Another Low For Local News

I've written about Hosam Smadi quite a bit: He's a dumb kid that the FBI found in a chat room, led him along and cultivated his desire to do an act of terrorism (which he could never do on his own), provided him with a fake car bomb, and then arrested him when he tried to detonate it with a cell phone (and then the FBI then immediately and conveniently notified the media).

The news late tonight is that he will enter a guilty plea tomorrow. No surprise there -- he's in federal court.

But when the local Fox 4 News reported the guilty plea plan tonight, this is what they said in a pre-packaged videotaped report to provide some background : "Agents say he left the SUV, packed with C4 and ammonium nitrate below the 60 story Fountain Place tower. Got a safe distance away and tried to trigger it with a cell phone." There was not a WORD that there was no possible way the bomb would go off, that FBI agents were with him at the time, or that no one was in danger.

Whether it be the Bush Administration or the Obama Administration, this case is nothing more that federal grandstanding. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

You disagree? How many White Supremacists could the FBI find right now in a chat room who would be willing to push the detonation button of a bomb that would go off on a black church on a Sunday? How many rednecks could they find that would be willing to push a similar button that would blow up a Dallas mosque? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?

It's grandstanding. It's politics. And it's a local news outlet that doesn't understand that it facilitates the paranoia by not getting the facts straight.

Border Problem: Solved

OK, you guys admit it: Greatest. President. Ever?

These Kids Are Not One Man Wolfpacks

(Youtube video - worth it.)

I support freedom. I support weirdness. I support America. But if I was the father of one of these kids, I'd rip that Daniel Boone coonskin tail off his rump and strangle him with it.

Man, you parents have it rough these days.

(And I kinda fear for the one chick that said, "We're not a gang. Gangs are posers." My contacts within the Latin Kings tell me they are not pleased with that.)

Wise County Crimestoppers Neighborhood?

Motorcycle purse snatcher picked the wrong part of town.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• I got to help a guy who spoke no English yesterday as he was walking around looking for an address. It was fun because I used my iPhone to find the address and then let him look at the map as we tried to communicate.
• In-N-Out burger is coming to Garland. I've heard of White Castle, but I'm not so sure about In-N-Out.
• The 2014 location of the Super Bowl will be announced today. Best the house on New York and its new stadium.
• Bizarre: 10 gunman rob 11 jewelry stores in Baghdad and kill 14.
• Why do I suspect that those who so proudly proclaim that we invaded Iraq to "bring freedom to those people" probably wouldn't care enough about a Muslim living in the U.S. to give them the time of day. (Or directions.)
• For my own satisfaction: Nemeses Ann Curry screws up a commencement address.
• Lindsay Lohan seems like a tormented, and drunken, soul.
• Forgot to mention this yesterday: Former Ticket and Boyd resident Greg "The Hammer" Williams has a new radio job/gig.
• I don't care if the leak is a mile under the ocean, there is no one on the face of this Earth that knows how to stop it?
• I promise there have been four people in the last 24 hours that have pulled out in front of me on 287 and decided to drive 30 mph. [Edit @ commentor: What in the heck does texting have to do with that?]
• Matt Purke was drafted in the first round by the Texas Rangers last year but turned down an offer of $4 million and enrolled in TCU. Although he just finished the regular season at 11-0 and named the Mountain West Player of the Year, I'll paraphrase Dale Hansen from a few years back: "If the that kid is so dumb he'll turn down $4 million, he needs to go to college."
• This story was primarily about a lawyer asking a Jew an improper question in a trial in East Texas, but the federal judge's instruction to the jury almost shocked me as much.
• The Amityville Horror house is up for sale. Not the movie set, the house where six people were murdered which was the basis for the movie (which I never saw.) You would think it could be used as a pop culture Bed & Breakfast.
• I saw a "breaking news" tweet yesterday from CNN that the bassist from Slipknot had died. Not knowing who they were, I googled one of their songs. Good grief. Talk about deviltry.
• And although it's not fair, if Sarah Palin ever has a political opponent she'll get to see a commercial which flashes two images back and forth: Here shrieking, "Drill, baby, drill!" spliced with pics of the oil spill in the gulf.
• Walmart just dropped the price of th iPhone 3GS to $97.

I Keep Telling You

Don't rule out this guy running for President. Let's see. Who else wrote a book and came out of no where to take the Oval Office?

Venus Williams Losing Mind

Now before you think I've posted the neekid booty of Venus Williams, you might want to hit the brakes. That my, friends, are flesh toned tights that she designed. Certainly she's not looking for attention, right?

And this occurred over the weekend at the French Open. No wonder they hate us over there.

Jennifer Aniston Can Still Bring It

And she's 41.

Rangers Sale Going Through?

Not that anyone cares that much, but the Rangers are about to do some strange voluntary bankruptcy which will allow Tom Hicks creditors to be paid (I think. Edit: Someone is going to get ripped off.) There is a press conference at 1:00 or so and someone has already used the line, "Prepare for your eyes to glaze over."

But the Morning News did post the above factoid a second ago which is pretty amazing.

Edit: These boys think A-Rod will on see pennies on the dollar as an unsecured creditor.

Edit: Disregard that. As a commenter pointed out, the Player's Union is too strong to let that happen. The new buyers had agreed to payout any player's deferred money. Bottom line: Some creditors are getting screwed if this goes through. Tom Hicks should be ashamed. Woefully ashamed.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Shocking bull fight over the weekend. Warning: Hard to watch.
• I went to the Rangers game yesterday --- first time in about six years. Hot. Fun.
• I was sitting near a guy that looked like the killer in No Country For Old Men. When a Cubs fan nearby was being obnoxious, we pictured that guy pulling out a pneumatic nail gun. Funny visual.
• And a buddy and I had a conversation with an older lady about the virtues of Brett Michaels. Yep.
• And we also debated over whether a freckled girl looked like Linday Lohan. ("She does." "No she doesn't." "Yes, she does!")
• Oh, yeah. I did watch the game.
• That was an incredible story this weekend about Jordan Spieth, the sixteen year old golfer that finished 16th at the Byron Nelson. I heard him on the radio before the tournament and he seemed like a nice, respectful kid.
• I intend to follow the World Cup this year.
• Dead Brittany Murphy's husband found dead.
• I have read two reviews of the Lost finale last night, and I still don't know what happened.
• Not what her parents pictured when she was a little baby: A 15 year old Highland Park student is in ICU with alcohol poisoning (a .40!).
• Saw that a Decatur lady passed away over the weekend. She was 101.
• The new Nike three minute World Cup ad is fascinatingly slick, and I'm not sure I understand it.

I Was Told . . .

. . . that this appeared alongside a senior's photo in this week's graduation edition of a paper from the South side of the county. (Yep, there is a paper down there.)

Sorry for the quality (but thanks emailer.)

A small business jet . . .

. . . takes off at Decatur Airport and uses almost all the runway to do it. Hope no one yells "abort! abort!"

(Thanks emailer.)

Friday Afternoon Pick Me Up

The Cincinnati Bengals ongoing cheerleader tryouts.

OK, You Gun Nuts, Prepare To Meet Your Maker

I probably find this funnier than you will, but I love this guy. He explains the "21 Foot Rule" which is a well known principle that I've never heard of: It takes a man with a gun the same amount of time to draw his weapon and fire as it does for a man with a knife to charge him from 21 feet away and stab.

So, to prove this Rule Of The Street, he demonstrates how fast he can move during those 21 feet and slaughter, and I mean slaughter, a cardboard cutout. And it's the charging that's the gold in the clip. I mean, it's enough to make a marine freeze with fear.

Somebody Get On This For Me!!

Edit @ 1:43: And the Liberally Lean Nation comes through again! (Thanks, Tony)

Kinda Funny

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Did everyone in Midlothian have a camera in their hand when the tornado appeared? There's about a 1,000 pictures of it.
• The guy that was struck and killed on 183 in Irving a couple of days ago was in the military and on a layover for the night after landing at DFW. But why was he walking on a highway at 6:00 a.m.?
• Another weird story is a guy found under an overpass in Dallas whose motorcycle is missing. It's like he went over the side of the highway with the exception the motorcycle is no where to be found. He is the son of a Dallas policeman.
• Brett Michaels, who is recovering from a brain hemorrhage, revealed he was at home watching Busty Cops 3 when it happened. (Which, I don't mind saying, is better than the last Batman movie.)
• The most hypnotic video in the history of ever: Red Light Runners Getting In Crashes. [Link fixed.]
• This license plate I saw last night reminded me of a Seinfeld episode.
• The trailer for the new Sex In The City movie has Carrie uttering the line, "We're not in Kansas anymore!" Really? That line? You really want to go with that?
• I'm awful at to do lists and reminders, but I discovered Evernote which is a really, really cool.
• How with all the great minds in this world can we not stop that oil leak in the Gulf? It's bordering on ridiculous.
• I had to make the double trip to the grocery store last night. You know, you get home from the store and realize you didn't buy something you have to have that night. Beating.
• WBAP's Mark Davis, who is losing it lately, went on a rampage the other day with "How dare the Mexican president come to OUR country and criticize one of OUR states. How dare you, sir!" Please. That would be like, heaven forbid, President Obama going to Mexico City and criticizing the lawlessness in the city of Juarez.
• I think over the next 20 years we'll see a huge move away from Windows with programs which run on our desktops to Google's Android operating system where all the programs and data are kept in the clouds.

Back To The $12 Twins: We Made The Dallas Morning News Home Page

Story link. And I don't even get my name in the paper? What kind of media world are we living in?

And how does this non-story get so much press?