Messenger Above The Fold

Friday Night Lights

Alvord 14 Krum 59
Godley 27 Boyd 14
Iowa Park 21 Bridgeport 42
Burkburnett 13 Decatur 56
Paradise 29 Leonard 35

Arizona State Cheerleaders Taking You Into The Weekend

Is Gordon Gekko Trying To Lose The Election?

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Is $100,000 middle income?
MITT ROMNEY: No, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less.

Does This Look . . .

 . . . like a lawyer (left) who posted a pic of her client's leopard print underwear on Facebook during trial only to cause a mistrial and get kicked off the case?

Why, yes. Yes it does.

Alert Just Issued At UT

Evacuation due to threats on campus. Immediately evacuate ALL buildings and get as far away as possible. More information to come.
— UT Austin Police (@UTAustinPolice) September 14, 2012

Updates should be here.

Austin American Statesman's updates here.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• One station was doing a store on the 77 year old lady v. cop last night and then showed a video from a few years back of a senior citizen caught on dash cam firing back at the camera with a shotgun. A trooper was killed in that incident the report said. I had never heard of it.
• If the 77 year old lady is thinking about suing, she is wasting her time. 
• T. Boone Pickens was on The Ticket yesterday. That man is insufferable. (He was also on Piers Morgan last night with Mark Cuban -- I've got that DVR'd.)
• Kate Middleton is certainly in the news this morning. (You're on your own.)
• Sports: (1) Crazy fake field goal for a TD by the Packers last night on a 4th and 26, (2) with all the games left against the A's, the Rangers missing the playoffs can't be ruled out, (3) Alabama covers against Arkansas this weekend -- bet the house, (4) Ole Miss upsets Texas this weekend - bet about $20, and (5) if you are remotely interested in UT v. Ole Miss, scroll down this link to see a very funny preview of the game. Baylor is even mentioned.
• A spokesman for the very powerful hacker group "Anonymous" was arrested yesterday in Dallas during an online chat.  The group then retaliated by posting the name, address, telephone number, and credit card number (complete with expiration date and security code) of thirteen federal employees. 
• Any of you guys ever read The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11?
• The local CBS affiliate revised its weather forecast yesterday at noon to predict up to five inches of rain over the weekend. Man, they backed off that. 
• I had promised myself I'd get out of the stock market when the Dow hit 14,500. I'm now thinking about sooner -- it sits now at 13,539. There has been a heck of a good run over the last four years and I fear a "correction" is coming. It was around 7,600 at the end of Bush Presidency.
• This may be my favorite time of the year (as long as the weather is cool.)
• The USA Today is supposed to have wheeled out a brand new redesign today. People dog that paper, but I love it when ever I get to read one. But it's always weird when I hear someone say, "I read in the USA Today today . . . ."
• Celebrity prediction: Amanda Bynes' wheels will shoot off far worse than Lindsay Lohan's.
• Death of a 33 year old from Boyd in the Update. What happened? 

Lance Is Probably Going To Have To Change That Cell Phone Number

There are public tweets and then there are private direct twitter messages. Don't confuse the two.

Edit: This is a mystery.

Get Me This Cat That Sings The One Collective Soul Song I Know!!!

Jennifer Nicole Lee Playing Tennis

Just because.

Economics For Dummies

I'm serious, someone explain this to me.  I understand, I think, how the Fed can "buy" mortgages, but how exactly does that make the interest rate go down? My only guess would be that mortgage lenders who sell those mortgages now have cash to lend again. More money available for the same potential home buyers means lower rates based upon supply and demand?

But how in the world are mortgage interest rates the problem? They are at all time lows.

Britney

I haven't watched the X-Factor because I hate those shows.  I mean, my other favorite gal in the world, Christina, is on that other show and I don't watch that one either. And, trust me, that talent crap has to really get under my nerves not to ogle those two gals.

But the other night, Mrs. LL walked by and said "Look at that blonde" on the TV.  I was looking at my computer (probably doing extensive legal research) so I missed it. I hit the replay button on the DVR and Britney rolls by but nothing else. I hit replay again to go further back because I'm expecting to see something weird happen to some blond girl. But, nope, Mrs. LL, unbeknownst to me, just wanted me to check out Britney. So there I am sitting in my chair hitting replay over and over again to  try and find some blond do something weird. And I'd hit the replay button once I got to Britney.

My intentions were misinterpreted. The last thing I heard was an angry, "That's enough."

Texas Cop v. 77 Year Old

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Texas has some weird laws regarding showing a driver's license.  Under the Penal Code, you do not have to identify yourself unless you are arrested. If you are simply "detained" it's not a crime. See Texas Penal Code 38.02.

But under the Transportation Code, a person is required to display a driver's license "on the demand of a magistrate, court officer, or peace officer" if that person is operating a motor vehicle.  And even though it's a "fine only" offense, you can still be arrested like this sweet, dear lady with a bladder infection.

The Reaction

Don't worry about the content or who exactly these guys are, just watch Francesa's reaction at the 54 second point when he wakes up. That's priceless.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Well it turns out Mitt Romney jumped the gun yesterday when he criticized the "Obama Administration's first response" to the Libyian crisis. It was a statement from the American Embassy in Libya that was issued before the killing that Romney attacked. What a screw up. Game over?
• And that political genius Rick Perry also issued a statement attacking the President even before our Ambassador's body was cold. Is the Chinese Ad guy still also running the Perry spin machine?
• You guys realize that several Libyans were killed trying to protect our embassy, don't you? And I bet they were Muslims. 
• There are a couple of murder-for-hire cases in the local news. Those things always seem to go wrong. Or are some murders actual "for hire" crimes that we never know about?
• Academic nugget: Former SMU dean Geoffrey Orsak fired after 74 days as University of Tulsa president. I don't know why but that wasn't even long enough to be considered an academic honeymoon. 
• Cowboys nugget: Only 8 of 24 starters - kicker and punter included - remain from the 1-7 team Jason Garrett took over 25 games ago.
• I'm proud of the landscaping in the front yard of my house. A ton of hours were spent on it. 
• The official organization of Texas District Attorney's and County Attorney's has issued a report saying prosecutorial  misconduct is "exceedingly rare." What a relief!!!!  Now I want to know what DPS believes about trooper misconduct. 
• I was listening to the radio last weekend on the way to LSU and heard a rundown of college football injuries. It was lengthy list of young men "out for the season" with destroyed knees, ankles, and concussions. For the first time, I began to wonder is a sport I love can be justified. 
• A radio commercial compared some product to the "cool side of a pillow at night."  I know exactly what that means but I had never heard anyone mention it before. 
• Someone tweeted this picture of a "massive car explosion" in Irving this morning. 

iPhone 5 Announced Today

The reviews have been less than stellar:

(Thanks, John.)

Decatur Woman Wins Contest To Be On Anderson Cooper

Lets cut to Anderson to see if he is giddy about this news!

Completely Self Indulgent Post

RG3 makes the cover of Sports Illustrated this week.

And the Redskins vs. Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day is now on my radar.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the Redskins darn near ran Baylor's offense last Sunday.  Those crazy quick passes to the wideouts with blockers in front is Baylor 101.  And they've got him running basically an option to hand off or pass on every play. If you're in to that sort of thing, it's broken down by Grantland today. I'll give Mike Shanahan huge credit for totally retooling an offense to fit a player instead of forcing a player into an offense.