6.16.2015

The Republican Race Will Be Over The Top Entertainment!




"Madam Speaker! The President Of The United States!"


at 10:59 AM

From Back In March



The Dallas Morning News finally got the video. Story.  It was rented but some how we still don't know the name of the driver.

Here's what it looked like before being smashed to bits.


at 8:55 AM

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • Massive rain headed our way by the very non-threateningly named Tropical Storm Bill heads our way. If got the Liberally Lean Flood Watch Center ready to be fired up at any moment. 
  • The guy who shot up the Dallas PD headquarters was killed as he sat in his van by a police "sniper".  When's the last time we heard of a police sniper kill someone who did not have a hostage, hadn't actually killed someone, and was immobile? Ever? Edit: And in this case, he was 13 miles away from headquarters after a chase, police tried to negotiate with him, and then gave up. I'm not saying it's right or wrong. I'm saying we may not have ever seen something like this. 
  • That three month old black bear club found roaming around in Corinth has found a new home at the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary in Boyd. 
  • Donald Trump will announce whether he's running for President today.  Either he's not and just sucking everyone in for publicity, or he will and then back out in a couple of months just to suck everyone in for publicity. 
  • Waco PD held a press conference on Friday (very low profile time, by the way).  The Chief was pretty cocky saying that of the 44 shell casings found outside Twin Peaks that only 12 came from shots fired by three Waco police officers.  I think I would have waited until we know who fired the shots that killed nine people. And I thought this was odd: The shots fired by Waco PD were from rifles.
  • The news of the grandfather shooting his grandson in Decatur in a hunting accident hit the metroplex TV stations yesterday. It was refreshing to see that none of the family members wished to be interviewed. And I only say "refreshing" because of the bizarre number of people who suffer tragedies and are willing to get on camera in less than 24 hours. Never understood that. 
  • Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis requested an outside investigation yesterday of McKinney PD by the Texas Rangers in connection with the Pool Party Incident of 2015.  What a time waste. Let's move on.
  • "The Left Disbars Another Conservative Prosecutor"  - Rachel Alexander on Townhall.com. She actually is referring to the Texas DA who was disbarred on Friday.  Even the Association for Texas Prosecutors reacted to the article: "We want to sympathize with your position, but you might want to find a different poster child. Just sayin'."
  • Fantastic new interactive web page by the Texas Tribune of the 261 inmates on Texas Death Row. Side note: Hard to believe Darlie Routier has been on death row for 18 years and four months. 



at 8:37 AM

6.15.2015

Some Couple Upped Their Prom Game



I have no idea about the back story.
at 1:59 PM

Don't See That Every Day

Fox4News.com | Dallas-Fort Worth News, Weather, Sports
at 9:28 AM

Unrelated, Yet Similar, To Post Immediately Below



Australian boy band 5 Seconds Of Summer’s guitarist Michael Clifford has been rushed to hospital with burns to his face sustained during a concert in Wembley, London on Saturday evening. More.



at 9:15 AM

From Last Night



A ruptured gas pipeline near Cuero, Texas.
at 8:45 AM

Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • The Wise County hunting accident in which a grandfather killing his grandson is beyond horrible. 
  •  Uh, oh. "22 3-inch binders were found in [the Tarrant County DA's] misdemeanor offices and brought to [DA Sharen Wilson's] attention after she took office in January. She said the binders contained more than 6,000 handwritten notes entered by past misdemeanor prosecutors on pre-printed forms seeking their personal observations about officers who served as witnesses in prior misdemeanor trials. The forms, dated from 1993 to 2014, included an option of 'Fudges: (Good/Bad)' under the section about testimony given during the trial. She said the documents raised questions about the credibility of 16 officers, as well as three breathalyzer operators. 'In 19 of the forms, the officer (or operator) is said to have lied but not always on the stand,' Wilson said." This Star-Telegram story praises Wilson for investigating the notes and now disclosing, as required by law, evidence favorable to a defendant. But am I to understand that for over 20 years those notebooks existed and not disclosed to the defense? Think about that. You are charged with DWI and the prosecutor knows that the officer and/or the Intoxilyzer operator have lied in the past yet you weren't told about it? By the way, how does an officer "fudge" in a "good" way?
  • I've never watched more than 15 minutes of Game of Thrones, but everyone was talking last week about the scene involving a child and fire. This weekend, I happened to run across it at the exact moment it began. Really? Isn't that just a bit over the top? Maybe I'd feel differently if I had followed the show, but it sure felt like a group of writers got together and said, "Let's do this!!!! It's crazy!!!"
  • When you think of a murder committed in the course of a robbery you don't normally think of a  Subway but it did in Dallas last night. 
  • A real life Jaws: Two teens lost limbs by shark attacks off of a North Carolina beach this weekend. 
  • I heard Frederick Frazier, vice president of the Dallas Police Association on the radio this morning in light of the incident at the Dallas PD headquarters over the weekend. Oh, my. He managed to use it to advocate for more military equipment, more security at the headquarters and all sub stations, and for a bigger budget from the city.  (One of the first Google results for him is the title "Wiretapping bill dead mainly because Dallas cop was a jerk".)



at 8:40 AM

6.14.2015

Greg Abbott Being Greg Abbott



Remember, he doesn't have to sign a bill in order for it to become law. So this is just for publicity. But if that's the case, where's Ted Nugent? What a missed opportunity!

Okay, ceremony over. He couldn't get any more press out of this, could he?



Yep. My bad.

Finally, from an inside politics standpoint, where is Tea Party warrior Jonathan Stickland in that signing ceremony photo?



at 11:48 AM

6.13.2015

I Get Up Early To Jog And FInd Craziness In Dallas

Gun shots fired at Dallas PD Headquarters.

Channel 8, who woke up John McCaa to come in an anchor this morning said, "This is how it started":..

You can hear a bunch of gunfire after that. I'm confused and it's about to get more confusing.  That was an armored van which police chased and caught. It was purchased on eBay last week? Look here and here.  At 7:00 a.m. they are negotiating with the guy in the van. At this point it sounds like a guy mad at the police for "taking his child" but there appears to be more than just one guy involved in this.

Can't get any weirder? Oh, it can. Bomb(s) found and police robot detonated one of them.


Dallas PD offered this update (in bullet points!):
Edit one hour later: Police Chief says sniper shot the guy in the van. (I hope he didn't have a hostage who he told to "Sit in the driver's seat or I'll kill you.")

Edit: And then around noon . . .
Well that ends it . . .  Or not.

at 6:52 AM

6.12.2015

Random Friday Night SUV vs. Jet Pic




Wait. What?
at 10:28 PM

If Bill O'Reilly Smoked Pot Back In The Day, THEN I'll Believe This




Otherwise, he has been transported to to 1936


at 7:45 PM

Taking You Into The Weekend


Some may only see an animated gif of a stick attached to a GoPro as a dog chases it.

But if it were an animated piece of art, I have so many names for it.
at 4:30 PM

Too Little, Too Late




The prosecutor withheld evidence, and a man was sent to death row.  Man released when it was discovered the prosecutor withheld evidence which would have destroyed his case. And by that I mean, he had no proof the man was guilty. But he didn't care about that.

And that prosecutor was defiant until the end.
at 2:19 PM

"Nerdy Kid Wins Dance Off"




Once again, so many questions.

Where is this? Kids actually have "dance offs"?

And what was up with that reaction? Heck, the crowd at the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid didn't go that crazy.
at 10:32 AM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




  • Yep, the teacher near Lubbock got fired over her Facebook post about the McKinney Pool Incident. I still don't understand how she can be fired. She was fired over speech. She was fired because the government (the ISD) didn't like the content of her speech. Someone commented yesterday that free speech doesn't apply if you are an at-will employee. It does if your employer is the government. The basic law is you can't be fired because of speaking about something of "public concern". Great summary of the Supreme Court's struggle with this issue here.
  • Edit: Some people have pointed out the school policy was the reason she was fired. Hey, I'm no First Amendment lawyer but I don't think the local government gets to trump the Free Speech Clause by a local policy. It certainly couldn't say, "We can fire you for anything you say whether on or off the job." Now if that were in a contract, things would get interesting.
  • The head of the NAACP chapter in Spokane has been pretending to be black. (Great photo evidence in there.)  This story may go from weird to funny to disturbing as her history is explored. 
  • It still seems amazing that Robert Downy junior was allowed to play a white actor dressed up as a black actor in Tropic Thunder. (He and the movie were very funny.)
  • Te murder case being tried in Wise County is expected to go into next week. That's one of the longer trials in the county I've seen. 
  • What a horrible wreck Wednesday afternoon on I-20 which killed a former Aledo ISD superintendent and his grandson. He went into the median, through a metal protective fence, and into oncoming traffic. No knows why yet.
  • I'm all for renewing the Aggie/Longhorn football game, but the new cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football is horrible. 
  • I guess it's legit, but I came across this Twitter account of a guy who has fired off 100s of tweets in recent hours to the media, reporters, celebrities and almost anyone else which reads: "My 13 month old son was diagnosed w/ inoperable stage 3 #Neuroblastoma #Cancer please RT #HenryStrong http://www.gofundme.com/pleasehelpmyboy "  He's raised $3,000 of his goal of $20,000. 
  • There's a salt mine on the other side of Dallas that will on rare occasions give tours? . . . 

at 8:39 AM

6.11.2015

Wise County's Weird Caller ID Problem


I had heard about this but don't know the extent of the issue or the reason it occurs.
at 12:55 PM

Local News And Viewer Reaction


That's a hot opinion right there.

Say what? Karen is an elementary school teacher near Lubbock? She has apologized.

It's a good thing she didn't write: "[The officer] did nothing wrong. He was afraid for his life. I commend him for his actions."  That got a Miami principal removed, and he will be reassigned.

(Hey, I've always said that the government should be prevented from taking any action in response to speech except in the most extreme situations. Honestly, I don't know how either one of these individuals can legally be reprimanded.)
at 12:06 PM
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