An Inside Look At Wise County Check Writing

I really didn't know it was available (but should be), but this looks like a report of every check the government of Wise County wrote in either September or the last two weeks of September, 2010. It even includes court appointed attorney fee payments as well as run of the mill items. Payroll seems to be lumped together but individual reimbursements are listed. Hey, somebody stayed at the Doubletree in Austin! Other notable: The Messenger got over $25,000 and that's for non-advertising billing.

Edit: Heck, they are all online.

It's Like A Fine Work Of Art

The more I watch this video, the more little pieces of gold I find. The premise: Kids are told they are on their way to Disney World, and the kids don't like it. They want to go to "Dick's House."

• What's up with that middle kid's haircut? Did he lose a bet?
• Are they in the smoking section? It feels like it's a rolling RV or something.
• And when the middle kid replies that he wants to go to "Dick's House", this screeching Chicago accented voice fires off a "I told ya!!!" like everyone should have known that Dick's place is better than Disney World.
• And what is up with the creepy kid on right?  When the two brats start crying he has this expression like he's just discovered that a couple of howler monkeys were sitting beside him.  And when he speaks, you can hardly hear him or see his mouth move. Until he silently says he wants to go to "Dick's House." 

I'd turn that RV around and head back home. 

Fire Up the "X Files" Theme

This is really bizarre.  Everyone seems to agree that a missile - a pretty big missile at that - was fired about 30 miles off the coast of Los Angeles last night.

Now we just need to know who and why. More.

The Guy Responsible For The Most Famous DWI Book In Photo In Recent History

. . . pled guilty yesterday to Murder and other charges related to his intoxicated crash earlier this year that left a mother and her teenage daughter dead.. He was scheduled to go to trial that day but instead the jury will only be called upon to assess punishment.

As I've mentioned here before, the State gets to charge him with murder by being very creative. He had at least two prior misdemeanor DWI convictions so the act of driving drunk again means he was committing a felony. And since he was committing a felony, there's a little used portion of the Penal Code that kicks in which allows someone to be charged with Murder if, stay with me here, during the commission of a felony act he "commits . . . an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of another individual." See Texas Penal Code § 19.02(b)(3).  The key to that provision is that it does not require a defendant to INTEND to kill another -- which is typically required in murder prosecutions.

He faces up to life in prison. He might get it.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• A T-shirt slogan that the Evil Empire might want to rethink. 
• I was the good hubby yesterday -- took Mrs. LL to the doctor because of her wrists, picked up a kid in Roanoke, bought birthday gifts, attended a birthday party, and made a mad dash to the pharmacist to pick up meds for Mrs. LL (that I had to pay out of pocket until workman's comp gets straightened out -- man, do we need health care reform!!!!) And I dropped the 7th grader off at school today at 6:30 a.m.  for some tryout and the 2nd grader has a school play tonight. To all of you that have done stuff like that for years, Sirs  and Ma'ams, I salute you. But there's some weird satisfaction to it, isn't there?
• The Messenger did make reference to the fight that broke out in the Decatur Eagle football game on Friday night. It referred to it as a third quarter "ugly brawl" that caused "several" players to be ejected and delayed the game for 10 minutes.  That sounds like quite the melee.
• A Carnival Cruise Liner with about 3,300 passengers is dead in the water off the coast of Mexico. 
• Wow, AnObiter turned on MzChief.  Hey, her Scorched Earth Policy is always welcomed here. 
• For the record, the local CBS TV affiliate was the first one to break the Wade Phillips firing news. ESPN waited a full hour and then credited it's own reporter Ed Werder. 
• Pregnant lady bikini contest. My eyes!!! They're burning!!!
• Sorry I screwed up the link to the Bush's-Momma-Put-What-In-A-Jar yesterday. Court all morning and then winning the Husband of the Year Award. Here it is if you haven't heard yet.  
• The Family Kitty is a crazy sock thief. Every time I look up that little thing is sprinting across the floor with a sock in his mouth that she's stolen from a bedroom. Dress socks, athletic socks, kid socks, women socks. I'm taking her to counseling. 
• The George W interviews to promote his new book are pretty interesting. But now he's entering Softball Question City: Hannity, Rush, and some other Fox News talking heads. 
• And there are a ton of people and a few protesters at his book signing this morning in Dallas. (Link to updated photos including a mildly hot Jane McGarry.)
• Wade Phillips was scheduled to attend a charity event at Cowboys Stadium last night. He still showed up. 
• Big girl rides a mechanical bull. Funny.
• It dawned on me this morning that I no longer feel uncomfortable when some kid refers to me as "sir". I'm officially old. 

Done

How Does This Happen?

What they think he was going to do?

Ok, our day isn't so bad after all

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• New biggest statue of Jesus -- Even bigger than the one down in Rio.
• Do we  have to hand the winner of the NASCAR race in Fort Worth a pair of six shooters? That's a little stereotypical. 
• I've always been skeptical about carpal tunnel syndrome, but Mrs. LL's wrists hurt so badly that she can hardly grip anything. She's miserable. 
• George Bush's mom put what in a jar and showed it to him?
• I like the weekends even more than I used to. And jogging on cool fall mornings makes me very reflective. 
• Ended up taking three girls grocery shopping because they wanted to cook dinner. I thinks it's ok to warn them "not to start acting like a fool" before we went in. (Hey, I say it in a nice way.) 
• And they made up some song on the way back with the lyrics, "You can cook my bacon, you can cook my bacon."  That was followed by some catchy lyrics that I think Katy Perry could turn into a hit. 
• If I saw the stories correctly, Dallas police shot and killed two separate men this weekend. 
• I'm not sure if Wade Phillips makes it through the day.  Firing him might be the only humane thing to do in order to put him out of his misery. 
• The confrontation in the Update that left the New Fairview man dead - any chance alcohol was involved? 
• I finally watched all of ESPN's 30 for 30 series about "The Two Escobars." Fantastic. (And for those that remember him, the next one is going to be about OU recruit and flameout Marcus Dupree.)
• Jeff Gordan and Jeff Burton fighting at the NASCAR race was like those two jockeys at the Breeder's Cup fighting. 

Did This Really Happen?

My College Football Thoughts

• Baylor returned to being Baylor as Oklahoma State killed them. That was depressing, and it wasn't even noon on Saturday before I went into a fetal position.
• That being said, Texas is worse as they were annihilated by a bad Kansas State team. It's so bizarre in Austin that I almost feel bad for them. Almost.
• And the Aggies beat Oklahoma? If Baylor had won, it would have been delicious for next week when the Aggies come to Waco. Instead it might just be a beat down. But I've always like the Ags.
• TCU?  You are closer to being in the National Championship game than last year. I predict Auburn will be beaten by Alabama in the "Iron Bowl" (whatever that means) and you'll finally get your shot. How that's possible borders on the surreal.
• Did you see Iowa State go for two and the big win against Nebraska? If the place holder didn't throw like a second grade girl - scratch that - a second grade girl with no athletic ability, they would have won. 
• LSU is ridiculously lucky/crazy/good.
• I've always thought the Sagarin Rankings were the most accurate.

Homicide In New Fairview?

Heard about it but have absolutely no details.

That's what makes me the most trusted source in Wise County news.

Edit: I beat the Messenger with the news, but they actually have some facts.

Wise County Craziness In Parker County

More.

Friday Afternoon Pick Me Up. Literally.

Two Unrelated Headlines That Just Got My Attention

The Evil Empire and the World Wide Leader are joined in Unholy Matrimony.  The rich get richer:

The Liberal Media suspends someone for being liberal. He's suspended for donating to three Democratic candidates. Really? I assumed Hannity and Rush donated to Republicans:

Mom Dresses Son As Daphne From Scooby Doo For Halloween

And he would've gotten away with it but for those meddling moms.

So a few weeks before Halloween, Boo decides he wants to be Daphne from Scooby Doo, along with his best friend E. He had dressed as Scooby a couple of years ago.  I was hesitant to make the purchase, not because it was a cross gendered situation, but because 5 year olds have a tendency to change their minds. After requesting a couple of more times, I said sure and placed the order. He flipped out when it arrived. It was perfect.

Then as we got closer to the actual day, he stared to hem and haw about it. After some discussion it comes out that he is afraid people will laugh at him. I pointed out that some people will because it is a cute and clever costume. He insists their laughter would be of the ‘making fun’ kind. I blow it off. Seriously, who would make fun of a child in costume?

And then the big day arrives. We get dressed up. We drop Squirt at his preschool and head over to his. Boo doesn’t want to get out of the car. He’s afraid of what people will say and do to him. I convince him to go inside. He halts at the door. He’s visibly nervous. I chalk it up to him being a bit of a worrier in general. Seriously, WHO WOULD MAKE FUN OF A CHILD IN A  COSTUME ON HALLOWEEN? So he walks in. And there were several friends of mine that knew what he was wearing that smiled and waved and gave him high-fives. We walk down the hall to where his classroom is.

And that’s where things went wrong. Two mothers went wide-eyed and made faces as if they smelled decomp. And I realize that my son is seeing the same thing I am. So I say, “Doesn’t he look great?” And Mom A says in disgust, “Did he ask to be that?!” I say that he sure did as Halloween is the time of year that you can be whatever it is that you want to be. They continue with their nosy, probing questions as to how that was an option and didn’t I try to talk him out of it. Mom B mostly just stood there in shock  and dismay.

And then Mom C approaches. She had been in the main room, saw us walk in, and followed us down the hall to let me know her thoughts. And they were that I should never have ‘allowed’ this and thank God it wasn’t next year when he was in Kindergarten since I would have had to put my foot down and ‘forbidden’ it. To which I calmly replied that I would do no such thing and couldn’t imagine what she was talking about. She continued on and on about how mean children could be and how he would be ridiculed.

My response to that: The only people that seem to have a problem with it is their mothers.

(More of the post)

Why is Rick Perry Not Approved Of By The Tea Party?

This post prompted by the comments below today's "Random Thoughts".  Rick Perry is not liked by the Tea Party because he doesn't represent its values? Really?   His anti-federal government, anti-big government, anti-tax, pro-10th Amendment is exactly what the Tea Party stands for.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Still a big fan of Modern Family. (And I've learned how some shows throw out tons of adult humor which is just subtle enough to go over a 12 year old's head. Barely.) 
• I'm beginning to like Satellite Radio. (Although the stations I like have commercials.)
• Two plane crashes overnight: 22 dead in Pakistan, 68 dead in Cuba. (Oh, and add 50 more dead in Pakistan due to a Taliban suicide bomber.) 
• Even though I'm not a gamer, this Kinect attachment to the Xbox looks fantastic. It works like a Wii, but recognizes your body motion without you having to hold a controller. It even recognizes your face when you walk into a room. 
• I've yet to turn on my home heater. Tonight may be the night. 
• I bet Rick Perry is positioning himself as a vice-presidential candidate. Now that makes sense. He'd be perfect to appease the Tea Partiers. 
• Taylor Swift's new album sells over a million in its first week and, get this, there are 10 songs off the album that are currently in Billboard's Hot 100. That used to be impossible because the record company would  "release" each single one at a time. Now the online public decides which tune is worthy of being a single. 
• I think I've become compulsive obsessive when it comes to a dirty floor. I'm now a sweeping and vacuuming fool. 
• The biggest college football game this weekend is TCU/Utah and it's on some channel called CBS College Sports? I so want to discount TCU but what they did to 7-2 Baylor continues to make me shake my head. 
• Mrs. LL got so mad at the Sprint store that she came home with tears in her eyes last night. I'd never seen that before. (But she got a new phone after everything was said, cried and done.)
• Unemployment news this morning: The national rate stands at 9.6% but the private sector added 159,000 new jobs (the most in five months). I think this thing is finally turning the corner. 
• Remember the Fainting Kittens video? Well someone has tricked it up by adding animated laser beams. 
• Mick Jagger's daughter is hot with the exception of her Mick Jagger mouth. 
• The crazy girl dancing at Cowboys Stadium that was referenced yesterday? Turns out she is a sophomore at East Carolina University and was in town for the weekend.