Funny Way To Launch A New Web Site

Come see our new web site at 10 p.m. when our site will not be working.

Morning Crime Blotter News

• Skeletal remains of two infants found in Tarrant County
• Dirk Nowitzki's ex sentenced to 5 years in the hoosegow
• Some guy earned himself 3 days in the Wise County Jail this morning for not following through with the terms of a divorce decree. (He represented himself and seemed well prepared. Didn't change the facts, but well prepared nonetheless.) Edit: I really don't have any details since I only caught the end of the hearing.
• Steven York had a second court appearance today. Looks like a second lawyer is involved in the case and it might be Larry Moore out of Fort Worth (but I'm not sure.)

Miss Universe 2009

Apparently this chick won the title on Saturday night but, I was thinking, isn't the title of Miss Universe just a bit cocky? I mean, I'm pretty sure there are a couple of girls in Cottondale that live in the backwoods which are unknown to civilization. For all we know, one of them may be hotter than this girl. And if we can't rule out other gals from the good ol' USA that haven't been discovered yet, how can we rule out hot alien life forms? Or, as Kip Dynamite would say, "Like anyone could possibly know that."

From The Weekend

I think we're slowly becoming a nation of barbarians. Edit: That was quick. No one uses the copyright hammer more quickly than Major League Baseball.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• They tell me this is the first day of school. They also tell me there are young mothers of First Graders everywhere crying this morning.
• Saw some Decatur High Schoolers driving up to DHS this morning. Trust me kids, it's not the best time of your lives.
• I think mandatory school uniforms would be a good idea.
• Two motorcycle deaths yesterday and one on Saturday.
• I didn't know Texas has had "death panels" since 1999 and that Gov. Bush signed it into law. (Hat tip to Bud Kennedy.)
• MzChief and Anobiter argue over whether life should be lived "for another".
• For the craziest of reasons, I discovered "Screaming Bridge" between Paradise and Decatur on Friday night.
• My sources tell me that heard on the police scanner in Wise County last night, at around 9:30, law enforcement was dispatched to a "possum in a bedroom."
• The craziest story of the weekend was about the "Reality TV Star" from VH1's "Megan Wants a Millionarie" who killed model Jasmine Fiore, stuffed her body in a suitcase in a dumpster after removing her fingers and teeth, and then was found dead on Sunday of suicide in a Canadian hotel room.
• The Spin will be a little delayed, but this could be a substitute in the meantime.
• Sports Point: Lots of talk about the Cowboys video screen being hit by a punt on Friday night. Since the rule is that the play is simply a "do over", I would think most coaches would tell their punter "don't hit the scoreboard" since a false start by the coverage team would wear them out in a hurry.
• I'm excited about my Baylor Bears which may have the best team in years. But, sheesh, they play in the Big 12 South where THREE of the six teams are in the AP Top 10 (Texas, OU, Oklahoma State.) The best team in the Big 12 North? Kansas at 25.
• Janeane Garofalo standup, "The shortest 10 minutes in the world: After hitting the snooze button. The longest: On the Stairmaster."
• Did you see that those crazy Mexicans in Mexico legalized drug possession for personal use?
• Sports Point #2: What in the world has happened to Vince Young? And did you know that before Chris Simms and Young, the Evil Empire never had a quarterback go on to start an NFL game. Edit: Ugh. The link refers only to the "modern era" which, for some reason, begins in 1966.

Denton's Arrest Of The Night

Oh, my.

Nerd Humor

I run Windows Vista on my laptop at home and, stay with me here, I always get a warning that my "recovery drive D:" is close to capacity. In searching for a way to make the error message go away, I was told that I might want to consider "compressing the drive". I did so, and then got this message about the status as to how long it would take. I did a screen grab to capture it.

Saturday Morning Pick Me Up . .

. . . as I wonder how a fantasy football draft turned into a journey into a forest on an amphibious vehicle with eight wheels that overheated and then could not turn to the right. Good times. But I think I broke my coccyx.

From The Email Bag:

If I've ever needed the Liberally Lean Army to come through with a pic, this is it!! Don't fail me people!! Edit: Faithful reader "E. R. Slade" sends in this effort (good try): But I sent that photo into my CSI lab and the magic of technology revealed this enhanced image: A reader now sends in a pic of the new tattoo parlor.

Follow Up From Yesterday

Not that he didn't deserve the sentence, but most of the evidence indicates no one really gave a rat's arse about him as a kid. Which got me to thinking, we all go crazy when we watch parents be bad parents or, worse, absentee parents. And our universal concern is that if we don't nurture a child at every moment, bending over backwards to teach right from wrong, that "the child won't stand a chance" when he grows up. But when that neglected child does grow up and, as predicted, acts just like we thought he would because he never had a chance, we come down on him like a ton of bricks. Yeah, double murder is a bad example but let's put it in the context of other crimes. Drug use. Theft. Assault. We, as a society, just turn our noses up at the "bad childhood defense" when, right now, we can go out to Walmart in Decatur and point out 10 kids that are guaranteed to be in the criminal justice system.

Hey, It's A Profit Thing

After proclaiming I couldn't name one Lyle Lovett song the other day, a faithful reader (whom I don't think I've ever met) sent this to me. I'd now like to proclaim I've never had a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader knock on my door on a Friday evening.

Be Aware Of This Girl

She allegedly had drug paraphernalia on her in Denton last night!!!!

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Saw a shot this morning of the inside of the Cowboys Stadium with the football field on it. Cool.
• Inglourious Basterds opens today. It looks like something I'd be interested in but, then again, I get sucked in by anything Tarantino does.
• Someone else's kindness is impacting my selfishness.
• Did ya see where that Bolt guy ran a world record 19.19 second 200 meter yesterday? And he doesn't even look like he tries. Breaking news: He's fast.
• Ok, this is the most tense video to watch in the history of ever. It's called "Drunk Girl vs. Glass Table." (And it contains a couple of F bombs so be warned.) But after you recover from the 1:20 seconds of stress, you'll realize you've learned a new dance: "Percolating."
• I've practiced criminal law for almost 20 years and I've never heard a cop, prosecutor, or anyone connected with the system refer to someone as a "perp."
• On reports of school supplies this mornings, I heard a reference to "trapper" something on two different channels. Have no idea what they are talking about. Edit: Yep, "Trapper Keeper". I think I'm the only person in the world that had no idea what it was.
• I was in a convenience store this morning that was extremely inconvenient. And, not that it's that big of a deal, but the clerk never spoke.
• The Update this morning has news that Decatur ISD has a new touchy-feely "commencement walk across the stage but don't graduate" policy.
• The Lockerbie Bomber who was released yesterday sure did return to a hero's welcome. You would think that Libya, which has made efforts to be in our good graces over the last few years, would have throttled that back a bit.
• Before conservative commenters Wordkyle, Jarhead, and Denny Crane were here, there was a guy name ReaganRIP. He got mad one day when someone impersonated him, and he never came back.
• Favorite overnight email: "Are the commentors on your blog acting more crazy lately?"

Thursday Afternoon Pick Me Up

I don't know who this Heidi Montag chick is other than she's on some reality show on MTV or VH1 or Bravo or the Cheese Channel, but I cannot turn on the Internets without her popping onto my screen. It's like a good virus or something. Anyway, here she is "practicing for the Miss Universe contest on Saturday night" which completely confuses me. But if Britney ever has an unfortunate demise, I've got this gal on standby to assume the #1 status.

I Am Persuaded

It's about time PETA learned how to advertise effectively. For years we've been bombarded with horrific pictures of tortured chickens or antics like having blood thrown on fur coats. But no more. Now they are embracing a concept we all love and hold dear: Tone Women. Well, PETA, I'm officially on board. Where's my application and where do I send my money? And just tell me which dove lease you want me to protest on Labor Day, and I'm there. Eat meat? No peace!

Once Again, I'm A Friend Of Law Enforcement

Note to Wise County deputies: If you get the urge to let a hot waitress sit on a patrol car holding your AR-15, resist the desire. It will get you fired. (At least it will if you do it in Williamson County and a Round Rock police officer, who really needs to mind his own business, starts an investigation.)

Las Vegas Line: Death Penalty

This guy got my attention last year when he gave a jailhouse interview after killing a couple of innocent folks in Garland. (Video, with extreme language, here.) This guy has been presenting himself as the poster child for the Death Penalty ever since he got caught. Wheels. Off. Big Time. Well, his trial is taking place with the only issue left for the jury, after conviction, is whether he should live or die. Deliberations begin today. I've been thinking that the death penalty is a foregone conclusion, but these times they are a changing. I'm not sure anything is a slam dunk anymore especially in Dallas County. And if he gets Life instead of Death, there might be a pretty big firestorm. It kind of flew under the radar, but after the jury was selected, which turned out to be all white, the judge took one of the white jurors off and replaced him with a black guy ( a black guy that the State had used one of its free "kick him off the jury" strikes on.) This was done simply because the judge said it seemed "unfair" for Broadnax to be judged by an all-white jury even though the judge also ruled that the State's reason for striking the black guy off the panel were legal and "race neutral." (Side note: How in the world did they end up with an all white jury in Dallas County?)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• After Pudge Rodriquez got a hit at his first at bat last night since his return to the Rangers, play by play man Josh Lewin said, "3 hits out of his last 3 at bats for Texas over a span of 7 years."
• Pudge went on to make it 5 for 5.
• But my predicted Rangers fade might be beginning. (They've blown leads of 5 and 4 runs over the last two days.)
• Re: The lady at the Barney Frank's town hall meeting speaking at the podium while holding a picture of Obama with a Hitler mustache which prompted Frank to say, "What planet are you from?" When the nutcases can make Frank like good, they might wish to rethink their strategy. Edit: Here's the video.
• A caller to KLIF this morning called Obama a Muslim.
• I'm already tired of the Perry v. Hutchison governor's race and it's just started. But, man, she's looking frumpy at all of her appearances.
• Wow. The attendance last night at the McCartney concert was 38,000 because they didn't sell seats in the upper deck at the Cowboys Stadium. [Edit: Source was Fox 4 News this morning.] What's up with that? And the big high def screen wasn't in use either.
• Here's a twitpic of the stage setup.
• I would think it would be "Cowboys' Stadium" but it's just "Cowboys Stadium."
• This is one fast woman. Or a man. Or a woman.
• I almost got ran over in my office parking lot this morning by a woman driving a small silver car.
• Storms this evening? Yay!!
• There was a suicide in Decatur over the weekend.
• My crazy laundry lady is still there. Now she's commenting on my mannerism (where I stand, if I play with the phone, how I dress for work.) Stop it.
• I roll my eyes whenever a psychiatrist testifies at a criminal trial about whether a defendant is a "sociopath" or has any other mental condition.
• I thought that oil prices and natural gas prices, the latter which is important to Wise County, pretty much shadowed one another. Apparently that's not true as natural gas hit its lowest price since 2002 yesterday.
• Stay with me here: The Star-Telegram's Randy Galloway reported yesterday that MLB is now basically running the Texas Rangers due to owner Tom Hicks financial woes. (It had earlier been reported that MLB had loaned the Rangers money.) An interesting aspect of the story is that this "news" was buried in Galloway's "opinion column." Why? The Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News, in a cost cutting measure, have an agreement to share sports news stories. But they don't agree to share opinion pieces. See what they did there?
• Galloway on the radio is painful to listen to.
• Why don't we consider health care to be a civil right?
• Getting kids set up for the start of school seems like a beating. And running around looking for a particular color of a particular type of spiral notebook would put me over the edge.