Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Rush Limbaugh billboard that he might want to rethink. (Thanks, Keith) If you don't want to click on the link, just know that it involves bullet holes. Edit: Holy, crap -- it's in Tucson.
• That Memorial Service last night messed up my TIVO'd episode of Modern Family. Where do I lodge my complaint?
• Once my head hits the pillow, I'll be asleep within 10 minutes. Insomnia is one thing I've never suffered from. 
• I've never really paid much attention to Michelle Malkin. (She's a perfect example of Hate Speech.)
• Fifteen years ago today, Amber Hagerman (wiki) was abducted in Arlington. You know the name because of the Amber Alert (which has the most haunting of sounds.)  Gordon Keith on The Ticket this morning said that her killer was never captured although they thought a guy named Michael Blair had done it. Nope, Blair was convicted and then later acquitted of killing a girl named Ashley Estell of Plano. 
• The case involving the missing young mother from Perrin last summer was never solved, was it? Weird.
• We'll hear of the occasional murder-for-hire case but how many are successfully executed and end up as an unsolved murders.
• I think my household has finally fallen into a routine. That's a good thing. 
• Vacation thought: Going to San Fransisco and then driving the Pacific Coast Highway south. Anyone ever done that out there?
• What's the general consensus regarding "second hand" clothing stores? I'm conflicted. 
• Now a Texas rep wants a law that would allow Congressmen to carry guns at the capitol. Man, we are a Knee Jerk Nation. 
• The University of Arizona must be one crazy place. In addition to turning the Memorial Service into a pep rally, the 16th hole of the Phoenix Open has historically been transformed into a frat party. 
• I think I gained some weight over the holidays. 
• Richie Whitt ranked the Top Ten Metroplex Weatherhumans.

Memorial Service in Tucson

There is a bizarre amount of cheering going on -- so I searched for "memorial service" on Twitter for the reaction of others. (I do searches like that all the time.) This is just a small sample of hundreds.

It's one of the craziest things I've ever seen.

Want A Ticket To The Super Bowl?

Or, uh, a ticket to stand outside of the Super Bowl:

The National Football League and the city of Arlington confirmed Wednesday that plans are being developed to allow an unspecified number of fans to purchase tickets to watch the Feb. 6 Super Bowl from a Game Day Fan Plaza outside the northeast section of Cowboys Stadium. While spectators will not be inside the stadium itself, they will be figuratively at the front door, watching on video screens and soaking in the Super Bowl atmosphere. The number of tickets that would be made available, the price, and how fans can purchase those tickets are still being worked out. “People would have a separate security entrance and be subject to the same security procedures,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. “It’s a private and separate gate and they wouldn’t be (mingling) with ticketholders.”

I wonder what the price will be?

Full story.

A Sarah Oops?

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."