just scorched a prosecutor turned defense lawyer and then also took on a judge. It begins:
  
• I'm a notorious cleaner when I get control of the house by myself for a couple of days, and I'll throw away anything. Mrs. LL's very important work folder went missing after one of those stints about five months ago. She blamed me. Yesterday, she found it -- at work.  Once again, a man in America has been falsely accused by those in a position of power!
• KXAS has some breaking weather news this morning. Fire up the sand trucks!
  
• Norman, Oklahoma is not impressed.
  
• Dan Patrick's "bathroom bill" proves he is a moron. North Carolina was boycotted left and right for their bill and the same is about to happen to Texas. 
• It's getting dangerous out there when a 15 shoots and kills a 17 year old in a Chili's parking lot in Garland in the middle of the afternoon. 
• As bagofnothing pointed out, Fred Willard looked dangerously thin and frail on his appearance on Modern Family this week.

Breaking: Conservative Lindsey Graham Wants Russia To Pay Price For Election Hack More Than President Does

“I think what Obama did is throw a pebble. I’m ready to throw a rock.”
– @LindseyGrahamSC on election interference pic.twitter.com/kf62pU2Yb1

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 5, 2017

What A Weird Texas Scouting Fundraiser Video

This is weird from start to finish. The guy eating the ghost peppers comes across as a serial killer, and the guy introducing him comes across as a modern day Charles Manson who directs serial killers.

So odd.

Do you have to eat ghost peppers to become an Eagle Scout these days?

Side note: I'm not sure I've ever had a ghost pepper. Mrs. LL and I were in Mexico once and were encouraged by a waiter to try some kind of pepper -- I ate maybe a 1/4 of an inch of it, and it almost killed me. I guess I just don't have the serial killer DNA.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• America has become a showplace for atrocities caught on video. Yesterday's news: A cop body slamming a kid at school. Four hooligans torturing a handicapped kid (live streamed on Facebook even.)
• I should have mentioned the passing of Fort Worth lawyer Jim Shaw yesterday. Great guy. The Star-Telegram's headline while I was out: "He fought cancer as hard as he fought for his clients."  That makes me want to head back to the jungle. And one thing about a battle with cancer: It's not a fair fight. 
• Trump might implode even before he begins. He praises Julian Assange, mocks our FBI and CIA, and says he knows more about the Russian hacking than others. And have we already forgotten that he dared Russian hackers to find Hillary's missing emails? What if the FBI and CIA has found out he was in cahoots with the Russians so that's why he's trying to discredit them? 
• Hugh Hewitt this morning says Ted Cruz told him Assange "did enormous damage to the United States," and "tells me he cannot imagine ever saying anything good about him."
• There's a guy in Bakersfield, CA who will send me videos of movies and music from time to time simply because he reads the blog every day. That's an incredibly nice gesture.
• If Baylor beats OSU this weekend, they will be the #1 basketball team in the nation on Monday. 
• The Republicans have a mess on their hands on their stance to strike down Obamacare. There's no way they can agree on a replacement. And I don't think they are crazy enough to repeal it without having a replacement. 
• And if they do make a change, even if it is a repeal with no replacement, does anyone think premiums will be cheaper four years from now? 
• I wonder if there is a Texas Monthly college football curse:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Question at the courthouse yesterday: Who was the Decatur police chief before Rex Hoskins?
• The new Texas "fetal burying" rule will be struck down in the next couple of weeks. 

Gal vs. Snowman: Who Ya Got?

Things I Missed

I'd kill that kid if he were mine:

House Speaker Paul Ryan had to stop a congressman's son from dabbing during his father's swearing-in https://t.co/w5hiiNWRn9 pic.twitter.com/v95GgxKbX8

— CNN (@CNN) January 4, 2017

New Texas DA gets sworn in wearing Cowboy jersey.

Above The Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• And now I begin 2017. I do so reluctantly, but it is better than the alternative. 
• When I go off the grid, I really go off the grid. Perfect example: Me to Mrs. LL: "Did Ohio State lose two days ago?" Her: "Yep. Big time. And how in the world do I know this and you don't?" 
• I'm still way behind on anything that happened. It sounds like Wise County almost burned down. 
• As much as people complain about flying, it almost always goes off without a hitch. At least for me. 
• I appreciate vacations the older I get. From the get go, I count down the days remaining and remind myself to enjoy every single minute. 
• One great secret Mrs. LL found is the online vacation rental property sites. You can rent a house for the same price as a hotel. 
• Odd moment from last week: Mrs. LL driving a standard truck like the West Texas girl that she is and almost hitting a monkey scampering across the road. 
• The former McKinney cop (famous for doing a barrel roll and breaking up a pool party) and the city are being sued for $5 million by one of the girls who was held down. That's just dumb. Whenever you hear about someone suing for a specific figure, ask yourself if you'd be willing to go through what they did for that amount of money. 
  
• The drowning deaths of the young dad and his five year old son while preparing to go duck hunting in Hood County was heartbreaking. But, man, you've got to put a life jacket on that kid. And yourself.
• I didn't think Megyn Kelley would go to NBC. And that creates a large hole for Fox News.
• This murder case in Fort Worth is weird. The accused is 29 and the dead woman, owner of Lon Smith Roofing, is 49. And that is one big house. (He was all over the news last night giving jail cell interviews and came across fairly believable.)
   
• A judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has announced she won't run again giving those who want the job two year's notice. That's really unusual.
• Trump will hold his first news conference on January 11th. Delicious. 
• I bought  James A. Michener's Texas. A thirty year old and 1,700 page book. It's my New Year's Resolution to finish it.  Tell me I made a good choice. 
  
• "Texas Lawmaker wants unhappy couples to live apart for 3 years before they can divorce." That's conservative Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth.  You've got to love those anti-big government Republicans. 
• If the Republicans 180 on disbanding the ethics panel on their first day of being in full power, this will be a very entertaining year.