Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• I caught so much grief over wearing cargo shorts in the photo that I posted yesterday. One of my buddies even gave me the business about it in person. As I told him, "Once you get to certain age, it's not that you don't understand fashion, it's about the fact that you just don't care."
• Something that happened yesterday I would never have dreamed of: I spoke in front of a big crowd at the Decatur Convention Center, made a Steve Bannon joke, and actually got quite a few laughs. 
• In the same event, Decatur lawyer Mark Howell had a very funny line as he takes over as the Wise County Bar Association presidency: "I promise to do the same thing as Barry Green has done for the last 15 years. Nothing." That's quality comedy, sir. And true.
• I was exhausted yesterday. Traveled from Florida the day before, ended up watching what might be one of the greatest MLB World Series games of all time past midnight, and then woke up shortly after 5:00. I'm too old for that. 
• The Russia Collusion thing heats up. Look up "Papadopoulos guilty plea." And I love Sean Hannity's defense: "He admitted, OK, he lied to the FBI. I think he is 29 years old." (But all I can think of now is Vegas Vacation and Papagiorgio.")
• One thing I forgot to mention about Disney World: We did the Haunted Mansion "ride" and I wanted to because it fascinated me thirty years ago. Oh, my. Has it been ramped up. They had a hologram of a head which was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.
• And one thing we didn't even think about: We were there right before Halloween and visitors were dressed up left and right in costumes. It was pretty insane. 
• As I predicted yesterday, House of Cards has been cancelled. I'm an Entertainment Genius.
• Reminder to self: Wear a cap or sunscreen when you go to Florida even in October.
• As a kid, I never dreamed that giving out candy on Halloween would be more fun than getting it. But it may not happen tonight because of the rain.
• I don't understand how you can deposit a check by taking photos of it. There are obviously safeguards to keep it from being deposited twice, but I don't know how it works. 
• NFL Commissioner Robert Roger Goodell is a strange guy. I don't know if he is ethical or crazy. He takes on two owners and two of the best players in the league on, arguably, shaky grounds. That being Brady and Bob Kraft, and Zeke and Jerry Jones. He is paid millions a year and he may end up my be losing his job. 
• There was a fake character on The Ticket once who called Zeke the "Ecstasy Ewok." That's funny.
• Another travel story: We got to see the overbooked flight where they started the bid process to get someone to give up their seat. Mrs. LL and The Freshman in The House asked me what it would take to stay behind (it included a free hotel and a flight out early the next morning.) And said there was no price. Mrs. LL said there had to be a price. I finally said I would start considering it at $1,500. It went for $600. 

Bridgeport Guy

Totanka with my A-1 spotter pic.twitter.com/HdD9knvaSA

— Neal Hawks (@nhhbbfan) October 30, 2017

Am I crazy for simply asking the question, "Why?"

Cop Suffers Panic Attack

Two completely different points: (1) First I'm not sure why he quickly fired shots at the beginning. (2) The panic attack hits him at around the 5:30 mark. I've known people who suffer from them, and I've seen them. Crazy breathing that you can't control.

From Last Night

Instant karma's gonna get you. pic.twitter.com/EKiYr3Xtlt

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) October 30, 2017

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury has indicted Trump's former campaign manager in the Russia probe. It begins. 
  
• And always remember this graphic from Fox News.
  
  
• Kevin Spacey had a heck of statement yesterday regarding allegations he abused a young boy. If there was going to be another season of House of Cards there won't be now. 
• My theory of there are ads buried everywhere became even more true during the World Series this weekend. In the bullpen, there was some website scribble on the back wall in big letters. Later, from the same camera position, it turned into a full blown professional graphic. 
• I was in Florida this weekend for a softball tournament. Like I said on Friday, traveling is a beating. I had the most intensive TSA pat down going through screening and they even swabbed my hands with the guy turning to another TSA agent and saying, "I've got to check this" as he then went to some kind of machine. I could be wrong, but they seem to be on high alert. 
• Oh, and American Airlines issued two boarding passes for me and another guy which had the same seat assignment. 
• We went to Cocoa Beach which pretty much looks like Padre Island with all the sea weeds on the shore. 
• But it did give rise to a picture of me looking at a Random Thought Girl taken by Mrs. LL. (The wind is blowing my hair by the way.) And, yes, I have no butt. 
  
• We also went to Disney World. There are a multitude of parks now but I wanted to go back to the original for nostalgic reasons. Our family went there as a kid and after we got home my dad wanted to know the stock price of Disney. Nothing has changed. That place is printing money.
• One thing I noticed about Disney World: Around noon all you see is beaten down parents with happy kids. A few hours later you've got beaten down parents and beaten down kids. 
• "You stand right here and I'll be right back. I don't want to issue a 'Silver Alert'" - Mrs. LL to me. I tend to get lost from time to time. 
• At the softball complex near Orlando, I took a walk and found a pond and, much to my surprise, a baby alligator. Mrs. LL came to see it and we both had the same thought: "Where's momma?" as we suddenly had our heads on a swivel.
• The team of the Freshman in the House lost every game. I think it was eight. But Mrs. LL and I got into an argument when a coach of her team yelled at the third baseman (the dugout was on that side) after the batter laid down a perfect bunt which no one could possibly have gotten to. The coach yelled, "You have to anticipate that!"  My position: You're the coach. If you saw it coming (which is obvious), tell the kid to cheat up. You see that in college softball all the time. Her position: The coach is teaching the kid a lesson for not having situational awareness.
• I watched about three episodes of the new season of Stranger Things. That's good stuff. And the fact that Paul Reiser, from Mad About You,  is in it is fantastic. (But, man, we all get old.)
  
• That was a crazy Major League game last night but it was into five hours in the ninth when the score was 12-12.
• As I predicted, Texas beat Baylor. #Liar #MayNotBeSportsGenius

Above The Fold

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here.

 "I asked for Little Caesars"! And you shall pay for your mistake!"

 How did this plan not work? 

 If you mess with the bull, you get the horns. 

 "I did the broad jump in high school. I can do this."

 "Give me a break. It's late. I've been at a wild Halloween party 

with a couple of Yorkies and I'm hungry."

This dog figured out that bits are fun. 

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Tarrrant County DA Sharen Wilson tweets during the day for her re-election campaign when she should be working. I have never understood how public employees can get away with that.
• Traveling is a beating.
• I petted a service dog yesterday (a real one) of an elderly man. It was cute. Some small thing that never barked, looked at you with dumb eyes, and had his mouth open the whole time. The guy, who was in a wheelchair, said "I make friends because of him." And as I walked away he said, "Thank you."
• Thousands of pages of JFK files were released yesterday but Trump is keeping some of them secret for another 180 days. What I've heard about them so far is fascinating. And there are 180 documents being held back for 180 days because of security reasons. Oh, my. 
• What did he mean by "our" heritage?
  
• What a vicious and illegal hit in last night's NFL game. The sport of football will not survive. 
• I remember very little about every college course I took. For example, I took an accounting course, got an A, and really the only thing I remember is that Equity = Assets - Liabilities. (And that was taught on the first day of class.) I think the real value of college is hanging out with a diverse group of people, figuring out who are smart and who are dumb, and then hanging out with the smart people.
• Did I mention that long time employee Tammy Sosa is running for Justice of the Peace 2?
• I'm surprised that the Bridgeport City Council didn't back COMPLETELY down from their annexation invasion. If I'm a public official, I'd put it on the back burner until the heat dies down and then try again. (Below is stolen from the Bridgeport Index. Everyone go buy an Index. Don't sue me!)
  
  
  
• For some reason, if I stay in any hotel I have a war with ice machines. They used to be on every floor but no longer. Last night I went to one on my floor, and much to my great excitement, found one. Yet,  "Out of Order" it said. Cue the Curb Your Enthusiasm music. It's not my  personality, and I would never do it, but I wanted to be Larry David and go down to the front desk and say, "Uh ....(pause) ...can we talk about the ice machine?"
• Hey, you one Dennis Prager fan out there who reads the blog: Yesterday he said patting a woman's behind was not sexual assault and "there are some things that men just do." Incredible. And Mark Davis took issue with the term "sexual assault." Look, this isn't hard. "Assault" is defined, even under the Texas Penal Code, as "offensive touching." And if you do it for personal gratification, it is "sexual".  Sure, it's not a crime of "Sexual Assault" under any Penal Code but it's just an accurate description of men preying on women.  The old white men in this world are amazing. 
• Speaking of, you have to read what a broadcaster said during a Cleburne, Texas high school football game. 

Get Me This Dog!

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Texas House Speaker Joe Straus is not running for re-election. He was the only thing keeping the legislature from being out of control.
• Long time JP2 employee Tammy Cowley Sosa is running for JP. 
• “I’m a nice person. I’m very intelligent.” — Trump yesterday. I've never met anyone intelligent who told me they were intelligent. 
• Oh, George. 
  
• John Coryn endorsed crazy Roy Moore in Alabama.
• I still find it amazing that Abilene High is in a district full of Keller High Schools. 
• Did you know Congress late at night this week removed consumer protection against credit card companies and it took VP Mike Pence to break the tie vote? 
• The Dodgers used 22 players in last night's lost to the Astros.
• We had a Confederacy of Dunces gather in Texas yesterday: 
  
• So the Democrats funded the researcher of the shocking "Trump Dossier"? Oh, the horror! Just wait until Mueller tells us that even part of it is true. 
• Every now and then I'll get a call from an out of town attorney who has a Wise County criminal case and wants to know about the personality of the prosecutor. (Which is a great question if you are trying to help someone.) If I don't know the caller, I'll make it very brief. If it is a long time friend, I'll go on for 15 minutes. As I have been told, I'm an observer of the Human Condition. 
• It bugs me that during the day, some new cars will cause one of the headlights to go off if someone hits their turn signal. 

Above The Fold

This Isn't Good

Oh my god... 😂😂
pic.twitter.com/bMpEJ7k9pN

— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) October 25, 2017

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Does Fox 4's Steve Eagar have a toupee?
• Congrats to Brock Smith for the district judge appointment.  Everyone thinks Brock and I had this huge falling out since we used to be law partners. We didn't. He walked in one day and said, "I think we should split up." I said, "OK." It was like that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry's girlfriend broke up with him in the diner. We are friends. I've had to explain that to at least four people this week. 
• Someone asked me if I would run for election for next March's Republican Primary for district judge. The answer is no. For my future, my eyes are on the beaches of Costa Rica more that the any benches in Wise County.
• There were no protesters at Trump Jr.'s appearance yesterday. That confuses me. 
• In the last two weeks I've seen two former district judges from Tarrant County appearing in the Wise County District Court in criminal cases. One I would trust with my life. One I wouldn't lend $10 to.
• The greatest part of getting older is that you don't care what you say. (See above bullet point.) 
• Speaking of, since the great Judge Fostel died, we have had some guy named Judge Weeks, a retired judge, fill in. He seems to be, I think, a good older guy, but there was a weird transformation about him. He started off being kind and then, oddly, turned into a little bit of a tyrant. Last week, I asked for a first-time continuance because of an out of town softball tournament for my daughter.  He granted it but looked at me and said, "I'll allow you to got to your softball game." You'll allow me?  Buddy, I was going regardless of what you said, and if you threw me in jail it would been the greatest day of my life. It would give rise to the most fantastic blog post of all time and the defense bar from across the state would come rushing in like it was Normandy to get me out of there within an hour. 
• Unlike him, we now have a judge who understands the Fourth Amendment. 
• Hot sports opinion: Winless Baylor beats Texas this weekend. #SportsGenius
• High school football rankings. Uh, what?: 
  
• I've been saying for a year that radio boy Mark Davis has lost his mind. He wrote this for the Dallas Morning News. Dude, Trump ran as a Republican and you supported him. 
  
• The soon to be released JFK files interest me. 
• How was it 103 degrees in Los Angelas yesterday?
• Incompetence: "Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore announced Monday that prosecutors have dropped all charges against state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, ending a two-year saga in which the veteran Austin Democrat was investigated by the Texas Rangers, indicted on corruption charges, and beat the rap."

Breaking

Wise County and Jack County judge news is coming today. One applicant just got a call that they are "going in a different direction."

That's all I know right now.

Here's the Governor's appointment link. 

Edit: This is weird. As of 2:30, there is no update. You call one applicant in the morning and tell him he didn't get it but then sit on your hands?

Edit: BOOM!

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Billy O'Reilly paying a jaw dropping $32 million to settle a sex harrassment case is, well, jaw dropping. And to think Fox News gave him a new contract after it. And to think Hannity had him on his show this month. Fox News is all about family values. 
• The Cowboys' Sean Lee is hurt again. Who would believe it?
• This first Twin Peaks Waco Biker Trial is weird. It's not about who is a shooter, it's about who was in charge. What a stupid case to pick to start it all out with. And remember, 177 people were arrested. 
• Trump Jr. is in Arlington today. UNT is sponsoring it. Mrs. LL and I discussed going to it simply to protest with a creative sign. 
• When I was a kid, dad took us to Disneyland. For $20 extra, passengers got to take a helicopter to Anaheim. It probably seated 20. My mother thought it was very unstable. One week later, the helicopter crashed killing passengers. 
• The Denton courthouse uses private security folks to screen people coming in. (But why there are five seems a little odd, however.)
• Good lord. Is everyone corrupt?
  
• There has to be a shortage of construction workers. I've mentioned before that the Love's in Bridgeport has taken forever to complete. There's a convenience store on 287 in the heart of Decatur that looks like it will never be completed. The hotel by the convention center in Decatur is moving very slowly. 
• According to this morning's Update, a Wise County deputy was involved in a shooting in Chico.
• It is now October 24th, and the Governor has still not appointed a new district judge for Wise and Jack Counties. Once again, there is a primary election in March. 
• The great Dentist Dr. Dan in Bridgeport warned me years ago I had a impacted wisdom tooth problem that would cause problems. I ignored him. I shouldn't have. 
• Former Tech coach, Mike Leach, who I love and is crazy, discusses the difference between Vikings and Pirates. 
• Is it just me seeing this, or are there more temporary license plate paper tags lately? And wouldn't that be a great scam? You could print them out with a legitimate number of a car that matches the make and model of you car if you had access to the right database. 

Decatur High School's Volleyball Team Gets Picked Up By Deadspin

Link

How Is This Possible?

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• "It is 'highly inappropriate'" to get into a debate with a four star General." - Press Secretary Huckabee-Sanders after the press questioned his defense of Trump. You kidding me? Does anyone in the Administration have any idea the important roll of the press in this country? 
• This will only appeal to legal gurus: A weird Fort Worth appellate case just released on the Speedy Trial Act.
  
   
• I think Curb Your Enthusiasm is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. And when you can get Salman Rushdie to make an appearance (which is an old Seinfeld joke) you are on the top of your game. 
• Sports: (1) The UT quarterback is a gamer but might not be very smart. You cannot make that throw in overtime. (2) The Indiana game had one bizarre moment: They let Michigan State score from about 10 yards out so they could get the ball back. It didn't work out, but it truly was the smart thing to do.  (3) The Cowboys having to use a defensive back as a replacement  kicker was high entertainment. 
• For some reason I ended up at a UNT softball game on Friday night. There are more people at Decatur baseball games. But it was entertaining and I got to see the rare ball hit to the right fielder who was able to throw out the runner at first base, 
• The Freshman In The House called me "bro" last night. I didn't get mad, but I did pause and, deadpanning, asked the question, "Did you just call me 'bro'?"
• You kidding me? One con man promoting the book of another con man. 
  
• Does he have a date and time? I'm trying to make vacation plans. (And he's trying to sell a book instead of doing his job as a pastor. Incredible.) 
  
• 
  
• We've got a huge tree in the front lawn which either had a premature fall of leaves or is dead. (I'll find out next Spring. )
• Some running back from McKinney High has rushed for 592 yards. In one game. 
• Only $125 to see a millenial comic open for Sheriff Joe at a Trump golf course!:
  
• The front page story entitled  "Dark Days" in the Messenger is fantastic. There is so much history which has been lost and stories like this need to be told. My dad had never heard of it. 
• There was a fire in a nice house in Bridgeport that caused a  fatality. My brother lived on that street about 30 years ago and I'm trying to figure out if it is the same house. 
• From the Update: "SHERIFF’S OFFICE K-9 PARTNER MISSING". That must not have been a very strong "kennel."
• The Richardson child's body has been found. Was she moved there or is daddy telling the truth that he put her out by a tree and then she wandered off? Either way, it is heartbreaking.