1.21.2017

Above The Fold


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1.20.2017

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


"It's Inauguration Day, puppy!"

 "You joking, right? Trump be president?"

Life Lesson:  Coming in second is not always a bad thing.
 Trump's First 100 Days Illustrated
 Republicans today.

Republicans double winning today. 
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Still A Moving Moment For Any American


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It's Official: Donald Trump Is The President of the United States of America

Trump and wife agree as the National Anthem plays post swearing in:




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It Begins


You know, I bet being president is like owning a boat. The best day is the first day and the last day.

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Random Friday Morning Thoughts


  • The Accidental President will be inaugurated today in the rain. I've got it DVR'd. I chose Fox News as the channel. (Mrs. LL is going to have a very bad evening when I get home as she watches me watch it.)
  • And this performance by Three Doors Down and Trump's reaction may be an omen (almost classified as a "must watch"):
  • And if that isn't a bad omen, this is: 
    "I talked about Two Corinthians."
  • Hey, I will go on record: I absolutely believed Trump's run for the Presidency was a joke and never dreamed he would get elected. He's a fraud. He's a con man. He's a pathological liar. He deceived honest and good people and friends of mine to get elected. He's immoral. He's dumber than me. This is Idiocracy come true. And he might get us killed.  Other than that, this is a great day for America. 
  • My great administrative assistant wore all black today. 
  • The death of Brian Loncar, the "Texas Hammer", was ruled "accidental" cocaine overdose. Uh, tell me how in the world the ME's office can come to any opinion as to whether it was accidental, intentional, reckless or negligent.
  • The New York Times did a "36 Hours in Galveston" article. I'm interested. 
  • I keep screwing up my investment list. I'm officially at four:  Drones. Virtual Reality. Edible legal weed. Driverless cars.
  • There was a horrible fire in Tehran, Iran that killed 20 firefighters. (I'll save everyone time. Some moron will comment and call them "towel heads" and tell us we shouldn't care. It's probably a guy who lectures us that "every life is precious." )
  • Place your bets on which occurs first: (1) Trump's "wall", (2) The Montague DA following the law and releasing to the Messenger the open records regarding the drug dog shooting, (3) The Waco DA getting a conviction in any of the Twin Peaks Biker cases. That is one hard bet. I might want to add another category regardless of how old you are: (4) Dying.
  • Fox News consulting a legal expert, Judy Judy:
  • Trump's transition team inquired about tanks/missile launchers for inaugural parade. Haven't we seen that before?
  • Who is he referring to? Three Doors Down, Toby Keith, Lee Greenwood or someone else?
  • Someone commented yesterday about a phrase that drives me crazy: "Driving is a privilege."  You are an American. You own this country. You own your car. You pay taxes for roads. And the government tells you they are granting you a "privilege?" And smart people who are conservative actually buy into that crap. 
  • The last two appeals I had that went to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals I have won. I've got a third one in the hopper which is currently pending before the Fort Worth Court of Appeals on a Motion for Rehearing. It may very well end up being my third win in a row. I told Mrs. LL that if I win it I'm going to get an upper back tattoo of the Southwest Third citations which caused her to scream, "Oh no you are not!!!!"
  • She also said yesterday, "You realize you just put on a leather jacket, are growing your hair out, and are about to get in a Camaro." I looked at her and said, "Honey Badger."
  • Yep, I am an old man screaming at the clouds today. And it feels pretty good.

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1.19.2017

And Now It Gets Serious






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Let's Check In On Abilene (Which Was Mentioned in Random Thoughts)




Interesting issue, though. A private newspaper has the right to refuse any advertisement but shouldn't they pretty much let any controversial ad go through? They aren't endorsing the views, just printing them.

Shout out to the folks at the Messenger: Have you guys ever refused an ad based upon its content?
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And We Have A New "Great Rick Perry Moment"


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Maybe We Should "Kill All The Lawyers"

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Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




  • Yep, www.wisecounty.com is down. I'm trying to get an answer from the website hosting company which is beyond frustrating. This loss of service happened about ten years ago, and it finally got fixed after four days. It happened to the Messenger site once because of the ineptitude of their web site hosting company, too, which I think they booted.  It's amazing that there isn't some type of redunancy/backup for websites in this day and time. (Side note: WiseCounty.com is hosted by Verio. Horrible hosting site. So sad. I've got my business website on GoDaddy which has been amazingly flawless and easy. I'll try to move wisecounty.com there if I can figure out how to. Yep, I'm mad.)
  • Edit: Problem will be resolved in 24 to 48 hours. GoDaddy, here I come. 
  • A new word I heard from the weathermen over the weekend during the heavy rains: "Ponding." You know, that actually makes sense.
  • Why are deputies with the Wise County Sheriff's Office doing traffic enforcement? 
  • And do DPS trooper cars now have license plate readers? Based upon the last few DVD's I've looked at, I'm beginning to think that is true. 
  • Pudge Rodriguez made the Hall of Fame. During his rookie year in the Spring, I was out in the outfield stands at the old Arlington Stadium with Pudge behind the plate and Nolan Ryan pitching. Early in the game, Pudge took the pitch and fired it off to first base where a runner was lollygagging off base. He didn't throw him out but it was a rocket. The murmurs in the crowd of "What did we just see?" remain to me with this day. Edit: Someone pointed out that his rookie year began on June 20th. I know it was a night game, and I know it was "cool" but not cold. 
  • The other memory about that night was that the partners in the law firm I was with took me and my young buddy co-workers to the game. One of the partners' wives (probably in her thirties and a little high tone) told us that she was going to the Fort Worth City Council meeting the next day to express her displeasure with the way the city's dog pound was being run and the treatment of the animals. My co-worker and buddy (Robert Wagstaff now in Abilene) looked at her and asked in a comedic fashion, "You gonna wear that fur jacket you got on?" Thankfully she laughed or we would all have been fired.
  • You guys understand that a school vouchers program means that your tax dollars can go to a private school which can have an ideology and curriculum that you disagree with and there's nothing you can do about it?
  • George P. Bush is using H.W.'s hospitalization as an excuse not to attend Trump's inauguration. W is still going (which I find amazing.)
  • Rick Perry is going to get roasted today during his confirmation hearing for the head of the Department of Energy. A department he wanted to eliminate, couldn't remember the name of during a debate and, as the New York Times reported, had no idea is responsible for the maintenance and care of the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. God help us. 
  • Edit: A faithful reader called me and said the guy on the left looks familiar. Any idea? 
  • Haven't the most recent heads of the Department of Energy been nuclear physicists or am I wrong about that? 
  • If you want comedy, look and see how the Internet had fun with this: 
  • I watched Tucker Carlson on Fox News in his new time slot for the first time last night. That guy is horrible, gets destroyed by his guests (even Lindsey Graham outsmarted him last night), and he fake laughs when he gets boxed in. Fox News should have seen that coming ever since the writer for Teen Vouge put him in his place a few weeks back. 
  • Tony Orlando will perform for Trump! (Dawn could not be reached for comment.)
  • From the Update: Wise County commissioners Tuesday approved a reserve constable pilot program for Precinct 4 at the request of Constable Kevin Huffman. 'When I’m doing evictions and writs, it’s nice to have someone to back you up,' he said. '[P]eople tend to get a little irate. If you’re by yourself, that’s not a good situation to be in.” Serious question: How many evictions do constables do? 



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1.18.2017

Toby Keith vs. Beyonce. Who Ya Got?


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KVIL Is Dead?




I'm not sure the last time I listened to it, but it is was a DFW institution.  2016 took The Edge. 2017 has taken KVIL.  This is a bad omen.

Someone might want to check on Ron Chapman.


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Note To Law Enforcement: I Think I've Found The Next Female Serial Killer


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Good Job. Good Effort.


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Above The Fold


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Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • I've never met Bridgeport's AD Danny Henson who is stepping down. Heck, I may not even like him if I met him. But I do remember going to my first high school game in years in 1996 where I saw Bridgeport's spread/hurry up offense being played for the first time and could not believe what I was seeing. (It was a playoff game in Graham. Maybe the opponent was Breckenridge?) 
  • What a horrible 24 hours. (1) The death of the Little Elm officer is heartbreaking -- leaving behind four children.  The whole thing is senseless. (2) WBAP's Hal Jay's son (and former TCU football player) was killed in a one car crash in Erath County. I cannot imagine losing a child at any age. 
  • After eight years of people making fun of the President playing too much golf, one of Trump's goofy sons tweets this: 
  • Fox 4's Lauren Przybyl has had a tough few months. 
  • Abortions in the U.S. have dropped to the lowest level since 1974. No one, and I mean no one, is unhappy with that.
  • "Two hunters who were shot in a remote ranch along the Mexican-border in Presidio County claimed illegal immigrants ambushed them Friday" were actually shot by friendly fire. 
  • Betsy Devos, Trump's nominee for Education Secretary, was crushed yesterday in her confirmation hearing unlike any other nominee. She admitted she has never attended public schools. 
  • He's a beat writer of the Texas Rangers, and I feel his pain:
  • Trump granted an interview to Fox and Friends which aired this morning. He also agreed to be interviewed by Fox News' Bill O'Reilly which will air before the Super Bowl. Anyone see a pattern here?
  • Prosecutors at the Wise County courthouse will turnover videos of any traffic stop that leads to a prosecution. (They did so voluntarily long before Texas law forced them to.) But these days almost all departments have contracted with some video company for dash cam and body cams which means I have to watch it from some proprietary program on a DVD.  Any reason I should be nervous when this pops up when I try to watch a Decatur PD video?:  
  • UT hired a former Baylor employee, Casey Horney/Horny, who was a defender of Art Briles. I've never seen so much confusion on the spelling of his last name. From The Dallas Morning News' Chuck Carlton seemingly made fun of UT's press release which referred to him as "Horny" (but Carlton misspells Horney's name in the title as "Horne") and then Carlton's article about the controversy refers to him both as "Horney" and "Horny" in the same piece. It really is bizarre. 
  • I saw a little bit of The Wall game show last night. Dumbest and fakest game ever. 
  • This is juicy. Last week, Wikileaks editor Julian Assange said he would agree to extradition to the U.S. if the President would grant clemency to WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning who is serving a 35 years sentence in Leavenworth. President Obama called his bluff yesterday. 
  • The Rangers are giving Josh Hamilton at least a chance to make the team. Let this sink in: The Angels will pay him $26 million this year. 

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1.17.2017

Breaking: Bridgeport High Athletic Director / Head Football Coach Stepping Down

Stolen Messenger Photo (Credit Joe Duty)

I've heard his resignation is effective immediately but will be paid through January 2018.

I trust my sources, but I'm still awaiting official confirmation.

Developing . . . .

Edit: Matt Stepp at Dave Campbell's Texas Football confirms to me Henson is stepping down.



"Danny Henson has been Bridgeport ISD’s Director of Athletics and Head Football Coach for Bridgeport High since 1993. During his tenure he has led the Bridgeport Bulls in 33 playoff football games and has had 17 playoff football seasons. The Bull’s longest playoff run was in 2001 when the team competed in the Texas UIL State Semi-Final Football Game."
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Rich Gettin' Richer Today



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Yesterday




I don't understand that. I'm horrible at that game. You could give me "_isherman's Wharf", and I'd be staring at the screen saying, "Give me a second. Give me a second."
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Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

  • Mrs. LL helped the Tarrant County Water Board out by returning a lost buoy via a kayak yesterday. Trust me, we care more about that taxpayer piece of expensive property (it has a great light on it) then they do. No one working on a salary that you are paying for checks on those things at Lake Bridgeport, and it had been up on our shore all Winter. (Side note: She used a cable and duct tape.)
  • The sign on that monstrosity says it's a violation of the law to get within so many feet of it. I dare you to prosecute her. That war would be the biggest blog entertainment in years. 
  • I feel confident in saying that if you have a Yeti sticker on your truck that we have absolutely nothing in common. And my friends would crush you in Jeopardy.  I may not, but my friends would.
  • This morning Trump let us know he doesn't like his approval ratings. If you voted for him, you own him. 
  •  Maybe the greatest MLK Day political cartoon ever: 
  • We've got us a modern day Junction Boys
  • The Lady Bears (maybe their best team ever) beat Kansas by 49 points on Sunday. And Baylor was called for traveling with 0.2 left on the clock as both teams were walking off the court. Too many rule enforcers?
  • So the Cowboys are set for the next 10 years with Dak? Ask the Redskins after RG3's first season. The Titans after Vince Young's first. The 49ers after Kaepernick's rookie year.
  • I'm impressed with the private rocket launch of Space X which put ten satellites into orbit.
  • There is nothing weirder than Mrs. LL getting all giddy when she sees a running back or receiver using the spin move. 
  • Anyone else think that salaries for school administrators have gotten so out of hand that it is mind blowing that Decatur pays their's  $199,500?
  • Jason Garrett F Bomb from yesterday.
  • And does anyone think these headlines are a little dramatically written by the Star-Telegram this morning?
  • So we let those under 21 go to the Middle East to fight, get screwed up royally with PTSD, let the VA go to hell in a hand basket, and then don't give a crap about them once they come back. But we aren't going to let an 18 year old in Texas make his own decision as to whether he wishes to smoke? . . . 

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1.16.2017

"I remember when rock was young"




And don't beat me down with crocodile vs. alligator.
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I Shall Name Him Bullwinkle


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Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • It's an official holiday, the courthouse is closed, but once again I prove ITHWMISB*.
  • What an all time classic game. I'm not sure if the play before the field goal will rival Dwight Clark's "The Catch", but it will be close:
  • I don't know if I've ever seen a game where I've said to the TV, "Run the ball!" over and over again. 
  • And what a beating if you were at the game when it came time to leave: 
  • Back in the day:  Between 1967 and 1983, the Cowboys were in 12 of 17 Conference Championship Games. I lived through it and still find it mind boggling. 
  • As a little boy, I saw the Packers and Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl in 1970 on Thanksgiving Day. When I asked my dad about it, he told me he went to the 1950 Cotton Bowl game. But get this: He got there by taking a train from Bridgeport to Dallas. 
  • There's a city in Mississippi that doesn't realize the South lost the Civil War:
  • A private teacher "And Another"with a twist: 
  • But this "And Another" got a 10 year sentence out of Houston on Friday. It sounds like it was an "open plea" meaning she pled guilty to the judge and let him do what he wanted within the applicable range of punishment. 
  • The Ringling Brothers Circus has announced it is shutting down. It feels like it has been dead for thirty years. 
  • Was this some weird bit? She actually "protected" her account after being ridiculed for posting this. That's a little unusual for someone whose bread and butter is feeding drivel to the public. 
  • Trump had a wild few days. He attacked civil rights leader John Lewis on MLK Weekend, got a ton of blowback and then doubled down. And in doing so he kept using his racist code word "inner city" (for even affluent parts of Atlanta no less). He then cancelled his trip to the African-American Museum in D.C.. News leaked that his first official trip will be to meet with Putin. And then CIA director blasted Trump for not understanding Russia which caused Trump to reply like a petulant child accusing him of releasing "fake news."
  • What if someone were to hack Trump's Twitter account some day? (Which seems like the easiest thing to hack ever.) And then we wake up one morning to a tweet which says, "We are launching nuclear missiles at North Korea in 30 minutes." And to think people were upset that Hillary had a private email server. 
  • And such a tweet would be absolutely believable. It's not like we expect him to show presidential restraint:  
  • It's already time to realize The Emperor Has No Clothes. The Ticket hosts in the afternoon last week said they had only one wish for Trump: Don't get us killed in the next four years and we'll be happy. 

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*"I'm the hardest working man in show business."™ All rights reserved.

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