6.03.2017

Judge Fostel Has Died



Horrible and very sad news.
at

Above The Fold


Read that top story. Good lord.
at

6.02.2017

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

 Do not deny the cuteness of this. 
 I wonder if this is the kid a year or so later.
 After you watch the good puppy dog, you 
have to ask yourself: What guy watches darts?
 "Scoooooooooooorrrrreeee!"

I'm as confused as you are, kid.
at

Random Friday Morning Thoughts


  • Straight ticket voting in Texas is gone beginning in 2020. I can't believe the Republicans in the legislature did that. (But apparently Democrat straight ticket voting in Texas' largest counties is the reason. They see what is coming.)
  • Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord by saying,  "I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris." That pretty much sums that guy up. (And I bet he backed out because the NATO leaders mocked him during his speech last week. He takes that very seriously.)
  • French President Macron wished to retort:  "We all share the same responsibility: make our planet great again."
  • The Ryan/Ventura fight will become a mural in Deep Ellum. I've seen the video taken from center field a million times, but I had no idea Pudge was holding Ventura during the beat down. Let me speak blasphemy by saying that fight might not have been that great. 
  • This is bizarre and sad. An 18 year old kid plowed into a home in Mesquite last night, allegedly while drunk, and killed a guy sleeping in his bed. (Credit Fox 4.)
  • The parking lots adjacent to the Decatur courthouse square have been mysteriously empty for the last two weeks.
  • After the hung jury in the Agg Assault case of the Fort Worth cop, I predicted the D.A.'s office would wisely not retry him. I was right. 
  • Hot opinion I stole from others: It might not be a bad idea if the Texas Legislature was a full time job. Right now they meet briefly every two years and pass half-cocked laws that do nothing but cause havoc.
  • "Anthony Robinson, a longtime employee of the Dallas County district attorney's office, avoided federal prison Wednesday despite admitting taking a $200,000 bribe from a man attempting to keep his name off the sex offender registry.  Robinson rose through the ranks to become District Attorney Craig Watkins' chief investigator from 2007 to 2013." You kidding me?
  • Is the routine practice of having inmates shackled for routine court appearances unconstitutional? The Ninth Circuit says so. 
  • The Soon To Be Freshman in the House wanted me to catch for her softball pitching yesterday. I hadn't done it in a year. Let me tell you something: Those pitches come in fast. I finally put on a mask. And she managed to bust part of the fence behind me. That's one window and one fence in one week.
  • Wordkyle. Our blog turns our lonely eyes to you: 
  • Remember the crazy RV police chase that ended in fire in Arlington last week? Here's the gal that jumped out of it: 
  • In the seventh inning of the Washington/Oregon softball world series game last night, I'm fairly certain I saw the Washington pitcher intentionally hit a batter (that was idiotic) and then a pinch runner for the hit batter try to break the ankles of the second baseman on a slide. Mean Girls. 

at

6.01.2017

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts



  • The reaction to Tiger Woods arrest for DWI where alcohol was not been involved is pretty fascinating. Some think it's not as bad. Others think it is worse. I follow stuff like that like a hawk. 
  • So it's the thing now where little leaguers get "championship rings" (even when they don't win)?
  • That crazy "bounty hunters" story that left three dead is beginning to make more sense (kinda). They were from Minnesota looking for a guy wanted in Minnesota. When I said bounty hunters were, in essence, a myth I should have qualified it by saying there is no reason for a fugitive from Texas authorities to be the focus of a bounty hunter. Alternatives are readily available. 
  • "Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James said 'being black in America is tough' in response to news that Los Angeles police were investigating a racial slur spray-painted on the front gate of one of his homes." Let's check in on local radio host Mark Davis' response: 
  • I don't know anything about this story, but you have to love the scoreboard in the background when a coach is claiming he was fired for something other than his performance. 
  • KXAS/Channel 5 News runs a commercial about two investigative reporters and references a large "call center" to get tips. The commercial then cuts to a phone bank where I bet there are 20 people shown on screen. There is no way that exists. 
  • The villain in the new Pirates movie is the same villain as in No Country From Old Men and the bad guy (who appeared briefly with a thumb drive) in Collateral. 
  • A former Bridgeport resident is withdrawing as counsel for a former Baylor football player in a pending criminal case in Waco.
  • Comey is coming.
  • Former Fox News star Megyn Kelly, now with NBC, will interview Putin tomorrow. Delicious. 
  • ESPN has given Lee Corso, 81, a long term extension.  Over the last two years he has exhibited mass confusion on Game Day. I'm surprised that network, who is making cuts left and right, would do that. 
  • The Softball College World Series begins today. I could watch it over major league baseball any day of the week. (The Rangers' game on Memorial Day lasted 3 hours and 48 minutes.) 

at

5.31.2017

No!!!!




Back in the day:

at

America Has Gone Crazy



Language warning (from the kid).

Youtube description: This happened at the Fairfield Pacific Little League baseball fields in Northern California , I was skateboarding at the park near by & I went to leave & noticed a huge baseball radial crack in my windshield. So after asking around witness' told me they saw the ball go over the fence and hit my car .

 I walk over to them and ask how he wants to go about paying for my windshield he immediately got upset with me and accused me of being a moron for parking there ( in the parking lot..) I explain how its the same difference if you are golfing and you hit a car on a road just because you're golfing doesn't shift the blame onto the driver. So he gets pissed and his kids get pissed as the dad goes back to the car i hear him say something along the lines of " if he gets too close to me beat him " and she goes and grabs a bat from the trunk ( about the time the video starts ) More.

 I think everyone is in the wrong. Hey, if you park by a baseball field, there's a chance you'll end up with a broken window. There is no absolute liability rule where you are entitled to damages if someone wasn't negligent. And the last time I checked Baseball Law 101, a foul ball does not equal negligence.

And what's with the guy just pulling out $50? Sheesh. Tell the guy to go take a flying leap. And, more than anything, what's with the kid(s) who has anger issues that makes The Incredible Hulk look like a teddy bear? What a time bomb.
at

Above The Fold


at

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




  • Three people are dead at a Nissan dealership in Greenville. Two of them were "bounty hunters" posing as federal agents. That's insane. For one thing, "bounty hunters" are basically a myth. In Texas, a bondsman can "go off the bond" by submitting an affidavit and then a warrant gets issued. There's no need to go vigilante. 
  • Anyone remember when Fox and Friends was so carefree that they would have radio D.J. "Mancow" on for a daily segment? 
  • Not a school teacher but she did allegedly engage in "And Another" activity: 
  • How does Sean Spicer face the day every morning. What a beating. 
  • $150 to fix a broken window? It's double paned, but what am I missing? 
  • I mentioned the other day that a principal in South Texas committed suicide in the school's parking lot but was not under any investigation. It turns out he was fearful of having an affair revealed. You kill yourself over that? Fight through it. 
  • Trump confused the nation last night: 
  • Unless I'm losing my mind, a Tampa Bay player last night against the Rangers had a base hit by hitting it after it bounced on the way to the plate. 
  • Judge George Gallagher has been essentially been removed from Texas AG Ken Paxton's criminal case.  I mentioned it when the defense first filed the motion: There's a little known provision in a statute when disqualifies a judge from presiding over the case once he grants a change of venue unless both the State and defendant agree to keep him on. 
  • The over/under on Dallas Cowboy wins has been set at 9.5.  Ladies and gentlemen, it is only May and my sports expert opinion is to take the under. You're welcome. 
  • Buddy, I hate to disagree but it looks like you stay up every night: 
  • I think this might be a trend:
  • John Clayton has been laid off by ESPN. 
  • Wise County is buying one tricked up ATV for EMS for a whopping $22,500. 



at

5.30.2017

What Qualifies As News Any Longer?

What a weird photo. What a weird story about it: "A spokesman for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department told the Houston Chronicle that the photo is real and not photoshopped. However, the spokesman said the picture is a little misleading.'It's not as bigly as it appears,' spokesman Steve Lightfoot said. "[It's an] optical illusion created by extending frog toward the camera – similar to what you see with fishermen holding up fish to make them appear larger. Still a big bullfrog, though."
at

This Was A Pretty Good Baseball Fight

But I like this guy's take. The catcher wanted nothing to do with it.

Edit: Just a funny angle of the fight . . .

at

Jane Is Killing It


at

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega has died. I always found it odd he was referred to as a "strongman."
  • Sports writer Frank Deford has died. Few people remember that around 1990 he started a daily newspaper devoted to sports called "The National." It was great. It lasted less than a year if I recall. 
  • Angry Trump!
  • And he finally figured out that the German Chancellor dogged him: 
  • Tiger had a bad weekend:
  • Fox 4 News must have hired a new consultant. They led with the weather last night because it might rain later in the week. 
  • Anyone else think Greg Abbott may not be very bright? 
    “I’m going to carry this around in case I see any reporters.” 
  • Tony Romo had a guest appearance at the Colonial in order for CBS to promote him. That guy is going to be awful as a football color guy. 
  • I heard that a J.P. didn't get to the Wise County Jail to set bonds until mid-afternoon yesterday. 
  • A Texas legislator called I.C.E. on people in the gallery yesterday. A representative on the other side of the aisle issued a press release that includes an F Bomb.

at

5.29.2017

And We Should Only Risk Soldiers . . .

. . . when absolutely necessary. 

at

Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • Who is the hardest working man in show business?
    "This guy" = Me
  • There's a Letter to the Editor in the Messenger this weekend which I almost disregarded as a crazy rant about property taxes -- until I thought about it. Stay with me here. Almost all taxes are a one time thing. You buy something and you pay sales tax. You make money for a year and you pay income tax on it. But property tax is weird. You own the same piece of land every year and you don't sell it but you get taxed on its value annually. That perpetual taxation seems wrong. 
  • Trump's back! Once he saw the TV coverage of NATO leaders laughing during  his speech when he scolded them for not paying their "fair share", he fired off this (which is a bold face lie.)
  • But there's no better Trump than Angry Trump:
  • If Mrs. LL doesn't stop videoing me when I don't know it, I'll be on Wise County CSI in a month. 
  • By the way, she went to a garage sale this weekend and came back with an inflatable boat and a trolling motor. She took it out and was met the Game Warden. 
  • Oh, she made me watch The Princess Bride this weekend. Here is a crazy movie review: I think it is like Star Wars. I didn't understand what was going on in either one of them! Is it too much to ask for a little back story?
  • A loyal reader and fan of Wise County history asked me this. Any answers?: "A long time ago near Alvord (?) . . .  . there was a country music festival. I actually prowled around the left over rotten, remaining structures years after the fact. Somebody told me Conway Twitty played there or he was supposed to play and the whole thing never got off the ground? My guess is it happened or did not happen in the 1970s?! The guy who showed it to me even reported the detail of the stars being transported by helicopter from DFW." Did it happen?
  • "I love you, Jane." How old is she?
  • Best moment at the Colonial: 
  • No one understands Trump as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She shockingly said yesterday, "“The times when we could fully rely on others [she means us] are to some extent over -- I experienced that in the last few days.We Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.” Translated: Who can depend upon that guy?
  • What a crazy crash at Indy: 

  • This picture from U2's Joshua Tree concert in Arlington on Friday is really, really great.
  • "(CNN) A [Navy Seal] of the US Navy's skydiving team was killed Sunday when his parachute malfunctioned during a team jump."
  • JFK was born 100 years ago today.

at