Short Article Comparing Reaction Regarding Coppell Mayor and Dallas Police Chief's Son

An excerpt:

Not only is Coppell flying flags at half mast at city facilities to mark the death of Mayor Jayne Peters, who shot her daughter and then herself Tuesday night: The city is bragging about it, according to this morning's story in The Dallas Morning News. A city spokesperson told reporter Brandon Formby: "She did a lot for this community, and that's simply what we're recognizing, that our head of state has passed." But in the wake of disclosure of a city investigation into the late mayor's expense account, we need to amend the spokesperson's statement in order to make it fully accurate: Coppell is honoring the death of its kid-killing, suicide-committing, possible embezzler mayor.

Link.

I Making This Guy My Parenting Role Model

Sheesh, this is easy. Let your emotionally immature daughter spend a lot of time on the Internet until something happens that gets her dog-piled and then you scream like Mel Gibson and threaten to call the cyber police. Where's that Father of The Year Award? (There might be a language warning. Not sure. But I swear I heard that female cop from Fargo in the background at one point.)

Barney?

Edit: Story. (And another reason to wear a bulletproof vest.)

Random Thursday Friday Morning Thoughts

• The murder/suicide involving the Coppell mayor gets weirder and weirder. She was being investigated about charges on her city issued credit card, her home had once been posted for foreclosure, and her daughter never applied to UT despite her assertions.
• It's long and I haven't read it, but I'm intrigued by a new article in Esquire about "the fascinating story about a man who made a perfect bid on The Price is Right." It's getting a lot of buzz. I'll read it over the weekend.
• Sadness: A couple in their 90s die after being trapped in their home elevator in Georgia.
• OK, the oil well is capped but why did that take so long?
• Funny line from yesterday: I think the well would have been capped a lot quicker if we would have had Mel Gibson call BP.
• It feels like global warming to me.
• Promo: This is the last weekend for the play Tuesdays With Morrie being performed in Decatur. Liberally Lean is actually sponsoring Saturday night. Doesn't mean I'll show up in public, but you should go and make me proud. Represent.
• Today is Phoebe Cates' birthday. Celebrate by slowly getting out of a pool.
• Waste of time: Dallas police used who knows how many tax dollars yesterday conducting a prostitution sting operation in Oak Cliff that netted four arrests.
• This video of a fight in a Burger King parking lot in Oakland has been floating around all week. It's the craziest thing you've ever seen (assuming you normally don't see pregnant people, hookers, and dope smoking pimps fight every day.) Warning: I watched it without the audio because my computer was screwed up but, from viewing the chaos, I'm guessing an EXTREME language warning should be issued.
• I came up on a multi car wreck on I-30 near downtown Fort Worth yesterday afternoon. There were two people in a pickup that didn't look like they were moving, but I haven't seen anything in the news about it. Man, that's so unnerving.

White Cop Slams Black Guy's Face Into Hood

Paris, TX.

Yep, we've come a long way. Sheesh.

(Sorry for the 30 second ad. All Internet ads should be 15 seconds or less.)

Sin City: Two Arrested In Decatur For Porn and Gambling

Stop the presses!!!! We got our own personal Las Vegas breaking out here! (Update story). But we'll all be sleeping a little sounder tonight, won't we? (Someone in the comments and another post alerted to the arrests at the Smoke Shop but didn't know the nature of the charges.)

Breaking: Plugged!

At least for now. Now walk it off, birds.

Cat Fight!!!!!

If these girls were at a slumber party with pillows, I'd watch this 24/7. Sure, all I could hear was "yap, yap, yap, yap" but it was fantastic.

(They calm down after about the 3:40 mark, so you can bail if you make it that far.)

Thursday Afternoon Pick Me Up

Kim Kardashian (in honor of the fact that she's now officially dating Dallas Cowboy Miles Austin.)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Funny: Graph showing quality of M. Night Shyamalan's movies over time. (But that's still a cool name.)
• Study released indicates that pain pill abuse is up 400% in the last 10 years. I agree. Big time.
• I watched ESPN's The ESPY's last night which was broadcast live for the first time. Surprisingly not bad. (And I don't know who Michelle Beadle is, but everyone was talking about this dress -- I don't get the fuss.)
• The murder/suicide of Coppell mayor and her daughter is one of the strangest stories I've ever seen. She left four typed notes primarily dealing with how to handle her affairs but with no explanations as to her actions.
• When I hear stories like that, I sometimes think that crazy actions can be explained by a defective brain that we simply don't understand. Just like machines can be defective even when made to work, can that same principle apply to people who are a million times more complicated than the most complex machine?
• DPS troopers find $2 million in a big rig in Texas but no drugs, and the driver denies knowledge of it. So the government just takes the money? Why?
• Dave Campbell's Texas Football puts Bridgeport at #16 going into the season.
• I finally got sucked in and listened to one of the Mel Gibson tapes yesterday. That boy is certifiable crazy. Or maybe the word is defective.
• My writing style is like that of Edgar Allen Poe. Find out yours here.
• "A Mesa woman greeted police officers in the nude and holding a beer after allegedly vandalizing her boyfriend's car with a dog leash, court records state." If I told you there was a book-in photo of her would you click on it?
• Golf fans could have awoken/awakened/woke up at 3:30 this morning and watched live coverage of the British Open. (Only appreciated in my brain: Remember Kevin Costner's character in Tin Cup? His name was Roy McAvoy. The leader of the British Open as I type this is a golfer named Rory McIlroy.)
• A Dallas man hired a buddy to injure him with a gunshot so he could blame it on his ex-wife and then get custody of his child. Sounds like a plan. What could possible go wrong? Story.

Jack County Girl Missing Since Monday

Edit: Wow. This happened when I was out last week. She's been missing for almost 10 days. (Thanks commenter.) Edit: And this video was changed to "private"? Why? Edit: Update on this story in the Mineral Wells paper.

Perrin resident Krishonda "Shonda" Leann Townsend, 19, went missing sometime after 12:10 a.m. Monday, while reportedly returning home from Mineral Wells. According to Townsend's uncle, Jamie Rittenbury, Townsend sent her mother a text message shortly after midnight, telling her she was on her way home -- just east of Perrin in Gibtown. "Nobody's seen her since," he said Townsend was last seen around midnight Monday morning leaving the residence of a friend on U.S. Highway 180 West. The mother of a 2-year-old boy, she was last seen wearing pink shorts, a black tanktop over a black and white polka dot bikini and navy blue flip-flops. A Palo Pinto County Crime Stoppers reward is being offered for information leading to the whereabouts of Townsend. Anyone with information is asked to call (940) 325-0000. Provided anonymously, information leading authorities to Townsend will be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Information concerning Townsend's disappearance can also be provided by calling the Jack County Sheriff's Department at (940) 567-2161 or the Mineral Wells Police Department at (940) 328-7770.

Trial Update: Guilty

The Intoxication Manslaughter case is now in the punishment face, and I'd like to predict things are about to get ugly. He has four prior convictions for DWI (none of them felonies for some reason) and this jury took only 20 minutes to convict him. (And they didn't even know about his past trouble.) Throw n the fact that he didn't care enough to show up for trial today, this will not turn out well. The range is 2 to 20 and up to a $10,000 fine. If you want to bet on the maximum, I'm right there with you. Edit: Verdict came back and .......... The Maximum.

Teeeension

Ok, this isn't the biggest deal in the world but here's the set up: This is at the All Star game this week and the autograph signer is Gary Carter (who I'm supposed to know was a big time baseball player.) But Carter only signs white pieces of paper --- which has to have some connection to collectibles and value but I really don't know. Anyway, the filmer is going to call Carter out beginning at the :45 mark. Observations: 1. Gary Carter remains very cool. 2. The guy filming might be a closet nut case. 3. How many times can one man say "I'll put it on youtube!" 4. But the big finish is the security guard at the end. "You can film me all day long . . . . " Uh, not so much.

Commercial Banned From CBS

A group wishes to build a mosque near Ground Zero and many (surprise) are not too happy. So a different group produces this commercial and tries to get it on TV. Story. I, once again, am in the minority on this one. To me, Mosque = Muslim but not Mosque = al qaeda. And there is, after all, a huge difference. Now if the group wants to build it because of "in your face" intentions, I got a problem with it. But if it's just a bunch of peaceful folks who wish to worship, I have a hard time stereotyping them as wannabe killers.

Would It Be Wrong To Get A Divorce?

Because I think I've found the next Mrs. Green!!!!:

BISHOP — The odds that Joan Ginther would hit four Texas Lottery jackpots for a combined nearly $21 million are astronomical. Mathematicians say the chances are as slim as 1 in 18 septillion — that's 18 and 24 zeros.

Just as unlikely? Getting to know one of the luckiest women in the world.

"She wants her privacy," friend Cris Carmona said.

On a $50 scratch-off ticket bought in this rural farming community, Ginther won $10 million last month in her biggest windfall yet. But it was the fourth winning ticket in Texas for the 63-year-old former college professor since 1993, when Ginther split an $11 million jackpot and became the most famous native in Bishop history.

But she's a celebrity who few in this town of 3,300 people can say much about.

"That lady is pretty much scarce to everybody," said Lucas Ray Cruz. (More)

She's rich, lucky, reclusive, and 63!!!! That's perfect for me. I'll outlive her (I think) and then, KA-CHING! I love you, baby, but this is destiny. But I promise to come back to you after I have a big ol' pocketful of lottery money. We'll even be able to get a new family truckster!!

Intoxication Manslaughter Trial Update: Someone Called In Sick

This is a new one, but the Defendant who is on trial in Wise County (see yesterday's post) called in sick and/or injured today and said he couldn't make it. So the trial is proceeding without him.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• The Mayor of Coppell was found shot to death in her home along with her 19 year old daughter last night. (Fox 4 said "murder/suicide" had not been ruled out and kept saying "police are not looking for any suspects".)
• Right out of law school, I had a once-a-month gig as the night court city prosecutor for Cockrell Hill. I had no idea what I was doing.
• There was a small plane crash in Hood County last night killing three.
• There was another small plane crash outside of Krum last night killing none.
• I don't believe in unexplained "sudden acceleration" in vehicles.
• As a kid, I remember the grocery store cashier having to pick up the can, read the printed price of of it, and then key it in to the cash register manually. And the best of them could work as fast as lightening.
• The iPhone 4's antenna/reception problem (which prompted Consumer Reports to issue a "don't buy" conclusion), is the first major blunder for Apple in recent memory. And the company is so arrogant that it refuses to even address the issue.
• Eight American soldiers killed in last two days in Afghanistan. And all we've done is push the Taliban into the mountains of Pakistan where we aren't allowed to go.
• Bristol Palin is marrying that Levi guy after all?
• The George Steinbrenner coverage was a little over the top yesterday.
• My right eye is watering like it's the Pink Eye, but I'm guessing it'll go away quickly.
• Spent a little time in a piano bar on vacation and was shocked to have a new appreciation for Billy Joel.
• I refuse to eat at Margaritaville because of my disdain for Jimmy Buffett.
• I've started some inside house painting projects. This will be a scene.
• Penelope Cruz and the bad guy from No Country For Old Men got married.

Shaun Rabb ... Fox 4 ...........News

Yep, one and the same. Southwest Texas State, 1981.