Number Crunching

From the Update: "EARLY VOTING - Yesterday was the first day to cast ballots early for the March 4 primaries, and voting was heavy. According to Elections Administrator Lannie Noble, 230 votes were cast, including 127 in the Republican Primary and 103 in the Democratic Primary." I think that's probably a good estimate of the actual Republican/Democrat breakdown in Wise County: Republican: 55.3%% Democrat: 44,7% Edit: Holy crap! Can these numbers be right for Tarrant County's early voting? Total votes:10,439 Democrats: 7,396 Republican: 3,043 ------------------- And I also saw that Embarq is hosting a reception for Phil King. On the very same week that my office switches over to Embarq, they stab me in the back. I bet they are even going to take my firm's first month Internet payment and endorse it over to him as a campaign contribution.

Sheesh

A Dallas cop is under investigation for improperly using deadly force. Here's the story from today's DMN.

On the night of Sept. 22, Cpl. Dominguez was working with other vice officers investigating complaints of prostitution around Ferguson Road and Woodmeadow Parkway in Far East Dallas. About 9:15 p.m., several men flagged down the undercover officer at a Texaco gas station. One asked, "What you lookin' for?" according to a police report. Cpl. Dominguez said he was looking for a girl to date. The man replied that he knew some girls. He led Cpl. Dominguez to the 11400 block of Woodmeadow Parkway where the man tried to call a girl with Cpl. Dominguez's phone, police said.

The man then told Cpl. Dominguez that "they needed to go to a different location down the street," a police report said.

Cpl. Dominguez drove the man into a dark, deserted back parking lot of an apartment complex in the same area. The man exited Cpl. Dominguez's truck and walked in front of it as he talked on Cpl. Dominguez's cellphone.

Another man "suddenly opened the passenger door, reached across the seat, turned off the ignition and removed the keys," a police report said.

The rest is here.

It's just so stupid for cops to be put in that position to fight prostitution (which, even under our Draconian Penal Code, is only a Class B misdemeanor - right above a traffic ticket.)

"There's No Arguing In Here. It's the War Room!"

The U.S. shooting down one of our crippled spy satellites, which may happen as early as today, is simply cool.

But our government tells us they are doing it because it fears the toxic fuel that it is carrying could harm the public.

Yeah. Right. It's a spy satellite.

New One To Ponder

Do Bush appointed male federal judges that have to resign after getting arrested for DUI while wearing a little black dress and fishnet stockings generally "make law" or "interpret the law"?

Girl, Uh, Cops, Uh . . . Everyone Gone Wild

And Another

Facts:

Meet then 23 year old and married Allenna Williams Ward who used to be a middle school teacher. She's was accused of "having sexual encounters with five teenage boys. Authorities said [she] met 14- and 15-year-old boys at the school where she taught as well as at a motel, a park and behind a restaurant." (Actually, she's now convicted of said offense.)

Blog Punishment Phase:

Sheesh, Allenna, this is the most liberal blog jury you're ever going to find and you've got me in a real bind here. Five boys? Five? And even "behind a restaurant?" This is the type of stuff that you'd read about in Penthouse Forum if I had ever seen a copy of Penthouse Forum. In most places you'd be sentenced to the pen quicker than Tom Robinson in Maycomb, Alabama*.

But I'm torn. First, you're kinda cute which is almost automatically a probated sentence. Secondly, you probably have some sex addiction which means this really wasn't your fault. I need to know a little bit about your mom and dad before I could pass judgment. But since I don't know that, I'm deadlocked with myself. I'm sending a note to the judge as we speak. Mistrial.

Next case.
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Footnotes
* Lee, Harper, To Kill A Mockingbird (HarperCollins 1960)


(Thanks emailer Kevin.)

Rep. Phil King is running a ton of ads on WBAP with one of the taglines being, "Phil King is passionate about public education."

Uh, so passionate that he home schools his kids.

Tuesday Morning Pick Me Up

Random TV Observations

The Dallas DA sure did hype the discovery of the meaningless JFK Assassination documents yesterday. Not sure a press conference was necessary. Not sure he needed to act like he had found the magic bullet.


Note to dad who I saw on The Today Show this morning; If your family is going to appear on national TV for the only time in your life, you might want to ditch the cap and college shirt.

Good Work If You Can Get It

I really don't care much about the Jason Kidd trade back to Dallas but I love this nugget: Part of the deal, because of crazy NBA salary cap rules, will include the Mavericks coaxing Keith Van Horn out of retirement, signing him to a $4 million deal, and then trading him to the NJ Nets. The Nets don't want him to play, they just need the contract to help them do more trades down the way. (I really don't understand it.) But most people think that Van Horn will be with the Nets for only one month, never play, and then walk away with $4 million. Good times.

(OK, and I wanted to post this pic of Jason Kidd.)

(And, on an unrelated note, if you like crowd photos, Where's Waldo, and have a weird sense of humor, you'll love this.)

Meet John McCain: Comedian

For some reason I was cruising by CSPAN last night and saw McCain speaking from last Tuesday while in Wisconsin. After thanking former Gov. Tommy Thompson, McCain makes the most awkward and unfunny joke about governors which leaves the crowd, and especially him, flopping around. Then he follows it up with a lawyer joke which wasn't particularly funny 20 years ago. [Insert crickets chirping.] You, sir, are no Barack Obama.

Just A Random Email That Went Out Today To An Office Building In Dallas

Monday, 2/18 A large tenant has received a bomb threat — they are evacuating. Police are involved. If you choose to evacuate, Use elevators to evacuate and gather in AMC parking lot. The bomb will go off at 10:00 according to caller.

If you choose? (Source.)

Hypothetically . . .

. . . I just called one of my hypothetical DWI clients and got his "wait tone" of music which was none other than Merl Haggard's "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink."

Hypothetically, of course.

Fake?

From last week's Houston Rockets game. It just had a little WWF/WWE feel to it.

Books Via IPod

I think I'm getting hooked on modern day books on tape. Since Christmas, I've "read"

Into Thin Air - Great.
Into The Wild - Very good but I'm beginning to agree with those that said this guy was made into a hero when he really wasn't really heroic at all.
Invisible Monsters - From the guy that wrote Fight Club. A really weird book that solidifies my inclination to stick with non-fiction
Her Last Death - Written by an adult daughter about her very wheels off (and still living) mother. I'm not really sure why I should care.

And, to show how well-rounded I am, I'm currently reading State of Emergency by Pat Buchanan. It's a call to arms about illegal immigration. One of the first passages suggested that in the next 50 years the Southwest United States will really be just part of Mexico for all practical purposes. I'm paraphrasing, "The Mexicans will take back the land they had lost through war by the only way they can: by illegal immigration and a change of our very culture."

How I Spent My Weekend

Do not click here. Trust me. You do not want to see that. Really.

Edit: On a very unrelated note, I saw on The Today Show that Lindsay Lohan has recreated a semi-nude photo-shoot of Marilyn Monroe in New York magazine. And even though pics have already leaked onto the Internet, my Liberally Lean Manual of Good Taste indicates that I can't link to them. Than manual has some very weird standards.

666

Looking at the Update this morning, I noticed (1) a fire where six dogs were displaced, (2) another fire six miles south of Boyd, and (3) a six car wreck in Alvord. I'm just saying.

Kurt Cobain's Daughter

Time seems to be moving faster.