When Did We Start Tricking Up Miss Texas?

I heard on the radio that the Miss Texas Pageant was going on this week in Arlington and there would be thirty-three contestants. Of course, I guy has to check it out. But what happened to good ol' names like "Miss [insert Texas city]" or "Miss [insert Texas county]"  And how does one become, for example, "Miss Trinity River"?

Can we enter a Miss Big Sandy Creek? A Miss Pasture Near Cottondale? A Miss Liberally Lean?

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• A 26 year old referred to as an amateur photographer fell to his death in downtown Dallas this morning.
• I completely missed that TxDot is actually going to install a red light on 380 by the Sheriff's Office at the Business 380 exit. To quote Antoine Dodson, "You are so dumb. You are really dumb. For real."
• Reno (by Springtown) has one police officer who almost shot his pinky off on Monday. The Weatherford Democrat gets kudos for having the headline begin with "Reno 911". 
• I saw where there is a case in the County Court at Law where a guy allegedly exposed himself in the Decatur Walmart on two separate occasions. How did we not hear about that?
• Switched my jogging routine to mornings when it is way too early to be jogging. It was still in the 80s today before the sun was up.
• Dave Campbell's Texas Football picks Bridgeport to finish 2nd and Decatur 3rd in the district with Bridgeport wide receiver Garrett Mullins is the magazine’s choice for the district’s Offensive MVP.
• Climbed up in the attic last night to inspect the AC Unit that is causing condensation to go to the overflow pan.  I'm this close to believing I can unplug the stopped up PVC pipe by taking my handy hacksaw to it and then repairing it.
• The Soon to Be Third Grader In The House (who was the only one brave enough to go in the attic with me) said, "I think you might want to leave that one to the experts." 
• I was surprised to learn Rick Perry is 61.
• Heard a conservative talk show host this morning say that Sarah Palin has a "Persecution Complex." Man, that is spot on.
• The felony docket on July 11th in Wise County has over 100 people on it. 
• One weird thing on the docket is a Boyd teenager, who was originally indicted for Intoxication Manslaughter, is set to plea on three separate cases of DWI With Two or More Prior Convictions. I'm confused by that one. 
• Belen Rodriguez
• WBAP's Hal Jay asked a guest this morning about this week's Supreme Court ruling overturning the ban on violent video games to minors. "That was a California Supreme Court ruling, right?" the guest asked. "Yes," Hal Jay replied. "Does anyone over there follow the news?" I asked myself.
• Two teens in Haltom City place "two dead dogs" on a railroad track? Uh, where did two kids who would be so inclined just happen to find two dead dogs?

Messenger Stealing My Trademarked Phrase In Today's Paper

They Might Need Some Water

How Not To Tweet

I don't want Channel 8's Brett Shipp to go after me, but I don't think this is the way Twitter works. ("JWP" stands for "John Wiley Price".)  If it's important enough to be newsworthy these days, it can't wait eight hours before you tell us about it. Either someone will beat you to the punch, or it's really not a big deal at all.

Ryan Seacrest's Girlfriend

Edit: These are not Ryan Seacrests girlfriends

This Poor Girl Is Going To Get Pummeled. Maybe Unfairly. But She's Got A Bull's Eye On Her

John Quincy Adams was nine years old in 1776.  (From Good Morning America today.) I don't think in any stretch of the imagination he can be called a "Founding Father."

And from yesterday:

Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has a thing for John Wayne. In an interview yesterday with Newsmax, she said she wants to live in “John Wayne’s America.” And in the Iowa town of Waterloo today, where she announced her presidential candidacy, Bachmann told Fox News, “John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.” But unfortunately . . . the John Wayne born in Waterloo is John Wayne Gacy, the notorious serial killer who murdered 33 teenage boys and young men, not the iconic Western actor. Watch it.


Edit: Oh, yeah. I forgot that Tom Petty told her to quit using "American Girl" as part of her campaign. (Which, by the way, was the song the gal was singing right before she got kidnapped by Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.)

And Another

From Iowa Park ISD.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Despite every media outlet in DFW trying to find out what the FBI investigation into John Wiley Price was about, they came up with absolutely nothing.
• There's a regularly scheduled Dallas County Commissioners meeting today. Hello, circus.
• A Johnson County Commissioner abruptly resigned yesterday after allegations arose he used a county Home Depot credit card for personal charges. 
• Our taxes would be a lot less if people being paid by the taxpayer didn't have to investigate people being paid by the taxpayer for misusing taxpayer money. 
• Two motorcycle deaths yesterday: Hurst and Dallas (couldn't find a link but he was knocked off a bridge onto the Dallas Tollway.) Edit: Found it.
• What a bizarre story: An attractive (for what it's worth) Austin gal who worked for the W Hotel got stuck in an air duct and was not found for over a month. Not a happy ending. 
• Since when does everyone think they are saying something profound when they rattle off, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"? (And if that person then attributes the quote to Albert Einstein, cock an eyebrow because there's no proof of that.)
• Over the past month I've received an unsolicited Beach Boys CD and a packet of Kool-Aid from loyal readers. You think I'm a little nervous when I open up a package that looks like it could be from the Son of Sam?
• I was in a foot race last night. Yep. Against a girl. I'm guessing it was a quarter mile. My heart estimated it as run to El Paso. 
• Everyone was up in arms yesterday about the search by TSA of a 95 year old, wheel chair bound, cancer-stricken woman at the airport who was wearing a diaper. Do we make an exception for 95 years olds? If so, there's your security loophole that everyone knows about.
• Side note: The 95 year old was flying to visit family and friends. Uh, how about the family coming to see her instead?
• The new Dallas mayor was inducted yesterday and he continues to preach about wanting to improve Dallas schools. Man, you've got enough problems without trying to fix something you have no jurisdiction over. 
• After over two years, President Obama has finally nominated someone for the position of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas: Sarah Saldana. Talk about a gal who is low profile --- a Google search basically turns up nothing. (If confirmed, she will then be responsible for the John Wiley Price prosecution. And if President Obama loses the 2012 election, she'll be out of a job. Does she want that gig?)
• Did I see Sonic and Asian take-out on the dinner table last night? Yep.
• The official high was 99 degrees yesterday. Somebody want to check that monitoring equipment? And why is Wichita Falls consistently clocking in at 10 degrees hotter than us?
• On my DVR from last night is the HBO documentary "Hot Coffee" about civil lawsuits. My lawyer friends criticize me to no end for my anti-lawsuit positions and the program is about "misconceptions" that people like me might hold. Will I watch it? You bet. Why wouldn't I want to hear differing views?
• Random Texas front page only because the War on Drugs lead story was called "Operation Pill Crusher." You've always got to have a fancy name. 

Dumb Kid Falls From Top Of Escalator

Teen falls from top of esccalator: MyFoxBOSTON.com

Nope. Not dead.

Another Bad Wreck By Sheriff's Office On 380 and Business 380

This Picture Sent In By A Faithful Reader Will Not Win A Pulitzer Prize

Let me guess that it's either at location 1 or 2 on the map below. I'll go with 1.

This Girl Needs Some Parental Guidance

Bristol Palin, 20, has "written" her first book, and she is out today pimping the thing like nobody's business.  I heard a little bit of her on Sean Hannity's radio show, and her description of the conception of her child sounded a heck of a lot like some of the criminal cases I seen in the courthouse. She's making a serious accusation but isn't smart enough to know that it's a serious accusation  -- she totally rejects any notion that she was date raped despite her description of the event.   And, once again, she's been put under an uncomfortable spotlight because those close to her hold the cover of People magazine, and the ancillary cash that comes with such fame, in high esteem. 

What's the name of her mother again?

Juicy Legal Case To Be Heard By The Supreme Court

Can the police constitutionally install a GPS tracking device on a person's vehicle and, if so, do they need a warrant to do so? We'll probably know next spring since the Court decided to hear the case today.

I predict we'll move another step closer to a Police State. I suspect the issue will boil down to whether a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy as to the location of his car.

Edit: The "well-he-was-convicted-of-[insert alleged crime]-so-I'm-don't-care-if-they-slapped-a-GPS-on-his-car" comments are already rolling in. That never ceases to amaze me. What's the old saying? Oh, yeah: "Then they came for me . . . ." Those who claim to love the Constitution do not love it all if they pick and choose who they wish for it to protect,

The Man Is After John Wiley!

Story with updates.

Edit: I found this picture I posted of him over five years ago:

If You Don't Like Texas Weather . . .

It WON'T change if you wait a second.

"Are You A Flake?"

Fox News eating their young?

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Rick Perry vetoed the "no texting while driving" bill which, although the right thing to do, is yet another  huge sign he'll run for President on a No Big Government Policy.
• Bridgeport Tank Trucks runs a big ad every week in the Fort Worth Weekly looking for CDL drivers. Just seems like an odd place to do that.  
• A triple murder in Arlington over the weekend leaves eight kids without moms.
• In case you missed it, the dead body found in Wise County last week is believed to be the result of a self-inflicted gunshot. The lady was from Southlake. (Photo and odd Facebook page.) 
• A drainage dispute over the Flower Bed Project caused me to concede to Mrs. LL for the sake of peacefulness. Although it did require a lot of digging on my part to put the concession into action. 
• We ate at Sardines over the weekend. It feels like a mob hangout.
• I may have mentioned this, but I tend to beat her down while dining because every time I have to fire off the line, "I'm beginning to think Buddy Holly isn't much of a waiter." (Pulp Fiction)
• The Wichita County Sheriff's Office has a great website for inmate information. We've been waiting on Wise County to relaunch the equivalent for months. 
• I went out to the jail on Friday to visit an inmate and brought a Diet Coke along with me. Based upon the reaction from the other side of the glass, I learned inmates don't get Diet Coke. 
• I feel badly because I think Casey Anthony is guilty when there really isn't much proof to support that conclusion. 
• Baseball notes: (1) I can't imagine why someone would sit in the sun for a Rangers' game on Saturday or Sunday, and (2) Josh Hamilton can't hit a baseball during the day (he's 1 of 33 since coming back from the DL and struck out four times on Saturday. He blamed the problem on his blue eyes. Really.)
• My delayed retorts: (1) Breitbart showing the naked photo of Rep. Weiner certainly constitutes "releasing" the photo, and (2) if you think the Bill of Rights only applies to Congress, google "incorporation doctrine" (a doctrine that is silly but the law nonetheless.)
• But to those who think the Constitution is the greatest document ever drafted, think again. The First Amendment, for example, says Congress shall enact "no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech."  That can't be any clearer. It is completely absolute. As written, Congress should not be able to regulate pornography, expressions of terrorism, copyright,  and the list goes on. It took the courts to completely rewrite it. 
• I woke up Mrs. LL to endorse a check this morning. She was so sleepy, I'm not sure she knows what she signed.  
• Terrell Owens blew out his ACL and will have surgery. He's done.

And Another

Carrollton ISD. 33 years old.

Story.