Legal Stuff

This headline caught my attention today in the Star Telegram: "Jury suggests 3 life terms for ex-pastor". This was followed by this sentence in the story: "The nine-man, three-woman jury deliberated more than three hours Tuesday before recommending that [the defendant] serve three life sentences." Not to nit-pik, but that wasn't a "suggestion" or "recommendation". When a jury hands down a sentence in Texas, their decision is binding.

Zillow.Com

This doesn't work for Wise County (yet) but it's pretty cool. Type in the address of a home and a satellite view will appear with the home's value appearing over the property. (As well as the value of other homes on the neighborhood). You can learn more about the property by clicking on the little blue dots above the price. If you want to play with it, type in 1504 Shady Oaks with a zip code of 76107. You'll get a bird's eye view of the exclusive Westover Hills area in Fort Worth. Link.

Cancer

Now Gov. Ann Richards has been diagnosed with it.

War. What Is It Good For? Huh!

"VIENNA, Austria - Iran threatened the United States with 'harm and pain' Wednesday for its role in hauling Tehran before the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program." Maybe we should stick to picking on just the weaker countries.

Rethinking

There has been a lot of coverage this morning on the death of Dana Reeve two days ago. I was stunned to learn she died from lung cancer even though she didn't smoke. And I was amazed to see the video footage of her two months ago singing at a benefit - she looked absolutely fine.

Sheesh

It's 10:48 p.m. and the most interesting political race in Wise County is between two very good guys for County Judge. The count at this moment: Dick Chase: 846 Bill McElhaney: 901 Of course, the big question is: Are these the final results? If not, how many precincts are we waiting on? The answer: Who in the hell knows. The Messenger's web site amazingly fails to tell us this information. Channel 5, about 30 minutes ago, reported these results and said 95% of the precincts were in. Sadly, I'm relying on the metroplex to give me information that is within 100 yards of the Messenger's offices.

The Rumor Is . . .

. . . that the biggest fraud in music history is pregnant again.

Election Results

If you care about local elections in area counties, this Star Telegram page is great. [Edit: After checking all evening long, I noted that non-Tarrant county races have not been updated since the early voting.] Of course, the Messenger carries Democrat results here and Republican results here. Wise County on the Web stayed out of election coverage (although I normally do a great job) because of lack of interest.

Denton County DA

There is an upset in the making. With only early voting counted (but almost always a predictor of the ultimate results), long time Denton DA (and the very arrogant incumbent) Bruce Isaaks is in trouble. The current results: Issacks: 2,625 Johnson: 3,879 This is despite that as of Feb. 6, Isaaks had more than $134,000 to spend on his campaign. Mr. Johnson had a little more than $13,000. Delicious. Edit: With 64% of the precincts reporting, Isaaks is done with a 43% to 57% deficit.

This Girl Is In Dire Need . . .

. . . of $9,000. Help her.

That Constitution Thing

On Monday, Bush said he wanted Congress to give him line item veto power. In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled the line item veto to be unconstitutional. Has something changed?

The Simpsons

Fans of the show have seen the same introduction to the show for over 10 years. Well, some company in the UK has recreated it with real people. It's cool. Link.

Death. Death. Death.

Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Pucket has died. He was 45. Dana Reeve, the wife of the late Christopher Reeve, has died. She was 44. I hope I make it through the day.

Boy, We Hate Different Points of View

The Colorado high school teacher, Jay Bennish, who tried to get his students to think about whether Bush and Hitler were "similiar", was on the Today show this morning. Seemed like a smart and reasonable guy to me. (And he was smart enough to cut his hair off before going on national TV). He was suspended by the school and has been beaten up senselessly by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity - two guys that aren't qualified to be high school teachers. Let's teach our kids not to think critically. Let's not challenge them. That will make us all safe.

Who's In Charge?

Kids Bop 9 debuted at #2 on the Billboard Album Chart.

New Jessica Simpson

Hmmm

My favorite radio station, The Ticket, has now become the flagship station of the Dallas Cowboys. (Meaning the station is paying a trainload of cash to broadcast Cowboy games). I'm concerned. I love the station because it is honest, brutal, and funny. (And the "Fake Jerry.) One of its radio promos is famous for saying, "And we are not in the back pocket of any team." Please, please, don't change. You are one of the few remaining joys in my life.

Paris Hilton Has A Peacock Dress