After A 50 Yard Fake Punt By Arkansas, This Aggie Girl . . .

will have to suffer from people walking up to her and saying, "I'm so confused!" for the rest of the year.

"Ugly Kardashian"?

The only person who I wanted knocked silly more that the QB was his coach.

Above The Fold

Horrible Saturday News

DFW: Bus carrying North Central Texas College softball team members crashes, 4 killed http://t.co/6dII51Wk8v
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) September 27, 2014

Through twitter posts I was able to find this picture believed to be the #NCTCSoftball victims #PrayersForNCTC pic.twitter.com/FaEWeIscER
— Joangel Concepcion (@JOANGELFOX4) September 27, 2014

Bridgeport vs. Decatur

The start of Battle of Big Sandy pic.twitter.com/NUvb32y75Q
— Richard Greene (@WCM_RGreene) September 27, 2014

Empty seats? Is is now a thing to be fashionably late to a high school football game?

An Example Of Courthouse Compassion

Video link.

HOUSTON (KTRK) --A man charged with capital murder passed out in his first court appearance in the case. Dalton Deune Jones, 26, is charged with the fatal assault of Alejandro Gonzalez-Alonzo, 43.

Either Insurance Fraud Attempt or A Zombie Attack

Index - 1970

Man, what an awful, awful wreck. That had to have rocked Chico.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The father of Wise County Judge In Waiting J.D. Clark was killed yesterday in a wreck on FM 1810. Awful. Eerily, I already prepared a post of a 1970 Index front page -- scheduled to go up in a few minutes -- about another wreck back in the day. I had written, "That had to have rocked Chico." 
• And it wants me to rethink my comment the other day that I felt sorry for the Update writer who had to lead off with "Trail Ride-"  Maybe that's a good thing when that's the biggest news of the day. 
• I don't want to hear your kid in a radio ad: Current violator is Gilley's which is advertising on The Ticket. If a ten year old tells me how great the food is on a menu, I'm not impressed. 
• "BREAKING: Economy grew at 4.6 percent rate in April-June quarter, strongest pace since late 2011."  We've come a long way since being on the brink of an economic disaster.
• Let's see, Iraq used to be ruled by Saddam Hussein who was a Sunni and consequently put other Sunnis in power underneath him. We invaded under false pretenses, captured him, allowed him to be tried in a farce of a trial where he didn't even get to see or know who was testifying against him, and then allowed him to immediately be hanged. Then new "elections" occurred under our watch and the Shiites took power. And we wonder why the Sunni based ISIS group is pissed off and invaded Iraq? (And recall that it is widely believed that George W. didn't even know the difference between the two sects at the time of the invasion.)
• Texas Tech: What's the deal with those helmets from last night? I still don't know what that imagine is on the side. 
• Last night I looked up and The Sixth Grader In The House crawled by on her hands and knees with the normally spastic Family Cat riding on her back. (I started singing the old Jack In The Box commercial about tiny cowboys, but that reference was so obscure I only heard crickets chirping.)
• Questioned posed the other day on the radio: Do kids still play in a backyard "sand box"? I loved my sandbox (which was actually full of soft dirt instead of sand.)
• The lead prosecutor in the Black Widow trial in Fort Worth is Jack Strickland. Fascinating history that guy has. He was a prosecutor on one of the famous Cullen Davis cases back in the 1970s, was then a successful criminal defense lawyer (with an occasional trip to the Wise County Courthouse), and then returned to the prosecution side a few years ago. 
• The number of executions originating by county in the entire United States since 1976: (1) Harris County (Houston) with 122, (2) Dallas County with 53, (3) NOT TEXAS!!!: Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City) with 40, (4) Tarrant County with 38, and (5) Bexar County (San Antonio) with: 37
• You can actually visit the prison where Shawshank Redemption was filmed
• I'm sick of hearing about Derek Jeter but even I appreciated a double in his first at bat and a walk off single on his last at bat in his final game in Yankee Stadium.  But I was reminded of how boring baseball was when I watched his entire first at bat online. Get bat ready. Get glove ready. Step into batting box. Get feet right. Acknowledge to pitcher you're ready. Then Ball. Pause. Ball. Pause. Ball. Pause. Strike. Pause. Double. 

There Was A Report That NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Was Going To Meet With UT Coach Charlie Strong

And the Internet wasn't mature enough to handle it.

FBC Dallas

There's gotta be a better way to say "Why the Jew Is Important to You," First Baptist: http://t.co/yl4sseTy1i pic.twitter.com/WjvDNgVHpX
— D Magazine (@DMagazine) September 25, 2014

My Periodic Rant About JP Courts And Municipal Courts In Texas

JP courts and Municipal courts in Texas handle Class C offenses. Class C means no jail time is possible and the offense is punishable by fine only. Almost all of the offenses those judges handle carry with it a maximum of a $500 fine.

A judge is not a prosecutor. They should be "detached and neutral" which mean he/she should not know a single thing about any criminal case filed in the court other than there is an allegation. They should not advocate one position or another. If called upon, they will preside over a trial to keep it fair.

A prosecutor is the individual which should decide whether a case should be prosecuted. And he should decide what a plea bargain offer should be.  In any Class C case, he has the right to offer a plea bargain of anywhere from a $0 fine to a $500 fine.

But in Texas, every JP or municipal court judge has a fine chart.  You call the court, learn the standard fine, pay it, and you are done. That is clearly illegal under any number of theories. The judge has theoretically pre-judged the case, determined you are guilty, and offered a punishment as a resolution. That's not exactly due process. In essence, the judge is acting as a prosecutor and making a plea bargain offer. Now if the offer came from a prosecutor, that's fine. But a judge can't legally do it despite every JP or municipal judge doing it.

One of these days, the system will be declared illegal.  (Unfortunately, there will be a simple work-around. A citation will be rewritten to read, "Please call the prosecutor's office at [number] if you are interested in a plea bargain." There will then be an employee in that office who will field the call, look at a fine chart, and make the offer. It's the same result, but at least it has the appearance of some semblance of fairness.)

And Another - Jersey

Link.

Hey, You Can Buy Charles Whitman's Gun

Seriously:

This is especially interesting because I've been (oddly) talking about the incident with Decatur lawyer Carol Ann Carson over the last month. She even just recently gave me the book, The Sniper In The Tower. And if you want chills, read the Texas Monthly excerpt from the recent book named, Monday, Monday.

"Let Me See Your License" So I Can Shoot You For Retrieving Your License

HP - A South Carolina state trooper was fired last week and arrested on Wednesday after a dashcam video showed him shooting an unarmed man during a routine traffic stop. Former officer Sean Groubert, 31, is seen in the newly released video pulling over Levar Edward Jones. The clip, which was recorded on Groubert’s dashcam on Sept. 4, shows Jones getting out of his vehicle at a gas station in Columbia. Groubert asks Jones for his driver’s license. As Jones reaches into his vehicle to retrieve it, Groubert shouts, “Get out of the car!” When Jones complies and starts to back away from the vehicle, Groubert opens fire. Three shots can be heard; Jones was hit at least once, in the hip. “I was just getting my license,” Jones says. He also apologizes repeatedly, and asks, “Sir, why was I shot? All I did was reach for my license. I’m coming from work.” “Well, you dove head-first back into your car,” Groubert says. “Then you jumped back out, I’m telling you to get out of your car.” Groubert was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, a felony which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, according to a news release from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The complaint states that Groubert “did without justification unlawfully shoot Levar Jones which produced great bodily injury or was likely to cause great bodily injury. Audio and visual recordings, as well as written statements, obtained are further evidence to indicate the shooting incident was without justification.”

And I think we are all asking the same question: That's either the lowest caliber gun in the history of ever or the trooper is the worst shot in the aforesaid history.

I also don't think, "Sir, why was I shot?" would be my reaction. 

I Thought I Just Felt A Right Wing Earthquake Of Happiness

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Re: Black Widow trial in Fort Worth: She looks to be in trouble in this case. The only way she wins it, and it's a huge Hail Mary, is to take the stand and say she believed her husband killed himself, was distraught beyond belief immediately after the fact, and began making up any story possible to protect his reputation. (But I'm not sure even Drew Pearson would buy it.)
• But what an odd fact about the case from the Star-Telegram today: "Michele Williams’ husband earned $850,000 in the 10 months before his death, but the couple had only $1,000 in the bank." Although "in the bank" is kind of simplistic phrase.
• Anyone else think Cowboy Spare Mo Claiborne's statement is telling:  “My apology went to nobody but those guys, those guys that’s in this locker room with me and it don’t go outside the locker room . . . ." Isn't he saying that he is not apologizing to the coaches or the owner. 
• I've seen two cars in Decatur this week that had a non-factory antenna directly in the middle of the roof. They were tall (6' or more) and didn't move in the wind at all. What are those for?
• The "top prosecutor" under Dallas DA Craig Watkins has resigned saying, in essence, that he is unethical. That's huge. But Watkins Republican opponent Susan Hawk (who's kinda hot) doesn't seem to know how to run a campaign. 
• Any assistant DA who doesn't think his boss is ethical should quit. Any DA who thinks an assistant DA is unethical should fire them. 
• What ever happened to Atlantic hurricanes? 
• A bugged-eyed Jerry Jones depicted on Southpark last night. 
• Tony Stewart won't be charged for running over and killing that other driver on a dirt track from a couple of months back. That's probably the correct decision, but I was disturbed that the DA announced that the dead kid "was under the influence of marijuana".  Hey, there's a HUGE difference between having marijuana in your blood stream and being under the influence of it. And, oddly, "He was not specific about how much marijuana Ward had in his system and said no toxicology report was presented to the grand jury." And, finally, what does the fact he had marijuana in his blood stream have to do with anything? Either Tony Stewart intentionally or knowingly or recklessly or negligently killed a guy standing on a track or it was an unavoidable accident. 
• Someone asked me to explain the grand jury system on this here blog a couple of weeks ago. I will. And I know exactly where the problem is. 
• Are we getting close to the day that quality movies are over? I mean the top ten are still making a fortune, but the top ten are crap. If you like drama, I think cable TV has cornered the market with a better product.  (And did you know that this week is the 20th anniversary of the release of Shawshank Redemption? Would it even be made these days?)
• Minnesota Twins pitcher Phil Hughes' contract provided that he would get a half million dollar bonus if he pitched 210 innings this year. Yesterday, after completing the eighth inning, he had a total of 209 2/3rd innings. Then there was a rain delay. And then he wasn't sent out for the ninth inning. The manager now says he will not pitch out of the bullpen this weekend and is done for the year. Sorriness?
• I feel sorry for the Update writer whenever he has to lead off with "Trail Ride -" 
• ESPN's Bill Simmons was suspended after calling Roger Goodell a liar on his podcast. The Washington Post has the perfect headline about it today: "Bill Simmons suspension highlights uneasy, $15-billion relationship between the NFL and ESPN." ESPN is a walking Conflict of Interest. (Sidenote: I'm a podcast fan in general, and I tried to listen to Simmons but his voice is like a spider crawling around in my brain. And can he write an article on Grantland.com that is less than 10,000 words?) 
• If you have the time, look into the story of the recent death of former NFL kicker Rob Bironas. That is crazy. 

Random Index 1968

• Shootin' Blind is on a gun control rant. (Honestly, I had never heard of the case he wrote about. Here's the wikipedia version of it.)
• Bridgeport gets an airport.  There were at least four incidents of planes making emergency landings around Runaway Bay in the 1960s up until this issue. I had thought the airport existed during that time and planes were just trying to get to it. 
• Hay Competition. 
• That's a list of every administrator and teacher at Bridgeport ISD.