It's Your Money

On the morning of May 23, 2005, the Texas State Capitol was rife with rumors that multimillionaire James Leininger was in the hall behind the House chambers pressuring lawmakers to vote for his pet project, school vouchers. The Texas Department of Public Safety has now spent more than two years and almost $166,000 in outside lawyer fees fighting a Texas Observer request to release the surveillance tapes to the Observer. The state attorney general and a state district judge believe should the tapes should clearly be made public. The Observer has obtained invoices from law firms defending DPS and we’ve taken the liberty of putting them on our Web site.

Link.

You Don't See This Every Day

The union that is the UAW has ordered a strike as of 10:00 a.m. this morning after contract negotiations with General Motors broke down.

A voice from my radio told me it was the first time this has happened in over 30 years.

And the voice also told me that the parking lot at the plant in Arlington is now emptying out.

Really?

I'm radio channel hopping this morning and stop on WBAP only to hear a commercial endorsement by the wife of on-air personality Hal Jay (he's the guy that wheeze laughs). But, once again, it was his wife.

She was going on and on about a new diet she had discovered (Meta-something). No big deal. But I kind of stopped down when she proclaimed she had only been on the diet one week but had already lost 9 1/2 pounds.

Really?

And I recall Hal Jay (along with a ton of other DJ's) catching heat a few years back after they promoted Body Soultions Solutions: "Eat all you want and lose weight while you sleep." A company that went bankrupt after all the false claims were revealed.

Note To Self

Get rid of open grease pit. (From the Update.)

Tech Chaos

Let's get our priorities straight, shall we.

Tech's head coach Mike Leach went on this rant after yesterday's loss to Oklahoma State: "Defensively, the entire first half we got hit in the mouth and acted like someone took our lunch money and all we wanted to do is have poutey expressions on our face and until somebody dobbed our little tears off and made us [insert F bomb here] feel better," Leach said. "Then we go out there and try harder once our mommies told us we were OK . . . . It doesn't matter if it's a player or a coach or somebody in the background or some support staff, if they're not on board, you get rid of them."

Tech fans agreed.

Today, the defensive coordinator, Lyle Setencich, quit.

I learned this today: In 2005, Setencich's wife, Kathy, suffered a life-threatening hemorrhage – a "brain bleed" in medical terms – and the complications are similar to that of a stroke. Setencich has taken care of his wife the last few years while trying to balance the hectic schedule of a major college football coach. He couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Que?

So I'm sitting here reading the sports page with the Cowboy game on at the same time. Then, suddenly, at 7:47 p.m., Spanish is engulfing the room.

Yep, for the first time in my life, a 30 second commercial in primetime was just broadcast totally in Spanish. For the Madden NFL video game with the caption of "Ya Esta A La Venta."

Edit: YouTube.com has the commercial here.

Ennis Motorplex Crash

I think this happened today. I once dated a girl that referred to the drag strip as the "Motorolaplex."

This, My Friends, Is A Rant

Oklahoma State's coach celebrates a victory over Texas Tech by calling out a columnist that wrote a negative column about his quarterback. And I do mean called out. Hard.

Edit: It finally dawned on me that a "slow clap" kind of broke out there at the end.

Edit: And this is the object of the coach's disdain.

Edit: Her response is here.

Sunday Afternoon Pick Me Up

Giraffe gang fight.

Random Thought

FORT WORTH -- A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot Saturday evening at La Gran Plaza shopping center, police reported.

You know, I think La Gran Plaza is the old Seminary South shopping center (actual photo). Although I could be wrong. I remember going to Seminary South as a kid before malls were popular. It was like a mall except it was outdoors. Goofy concept, but it was incredibly popular before someone came up with the idea to enclose all the stores under one roof.

But I think the old Seminary South is pretty much a mall catering to Hispanics now. The movie theater even shows current releases dubbed in Spanish.

Edit: While browsing for photos, I came across this. Three girls mysteriously dissappeared from the mall in 1974 and were never seen again. That rings a very vague bell.

Talk About Obsessed With Brit

I thought I was hallucinating last night. I'm watching Georgia and Alabama and the game is in overtime. For college football fans, this is big. Huge. The world hangs in the balance. And then, in this nationally televised game, out of no where (and I mean really out of no where) came this bizarre exchange: Patrick: I've got an important question. Blackledge:"Go ahead." Patrick: "What's Britney doing with her life?" Blackledge: "Who?" Patrick: "Britney." Blackledge: "Britney who?" Patrick: "Britney Spears. What's she doing with her career?" Blackledge: "Why do we care at this point? Is she here?"

Slow Saturday

Yeah, not much posting. Yard work. Errands. Cleaning up. And then I took the very unusual nap. I think I hate the nap. I wake up an hour later and am completely disoriented. It's light outside? Did I oversleep? Am I supposed to be at work? Is it Monday morning? Panic.

Wise County Training Ground

This clip is important for so many reasons. First, it teaches you kids never to get drunk and try and climb down your ex-girlfriend's chimney in the middle of the night. Trust me, that is never a good idea. Secondly, select your girlfriends very carefully. The screaming lady in this clip (the "ex") wouldn't be welcomed in the Walmart in Decatur at 10:00 p.m. on a Friday night. And I've been there at that time - it normally requires a flak jacket. Finally, the short clip is worth watching for the climax. The crazy woman throws a "wine" bottle at the guy and catches him square in the head. Pure gold. The man, who may be invincible, doesn't even wince.

Loved This . . .

. . . picture today from the front page of the Dallas Morning News (taken at yesterday's march in Jena.)

Edit: This photo isn't quite as heartwarming.

And on an unrelated note, I laughed at this Letter to the Editor. (Sixth one down entitled "Neiman's glitz tarnished.")

Demon Rum

At the Wisconsin football game Saturday night, all students that had previously been ejected from a game or were required to "pass through" the police station at the game, will have to blow into a portable breathalyzer before entry

If you are under age, you have to register .00, and if you are 21 or older, you have to come in at .08 or lower. If you don't, you're not getting in the stadium.

Big Brother is watching testing you.

Greed Is Good

Forbes has released it's 400 richest Americans list. So why do I post a pic of this guy? He's the youngest one on the list at age 33. Freakin' 33!!!! He's also from Texas. Net worth: $1.5 billion. (All Texans are here.)

And Mecca Is Just This Side of Greenwood

So a New York congressman catches a little heat for making this comment? Sheesh. Wise Countians would proclaim, "We don't know what a mosque is but we're glad we don't have any!! We don't, right? Or is that where the Jehovah Witnesses hang out?"

We all know that if it doesn't have a steeple, it ain't a house of worship.

I Hope Neil Young Will Remember

Just exactly what is "Southern" gospel? Do you have an underlying beat of "Sweet Home Alabama" or "Freebird"? And is it really "free" when you know the obligatory "love offering" pitch will be made before the plates are passed around?