A Political Year In Pictures

"Sincerity"
"I Don't Recall My Own Name, Sometimes"

"4,207 Soldiers Dead In Iraq And Counting"


"Family Values Sometimes Means Being A Little Gay"



Edit: The joy of Christmas is flowing through some of the comments today:

These Girls Want To Remind You . . .

- There is no chance of a tiger escaping from that sanctuary in Boyd. But we need some media coverage to confirm it.
- Call 911 and ask, "Is this call really being routed to Bridgeport? Eeewwwww."
- "Freezing fog" can't touch you this morning
- Tonight is the last game of the year for The Evil Empire (and the 1st hasn't even arrived yet)
- Some important lady in Pakistan just got killed. Chaos ensues. Some local convenience stores may have spotty service today.
- That NFL game between New England and the Giants will be broadcast simultaneously on Saturday night on the NFL Network, NBC, and CBS. But these girls will be watching a Rock Of Love marathon. And it will be more entertaining.
- They are all potentially better wives than that lady in the Lexus commercial who hangs up on her husband right before he gives her a new car

Bridgeport PD Becomes NORAD

Channel 5 News just reported that 911 service for Wise County "went down" yesterday afternoon and that all calls are being funneled through Bridgeport.

WCSO released this yesterday:

Wise County 911 service went down about 2:00p.m. today. Immediately the emergency service was transferred to Bridgeport Police Department, so that all 911 calls would be answered. Communications Supervisor Susan Gomez worked throughout the day with Sprint to locate the cause of the problem. As of tonight, 911 service at the County has not been restored. It will possibly be Friday before Sprint can repair a failing part in the computer system.

911 Service is WORKING and will be answered in Bridgeport. Please do not be alarmed if you call 911 and it is answered "BRIDGEPORT 911." Other than Decatur Police Department, Bridgeport will answer all County 911 calls until the service can be repaired.

We do not wish to alarm anyone and will respond to all 911 calls. The only difference is where the calls are being answered.

Fox 4 Screenshots On Bell Family Tragedy

FYI

Getting lots of reports that both Fox 4 and KXAS (Channel 5) will have segments tonight on the tragic wreck on New Year's Christmas Eve that involved the Bell family.

He's Having The Best Week Ever

The Cowboys just cut fullback Zack Crockett, who they picked up off waivers last week when Roy Williams was suspended. Williams is back so Crockett is gone.

Crockett arrived at Valley Ranch on Thursday. He participated in Thursday's practice, Friday's walk-through and went on the trip to Carolina but was inactive for the game.

For all that hard work, Crockett pocketed $48,235, which is one-seventeenth of his $820,000 salary.

Credit.

Found Puppy Dog

How's this for a kind heart? From an email:

I was hoping you could help me. We have a dog that showed up Christmas day and she sure acts like she's somebody's dog since she's great with the kids, and very friendly. We are 1 mile north of 380 on 51. We would like to find her owner since I'm sure her family misses her. Could you please post her picture on the blog with our area? Her markings are fairly unique.

Let The Panic Begin!

One Of Time Magazine's Photos Of The Year

A member of the military accompanies Rachel Guy-Latham at a viewing of the body of her husband, Sergeant Thomas Lee Latham, 23, who was killed by an IED in Baghdad, Iraq in March.

Post Christmas Pick Me Up

In other news, a guy gets killed by an escaped tiger, a little girl gets killed while riding her new bike, a 19 year old gets drunk and dies after falling off of a roof, and a guy drives into the home of Pete Geren in Fort Worth and then commits suicide two blocks away. Triple sheesh. Can we just cancel the rest of the year and move onto 2008.

I Just Learned . . .

. . . that Paris Hilton has a 16 year old brother named, get this, "Barron." I'm suffering from so much post-Christmas depression that it made me smile.

That Good Kid Stuff

Brittany Higgins of Paradise made it as Dale Hanson's Scholar Athlete of the Week on Sunday.

Not Everyone Was Off

As I went home to Bridgeport today, I was surprised to see some folks working on a construction site (I'm not sure what the building is, but it's kind of close to where the new hospital will be.)

Actually Came Across This Last Night

It was horrible looking. (See Update or this ST story.) And the fact that it was on Christmas Eve makes it even worse (if that's possible.)

That left hand turn off of Business 287 to go south on 287 is quickly becoming one of the most dangerous places in the county.

Before I Forget . . .

. . . Merry Christmas. To the lurkers, to the posters, to the haterz, and to those that often look at this silly blog with a question mark forming over their heads. Thanks for reading. Enjoy these days.

At Least I Didn't Hear, "Come With Me, Sir."

I walked in and out of Macy's at Northeast mall a couple of times yesterday after making a clothing purchase. I noticed the security alarm seemed to correspond with my entry/exit but didn't think much about. At least until I pulled out the purchase today and noticed the security doohickey was still attached. (Yeah, I paid for the clothes - don't get the search warrant.)

But I didn't really experience the joy of Christmas Eve a moment ago as I tried to remove thing. Sheesh. I finally had to take a hammer to dang thing. (Above.)

Maybe That Christmas Thing Got To Me

Back Story: Someone posted a comment on youtube regarding the crazy coach video (see below) I posted yesterday. He said something about "you must have never played the game" so, having irritated me a bit, I clicked on his username. From there, I found this video he had posted that had been viewed a whopping 13 times. I was ready to roll my eyes but, I'll be dang, it kind of sucked me in.

Random Tnoughts

- I saw a record four troopers between Decatur and Jeterville yesterday (and a Rhome cop.)
- For the love of all things sweet and clean, can I please walk through Northeast Mall without being accosted by salespeople from the kiosks. I felt like I was in Matamoras surrounded by kids selling Chicklets.
- Man, it looks cold at the Chicago/Green Bay game right now.
- People are driving like idiots. Slow down.
- The Waitress is like a bad high school one act play. (Although I remember why I rented it: the co-star/director/producer was murdered before the movie was released.)
- I saw Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story the other night. Funny. But I probably need to watch it again to fully appreciate it.
- And what a pile-up in the Panhandle: "We're not really sure how many cars, probably in excess of 40 cars and in excess of 20 semi-trailers."
- Field Of Dreams was on today, and everyone always thinks it is so touching. But the basic theme is this: "If you have a magical place where baseball players from the past appear, you can make a buck off of it by charging $20 a person." Yep, people will come Ray. People will come.
America at its finest.

Edit: Lest I remind you of this quote from the movie. . . . "Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it."