I Want This Lamb

Well That Kind Of Stops Me Down

• He was 32 and died after running the half marathon -- my race of choice.
• From the comments below the story, he was a former Texas Tech baseball player
• And his name was Mark Austry which is very close to Wise County JP Mark Autry.
• And if this following image is him (taken from a Facebook page of someone with that name who graduated from Tech in 2000), doesn't that break your heart?

Story.

Just A Truck Trimmed In Pink Flowers In Decatur

(Thanks, Melissa.)

When You Know Your Life Has Gone Horribly Wrong

Story. Edit: Fox 4 News was already dogging this guy. He and his daughter had been to the Taylor Swift concert in Dallas.

Breaking: This Morning The Texas Supreme Court Reverses Huge Wise County Jury Award

It was originally a $23 million dollar verdict arising out of a multi-death traffic accident in Paradise. The Texas Supreme Court reversed the verdict and is sending the case back for a new trial because evidence that the other driver was an illegal immigrant should not have been heard by the jury:

  The record indicates that Hughes sought to hedge his theory by calling attention to Rodriguez’s illegal immigration status whenever he could. Such appeals to racial and ethnic prejudices, whether “explicit and brazen” or “veiled and subtle,” cannot be tolerated because they undermine the very basis of our judicial process. Tex. Employers’ Ins. Ass’n v. Guerrero, 800 S.W.2d 859, 864 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 1990, writ denied); see also Moss v. Sanger, 12 S.W. 619, 620 (Tex. 1889) (“Cases ought to be tried in a court of justice upon the facts proved; and whether a party be Jew or gentile, white or black, is a matter of indifference.”); Penate v. Berry, 348 S.W.2d 167, 168-69 (Tex. Civ. App.—El Paso 1961, writ ref’d n.r.e.) (reversing judgment against illegal alien in vehicle collision case because of “numerous remarks” about alien status). We conclude that the trial court erred by admitting evidence impugning Rodriguez’s character on the basis of his immigration status. Such error was harmful, not only because its prejudice far outweighed any probative value, but also because it fostered the impression that Rodriguez’s employer should be held liable because it hired an illegal immigrant.

 Court's opinion.

The lawsuit was the subject of a huge article in the Dallas Morning News. Coverage of the case by the Austin American Statesman as it was argued before the court is here. 


Edit: In response, the local Plaintiffs' lawyers have issued a press release.

What's Going On With The Local Restaurant From The Orient?

I noticed lots of construction and/or remodeling going on around it.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I'm not sure I've ever met anyone that has been to SXSW in Austin.
• Baylor knocked the Empire out of the Big 12 Tournament last night. UT Coach Rick Barnes, in down playing the loss, said that "there are a lot of teams that would like to switch places with us right now." Say what?
• I've lost a little weight.
• I hate purely political statements by prosecutors after a win: "The people of Tarrant County can rest assured that when someone is brutally raped, this office will marshal all of its resources to bring those accountable to justice," she said.
• Hot teacher turns herself in because of guilt over sex offense. You'll regret both the act and turning yourself in.
• Decatur ISD residents deserve an explanation for the Gindt resignation. The generic statement in today's Update serves no purpose and answers no questions.
• One of many things that would creep me out: Hitting a guy who suddenly appears on a highway. Last night, three drivers got to experience that on I-35 in Fort Worth.
• This will be an absolute cluster: They will implode Texas Stadium at dawn on April 11th with the great combo of (1) backing up traffic with a requirement to pay $25 to get in the Red lot, and (2) they'll shut down all the freeways 30 minutes before the explosion. What a mess.
• Conspiracy theory: Wouldn't it have been in E-trade's best interest to pay Lindsay Lohan to sue them for the "milkaholic" commercial? Great publicity for them and Lohan gets her name in the news, too.
• Countdown to the comment that reads, "Barry, how did you end up in the background of that pic?" 3 - 2 - 1 . . .

Breaking: Decatur ISD Superintendent Resigns

Oh, my. We've got a school district in chaos. Developing . . . .

We've Hit The F Bomb Motherload

When you sue someone, everything about you comes out. Today this video gets released of former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach in the locker room speaking to the team after his win over Baylor. The man is not pleased. But, more shockingly, this man is a cussing fool! How he allowed a camera in there is beyond me. ("Language warning" doesn't do it justice.) Source.

Afternoon Pick Me Up: Ladies Edition

When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. This video is at least a week old and has been everywhere on the Internet. But as soon as I saw it was 9:26 long, there was no way I was going to watch it. Life is too precious to sacrifice almost 10 minutes to only one form of silliness --- heck, I can cram a lifetime of online craziness into that time frame. But last night my curiosity finally got the best of me and I hit "play". If you haven't seen it, or have been holding out for the same reason I was, give it a shot. Funny, funny stuff.

In Case You Missed This In The Comments

I Think This Is Amazing

If you would have told me that the deaths per capita had gone down, I'd believe it. But total deaths? You've got to be kidding. Compared to the 1950s, we've got a krillion more cars on the road, traveling at much faster speeds, and driven by a population that is borderline crazy. And less people are dying?

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Edit: There are three dead cows along 287 in front of Bono's restaurant on 287 this morning? (Thanks, Lori.)
• Former Bridgeport resident Allen Vaught (and current State Rep. for a Democratic section of Dallas) has a speaking part opposite of Matt Damon in Damon's new movie called Green Zone. See the short clip here and learn teh background here.
• I bet he'll get a nice royalty check for that for years to come.
• In other video news, Decatur's Trevor Brazile has made one for the "I Am Second" campaign. (Thanks, Amy.)
• Wasn't the old movie Brian's Song based upon a book called "I Am Third"?
• For some reason I'm seeing the phrase "it's a good read" everywhere when someone references an article or book.
• To the rare commenter I rejected yesterday who claimed I charged you $1,000 to make "two phone calls." Uh, give me a call because I want to hear from a person that doesn't exist.
• Scan through the sports channels right now and you'll see a conference basketball tournament going on --- mostly with empty seats in the background.
• Haven't seen the Steven York criminal case on the docket lately.
• I was in Jacksboro yesterday and if I had dropped a lighted match everything to the West for miles would have gone up in flames. (Wind reference, by the way.)
• Very funny news clip of a on-the-scene reporter having a meltdown. But the face on the anchor as the scene cuts back to the studio is the best part.
• One of the few oddball films that everyone, for years now, has told me that I would like but that hated: Zoolander. I think it's just that I hate Ben Stiller acting like anything other than Ben Stiller.
• Ticket Fans: There's a Greg "The Hammer" Williams update. That man's not working for less than $104,000 a year.
• The Dallas Morning News' editorial board thought the 35 year sentence out of Tyler for marijuana possession was stupid, too.

Wednesday Afternoon Pick Me Up

Fox 4's Fiona Gorostiza with some chick at SMU for the "So You think You Can Dance" auditions this morning.

Health Car In America; Continued

This is one in my continuing Pulitzer Prize winning series, "Health Care After My Shoulder Got All Whopperjawed." When we last left off, I told you about going to the emergency room during the last snowfall for a separated shoulder. I received a notice from the billing department of the hospital that they were sending a bill to Blue Cross/Blue Shield for $2,027.31 (which represented the total bill of $3,025.83 less $998.52 for the "managed care adjustment.") This week I got my statement from Blue Cross. Hey, guess what? You know how I managed to have that low. low, low monthly premium of $300+ a month? I've got a deductible of $2,500! Using my Bridgeport High School math, that means I owe the entire $2,027.31. Add that to the Emergency Room Physician bill of $752.50 (that includes a 50% "early pay" discount), my current out of pocket total is: $2,779.81. Once again, this if for a three hour ER visit with no overnight stay and no surgery.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Corey Haim is dead.
• Motorcycle chase by DPS last night that ended up in a yard on Nottingham Circle in Bridgeport -- my old stomping ground.
• The Messenger's Update finally came back online yesterday but it was ad free. I guess they've pinpointed the trojan download.
• Lots or repair work on the family truckster yesterday. And it wasn't cheap. But at least it's no longer a death trap.
• Even I'm shocked: A crooked DA in Texas was sentenced to 15 years but made parole after 20 months.
• But before you all go crazy, the most serious crimes in Texas require a person to serve half their sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
• Saw a white boy in Walmart the other day with his pants down around his thighs. First, kid, you're a white boy. Second, I'm not even sure the black guys are down with that fashion bit anymore.
• Well, I learned how much my insurance company will cover my emergency room bill. That'll be a separate post later today. I accept Paypal donations.
• The University of North Texas made the March Madness tourney last night. For the millions of people that fill out brackets next week, that's a decent amount of free advertising.
• Decatur High School boys dressed up as women to raise money? Isn't there a better way? (That link may be updated which causes the pics to be pushed to the second page)
• Re: The story of the Prius that allegedly had a stuck accelerator that had to be helped to a stop by a cop in California pulling in front of it: I think there something very suspicious about it (especially after hearing the 911 call from the driver.)
• We've got a crazy defendant in a Fort Worth courtroom who is saying some crazy stuff about longtime courtroom players. It's almost impossible to get yourself banned from your own trial, but he did.
• An off duty trooper in Ellis county was shot while at the home of another DPS trooper. Uh, DPS, you do a great about airing other people's dirty laundry so be sure to keep us up to date on this one.
• Ex Congressional Rep. Massa, who was all over the news yesterday, is a nutcase.

Craziest Lead Sentence Ever?

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Officials say an Ohio inmate who intentionally overdosed on pills hours before his scheduled execution has returned to prison and is on suicide watch. AP Story. (Thanks, Beck.)

Milk-A-What?

Lindsay Lohan is suing E-trade over this commercial which suddenly makes her very attractive since she's obviously full of crazy. (And it's an excuse to post the very funny commercial.)