Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• A Sheriff Joe tweet from late last week: "My condolences to the family of conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart who passed away 4 hours after he called me."  Let me translate: "Hey, everyone who is talking about that guy who died. He called me! He called me!" 
• Look at the state of the construction at Allen High School's new stadium. Wow.
• Another police car was struck over the weekend -- this time in Carrollton. It was demolished.
• And we had a motorcycle death in the metroplex (but I only heard about it because the TV was going in a different room last night. No link yet.) Edit: Link.
• I watched a documentary yesterday on the late chess champion Bobby Fischer who basically went nuts in his later years. I then immediately watched a 60 Minutes segment online about the new modern day Fischer: 21 year old Magnus Carlsen.  If you want to see one of the most amazing feats of mental strength ever, watch the first three minutes of that 60 Minutes segment.
• Threw the softball yesterday afternoon. That's one of life's great joys. 
• I finally found at least one report of arrests in the Traffic Ticket Roundup. 32 in Waco and 39 in San Antonio. The article doesn't say if those were the result of home visits or if they were just random traffic stops - a huge distinction. And those numbers are tiny.
• I saw The Lorax this weekend at the Movie Tavern in Bedford and, you know, not bad. Some have criticized for its "green" message, but that's downright silly.
• Hey, go northbound on Central in Bedford, go under 183 and make a left westbound to get on 183. Due to the construction, you'll get a chance in about four miles. 
• Mavs coach Rick Carlisle on goofball Lamar Odom:  "It’s not about his numbers. It’s about his energy, the engagement in the game and the full commitment."  Really? You don't care his numbers? If you are only looking for energy and engagement then just pull some season ticket holder out of the stands.
• Early notice: We'll do another Liberally Lean March Madness Tourney this year. (Don't worry about the fact that I still haven't gotten a trophy to last year's winner, County Attorney James Stainton.) You should be able to sign up here. I tried to send out a group email this morning to those which joined last year. 
• I did touch up spot painting on the house walls this weekend. I finally found an activity where the Family Cat would follow me everywhere I go -- her head goes back and forth with the brush like she's watching a tennis match.
• Then I spent a while making some type of concoction to get the ashes out of the grout in front of the fireplace since the dang cat decided to kick a bunch of ashes out of it. 
• While you were sleeping:  "A gang of gunmen disguised in military-style uniforms and carrying forged arrest warrants killed 25 police Monday, then hoisted the battle flag of al-Qaeda in a carefully planned early morning shooting spree in western Iraq, officials said." Seems to be going well over there. 
• Parker County incumbent judge's campaign literature: " I am working to make Parker County safe from those who threaten our way of life." Hey, what if your duty of enforcing a person's constitutional rights does not equate making Parker County safe? What will you do then?

Scorned Woman?

Just flew by the end of the Honda Classic (that's golf) to see Rory McIlroy win, hug his father, and then walk by this lady.

You kill her dog?

Random Craziness: Batman and Robin Chased By Teletubbies

More.

Messenger Above The Fold

Taking You Into The Weekend

Rush May Be The Democrats Greatest Weapon

Some Georgetown student testified before a Democratic panel regarding the need for insurance to cover the cost of contraception.  She said that obtaining it through her school was too costly.

So what does Rush Limbaugh, the leader of all things conservative, say?

"What does it say about the college co-ed [Sandra] Fluke who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex -- what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex."


Democrats, Republicans, and dang near everyone else criticized him.  And President Obama (showing why he will win in the Fall) called Sandra Fluke this morning to offer words of support.

Limbaugh is at it again today, but there's no way he can win this.  It's a joy to watch a man filled with hate and lies finally squirm a little.

Edit: On Saturday, with advertisers bailing left and right, Rush apologized. Not because he's sorry but because he fears a loss of income. Pathetic.

Senior Citizens Whack Kid With Golf Ball Retriever -- Now With Video

NWF - Two 71-year-old men have been arrested and charged with child abuse after they were accused of striking a teenager with metal golf ball retrievers. Ronald E. Richardson and Donald E. Nieto were arrested after a video of them striking the 15-year-old was shown to law enforcement by the father of the teenager, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest reports. The incident, which took place early Saturday afternoon at Shalimar Pointe Country Club, began after a group of four teenagers blew an air horn at golfers teeing off at the ninth hole, the report stated. According to Richardson, he and Nieto went to approach the teenagers, but they ran off. The 15-year-old eventually returned because he had left his jacket behind. When he did, the two men “responded by striking (the teenager) with the golf ball finder to keep him from being able to pick up his jacket,” the report stated. Richardson said he hit the teen three or four times on “his back side area … and maybe on his arm.


These two events should cancel each other out, right? The old "airhorn during the backswing" trick has some solid comedy merit. Heck, the use of an airhorn in any practical joke normally makes it a pretty good practical joke. But if you're going to do it to a couple of 71 year olds, you know there's a chance they are going to play whack-a-mole with you if they catch you. It's a basic risk/reward analysis.

When I first read the story, I thought the kid had left the jacket and came back for it like an hour later -- all the while the golfers were hiding in some nearby bushes. That would've been awesome. 

And Another - Florida

The book-in photo was a little disappointing but she rallied strong in the black dress. Story.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Finally found Siri on my iPhone, and it is wildly fascinating. I speak "Tell my wife that I'm on my way home" and a text message appears of "I'm on my way home" with Siri now asking if I want to send it right away to Mrs. LL. I mean, it actually works.
• I really didn't follow much of Andrew Breitbart but from what I saw yesterday, he wasn't exactly a kind soul.
• Star-Telegram shuts down its Austin bureau (although I didn't know it had one.)
• Shocking joke by a federal judge. Shocking story because the lady is kind of hot.
• It's Texas Independence Day.  The signature page of the Declaration of Independence had a squiggly line down the middle of it like a doodle.
• George Will says neither Romney or Santorum "seems likely to be elected" President this Fall. As of right now, I think he's right. 
• Why is half of my DVR taken up with Dance Moms?
• The Mav's emotionally crippled Lamar Odom will play on the team's "D-league" team in Frisco over the weekend "to get his legs back" before rejoining the team.  If the guy pouts like a third grader left for summer camp when he plays at the American Airlines Center, what's he going to feel playing in that spare league?
• The Messenger has a lot of ticky-tacky rules about what they will put in obituaries, but I'm stunned that they print them for free. 
• Shattered dreams: Records show 1,265 college football players have hired agents for the upcoming NFL draft. Approximately 255 will be drafted. 
• Everyone else in my home to me: "Did you see the scary clown in Walmart who was hiding from gay guys?" Me: "No." Them: Uncontrollable knee-slapping laughter.   (There were so many things wrong with that moment, I can't begin to list them.)
• I'm not sure I understand the bus drivers at Northwest (who work for Durham Transportation) taking a vote to unionize. If there are only 125 of them, it seems like Northwest could look for other alternatives to Durham if they try to get strong armed.

Sheriff Joe Is After The President

Story.

And I have probable cause to believe that Joe Arpario has a bed reserved with his name on it at Wichita Falls State Hospital.

55 Year Old Trying Out For Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Pick Me Up

More.

Edit: Comparison pic added

And Another

Well, kind of.

(Thanks, Keith.)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Breaking news which will floor political junkies: Andrew Breitbart is dead at age 41 43
• Still not a single story about the success of the Traffic Ticket Warrant Roundup Weekend. And for clarification, I'm not advocating not paying your tickets. That's dumb. I am pointing out how your government will flat out lie to you. 
• Received my new phone yesterday. Activation online failed, but a call to ATT had it working in a couple of minutes and I didn't even talk to a human. Bonus points for not having to talk to a human.
• I haven't explored it yet, but if Siri is in there, I don't readily see her. Playing hard to get?
• That was the mildest February I can ever remember, and I think I read that we tied a record for the fewest freeze days for a winter. I hope it's not a sign of what summer is going to be like.
• George Jung, who Johnny Depp portrayed in the great movie Blow, is scheduled to be released from prison in 2014. He currently is incarcerated in Texas. 
• The ring leader of the Texas Seven was executed last night. The lead prosecutor in the case, Toby Shook,  was in attendance -- giving even more credence to my "look at me" theory of prosecutors these days.  And Dallas DA Craig Watkins attended as well. Unless he was part of the defense team at the time, he had absolutely no business being there.
• I'm a sucker for white blooms on trees. 
• In 1967, the Monkees sold more albums than The Rollings Stones and The Beatles combined.  I would have lost a bet on that one. 
• A Fort Worth police officer received 20 years in prison for an on-duty sexual assault in 2010. That's shocking enough, but not as shocking of the fact that there were four other victims who came forward. Talk about a bad cop. 
• It looks like the Frisco teenage girl "kidnapping" story will fade silently into the night. 
• It won't help criminal defense lawyers in Texas much, but finally there is one federal court of appeals which ruled searching a cell phone without a warrant is illegal. 
• Tiger Woods staring down the reporter yesterday was more entertaining than watching golf. 
• Edit: Is there about to be a one week window for new Texas candidates to file to be on the ballot in May?

That TCU Bust Just Got More Insane

The Police have released a report detailing the total amount of drugs "seized" during the arrest and search warrant executions during the Great TCU Drug Bust Of 2012.

The final total  found in the arrest and search of 23 people and some of their homes: 2.7 pounds of marijuana, 37 grams of prescription pills (Xanax, Hydrocodone, Soma, Ambien); 1.10 grams of cocaine and methamphetamines; and 5.3 grams of MDMA, also known generally as Ecstasy (in pill form) and molly (in crystal or powder form).

That's it.  There's more dope on the premises of a Dallas club on a slow night.

But I was even more shocked by one thing. The police decided to seize, in hopes of being forfeited to it for its own use, the vehicles of those arrested.  This includes 15 private vehicles worth $253,890!!!! At least that settled one thing for me: I finally found something that sounds like a serious crime that was committed during the investigation. And that was by law enforcement.

Source.

Real Or Fake?

After studying these annoying girls carefully (and reading what everyone else thinks), I'm going "fake".

Reasons:
1.  At the :43 second mark, her head is lifted up doesn't fall back into the cake when released.
2. There is a countdown before the singing which is something you really wouldn't do with a crowd of three
3. The kid eating the cake in the midst of the chaos is just something some scheming girls would script to give a video that extra viral factor.
4. A split second before the birthday girl has her face spiked into the cake, she takes a deep breath.

Oh, No!

Apparently died from a heart attack in Florida.  I'll hear Daydream Believer for the rest of the day.

This Lady's Emotions Are Going To Be A Wreck

This lady got 35 years for dope in Wise County. I wrote a (boring) post back in September when the Fort Worth Court of Appeals reversed her conviction and granted her a new trial. I wrote then that the case might go further up the appellate chain and it has.

Today the Court of Criminal Appeals (that's the highest criminal court in Texas since the Texas Supreme Court doesn't hear criminal cases) agreed to hear our local DA's claim that the Fort Worth court got it wrong. I'm guessing she's getting closer to getting that 35 year sentence back.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• An Arlington teacher is arrested after having an Improper Relationship with two eighteen year old students. That was "two."
• Dang it, Romney won Michigan. But it was close enough for Santorum to keep the pressure on.
• And if  conservative Texas Republicans hadn't gotten greedy when redrawing Congressional maps, Santorum would have easily won our state's primary next week and received a ton of momentum. But those maps led to lawsuits (and a new map yesterday) which pushed the Texas primary back to May. 
• The ring leader of the famed Texas Seven - escapees from TDC which led to the murder of an Arlington Irving, Texas police officer - will be executed tonight. One interesting note is that a reporter for WFAA Channel 8 will watch the execution.
• I was completely insensitive to not thinking of bagofnothing.com and his new baby when I asked about "whatever happened to SIDS" the other day. He knows.
• I finally ordered an iPhone 4S.  I've had a 3GS for about three years but it now won't hold a charge for more than 15 minutes if I'm using it. I know Apple will announce a new iPad in a few days, but I haven't heard about the imminent release of a new phone.
• Mrs. LL swears up and down the Android phone operating system is better.
• The atmosphere in the Montague County courthouse is just odd. Not particularly friendly but not particularly intimidating. My biggest complaint about the judicial system is when government officials have a work pattern that is based first on foremost on their convenience. Wise County has always been good about avoiding that flaw.
• Is there any significant historical event that happened on Leap Year's Day?
• Me to Mrs. LL after watching a portion of a school band recital last night and enthusiastically applauding: "Well, I'm going to go to the bathroom and keep on walking." Her: "You're kidding." Me: "Well, is the Eighth Grader in the House going to play in any other segment?" Her: "Her group hasn't played yet."
• In 2010, less that 2% of all felony cases in Texas resulted in a jury trial. The remainder were disposed of by plea bargain or dismissal. 
• Another reason I think the Ticket Warrant Roundup Weekend is a bluff.  Since they announce the specific two days of the roundup, people with warrants just wouldn't open the door if the cops came knocking. There isn't an officer in the world who is going to break down a door to execute a Class C traffic ticket warrant. 
• The Mav's Lamar Odom is like the pilot opposite Tom Cruise in the opening of Top Gun.  He was fantastic (as a Laker) until the MIG  almost got him (being traded) but after that he couldn't even land a plane (shoot a basket) because he's traumatized.