This Is Not My "Before" Nutrisystem Photo

Need A Little More Facts

The story.

There was some type of "inappropriate sexual contact" between a 17 year old boy and a 14 year old girl on a band trip. But we don't know the act, if they were boyfriend/girlfriend, or whether it was consensual. Does it matter? For the band director, heck yeah. (Note: news stories will always call it "abuse" or "assault" even if the act is consensual if the act still constitutes a crime.)

The Penal Code makes it illegal to commit certain sexual acts with a minor who is under 17. But if the minor is 14 years or older, it's not a crime so long as the acts were (1) consensual, and (2) the accused is within three years of age of the "victim." So if the acts were consensual, we don't even know if the 17 year old committed a crime until we get a calender out. (Being three years and 1 day older takes you outside of the statute.) And I don't think you can expect a band director to know the details of the law. It could be that he didn't think it was a crime at all.

So until we know what the band director was told, it's a little hard to judge him. But I'm sure he's not feeling judged today at all.

Edit: Here's the statute.

And "abuse", by definition, includes consensual sexual contact with a person under 17 by someone three years or older that that person. But if all the band director knows is a 17 year old and a 14 year old are have had sex, does he have "cause to believe" that the law is being broken? For all he knows, she might be 14 years and 11 months old and he might be 17 years and 1 day old. If that's the case, the kid is safe and no crime was committed.

You guys feel free to convict the band director under those circumstances, but I won't. (And, to further complicate it, he would have the additional defense that, regardless, she wasn't "adversely affected" within the meaning of the statute.)

We're not talking about whether he broke school policy. We aren't talking about whether he should be suspended. We aren't even talking about what is the morally correct thing to do when he learned of the conduct. We are, however, talking about the government trying to convict him of a crime for not reporting. It's easy to forget that he didn't touch anybody.

But if it's non-consensual between the two kids, the band director has trouble.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Odd crew at a party over the weekend: Twitpic of Ice T and his wife, LeeAnn Rimes and hubby, and Pam Anderson.
• Sheesh: Fox News already had Miss USA runner-up Miss Oklahoma on TV this morning to talk about whether her Immigration Law answer "cost her the crown." (But I'll admit she's pretty smart.)
• And co-host Brian Kilmeade, proving he's well rounded, asked, "Whose idea was it for the contestants to wear high heels with bathing suits?" Maybe he was born yesterday.
• The metroplex news coverage of the Lake Bridgeport natural gas spill yesterday was a little bizarre. It happened on Friday afternoon and becomes news on Monday? (I think they all have skeleton crews on weekends.)
• The Messenger Editor appeared at some public hearing yesterday in connection with the Postal Service considering discontinuing Saturday service. Since the paper is still delivered by mail on Saturday, he is concerned.
• New USC coach Lane Kiffin, who has never won anything anywhere, will say tonight on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel that he is making $4 million a year.
• "BP said Monday that about 20 percent of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico is being swallowed up by its insertion tube system and no longer feeding a giant slick off Louisiana." If I had a septic tank running into my neighbor's pool, I don't think he'd be satisfied if I told him I had diverted 20% of it.
• The Ballpark in Arlington looked like a lake 30 minutes before game time last night. And with only a 15 minute delay, it looked absolutely normal and the game was underway.
• I went to the dentist yesterday. I hate going to the dentist.
• NOAA says April was the hottest April since they've been keeping records.
• The parking striping in downtown Bridgeport is really tricked up now.
• Want to know why the University of Texas (and others) would want to leave the Big 12? The most recent numbers indicate that the revenue sharing plan had them earning $10 million in 2007 while Baylor pulled in $7 million. But the schools in the Big 10 make $20 million a year and that number is expected to soar. (Source.)
• Oh my: 87 year old trying to mark one off his Bucket List died on the Texas Motor Speedway track on Saturday.

Turn Around! Turn Arou........OH!!!!!

I think I saw an animated GIF of this a few years ago, but I had never seen the actual footage. Wow, putting it in slow motion builds up more tension than Hollywood ever has.

Lake Bridgeport

Anybody see Channel 8 news at lunch? There's some report of an oil or gas leak into Lake Bridgeport, but I don't know if it is the same situation that occurred last Friday.

A Muslim Won Miss USA?

Story.

Edit: Uh, oh. TMZ is after her.

News That Is Old News But Still Interesting News

The AP is on the story of Rick Perry's expensive rent house.

But, since I am the most trusted source in news, faithful readers of Liberally Lean learned about it in November of 2007.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Worse weather forecasting for the weekend ever? Turned out beautiful.
• I finally saw Date Night this weekend. Summary: Silly and predictable but with some laugh out loud moments.
• Wow: In 1952, the Boyd Police Chief was shot and a crowd gathered to cheer about it according to this AP story (pdf) in the Seattle Times. (Credit: Bud Kennedy.)
• There was a story on the news last night of a guy in Dallas handing out envelopes with $1 in them and encouraging people to add a dollar and give it away themselves. Good idea. But at what point do you think people would keep the envelope? I say $5.
• Modern Family is pretty funny.
• The First Baptist Church of Dallas has raised $115 million for reconstruction costs. WWJD?
• Saw an overweight family playing tennis this weekend. The dad ended up yelling, "No one in this family has a lick of hand/eye coordination." And he beaned his little son with a serve.
• It's weird that the oil spill in the Gulf really hasn't done much damage to land yet.
• The lady that escaped Wise County Sheriff's deputies last week while handcuffed was recaptured. There's no word as to what happened to the handcuffs.
• Texas A&M basketball recruit died over the weekend.
• Fort Worth police shot and killed a man this morning.
• We've got a computer technician in the office this morning. His phone just went off and it has a ringtone with the theme of The Exorcist.

Wise County Economic Hit

But it will reopen as an addiction recovery center.

Story

Old Timer Alert

I have a vague recollection as a kid of seeing a similar, but smaller, sign in Boyd as you entered it eastbound on 114. Am I right?

Living Beyond Your Means

The average DFW resident has $24,775 in "consumer debt" which includes things like credit card debt and car loans (but excludes mortgages.) But it seems to me like there's a huge difference between a $24,000 car loan that has a scheduled monthly payoff vs. a similar credit card debt that would be like a black hole.

Source.

We Got A Lake Bridgeport Issue Brewing?

The lake is already completely full and the watershed had been getting pounded all morning. And, since I'm the most trusted name in weather, I think the cold front stalling over the metroplex is causing all the rain to stick to the same pattern without moving. And it's supposed to do that for a couple of days? Edit: They opened up one gate Friday afternoon (thanks, Joey):

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I watched a little of Nancy Grace for the first time in a long time last night. She's as crazy as ever. (And does every guest have a mandate not to challenge her?)
• Also caught a little of Parks and Recreation. It's a little like The Office, isn't it?
• I'm beginning to be sympathetic to the anti-fur coat crowd. (It's odd how watching Sharon Stone trying on a chinchilla coat in Casino spurred that emotion in me.)
• If it keeps up, the Rangers have the best pitching staff ever and they'll make the playoffs. No one around here will care, but it'd be fun.
• As weird as everyone is today, I'm surprised that being called "mom" and "dad" is still in style. Wouldn't be shocked if someday everyone want to be called by their own unique moniker by their kids.
• Diff'rent Strokes star Dana Plato committed suicide in 1999. Now her son has done the same.
• Didn't know the Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie (which I've never been to) is no longer called the Nokia Theater.
• A district judge lectured a defendant for 20 minutes after the jury's verdict yesterday in Fort Worth. Ridiculous. The range of punishment for a crime does not include being dressed down. A few words are OK, but twenty minutes? Please.
• Worst wedding DJ ever.
• I saw that some girl won the first ever State title for Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club. It's fitting that it would be in a high tone sport: Tennis.

Man Hit By Car, Hangs Onto Baby

And I've learned Australian TV needs some new editors/producers. When you have great video, show us the video like a million times and in slow motion. We don't want to hear some woman yapping about what she saw, we want to break down the game film ourselves. Sheesh. That's American TV News 101.

More Proof The World's Gone Crazy

Fox 4 has the youtube video.

(Thanks emailer Jenny.)

From The Email Bag

"North of Bridgeport" at 11:25 a.m.

It was a cellphone pic with no other explanation. I'm not saying thats a tornado dropping behind those trees, but it's worth a look.

Messenger Casually Tweets That There's A Tornado

Wait. What?!!

(Post went up at 10:23 a.m.)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• If a law enforcement agency has a bomb squad, the greater the probability that a "suspicious", yet ultimately harmless, package will be blown to bits in that jurisdiction.
• That was a heck of a lightening show we had last night.
• I heard that the victim in the Wise County burglary case from yesterday became so emotional during a victim impact statement that he had to be helped out of the courtroom. (The defendant had stolen scrap metal from him.)
• And one of the jurors snapped at a lawyer who wanted to talk to him about the case. It's not uncommon for jurors to not want to talk, but rare for them to get snippy.
• I always laugh when I recall Al Gore saying, "You don't have to get snippy about it" when he called George W. on election night to withdraw his previous concession.
• While watching a little bit of the Ranger game last night, it occurred to me that it's no longer little kids that scramble for home run balls when hit onto the grass in center field.
• What's up with all of these college "undie runs"? Even the University of Texas had one.
• Has life in Wise County really changed that much now that basically every town has legalized the sale of alcohol?
• Did you guys see the new footage of the oil gushing out of the pipe in the Gulf? Holy, cow.
• Two things royally criticized over the last two days that I don't care about: Lost and LeBron James.
• Richie Whitt suggested the Byron Nelson Golf Tourney allow Tony Romo to play with one of its player exemptions. What a great idea.
• To you runners out there: I destroy the outside heel of my running shoes before the rest of it. Any suggestions on shoes?