Random Best Of Posts: Day #3

• The worst Headline/Photo combo ever in the Messenger.
• Worst Frilly's error ever?
• "I'm a man! I'm 40! My favorite coach rant ever. (With bonus videos)
• A random post about a girl named Latoisha.
• Three teenagers die in Wise County wreck.
• Bad Messenger mistake.
• Why I needed a zoom lense on vacation
• Bridgeport Spillway opened in 2007 due to heavy rains.
• I searched "Bridgeport" and "Texas" on Flickr and this came up.
• Back in 2007, I ran a poll asking readers how old they were and their marital status.
• In 2007, I pointed out this 33 year old Texan who was #317 on Forbes list of richest Americans. I tried to find out what happened to him and could only determine that in 2008 he was now the #168th richest American due to his wealth increasing by another $1 billion. Where is he now?

Random Best Of Posts: Day #2

• Still one of my favorite gals (above).
• Timely: Two years ago I posted a video of the OU Marching Band doing the "Thriller" dance.
• Art that I have hanging in my office.
• When I saved a Wise County turtle.
• When a Chico family was killed by a drunk driver who eventually was determined not to be drunk at all by the Tarrant County DA's office.
• I wonder what ever happened to the former Boyd football star who was in trouble.
• In 2007, when the DOW was a little above 12,500, I asked if anyone was nervous after it dropped 250 points in one day. If we weren't, we should have been.
• Still laugh about the pot bellied pig being put on my desk.
• Hottest girl ever from Decatur?
• I still shake my head at this crime in my neighborhood.
• A little long, but I reflected on how I almost single handedly cost Bridgeport a win over Decatur in high school football back in the day.
• My stadium fetish.

Random Best Of Posts: Day #1

• I posted a pic of this piece of art once but didn't disclose that I own it.
• One of my favorite moments when I saw Santa walking down my street five years ago.
• When I got 51 comments on this post in 2005, I thought I had hit the big time. (And the subject matter still works to this day.)
• The famous Wise County Courthouse crab incident.
• When I found a video of a guy angry about his experience with the Walmart McDonalds.
• Craziest question I was ever asked in the Wise County Courthouse.
• My first pics of the "Nazi Van" which was always near the now illegal camera in Rhome that took pics of speeders.
• The sappiest movie quote that I love.
• Hey, now. (Circa 2007)
• I questioned the Drudge Report on a story and I turned out to be wrong.
• Wow, I got a little sappy
• Two guys doing the Charlie Brown Christmas Special dance that I thought was funny but no one else did.
• A Bridgeport tragedy
• Funny video of Bridgeport mom being run over by Pee Wee football team.
• When the City of Decatur moved around Christmas decorations after a blog post.

We Interrupt This Broadcast

I'll be out of pocket all this week, but there's no need to get out your dress blues. If everything works correctly, each morning around 8:15 a.m. you'll automatically receive a "Best Of" post from random entries from 2006 and 2007. Will they be that good? Naaaaa. But they got my attention as I cruised down memory lane as I put it together. (Which was an extreme beating.) I rarely say thanks for reading but, hey, thanks for reading. But while you guys work all week, rest assured I'm relaxing on a beach (or in a Mexican prison because of a little problem getting through customs.) Either way, it'll be an all-inclusive stay.

Keep Away From 820 at Mark IV Parkway

Which is in north Fort Worth. It was a three vehicle wreck, one death, and a freeway shut down.

Wedding Follow Up

It's being touted as the "Greatest Marriage Proposal In The World" on the Internet. Hmmm. Maybe "Greatest Marriage Proposal By Flamboyant Broadway Wannabe".

Wise County Wedding In The Courtroom This Morning

No comments (I like this girl, and I don't trust you people.) But I posted this on Facebook where someone commented, "Was there a jury?"

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Yeah, it's cute, but the Evian "skating babies" commercial doesn't jazz me like it does everyone else. I'm just not a fan of the overly tricked up computer generated video.
• Twice this week, I've driven by down a street in the morning only to see a guy walk out of his house, shirtless, and fire up a cigarette.
• I wonder if other cultures get as freaked out as the U.S. does over "sex crimes."
• I don't think I've ever seen a "victim impact statement" delivered to a defendant after a trial but while the jury was still in the jury box. At least not in Wise County.
• And that legal right of the victim is simply odd: It can only occur after a sentence has been handed down.
• But the defendant yesterday will certainly remember it. Heck, I will.
• The photo of Obama checking out the girl yesterday was pretty funny. Headline winner may go here but our local Fox 4 gave it a good effort.
• College football fans only: ESPN's Big 12 Blog has been counting down to the 25 biggest moments in the conference's history. Good stuff. The only one left to be disclosed is #1, but it has to be UT's Vince Young's scramble on 4th down to win the National Championship.
• The capital murder indictment of Steven York by a Wise County Grand Jury this week kind of flew under the radar. The next big announcement is whether the DA's office will seek the death penalty -- something that hasn't occurred in almost 30 years.
• I think a new Harry Potter movie is coming out. I've never seen any of them nor do I have any desire to.
• Running of the Bulls update: Bulls 1, Humans 0
• Our Congress woman, Kay Granger, visited a Wise County ranch a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday she was hospitalized due to dehydration. Coincidence?
• Movie critic Gary Gogill called the new Bruno movie the most shocking R rated movie he's ever seen. That's saying something.
• 14 of 17 dogs at the Jacksboro animal shelter were euthanized. It's like a puppy holocaust.
• [Post about Steve McNair's killer failing field sobriety tests deleted because even I was bored by it.]
• What temperature do you keep your home thermostat at? Me: 77 in the evening. 74 at night.

Verdict: 15 years

Barry (from iPhone) Edit: But we did have a little bit of drama when the victim was allowed (by law) to address the defendant in open court after the verdict. She stood about 15 feet from him and spoke loudly and angrily. Her opening sentence was something about "throwing a shoe" which I didn't quite pick up. But after telling him that she did not fear him although he "destroyed my family," she ended with: "I hate you and hope you burn in hell." That was pretty shocking.

Defendant and family wait for verdict

Live from courthouse in ongoing sexual assault case

Closing arguments (as seen from gallery and with a very rough
transcribed summary):

Prosecutor:
- we are judged how we protect our children
- punishment for punishment's sake is sometimes appropriate

Defense
- you promised me you would consider the full range of punishment
including probation
- probation is not a slap on the hand
- you heard what's involved including GPS ankle bracelet
- it can go on up to 10 years
- if he violates his probation he goes to prison. No jury. Just the
judge
- he will have to register as sex offender and he has a felony
conviction
- he had no criminal history whatsoever
- no evidence that there are any other victims
- he will live 2,500 miles from victim
- has a child in college andnow divorced and two others. As sex
offender he will not be able to go to their activities
- he would be able to pay child support
- many witnesses said he was a good man
- he made a serious mistake
- this act was one of sickness. Probation will require counseling to
overcome this sickness
- have we come to the point of throwing sick people in jail
- you heard how many people he has helped in his life
- we ask you for probation and this the verdict form you would use
- we thank you

Prosecutor rebuttal:
- you are the ones to tell us what we are to do with these people
- nice guy? He was a nice guy to victim before abuse
- this is a 51 year old man and preyed on young girl
- he stole her innocence
- if it is not about the child then it's about nothing
- I wlll not ask for life in prison but Wise County demands at least
50 years
- make her misery and pain mean something

Barry (from iPhone)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• More news yesterday on how former NFL player Steve McNair died: His 20 year old girlfriend shot him twice in the head and twice in the chest while he was sleeping.
• Note to self: Get rid of 20 year old girlfriend.
• I don't know why I haven't mentioned the 500 dogs seized in Montague County due to neglect. Maybe it's because they don't look near as bad as some other cases we've seen.
• I can't imagine being a defendant in a felony case waiting for the verdict. I've experienced sitting right beside them, but that's not the same thing as being in their shoes.
• Man, colleges do some long term planning. Baylor and Duke just worked out an agreement to meet in football on 2017 and 2018. Obama will have finished his second term by then.
• Something I learned from my new book Assassination Vacation: Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was wearing a T-shirt at that time with a picture of Abraham Lincoln and the motto: Sic semper tyrannis, the state motto of Virginia, and also the words shouted by John Wilkes Booth after he shot Lincoln. (The translation: Thus, always, to tyrants.)
• I really don't know what "Thus, always, to tyrants" means.
• Our County Attorney spent most of the weekend in an RV at the Sheriff's Office in connection with "Nor Refusal Weekend." I told him he was crazy.
• Mena Suvari has a tattoo on her back, too.
• Megan Henderson, formerly of Fox 4, has been gone for months and hasn't been replaced.
• There's a web site that almost always steal a pic from for the Random Girl. Now it's started to put a watermark on them which greatly distracts from the hotness. Ugh.
• If you saw Alpha Dog you'll be very interested in this.
• I'm amazed at how many cops don't understand they are an agent of government.
• 41 dead in Iraq in the last two days. Anybody truly believe it's only going to get better?

Greenpeace Takes To Land

I have no idea what the environmentalist group Greenpeace was doing with this banner today at Mt. Rushmore (pic from Christian Science Monitor), but it has a Wise County connection. Blog fan Teela Watson of Decatur ISD was there on vacation and sent me this pic of the banner as it was being taken down.

Sex Assault Trial

I didn't watch much of the sexual assault of a child trial that went on in Decatur over the last two days, so I can't tell if today's late afternoon guilty verdict seemed right or wrong. But it was part of the very odd "split verdict" where the jury found the defendant guilty of one sex act in Count I but not guilty of a different act in Count II. But these cases make me nervous because there seems to be so much doubt. No scientific evidence, just the word of the girl, a family incest allegation, delayed outcry, and a very short trial. (Although there was evidence that the defendant admitted to the offense to family members - but I'm not sure as to the context of this admission.) The unusual part for the Decatur courthouse was that the defendant was of Middle Eastern descent. Most of the witnesses were from Pakistan or Bangladesh who testified with thick accents in front of typical looking Wise County jury. I hope the evidence that those involved were practicing Muslims played no role in the verdict. I have faith that it did not. The punishment phase of the trial is tomorrow. The possible range of punishment is as low as 5 years of probation to the maximum of life in prison. Texas is unusual about allowing jury sentencing and giving them wide discretion as to what to do.

I'll Be Sad When This Guy Dies, Too

But in the meantime, it was just announced that Paul McCartney will perform in the new Cowboys Stadium on August 19th.

• Thought during the Michael Jackson funeral yesterday: Every speaker, any where, in every setting, needs to be limited to five minutes.
• The funeral was much, much more reserved than I expected.
• The most touching moment was Jackson's 10 year old daughter, Paris, saying a few words. But that's insane for the Jackson family to do that to her.
• The crazy Running of the Bulls has begun. Prepare for pictures of bulls goring Spaniards.
• Michael Jackson and the #7. (That's a reach.)
• Fort Worth PD arrested 30 people on DWI charges last year over the 4th of July weekend. This year it was 43.
• "Around midday, we’ll hit 12:34:56 p.m. on 7/8/09." (Credit Bud Kennedy's column for reminding me.)
• I'm number intensive today.
• Geek talk: Google announced late yesterday that it will be releasing an Operating System.
• I think it kind of hit me last night why some people are moved by Michael Jackson's death and others aren't. If you even remotely cared about the guy's music growing up, his death is kind of a slap in the face about your own mortality. During Queen Latifah's remarks yesterday, she recalled buying "Dancing Machine" as a little girl and running home to play it. I did the exact same thing. Those old songs, those old images, reminds us of a childhood that now seems frighteningly long ago. And Jackson's death reminds us of what the future holds. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think that all the nostaliga is about him. It's about us.

Poor Copy Of Mike Synder Sign Off

The "I Love Yous" happen during the last 20 or so seconds.

Michael Jackson Funeral

Just when I thought it would be a circus, Mariah Carey comes out and sings, "I'll Be There." Even made a cynical old man like me stop down.