For The Ranger Fans Who Forsake Good American Hard Work To Watch Afternoon Ranger Game

View of field in Detroit right now. And radar.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• New Jersey governor Chris Christie endorsed Mitt Romney yesterday. Someone needs to tell Christie that rumors of his influence are greatly exaggerated. New Jersey endorsing Massachusetts doesn't mean that much to the rest of the country. 
• And what's up with this Republican divide? The Rush Limbaugh hardliners and the Tea Party don't think Romney is conservative enough but they can't find a candidate to compete with him. They fear the situation is going to become John McCain 2.0.
• Note to Family Pup in the middle of the night: It's lightening. It's thunder. You've seen it before. It is not going to come through the door and attack you.
• Two weeks ago, everyone thought the Rangers had the strongest pitching staff in the American League. Now you fear a train wreck no matter who they roll out there.
• The guy that got "hit" by Josh Hamilton's bat last night (photo 26) acted like someone had just blown off the back of his head with a shotgun. Man up. Edit: Video. Edit #2: Funny!
• Motorcycle death of Trophy Club elementary school teacher yesterday. 
• The object of my youthful crush, Deborah Foreman, is 49 today.
• I don't think I've ever had a flu shot. 
• One time Sarah Palin replacement Michelle Bachmann is crazy. Not only did she say she had spent "most of her life in the private sector" at the debate last night (huge lie), she also said of Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan: "[W]hen you take the 9-9-9 plan and turn it upside down, I think the devil's in the details." Really? 
• Everyone is counting Rick Perry out but it's still early. If he'll just plug along, he still has a chance. Front runners in October aren't normally front runners in March. It sounds crazy now but politics are crazy.
• My skeptical meter went off yesterday when I heard the news that Iran was behind a plan to assassinate the Saudi ambassador on U.S. soil by recruiting a Mexican drug cartel.  I smell the Politics of Fear. 
• My Softball Team lost 10-6 to basically a team of Select players last night. That score is very, very deceiving. Their starting pitcher, who they pulled after they quickly went up 10-1, struck out 7 of our first 9 batters. 
• And she had this weird slap-her-thigh on the wind up and slap-her-thigh on the release. It was hypnotic. 

Messenger Above The Fold

Boyd Man Who Fell Off Cowboys Billboard: Update

He fell of a billboard and certain members of his family have now filed suit. The Dallas Observer says that one of the Plaintiffs is his "widow" who lived in Denton. I note that the deceased's obituary referred to her as a "special friend."

Occupy Fort Worth

A loyal reader sends along these photos of protesters in downtown across from the Worthington Hotel (which, no doubt, is a favorite of greedy Capitalists.)

Thanks, James.

And Fox News Told Me The Occupy [Location] Protesters Were Just A Bunch Of Dirty Hippies (Updated)

"Hey, Now!"

Edit: Oh, my! I'm joining the cause!!!

Paradise ISD Sues To Declare Texas School Funding Unconstitutional

Well, kinda. The "Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition" has filed suit which is composed of more than 150 Texas ISDs. From this list (which is from a couple of weeks ago), it looks like Paradise is the only school district in Wise County which is part of the group.

I Need A Ruling Here

This is dumb, right? Even for college kids. You take a touchpick and jab it in your head, snort a line of salt, take a shot of tequila, and then squirt lime juice in your eyes. Good times?

What's next? Set yourself on fire?

Finally, unless that guy wants to be on the Gay or Not Gay segment on The Ticket, he needs to put a shirt on. The only thing saving him right now is that there's a girl in the room.

And, is it just me, or does the guy running the camera sound like the Giggling Anderson Cooper from a couple of weeks back?

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Tech vandalized the Aggie bus? The Tech administration says, "Not so fast, my friend." And they might be right. 
• I appreciate the ol' "Do what you love" career advice. Unfortunately, it's given by the .00001% of people who actually can make a living following that advice. 
• Dirty Muslims are killing good, clean Christians in post-Arab Spring Egypt. Or something like that. 
• There was a horrible wreck in Arlington yesterday killing three young people, and the Star-Telegram linked to some of their Facebook pages next to their story about the incident.  They debated this on WBAP this morning which seems like a silly debate.
• The Softball Experiment Season is winding down and we've got a game tonight against a team that might have beat the Texas Rangers last night.  I'm practicing my "Believe You Can Win" speech when I'm not sure I believe we can win. (Their catcher has a stronger arm than Pudge Rodriguez.)
• Actually used Facebook yesterday to research a very iffy sexual assault allegation in Wise County which has landed a kid in jail (without even being interviewed before a warrant was issued.). There it was on the alleged victim's digital wall on the day after the alleged assault: "I have no idea what happened last night." 
• I don't have any problem with pink being everywhere in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. I'm just not sure why it gets a whole month. 
• A Decatur graduate is doing pretty well as a soccer player at Midwestern State.
• I mentioned last night that the Ranger game ended with the first ever "Walk Off Grand Slam" in the playoffs. That's barely true: Robin Ventura did it in 1999 but it didn't count because he never made it to home plate because of being mobbed. 
• Ok, I'll admit it: My sports predicting has become horrible. I'm thinking of going to Vegas to bet the opposite of what I think. It would be like the "Opposite George" Seinfeld episode.
• But wouldn't that be hard to bet the opposite of what you think? Once you choose the opposite, wouldn't you fear that's what you really believe?
• TCU joins the Big 12 with play to start in 2012. I guess they'll just take the Aggies conference schedule. 
• Random old shows I thought were funny: Mystery Science 3000 and Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.
• Alliance Town Center (the one that Sam Moon is in) says the Velvet Box is a "sexually oriented business" and wants to shut it down. (Although it's been open since 2009.)

Boom! That's Some Entertainment.

And even the working man got to see the best part.

Edit: Kind of hard to believe . . .

Gruesome Motorcycle Death In Dallas

Story.

This Sounds Familiar

TMZ.

2006:

Al-Qaeda Would Like A Word With You

You know, when the U.S. killed this guy last week with a drone strike, it didn't even dawn on me that we had seen something very rare. The United States had intentionally killed a U.S. citizen without a trial and not on the battlefield.  I don't know if the facts justify it or the law allows it, but it's something you don't see every day.

That being said, the headline of Al-Qaeda complaining is like something you would see on The Onion.

Edit: Comment of the day . . .

Never Thought You Would Need A Helmet For This

Britney and Christina Within The Last Week

The longtime official ladies of Liberally Lean are still out there giving it the what for.

Joe The Plumber Runs For Congress

Story.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I'm in Conspiracy Camp in regards to the postponing of the Ranger game yesterday. Something is up. And I wouldn't rule out Fox wanting to use Sunday night to catch eyeballs for that new Simon Cowell show.
• It took a while, but the "Mormon Factor" for Mitt Romney is now becoming an issue. Well, at least it is starting locally with the pastor of the First Baptist of Dallas who called the religion  a cult. (Side note: There's something extremely weird about that pastor. From his comments to his mannerism, something is not right.)
• Saturday Night Live spoofed Fox and Friends and Hank Williams, Jr. Now that I liked. 
• Mrs. LL was up all night with a sick kid. And from the sound of it, it was a really sick kid. (But I did go check on them at least once.)
• Aggie buses were vandalized while in Lubbock for the Tech game. I still haven't seen any photos of it. 
• Oklahoma is much better than Texas but not that much better. You have three turnovers and you'll probably lose. You have three turnovers returned for TDs, and you're going to get killed.
• I mowed for the final time last weekend. Every year in the Spring, when I mow for the first time, I'll remind myself I'll be doing that until the middle of football season. 
• There's nothing more of a power down than the worker coming through the door during an oil change and saying, "Mr. Green, can I show you something?"  I wonder what their markup is on air filters?
• Seven boaters were rescued from the ocean off the Florida keys over the weekend after spending 20 hours in the water -- including a four year old girl. Wow.
• "Sebastian Janikowski wrote: 'Did you say that 56 yard field goal attempt was WIDE?'" -- Someone posting on the Messenger's live blog of the Bridgeport/Decatur game on Friday night.
• I'm insane now: Hot lady pops balloons to celebrate Rangers victory.
• Picture of the Decatur Church of Christ I took 10 years ago after a tornado came through. Oh, and the First Baptist Church lost its steeple.
• Why in the world would Paul McCartney, 69, get married again? (He did over the weekend.) His last wife, who might have been the devil incarnate, took him for over $30 million during the divorce.

Former Channel 5 Reporter Sighting

(Thanks, Charles.)