We've Got A Madman On The Loose

I've been thinking about this story all morning, and then it hit me: We've got a freakin' Charles Manson type on the loose. How else can you explain a robbery in front of an office occupied by the United States Marine Corp? I've seen Full Metal Jacket. Those guys are nuts. And with all this post traumatic stress disorder going on, it doesn't take much to set them off these days. They would have loved to opened up a can of vigilante justice on whomever committed this heinous crime (a person, by the way, who probably had a bad childhood, but I digress.) Anyway, the alleged robber is either MHMR certifiable crazy or a member of the Taliban. Either way, we're screwed.

I'm raising the Terror Level in Wise County to burnt orange. Be on double triple alert as of noon.

But I'm a little disturbed by the lack of sensitivity from the Messenger on this deal. "Only" his wallet was taken?. "Only?" Unless the victim was left with a Rolex watch and a two carat stud earring, I'd say losing a wallet is a pretty big deal. Probably a bunch of liberal weenies over there that don't understand how hard it is to make a buck in the good ol' U S of A.

Traffic

- Some new traffic study report is here (one page pdf file.)
- Not sure why that red color is in Decatur. I've never seen traffic slow to a crawl on 287 like in the other "red areas"
- Loop 820 from I-35 to North East Mall has been confirmed by the study to be "a beating."

(Credit.)

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

- John McCain canceled an appearance with oilman Clayton Williams yesterday after someone finally told McCain about Williams "just lay back and take it" joke from almost 20 years ago. I remembered the incident but I had forgotten the video footage of Williams not shaking Ann Richards hand that I saw on Fox 4. That did not look good.
- For a moment this morning, there was a yellow tint over the sky and landscape that made me think of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
- "We appreciate the fact that you chose to set fire to an unoccupied building at night when the risk was lower, and we will not forget that." - Paul Maldonado, State Fire Marshal, in a news conference yesterday speaking to the unknown arsonist of the Governor's mansion.
- A reporter, after hearing the above comment, said that it appeared that a plea bargain would "be on the table." Note to arsonist: Cops don't plea bargain nor do they have the authority to.
- Looks like some prosecutor in Dallas County got a DWI. It will be interesting to see how DA Craig Watkins handles this. His predecessors would always fire them on the spot. But, as you may have noticed, he's a bit kinder and gentler. (And Tarrant County always gives second chances.) Edit: FrontBurner has pictures. Extra edit: He has resigned.
- I think Arab convenience store workers in Wise County are more likely to ask you small talk questions than other clerks.
- I've never been in that Boston's Pizza (or whatever it is) off I-35 near Western Center Boulevard in Fort Worth.
- I think I constantly make a reference to "Western Center Boulevard."
- And in Richardson, it looks like some lady was chopped to pieces in a possible "drug deal gone bad." When the local news won't exactly describe what was done to her because it's "too gruesome", it probably is.
- This is the 14th anniversary of the O.J. Simpson car chase. I remember it being a Friday night and I had just came in from water skiing on Lake Bridgeport. That was surreal. And I think the NBA Championship was going on and that network went with "picture in a picture" technology.
- Speaking of, you never see "picture in a picture" advertised much, if at all, any more.
- I received a new wallet as a gift. Now I have to get rid of my 15 year old wallet - which I gladly did.
- It drives me nuts that the Feds are prosecuting Lori Drew in the cyber bullying case, and it drives me nuts every time I see the suicide victim's mother on TV. Does she want to take some responsibility for raising a 13 year old daughter that decided to kill herself simply because of what someone wrote to her?
- Still haven't watched Recount.
- I remember playing golf with a group of guys (at, of all place Tenison Park in Dallas) the year before Tiger Woods turned pro. All three of them proclaimed, "Wait until he has to play with the big boys." I figured they were right.
- I bet it's easier writing "Random Thoughts" than it is the Wise County Messenger Update.
- I hate smoking as much as the next guy, but why does the public idly sit by as the government in Dallas tells a private bar on private land that it cannot let private citizen smoke on a cigarette which is a legal product?
- I don't know who WordKyle is. (People ask me that a lot.)
- Hey, I'm as frustrated as you that Britney Spears has cut back on her crazy clothes wearing paparazzi pics.
- Ok, the newly opened 380 between Bridgeport and Decatur is great. But when are they going to raise the speed limit to something above 55?
- I've gone over a year without back pain, but I felt a twinge this morning. Makes me nervous.
- Everybody is still moaning about the Guantanamo Bay Supreme Court decision but all the complaints all have the same theme: "I can't believe we are giving rights to terrorists." That's the problem: We are assuming they are terrorists and the Court is just asking the government to come forward with some proof to back that up. Seems reasonable to me.

Hot War On Terror Prediction

It's time for the Feds to arrest a group of goofballs on some crazy terrorist plot that could never be accomplished. Every 12 months or so, the Administration has to remind us to be scared. About one year ago, I posted this. I'm still proud of it. (But looking through the comments, I note that Wordkyle was in full swing even back then, TxSharon used to post, and I had completely forgotten about the guy that used to post under the moniker of "The Devil." He could be funny.)

Ron Needed An Engineer

Hey, I like Fox 4 News. I give them props all the time. But this was a moment of Broadcast Gold this afternoon. And I've always said that the local anchors would endear themselves to the public if they would just lighten up a bit. If Clarice had simply looked in the camera and said, "Our wheels are flying off right now", I'd never change the channel.

I drive down Boat Club Road every now and then. It's kind of fun to see the Copeland Complex and then go through that very north end of Eagle Mountain Lake that looks very much like a scene from Deliverance. But, if you would have kept on going this morning, you would have seen the fire above. More here. Not-a-good.

And WBAP said the owners were vacationing in Hawaii.

If You Hate Your Job Right Now

A faithful reader with a dark sense of humor sent along this pic with this note:

Taken 15 minutes ago at my house. My Spanish is rusty but I'm pretty sure I heard one say,"Kill me, por favor." Although I can't be sure.

More Random Thoughts Hit My Brain

- Rush Limbaugh is criticizing all the coverage of Tim Russert. He's trying to make is some "liberal media" thing but, as always, I'm only half listening. - I almost hit a deer this morning. - Between Jacksboro and Runaway Bay, it looks like someone has taken a cross laid out in rocks and created a word that the local Chambers of Commerce would not be happy with. - The Star Telegram is raising its prices, making the paper smaller, and cutting it's staff by 10%. That isn't a good sign. - Time magazine, which always shows up on Monday, has a picture of a fat kid on the cover with the title "Our Super-sized Kids." - A "live blog" of the 18 hole playoff of the U.S. Open? Why are sporting events in the middle of the weekday seem more interesting than they actually are? - Saw "The Hammer" last night on Fox 4 with Steve Doocey. Looked good. Although his rant that T.O. should be drug tested was a little ironic. - Oil hit a record $140 a barrel this morning. I paid $3.99 a gallon for the first time this weekend. - Forgot to mention about Empire of the Sun: Oddest part is a young Ben Stiller playing a bit part as a prisoner in a war camp. - "A college student who branded a former lover's body with a scalding piece of metal as payback for never calling her after they had sex was sentenced to five years in prison Friday."

Video Time Wastes

Stolen from the usual places. For the politically minded: Longest question in history of ever (and I love that reporter from CNN) For those who like carnage: Tricked up gymnastic overshoot (nice job by the 11 spotters) For the relationship folks: Evolution of wedding dance (supposed to get good at around 1:30 mark) Edit: I actually posted this before I watched it. I'd like to apologize. That was a beating.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

- If I can find the Tru Channel, there's suppossed to be a documentary/reality show on drilling rigs in Texas called "Black Gold" starting Wednesday. Sounds pretty good.
- I normally don't sit around and watch golf, but I was standing in front of the TV on Saturday at the end of the third round of the U.S. Open. You'll have to be a golf fan, but somebody's spliced the last two holes of Tiger Woods on youtube here.
- It's not summer yet.
- I don't have sprinkler system, and I got real close to leaving a lone sprinkler on all last night. Remembered it at the last moment. I'll do that about once a year.
- Crazy wreck on 635 yesteday in Dallas that had the freeway shut down for hours. One oddity: Last night most news outlets were saying a lady got killed when she got out of her car to take a picture of the crash. This morning, I'm hearing that she got out of her car to "possibly help."
- The Tony Awards were last night. I've never cared about them.
- You've got to see the Rangers turn Shea Stadium into a Slip N Slide on Saturday.
- I rarely watched Meet The Press but I TIVO'd it this weekend to see how they handled the Tim Russert death. It opened with an empty chair behind the desk on an empty and quiet set.
- Saw something advertised on Fox nationally about "credit card addiction." Addiction? Puhleeze.
- A teenager, a shotgun, a fat man, a Hummer, and an F-Bomb. Good times.
- Do presidential and vice-presidential candidates have to be from different states? I could have sworn the answer was yes because I recall some controversy eight years ago as to whether Dick Cheney was a resident of Texas or Wyoming. But, the answer is "no".
- The Whataburger on Western Center Blvd was robbed last night.
- The Texas Bar Journal published the four winners of their amateur short story contest. (I promise myself every year I'm going to enter it.) The first one bored me to tears in that it was about a lawyer helping out a high school girl that had been denied a chance to try out for the cheerleading the squad. The second one, written by a new law clerk, was about a depressed lawyer in a bar waiting for a hooker to show up. Diversity rules. (Still haven't read the other two.)
- R. Kelly quietyly won an acquittal on child porn charges last Friday. I can't remember which awards show it was a couple of years ago, but I remember the host asking the audience to be sure that Kelly was seated far away from the Olsen twins.
- One of the WBAP traffic helicopters wouldn't start this morning. Seriously. But they did make a funny ball-bearing reference from Fletch.
- I saw my niece yesterday. When she was born, I remember an Hispanic man in the waiting room who appeared to be grieving after receiving some bad news. I've always felt guilty about not saying something to him that day.
- Finished the Pat Tillman book. I feel sorry for her (his mom, the author) because she's filled with so much hatred and bitterness.
- I'm almost through with Empire of The Sun. Good but nothing great. And I can't believe the DVD I have next to watch: Coming To America. I've never seen it.
- I'm going to attempt to watch the DVD series of the HBO show, The Wire. I've never seen an episode but everyone raves about it.
- You would think a prison break in Afghanistan were at least 400 Taliban members were freed would be pretty big news. Any of you hear about it happening last Thursday?

Slow On The Draw

My law partner, who has been active in the Boy Scouts for years, emailed me this photo on Friday, He wrote that i had been taken in Iowa during the tragedy that killed for young scouts. I thought it was amazing, believed it was true, but I was slow to post it because I figured everyone would scream "photoshopped". Then I looked at BagOfNothing's blog today and saw that the photo was actually being run by the AP.

Wow: Tim Russert Dead

Just heard Sean Hannity say "I'm hearing some awful news in the in the industry that I'm trying to confirm." Checked over on Drudge and there's a link to the New York Post that had a one sentence story about this.

Fox News

. . . catching heat for this. I would join the dog pile if I understood it.

Today . . .

. . . the Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of the Defendant in the wrongful death lawsuit in "TXI TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, ET AL. v. RANDY HUGHES, ET AL." That's the case out of Paradise discussed earlier here.

You can actually read some of the briefs filed in the case here.

Hey, Now - Friday Edition

"Kim Kardashian and her sister (who is older but looks younger) Kourtney pranced around in bikinis for a photoshoot by the pool at the Hotel Hermitage in Monaco."

Random Legal Stuff

In reviewing the opinions released this morning by the Fort Worth Court of Appeals, I saw one (pdf file) which involved the reversal of a DWI case. It wasn't particularly significant in that it reaffirmed the well settled proposition that a stop of a vehicle cannot be justified based solely upon an anonymous tip. Bottom line: The court held that there was not a reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle, therefore the stop was illegal, so any evidence found as a result of the illegal stop (DWI evidence) was suppressed. But get this obscure fact that didn't play any role in the court's decision: When the officer went back and viewed his videotape after the arrest, he saw that the Defendant had failed to stop at at a stop sign. He simply hadn't notice it before he stopped the vehicle based upon the anonymous tip. If he had seen it, the stop of the vehicle would have been justified because he had observed a criminal violation. Either we've got an honest cop (since he could have simply put in his report that "I observed the defendant fail to come to a complete stop at a stop sign" and no one would have questioned him because the video would back him up) or the report had already been completed by the time he viewed the video (which, amazingly, some "big city" police departments have the officers dictate the reports over the phone immediately after an arrest.)

Heck, I Don't Know What's Real Anymore

And I have no idea if this is.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

- Very interesting last meal of the guy the State Of Texas killed two days ago.
- I always like the Fort Worth Weekly alternative magazine but I can never remember to track it down.
- Stumbled upon David Letterman last night. Still not that funny.
- While listening to the radio last night, I heard on The Ticket that the Lakers were up by 20+ in the first quarter over the Celtics so "it looks like the series will end up tied 2-2." Uh, not so fast.
- Crazy pic from the floods in the midwest.
- Craziest dream the other night: Brad Pitt and I had to stand side by side in front of a crowd with our shirts off.
- Random South Korea baseball game pic.
- I've always been suspicious of the number of fat grams in those "guiltless" items on the menu at Chili's. But not enough to sue about it.
- Which reminds me of the "skinny enchiladas" at Don Pablo's. I could have sworn I heard the chain was going out of business, and I'm pretty sure the one in Grapevine has shut down. But I saw the one on Rufe Snow opened the other day.
- Not sure what the big controversy is about the new x-ray machine at DFW Airport that allows screeners to see, in essence, your body naked. If I went through it the only one offended would be the screener.
- How do they get the money out of that Currency Plant along 287 in North Fort Worth? Do they just load up a krillion dollars in a truck? Does it have armed escorts? Air support?
- And I took a tour of that place once and got to see the warehouse of what had to be millions of dollars of bills. Absolutely fascinating.
- Almost threw up last night watching Fox 4 story about the crane accident at the new Cowboys stadium. For some reason they interviewed a Plaintiff's lawyer who opined that the incident was probably due to "human error." (Note: Tell OSHA that the case has been solved.)
- Funny scene on Fox 4 this morning when Tim was dancing at the desk to that "Apple bottom jeans" song with Meagan (still hawt) looking at him like he was crazy.
- Baylor and SMU have agreed to a six year deal in football. They will probably all end in a scoreless tie.
- A couple days ago, Lockheed Martin test flew it's new "F-35 Lightning II". Being a fighter pilot would be cool. Being the first one to fly a newly designed plane would be stressful.
- Just realized it was Friday the 13th. Where did that superstition come from? And I don't remember anything bad every happening on the day.
- Funny sight in Fort Worth yesterday: Lady on the back of a Ninja motorcycle wearing one of those face covering cloths (like an Indian or Muslim or whatever). But get this: She was riding side saddle. Tried to get a pic but failed.