Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• The husband of the Kennedale teacher involved in the student sex scandal is catching lots of flak on the radio today for his decision to "stand by" his wife. Hey, it's his business. 
• And the more you think about it, that is a strange law she was charged with: Sexual relations with a student even if the student is not a minor.  So you have two adults engage in a consenual activity and only one of them can legally be charged with a crime?  I can't think of another crime where that can happen.
• Edit: And I should have mentioned that the law doesn't apply to college teacher/students.
• Photo I took of a couple of lawyers in a driver's license administrative hearing yesterday. Golf shirt on one. Topsiders with white socks on another. 
• The Family Cat walked past me with a five foot stuffed toy snake from upstairs yesterday. It was a stuffed toy poodle the day before. 
• Seventeen young adults are charged with distributing heroine heroin in Plano and nearby areas. Did you see those kids? About as normal looking as you can get. And they are facing federal charges so the chance of being locked up is significant.  That'll solve the problem.  Edit: Spellcheck fail. (But funny comment on "heroine")
• Dirk has his best playoff game ever last night and the Oklahoma City Thunder still hung around. (Or so I've heard.)  I think that's an ominous sign for the Mavs.
• The Update reports this morning that the tax property values in Wise County will be decreased this year. It's a Christmas Miracle in May. 
• Remember when it seemed like every John Grisham book was turned into a movie? The last one was Runaway Jury in 2003. 
• I created a "dirt strainer" for the flower bed (to get rid of small rocks) by drilling a million holes in a plastic bucket. Anybody know the number to the U.S. Patent Office? 
• In connection with a criminal case, I had to dump the contents of a microcassette onto a laptop yesterday at the Wise County Attorney's office. I used Audacity (freeware) and it worked like a charm. More of a miracle is that someone actually used a microcassette.
• Haven't been able to find a thing on the reason for the Melinda Reeves suspension.  
• Star-Telegram headline: "Tarrant County constables honored for rescuing man from 'widow maker'". Did you know that the "widow maker" referred to is the rescued man's term for his heart condition that required two stents? Really. 
• Somebody jacked with a park sign in Rhome. (Thanks, Toni.)

Newt Gets Glittered By Gay Activist

That's some sorriness right there. And when that guy reaches into his satchel/purse/whatever, I'm surprised there's not someone there to take him down on the spot.

Source.

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Tryouts

Pics here.

Decatur Cowboy Breaks $$$ Record In Bridgeport

(Thanks Brian.)

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• I guess the announcement that Arnold Schwarzenegger's fathered a child with a member of his household staff had a little something to do with the demise of his 25 year old marriage.
• Jerry Lewis will end his run of the Muscular Dystrophy telethon this fall after 45 years. I applaud him for his efforts over the years but exactly how much money was raised without finding a cure?
• With the debate that broke out yesterday regarding fault of the death of the Alvord girls between Decatur and Denton last year, I missed that Channel 8 News did a short story on the dangers of 380 after the death of a Texas Tech student at around the same time.
• Fiona's out and about again. (Facebook link.)
• I think this is a newly created 10 minute video starring local Decatur folks on the "Every 15 Minutes" anti-DWI campaign. Over produced?
• At 7:14 this morning, based upon my quick fingers, I discovered the following stations were running commercials simultaneously: The Ticket, WBAP, KLIF, KRLD, The Fan and ESPN Radio.  That model cannot last. 
• Royal Wedding photo funny.
• Donald Trump announces he won't run for President. Told you it was all a bit. I can't stand that guy.
• Mike Huckabee announces he won't run for President: I take it back, he's smarter than I thought he was. 
• Does anybody want to run against President Obama?
• Nothing like heating something up for breakfast in the microwave and then dropping it at your feet. Hello, Tuesday morning.
• Does the teacher from Kennedale in the latest sex scandal look like former Journey lead man Steve Perry in her book in photo? (Ticket reference this morning)
• WBAP's Hal Jay this morning right before a report on the Mavericks at 8:12 a.m.: "Have they been this far before?" For the life of me, I have no idea how he has a job.
• Three sports items: (1) Rain Delay Baseball Bat Jousting - pretty funny, (2) A relief pitcher last night went 2 and 1/3 innings and gives up 14 earned runs to set a record, and (3) a punch in a rugby game which has the greatest slow motion since Rocky.
• The IMF sexual assault case is bizarre: He is in town for "personal business", rents the penthouse at Sofitel Hotel for over $3,000 per night, allegedly assaults a maid (a maid!), and now sits in jail on Rikers Island. Now that's what I call a weekend. (And are those holes in his shoes in the photo below?)

What's That Explosion I Just Heard In Decatur?

A former Decatur ISD principal, who seemed to be quite the lightening rod while here,  is placed on administrative leave.  I would think this story will get heavy coverage in the metroplex over the next 48 hours. There's now way we won't find out why -- nor should the public be denied that information.

Edit: Ok, you know I'm not going to allow comments that assert facts as to why she was suspended until we have some verification. (Obvious jokes, uh, probably OK.)

Edit: Fox 4 is on it, but no real new information so far.

Location Fail

And Just When I Was Getting That Dance Move Down

Young Lawyer Blasted On Internet Basically Sues Entire Internet

It's a little involved, but the whole story is amazing.  (And at least one Texas lawyer blogger was sued. I don't think he is worried. I'm not sure any of the defendants are.)

And Another: From Kennedale

Story.

(Thanks for the tip, Lari.)

Edit: New Pic

Want To Be A New York Times Fact Checker?

Source.

The No Body Murder Case: An Update That Makes Me Crazy

I subscribe to The Texas Prosecutor which is published "through legislative appropriation." The new issue hit my desk this morning and look what is on the cover: A self promoting article about The Denton No Body case written by the prosecutors. Did they start writing the article the second the trial was over?

From a quick glance at the article (and after getting past a subheading of "Dismantling The Defense" -- sheesh), I did learn the jury quickly sent out a note to the judge right after deliberations began asking for the definition of "reasonable doubt."  Well, there's at least some proof they had no idea what that meant.

At least the appeal has now been filed.

Edit: Someone asked how often a case gets reversed for insufficient evidence. The answer is "very, very rarely." Of all appealed cases, I bet there are no more than one or two a year reversed on that ground-- and that may be a high estimate.  The standard is a tough one: Even with the appellate court assuming that every piece of evidence the State wanted the jury to believe to be true was in fact true,  no rational jury could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.   It takes a mind-boggling weak case to meet that criteria.

I once knew a prosecutor in the early 1990s who was ecstatic when his case was reversed for insufficient evidence because he believed it to be the ultimate compliment: "I was able to convince a jury to convict with legally insufficient evidence!" (Paraphrased: "I was able to do the impossible!")   I, on the other hand, considered it to be the ultimate slap in the face: If the case was so weak that  no rational jury could convict, then every prosecutor should have recognized that to begin with.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Digging up old roots from a flower bed just about can kill a man. Well, at least this man.
• The Mavericks bandwagon sure is getting full.
• The Family Cat now has decided she wants to slap at the water in her bowl until every drop is on the floor. 
• The Colonial Golf Tournament sure seems to be a shadow of its former self. And it's simply wrong for it to take place before the Byron Nelson and not on Memorial Day Weekend. 
• Went down to Baylor this weekend to watch my nephew's graduation. I can now say I've been in the same room with Kenneth Starr. (But it was a very big room.)
• I think the general consensus of the audience of a college graduation is: I'll sit through all of the names to show respect, but I don't necessarily have to pay attention. (Phones, books, magazines are prevalent. But a lot of folks do leave.)
• Don't know about Pat Green's music, but his fans are aesthetically pleasing.
• Posting the Hottest Female Texas Sex Offender's seems a bit wrong. And I wonder if you'd be made if you were eligible but were left off. 
• The Messenger got a lot of heat in its Letters to the Editor for publishing the picture of the eight year old daughter of the alleged Run-Over-The-Guy-Near-Bridgeport defendant.
• Human nature makes you want to click on that link. 
• Someone asked me if I knew anything about the criminal prosecution in Denton of a man allegedly responsible for the deaths of Alvord teens Delaney Mancil and Samantha Rogers in a car wreck last year. Best I can tell, there is no criminal prosecution.
• The new Love's in Rhome won't be able to sell alcohol when it opens because Rhome, although wet, annexed the land the store sits on after the wet-dry election. Thus, a new election is required. I guess Love's new that when they started the project. Edit: Ok. Ok. Ok. Slap a "k" in front of that "new".
• I did not know that the Angel Tattoo Lady in the Miley Cyrus post below was her mom. But a ton of you sure did. 
• Is Golden Triangle Mall still there?
• Argyle elected a mayor who has a pending DWI. Heard on the radio: "That just proves the town wants a mayor who knows how to get his party on."
• The head of the International Monetary Fund is arrested for attempted sexual assault which gives rise to two thoughts: (1) He might want a nickname other than "The Great Seducer" right now, and (2) anyone else besides me completely clueless as what the Fund does?
• Nothing like waking up and finding your back door open by about a foot. (And then sleepily checking the place out while holding a baseball bat because you're 99% sure everything is fine but there's that 1% fear.)
• The BagOfNothing guy posted a short video his pastor played in church.  I was certain I'd know how it would end, but man I was wrong. How this didn't become an Internet sensation three years ago is a mystery.
• If you oppose a higher tax rate for the wealthy on the basis that the government shouldn't mandate that the few benefit the many, I guess you'd also be opposed to the intentional flooding of Louisiana rural area in order to prevent major damage to  New Orleans. 

"It's Friday! Friday!"

I'm more surprised that CNN has a section of it's website that is user generated and not "edited" or "vetted."

Verdict

Edit: Star-Telegram's story today which includes this:

"Wise County Sheriff David Walker, who is [victim] Richter's brother-in-law, said the trial was difficult on his wife and other members of the family, but they never lost faith.

"I deal with this in my law enforcement career and it bothers you, but there is nothing worse than sitting next to your wife and looking at crime scene photos in a trial," he said.

"The family said prayers two or three different times, and I think it was the good Lord's help that helped the jury decide. It's been a long time coming, and it gives the family some closure and will let them start moving again.

Wise County Lawyer Paul Belew . . .

. . .  sends along this pic of a vehicle he saw outside the Tarrant County Justice Center this morning.

Hey, I've Got That Tattoo!

So the paparazzi tracks down Hannah Montana at the beach. Meh. But check out her friend's back.

Random Friday Morning (Barely) Thoughts

• I have no idea why this site was down for almost a day. Google acknowledged they were “working on the problem”, but didn’t really say what it was. I want a refund on this free service! (Yeah, yeah: Try wordpress. Try wordpress.)
• And Google posted this message: “To get Blogger back to normal, all posts since 7:37am PDT on Weds, 5/11 have been temporarily removed. We expect everything to be back to normal soon. Sorry for the delay.”
• There probably won’t be another guy-rams-police-car story for the rest of the year. What you say? There was ANOTHER one last night in Dallas? (No link yet. Saw it on Fox 4 this morning.)
• Man, Mrs. LL has gone “start from scratch” on the flowerbeds. I think I uttered, “I hope you know what you’re doing” yesterday.  And the look on my face must have concerned her because she asked if I had some “sentimental” issues with the bushes that were gone.
• Saw my first interview with Tony Romo’s fiancee yesterday. She’s hot but, man, I bet she’s annoying. Anyway, here’s a pic of her ring.
• More craziness from the Fox affiliate in L.A.where Megan Henderson went: Pole dancing in studio with a crash.
• For a guy who thought Fox News’ treatment of the President for having Common at the White House was silly, Jon Stewart’s segment on the issue was a piece of gold. (Referenced President Bush inviting Johnny Cash to the White House even though he had lyrics of shooting a woman while high on cocaine, and Sean Hannity embracing Ted Nugent even after he told President Obama to “suck on my machine gun.”)
• Enjoy the 70s this weekend (the temps, not the decade), you won’t see them again until October.
• I previously wrote about some Western Hills baseball players sacrificing a chicken on the field. Last night, the team visited Crowley and were met with the “Chicken Dance” song being played over the speakers.
• Man denies he took purse on Judge Judy. He also might be the dumbest man in the world.
• The Granbury double murder trial saw the jury go home for a second night without reaching a verdict. Hung jury? Edit: Looks like there might be one holdout.
• Small south Texas town’s police chief found shot to death in his cruiser.
• The Star-Telegram is laying off people left and right but is also the second fastest growing newspaper in the U.S.? They need to put a reporter on that story.
• Ron Springs, former Cowboy great, died yesterday after four years in a coma. Note to all of you: If I’m in a coma for over six months, grab my pillow and make sure it’s not six months and one day.
• And I was going to mention a great play Springs made in a fantastic Cowboy game in 1979. Then it dawned on me that it would be the equivalent of someone in 1979 telling me about a game in 1947. Wow. Just wow.
• Completely random Cowboy highlight taking you into the weekend: Million pound lineman Larry Allen running down a Saints linebacker who had picked off Aikman. Still amazing.
• San Diego Charger cheerleader tryouts almost caused my “Hey, Now” radar to explode.