Breaking: Hotel Chaos In Bridgeport

Got a report that one of the bigger hotels in Bridgeport is being shut down by the State today for failing to pay taxes.

And another is having electrical bill issues.

Developing . . .

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Someone mentioned yesterday that I had made pro gun control comments. I don't think I have.
• Of the eight remaining NFL teams, seven of them are within the top eight in total defense.
• A Fort Worth man was spared from execution at the last minute by the Supreme Court last night. Think that's a bit of an emotional roller coaster?
• Countdown to comment about the emotions of his his victim in three, two . . . . 
• The man-with-the-golden-throat got detained after a skirmish. Any one else think he just might be a bad guy?
• I have a client who was a gulf coast fisherman. He came up for a court appearance and brought along with him some fresh shrimp -- for me. On Sunday I shelled them, de-veined them, and boiled them. Fantastic. 
• Mrs. LL gets creeped out by their little legs that get pulled off. 
• Rush Limbaugh continues to pander to the lowest common denominator: “What [Arizona shooter] Mr. Loughner knows is that he has the full support of a major political party in this country.”
• I'm very content when there are simply no or few problems.  I try to actually stop and appreciate the lack of issues. 
• The President is headed to Tucson. I'm sure someone will criticize him even for that. 
• There was a crazy story out of Austin about two guys on a horse and a mule on Sixth Street getting arrested for DWI on Friday. An Austin PD spokesperson said the DWI definition of a "motor vehicle" is so ambiguous that a horse qualifies. Hmmm. I know that many of our State DAs think that a bicycle would qualify. 
• OK, the specific definition of a "motor vehicle" in the Texas Penal Code is "a device in, on, or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway.' Notice that the definition doesn't require a "motor". Even so,  I'm not sure a horse or a mule is a "device." 
• I hate it when someone say to another, "You would be a good lawyer because you like to argue." There's nothing further from the truth.  You have the potential to be a good lawyer if you were actually interested in the last two bullet points. 
• I hope it's good parenting to say, "Don't do anything stupid." 

Troopers Mourn Vandalized Trooper Car

(Caption This)

And, remember kids, don't mess with the government--they are all at work at three in the morning. And they won't just wake you, they'll rip you out of bed. Thank goodness the No-Big-Government Republicans are in charge!!:

Story in tomorrow's Messenger. (Go spend 75 cents so I won't have to argue "fair use" with them.)

Streaker Fail

It's a 24 second video of gold. The laughing of the guy holding the camera might be the best part.

Here.

(Thanks, Charlie.)

Crazy Church Has Just Given New Meaning To The Word "Crazy"

Christina Green is the nine year old girl shot in Arizona on Saturday at the congresswoman's meeting.

Story.

Edit: And the Arizona legislature passes a law preventing protests "within 300 feet of a funeral and within an hour from its beginning or end."

Why Didn't We Think Of This Sooner!!!

This will certainly stop all violence against elected officials! That murder law isn't enough to stop a nutcase, but this firearm legislation would do the trick.

Story.

Pic Of Jerry Floating Around Today

A "Hey, Now", Jerry, and another "Hey, Now"

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• That National Championship game last night was sloppy but still pretty exciting. (Maybe it's not the best idea to make the teams wait six weeks since their last game.)
• Brent Musburger before the final game winning kick: "This is for all the Tostitos!" (Groan.) Even Mrs. LL looked up from her e-Reader and fired off a "Did he just say that?"
• TCU finishes #2 in both the final AP Poll and the final Coach's poll. 
• Sounds like a weird trial last week in Wise County where a guy was found not guilty of failing to register as a sex offender. Two of the jurors said it wasn't their verdict when the jury first came back with the Not Guilty verdict and, when sent back to deliberate further, there was audible shouting coming from the jury room. 
• Glenn Beck website screwup yesterday. Funny.
• Boy, the Right Wing talk show hosts were on the defense yesterday proclaiming that their rhetoric has nothing to do with violence in this country. It's the first time I've ever heard them tell us that what they say actually means nothing at all. 
• There was fudge, monkey bread, and cookies in kitchen last night. It's like the Twilight Zone.
• Tom Delay's lawyer said yesterday after this client's three year sentence, "If I told you what I thought I'd get sued." Huh? By whom? For what? (And, by the way, if Tom DeLay actually has to serve his three year sentence, I think his actual time would be around five months.)
• The 2nd Grader in the House will often flamboyantly sing the last word of a sentence. (i.e. "It is deliciousssss!")
• When did Aeropostale become the hipster label of the day?
• Some gal from MTV's "Teen Mom" looks anything but. (I have no idea who she is.)
• Bud Kennedy was banned from a Tea Party meeting in Austin yesterday.
• Mrs. LL is doing well post surgery. The incision spot still hurts but the carpal tunnel pain is already gone. (And,  yeah, the other wrist has to be done in a couple of weeks.)
• Why is there a Green Hornet movie when no one cared about the TV series? 

The Things You Find On Facebook

And to think I've spent years trying to end the Cop & Donuts stereotype.

And To Think I Used To Joke About The Number Of Ex-Wives I've Had

Woman Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot In Wise County

Wait until she drops a number on you.

The Messenger also has a video of this lady (who needs to learn how to shut up), but the reporter's voice over might hypnotize you.

Holy Cow: Mug Shot Of Tuscon Shooter Released

(From Good Morning America's twitter feed.)

Breaking: Tom DeLay Just Got Sentenced To Prison?

Three years? For the charge of "conspiring to launder corporate money into political donations during the 2002 elections."

You've got to be kidding.

Did Fox News Cut Away From Sarah Palin Basher?

That wasn't exactly a gracious, theme music heavy cut to commercial.

Let's See How This Works Out

The State Comptroller announced this morning that Texas has $15 billion less to spend over the next two years. (It could even grow to $27 billion.)  Basically, the brand spanking new Texas legislature, which is totally controlled by the Republican Party, will be forced to make drastic cuts.  They preach fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets.

To steal the Texas Ranger's slogan: "It's Time."

Fox 4 Got The Book-in Photo Of Our Murder-For-Hire Lady

Story.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• So the City of Dallas calls its sand trucks on standby "Ice Force One"? Really? 
• I've decided that the only thing more entertaining than snow is the media coverage of it. Over. The. Top. 
• Yesterday during the playoff game, CBS 11 hijacked a commercial break for two minutes to provide weather coverage. That means there's some company that paid for a national ad that wasn't seen in the Dallas market. Are they compensated for that? By whom?
• Remember the guy who shot the Arlington officer and little girl in Arlington last week before turning the gun on himself? His body remains unclaimed in the medical examiner's officer.
• Mexico resort town of Acapulco: 27 dead in one day including 14 beheadings.  (Our successful efforts to combat meth manufacturing in the U.S. has added to the war in Mexico where it is now being made and shipped here.)
• Had Mrs. LL watch Star 80 over the weekend. 
• You think Sarah Palin regrets her "crosshairs map" that targeted some politicians for defeat -- one of whom is critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords had said, "We're on Sarah Palin's targeted list. The thing is, the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun site over our district. [When] people do that they've got to realize there are consequences to that action."
• How in the world can the parents of the 9 year old girl who was killed in the Tuscon shooting grant TV interviews less than 24 hours after her death? Incredible. 
• Hey, Now with a great photobomb.
• Texas Monthly named Salsa Fuego one of its Ten Best Mexican Restaurants. It's south of Ridgmar Mall near the traffic circle. Verdict: It's a hole in the wall which is very, very good. (Pic of my plate.)
• Ever chased a cat who escaped onto the front lawn when you're barefoot and there's freezing rain? I have. 

Say What?

Edit on Sunday morning; Man, the weather folks are doing some big time backtracking now.

First Photo I Saw Of Shooter In Arizona

Info about Jared Loughner.

(And if you were watching CNN and Fox this afternoon, you heard both of them "confirm" that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had died.)

And in a strange twist, Giffords read "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances" part of the Constitution this week.

Edit: The smokinggun.com has a couple of his pics, one being a glock on a U.S. History book.

Edit: A federal judge was killed.

Edit: Wow. "9-year-old shot dead today at the Giffords event was featured in a book “Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11.""