Liberally Lean From The Land Of Dairy Queen

11.09.2011

You Almost Never See A Reaction From A Defendant During Sentencing

Then again.

Link.

(Thanks, Keith . . . . I guess.)

Even I'm Surprised My Prediction Was Correct: Paterno Gone

Sandusky and Paterno In, I Assume, Happier Days

Joe Paterno, Penn State's head football coach since 1966, announced he would retire after this season This may end up being the biggest scandal in college football history. (Wikipedia version for those who haven't been keeping up.)

Sidenote: I actually saw one Penn State game (in the Cotton Bowl against Baylor on January 1, 1981.) Jerry Sandusky was the defensive coordinator at the time. The last game Sandusky coached was in 1999 against the Aggies in the Alamo Bowl.

Edit: I'm losing my mind. I saw Alabama and Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. Baylor did play Penn State in the Cotton Bowl but it was about five years before.

Penn State is at home against Nebraska this weekend. The crowd reaction will be interesting. (ESPN at 11:00 a.m.)

Edit: Wow. This morning the original artist covers up Sandusky's face on a mural at Penn State.

Before:

Edit at 9:00 p.m.: Paterno's been relieved of his duties. Chaos at Penn State.

My Conservative Family Cat Sent Me This Story

(Dateline Dallas). Count the red flags: The government is prosecuting a former government employee who is on paid administrative leave for not allowing a cat to be cut out from behind a wall of a government building because, he says, he didn't want to damage government property.

The cat died after fifteen days. The wall was then cut open to remove the dead cat.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

There was a personal injury case starting yesterday in Decatur (some guy got injured on a gas well) but everyone in the courtroom was gone by the afternoon. It may have settled -- I'll find out.
Today at 1:00, every TV and radio station will do a 30 second emergency preparedness test. It will be like a car alarm going off, only bigger.
Mrs. LL told me she had a McRib yesterday and it was delicious. I think that qualifies as Low Maintenance.
For you nerdy legal types: A prosecutor got crushed at oral argument at the Supreme Court yesterday.
Collin County Craziness: A bribery trial against a state judge started yesterday with news that one of the co-defendants (the briber) had been given complete immunity in exchange for testifying. Politics over there, however, is like a middle school playground so I don't know who to believe.
One thing even I'm guilty of regarding the Penn State story: Assuming the sexual abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky are true.
I have no idea whether Herman Cain has engaged in sexual harassment, but those who support him just blindly dismiss every woman who comes forward.
The big well fire yesterday in Wise County involved equipment owned by Imperial Oil & Gas, Inc. who called the site a Green Tide Salt Water Disposal Facility according to its press release.
"The quarterback had grown up in tiny Texas towns like Decatur and Stephenville, small spots in which life was lived a particular way." - Story today about Kevin Kolb on the Arizona Cardinals website.
The drought in East Texas caused a lake level to lower so much that a car was found -- with a body inside of it. Seriously: Do you think there are human remains at the bottom of Lake Bridgeport right now? I do.
I told you to fear Abilene Wylie again (who knocked Decatur out of the volleyball playoffs last night.)
The Bridgeport Booster Club is holding a "Meet The Bulls" event tomorrow. It's just shocking they don't know who those boys are.
BagOfNothing.com has a crazy near miss traffic accident video in Rockwall.
Wise County voters only voted for one of the ten proposed state constitutional amendments yesterday. I have no idea what that says about us -- perhaps we are against things we don't understand.
CoCo goes shopping.
Chico ISD is auctioning off old items including these two broken toilets. All items listed here.
I'm loving how the NBA players aren't backing down after the owners "take this now or we'll offer less tomorrow" negotiation tactic. I think there's a chance the entire season is lost (which is fine with me.)
I didn't really follow the Jack Abramoff case but I see he is out of prison and hawking a book on Fox and Friends this morning.
Good read on the plane to Vegas: The Texas Monthly article on the decades old murder of 77 year old Mary Eula Sears of Abilene. I had never heard of it but I suppose the case is famous there.
Does the government still own a large chunk of GM? It announced quarterly profits of $1.7 billion this morning.

11.08.2011

Messenger Above The Fold And A Little More

And from those inside pages a question mark forms over my head:

Get Lari Barager Out There Now!

A loyal reader just sent me this pic of a Dallas Fire Truck in White Rock Lake late this afternoon. We've got some comedy gold at the taxpayers expense.

The photo is a Lil' Small. (Look at the post below this one. See what I did there?)

Thanks, Will.

Edit: This is from last night? On the news? I'm firing Will. I'm firing Lari. I'm throwing an Eric Cartman like fit tomorrow morning at the staff meeting.

Bothers Me When I Have To Ask, "Who?" Regarding "Breaking News"

But I think I've heard of "Now That We Have Found Love." And I learned he had a cameo in the new Eddie Murphy movie named Tower Heist. He tweeted "I love my life" on November 4th.

That's all I got.

Tuesday Afternoon Pick Me Up

I don't know who Rita Rusic is but everyone was going crazy about her being on the beach in Miami. Oh, and the fact that she is 50.

Dark

For those following the Penn State scandal, you will probably be interested to know that Joe Paterno cancelled his weekly press conference this morning. And as for indicted former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, you can buy his 1986 Fiesta Bowl/National Championship ring on eBay.

Oh, and the New York Times says Paterno will be gone.

And here is Matt Millen breaking down on ESPN this morning.

"That sucker came out of no where!"

I love Jacksboro news.

(And I know how to get an interview with the suspect.)

The Well. The Well. The Well Is On Fire.

Link.

General area:

(Credit.)

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

The Star-Telegram's home page has a video ad that takes up the whole screen this morning. That's in addition to the massive still banner at the bottom. (I may not be inclined to pay for content, but I might be swayed to pay to avoid irritation.)
Yesterday I said head coach Joe Paterno might be in trouble at Penn State due to the "cover up" of the sex abuse scandal, but even I was surprised by the firestorm across the Internets and talk radio that followed. And a sign placed around his on campus statue is not a good omen.
And to think Ohio State's coach had to resign earlier this year because his players were trading jersies for tattoos.
There was another Oklahoma earthquake last night after a day of tornadoes. (Very funny screenshot of one Oklahoma residents reaction to the first earthquake.)
Ever noticed how movie posters seem familiar?
This Tarrant County case will be interesting to watch: A guy hears his car being broken into, goes outside, and then fires a shot at the vehicle leaving the scene. One 17 year old in that vehicle, who is said to have remained in the car while his buddies attempted the burglary, is hit and killed. The shooter has to be prosecuted, right?
The cute hairdresser who was found dead in her burning car in Dallas last Friday is one heck of a mystery. Police now believe she was alive when the car was intentionally set on fire. There are no suspects. Weird.
I don't have much of an interest in high school volleyball, but I couldn't help but notice that the Decatur team faces its long time playoff nemesis tonight: Abilene Wylie.
I always like to look at the high school football playoff brackets to see the worst teams who still qualified. This year it seems to be Mexia (2-8) and Callisburg (2-8). Everyone gets a trophy!!
Wow. I mentioned Joe Frazier's cancer yesterday and then he died last night. If you are a middle aged guy, Ali/Frazier will always mean something to you. (But the only way you could learn about most fights back then was by waiting for the newspaper.)
I watched a documentary on TV about Ali/Frazier about a year ago and it was really, really good. For the life of me, I can't remember the name of it. (But I did note that the first Ali/Frazier fight is on youtube in its entirety.)
The Crazy Couple was on Dr. Drew to have an on-stage sonogram to prove Mrs. Crazy doesn't have implants. Nothing like a new couple in love.
There was a plea bargain in the Wise County courthouse yesterday for 29 years and 10 months. I know the defense lawyer, so I'll find out what's up with the weird 10 months aspect of it. (In state court with penitentiary time involved, 99% of the plea bargains are in years only.)
And if someone agrees to 29 years and 10 months, there was also a 99% chance the jury would have given them more.
Whoever suggested answering the "Guess" questions from One Of The Kids in The House with multiple mind-numbing guesses, you are a genius. I got hit with, "Guess what I made on my math test?" when I walked in the door so I started with 50 then 51 then 52. It didn't take long before the kid got worn out and told me 95. (And, yes, from there we talked about the one she got wrong.)
The odds of someone having removed the umbrella from my car when I need it in a second: Overwhelming.