Bob Costas Double Downs On Gun Control Today

"Why do you need a semi-automatic weapon? What possible use is there for a citizen to have a semi-automatic weapon?"

I'll bet $100 he doesn't know the definition of "semi-automatic weapon."

What's The Deal With This Old Double Decker Deck Bus Sitting Off The Wise County Courthouse Square?

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• I'm going to take a pass on the Dallas (Half) Marathon this year. Maybe I'll do the one in Fort Worth in February. 
• The Family Cat vs. Christmas Tree war has begun. Hey, maybe the cat actually does engage in a "War On Christmas?"
• The Bob Costas' rant about gun control reminds me of how much of a difference there is between how the North and the South think about guns.  For instance, NFL player Plaxico Burris accidentally shot himself in the leg in a New York club. Down here, he'd probably get probation. Up there, he was sentenced to two years in prison (and that was even after a plea deal.)
• Brady Quinn on the murder suicide involving the Kansas City Player: "We live in a society of social networks, with Twitter pages and Facebook, and that’s fine, but we have contact with our work associates, our family, our friends, and it seems like half the time we are more preoccupied with our phone and other things going on instead of the actual relationships that we have right in front of us. Hopefully people can learn from this and try to actually help if someone is battling something deeper on the inside than what they are revealing on a day-to-day basis.”
• Random Thought That Hit Home Yesterday: Criminal law can be a gut wrenching business. 
• Some guy wrapped his Mercedes around some trees in Turtle Creek last night and was killed. His name was released but really the only thing you could learn about him was that he lived in a half million condo.  Edit: I bet that's him.
• You would think technology will improve over the next couple of decades to such an extent that with either holograms, glasses, and other technology that you could "experience" a location just like you were there. (I.e. Grand Canyon, Sistine Chapel, the Super Bowl.) I mean it would be an experience that is 99% life-like.
• If you missed RG3 on Monday Night Football last night, you missed a show. I was hopeful he would be good, but I had no idea he would be this fantastic in NFL.  Then again, he can't be taking that beating that he has. One of these times his shoulder is coming out. 
• Hey Aggies, if you want a sure fire prediction site as to who will win the Heisman, this is it. My Sports Genius Prediction: It's Johnny Manziel in a landslide. 
• A 23 year old from Chico is listed in the death notices in the Update.
• Two San Antonio Spurs have got to get fined for this Halloween picture showing them with fake guns at the head of a fake referee. Oh, my. 
• Fleetwood Mac has announced a reunion tour including Stevie Nicks. Are all the rest of them still alive?
• Is the New York Post crossing the line? 

Yesterday In Canada: Speaking of Toys

Often imitated, never duplicated, the WHL's Calgary Hitmen's annual Teddy Bear Toss is the best spectacle in junior hockey, and it's for a good cause. Fans bring stuffed animals to the game, and upon the Hitmen's first goal, they're hurled onto the ice in an orgiastic torrent of plush. The bears are then donated to local hospitals and charities. (via Deadspin.com)

Wise County Toy Ride

That poster from last week caused a small ruckus, but the turnout looks incredible.

Basketball Halftime Promotional Competition

I think I could throw a shot put further.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• We babysat of Friday night. Before that night, I had a baby spit up on me maybe once in my life.  I then went through four shirts before 10:00 p.m. I guess there's a reason you see that towel drooped over a mom's shoulder.
• And we also ended up with two little kids. I had a first: I was offered a french fry dipped in syrup.
• We started decorating the front lawn with Christmas stuff yesterday. Mrs. LL played Christmas carols which gave rise to a very cheesy setting -- but in a good way.
• When did the ground get so hard? 
• Mrs. LL and the girls want me to see some Christmas design a few miles away but I'm a little worried when the Fourth-Grader-In-The-House said, "I'm not sure he should see it because he won't like our decorations after that."
• I caught parts of The Terminal yesterday with Tom Hanks which I had seen before. It's pretty cheesy -- in a bad way. 
• Wrong way driver on 635 in Dallas this morning injures six. 
• Bob Costas has caused quite a stir because he went on a gun control rant during the Cowboys' game last night in light of the murder/suicide by the Kansas City Chiefs' player.  Hey, it was just an opinion of one guy, but all the talk radio shows are acting like he's introduced legislation to ban handguns. (And get ready for crazy Ted Nugent to get all sorts of press today.)
• And they are already blaming the murder/suicide on NFL concussions? 
• The "Paradise model" got in a wreck over the weekend.
• Mrs. LL and the girls went to see the Nutcracker at the Tarrant County Convention Center. All of them said it was very "amateurish" except for about two dancers.
• Mitt Romney had lunch with the President this weekend at the White House. Free government lunch?
• It's December of 2012.  That 12/21/12 guy has been posting in here for what I bet is at least three years. Finally that date will arrive.
• Sports: (1) Baylor beat OSU in football and Kentucky in basketball at the exact same time on Saturday. I was giddy. (2) How UT does not have a quarterback on the roster is a great mystery of the universe. (3) College football hit of the week. (4) The BCS does a good job of putting #1 vs. #2 together, but other than that it is a mess. Northern Illinois is the Orange Bowl? (5) Baylor is going to the Bridgepoint (not Bridgeport) Holiday Bowl which I hate. It's a Thursday and I've been to San Diego and that stadium before. Hard to justify going again. (5) TCU hung tight against OU and is a really good team, but they now have four losses. 
• There was a Rhome man killed in a wreck this weekend according to the Update. Doesn't it seem a little premature for a trooper to say, "He was likely intoxicated"?

Saturday Reflections

Stumbled upon an old picture of me. The white shirt and tie is a good look.

Mama Tried Part 2 Taking You Into The Weekend

Lottery Winners From Missouri Come Forward

Story.

Hey, is that Texas State Senator Jane Nelson in there?

Tuesday In Oklahoma

Story.

Remember That New 85 MPH Texas Highway I Drove On?

DPS allowed a car to go 220 mph on it before it officially opened.

Source.

Poster Promoting Wise County's Toy Run

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The bunnies, after a false start two days ago, are now free. Welcome to their own Watership Down.
• Sports Illustrated changed the color of Baylor's uniforms. Some are really caught up in the journalistic integrity of such an alteration. 
• Another Texas life sentence for DWI. This time out of San Marcus.
• In Oregon, a guy is lucky to be alive after his car teeters on an overpass after crashing. Yep, DWI.
• Terry Dorsey and Hawkeye won the Ticket's "Emergency Brake of the Week" this morning but I didn't hear it. 
• The judge on highest Texas court had his warrant lifted after he paid $535.90 online. I would hope that might influence him to believe that parts of the criminal justice system are a racket, but he's already the court's most liberal judge.
• I think we are babysitting an actual baby tonight. Well, I'm going to watch Mrs. LL babysit a baby. 
• My car, like most, will tell me if I have a low tire. I'm no engineer, but I find that confusing when I consider the wiring that would have to be involved for low pressure to be detected.
• The "close encounter" with two whales that the BagofNothing guy posted is pretty amazing. 
• I guess I wasn't upset about the Dallas female officer rap video or the Hurst officer talking awful to the teenager because my expectations aren't that high. 
• An out of town blogger reviews Decatur's "Main Street Home and Gardens, Down The Street Cafe."  Health food? In Decatur?
• Oliver North will be at Ed Young's Fellowship Church in Grapevine this weekend. I wonder if he'll try to promote his new book which he does every time he can.  If he does, he should be treated like a money-changer. 
• How's the parking and service now that Casa Torres has expanded? At one time, they wanted the city of Decatur to allow parking for the restaurant on the other side of FM 51. Can you imagine trying to cross that on foot?
• There are eight Christmas related announcements in the Update this morning 

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Jump Started A Car Last Night (Without The Battery Blowing Up)

So she said here.

Is This A Coincidence?

The Tarrant County DA's office is promoting itself again by printing the names of those arrested for DWI over the Thanksgiving holiday.  As I tread on thin ice here, let me say that there appears to be a disproportionate number of Hispanic of "foreign" surnames on the list.  There are two explanations: (1) That accurately represents the proportional racial makeup of alleged drunk drivers on the road, or (2) Cops are paroling patrolling predominately minority areas.  Why would they do the latter?  Well one stereotype would lead to the conclusion that minorities are still historically poor and are more likely just to plea out as opposed to hire a lawyer who will question the officer's actions.

Crazy?  Maybe. But if you are a cop looking for DWI suspects and want to make it as easy on yourself as possible, are you going to arrest someone from Westover Hills (which guarantees a court date -- maybe many of them) or are you going to patrol poor east Fort Worth where you'll probably never hear about the case again other than a disposition sheet that reads "Pled Guilty. 24 months probation. $750 fine"?

Here's a portion of the full list.

Remember Those Vets Hit By A Train In During A Parade?

They decided to blame the train. And you have to love their lawyer's website. An out-of-state "train accident" lawyer.:

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Free Lindsay Lohan! (She was arrested last night for allegedly punching a woman in the face at a bar at 4 a.m.  That girl is full throttle.)
• A judge on Texas' highest criminal court (who is also from Fort Worth) has an arrest warrant issued for him for an unpaid traffic ticket. That's a different kind of full throttle.
• Mrs. LL ran out of gas last night. I responded with the speed of a NASCAR pit crew (after I went to the bathroom.)
• Should I know who Texas Ranger Clint Peoples was? He was born in Bridgeport and the same site that is auctioning off the JFK stuff has some of People's property for auction as well.
• Zig Ziglar died yesterday.  The guy made a fortune on motivational speaking but, with all due respect, he sounded like a beating to be around. I had a boss once who, if you told him "have a good day", would stop and say enthusiastically, "No. Make it a good day!" It was a complete power down.
• I almost bought a Power Ball ticket yesterday. I didn't but I would never buy more than one if I had made it to the store.
• One of the two winning Power Ball's was purchased in Arizona. I hope it is a Mexican who lives in Sheriff's Joe's county. 
• Every time I see a picture of a judge or a cop from before 1950 I just assume we wouldn't get along. 
• Sports: My list of most despised coaches: (1) Rick Carlisle, (2) Lane Kiffin, and (3) Will Muschamp. I think the common thread is that they all seem like a truly bad person. 
• Sounds like there were Internet issues in Decatur last night. 
• Fourth-Grader-In-The-House upon learning I've never eaten at Cracker Barrel: "You are kidding! It is the greatest restaurant ever!"
• How much does Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow make?  Seriously, I bet more people read my drivel every morning than his stuff. 
• Decatur now has three Subway Sandwiches shops. Three.
• There's a strip shopping center on the east side of 287 right by the FM 51 exit which has been absolutely empty from the time it was built five or so years ago. It has never had a tenant. 
• There was a former Texas Tech student convicted of Intoxication Manslaughter this week after agreeing to a plea bargain of 15 years. The bizarre aspect of the case is that she was allegedly drinking on a school sponsored field trip.