Get Me This Baby Duck Who Is Falling Asleep!

Gun Rights Advocate vs. The Police. Who Ya Got?

I've mentioned it before, Texas has bizarre guns laws. You can carry an AR-15 down the street. Nothing illegal about it.

Background from this incident in Temple, Texas.

Holy Moly

Man, this is violent. (Traffic stop begins around 1:00 )

The terrifying moment that a crazed Ohio driver unleashed 37 rounds from an AK-47 was caught on a police cruiser’s dashboard camera. But whatever caused 42-year-old James Gilkerson to spray bullets at cops during a March 10 traffic stop remains a mystery, Middlefield police said Friday. Gilkerson was killed during the exchange of gunfire. More.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I've never been in a Costco, but one is coming at 287 and I-35.
• My blinker won't automatically shut off once I make a turn. That's a beating. 
• Another twenty-something with a teenager over the weekend, but this one prompts an Amber Alert. 
• The mother of Mrs. LL's ex-husband died over the weekend. Despite my fears, she never met me without having open arms and a smile. Gem of a lady. 
• It's really my first experience with kids around and the concept of death. I'm learning more than I'm teaching. 
• I think Mrs. LL is obsessed with The Good Wife. From what I've seen, it's a toned down Ally McBeal. And, like most lawyer shows, a case goes from initial meeting to trial in a blink of an eye.
• My point of the Joel Osteen post below was that I question his cause and effect analysis. 
• The guy whose legs being blows away which was famously captured by a photographer opened a hockey game this weekend.
• Greg Williams' blog is more scorched earth than I thought it would be.  
• The Bangladesh death count from the building collapse is now at 622.
• I've watched Caddyshack a million times but it still makes me laugh. (It was on one of the cable channels this weekend.)
• The Family Cat loves making a bee line for the bathroom whenever the door is open. She likes to sit in the sink. So goofy. 
• The clouds yesterday afternoon were like the opening of The Simpsons. 
• From the You've-Got-To-Be-Kidding-Me Department: .The founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, Nancy Brinker, "made $684,717 in fiscal 2012, a 64 percent jump from her $417,000 salary from" the year before. The next time you think about paying an entry fee for one of those races, remember that. 

Random Observation About Joel Osteen

From a moment ago after  I turned on the television:


After a couple of examples of thanking God for every day things . . . "Driving into to work. Thanking Him for a safe trip. That's acknowledging God. Before you go into a restaurant, under your breath, 'God help us to have a good dinner and bless this time together'. When God sees you showing your dependency on him like that -- relying on Him in your everyday life -- that's what will cause Him to make your life easier."

Citation needed?

Above The Fold

Gov. Perry Spoke At The NRA Convention In Houston Today

This was his intro video: Shooting an AR-15 while Ted Nugent's Stranglehold played.

I'm insane now.

Edit: Twenty targets you can buy at the convention. The NRA hates zombies.

Water Polo Bad Boy Taking You Into The Weekend

The 'ol hand on hip, forearm to the chest move. That guy is smooth as butter.

We're Gonna Blow!

Dallas Morning News story.

And Another: Houston

And 2013 gets back in the race with a huge hay-maker!

(Thanks emailer.)

No One Has A Video Of This?

It's in Texas. (Story.)

Bud Kennedy says it's all about the celebration rules of the UIL and has nothing to do with the religious aspect of what the kid did.

Let's turn to our Attorney General who has time to review this shocking development:

Disgraceful: Winning track team disqualified for praising God khou.com/sports/Act-of-… #txlege #tcot #txgop #TGD #faith
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 2, 2013

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The new Puppy In The House is fawned over so much I expect her to stand up and announce, "I am Kim Jong-un!"
• Ted Cruz for President rumors over the last couple of days? If he does, it will be the biggest wake up call ever for the Far Right. He'd get crushed on the national stage. 
• Do guys wear cologne? That just seems like a very 1980s concept. 
• Dennis Prager rant of the day: Yesterday he spent 30 minutes telling his audience, very authoritatively by the way, that referring to your son as "buddy" undermines the parent's authority because the term signifies equality.  (I know my Prager rants are a very inside issue with me, but I love the passion of his defenders on here.)
• If a horse could ever be a "Hey, Now."
• Lost in the news of the FDA allowing the Morning After Pill to be sold over the counter to those 15 and above: The FDA did so because a court ruling made them do so, and the Justice Department announced it would appeal the ruling. 
• Breaking this morning: The unemployment rate fell to 7.5%. Obama will always have his critics, but the economy will always have a check mark in his favor. 
• Notice that I didn't say one negative thing about George W while his library was being opened?
• Amanda Bynes is crazy. 
• I've always been jazzed by Natalie Portman. The other morning as I was getting ready for work, Ms. LL was almost giggly as she had stumbled upon a very racy scene of her's from Closer on the TV.  Once I realized it was on, I got to fire off the line, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
• [Sidenote: Is "her's"  proper in that sentence? It is possessive, right? And is it clear that "her's" refers to Portman and not Mrs. LL?]
• A tweet by Fox 4's Good Day this morning: "Go home winter weather . . . . you're drunk (again)."
• I'm a huge fan of gMail and have been for a decade. The filtering and labeling functions are fantastic and it might be the greatest spam blocker ever. I just checked my Spam folder and had 22 emails in it gathered from the last 30 minutes. 
• If you travel to Fort Worth on 287 and look to your right once you get past Rhome, you can see a HUGE power line being erected for about 10 miles. What an eyesore. 
• I had a lawyer ask me why I didn't sell ads on here. I told him I'd thought about it, but didn't want to go through the hassle. "It might be more profitable than being a lawyer," he said. 
• A flipped over to the Rangers game last night to see fans freezing in the stands with their puppy dogs on Dog Night. How miserable. 
• Greg "The Hammer" Williams is launching "Greggo's Gigantic Blog and Cafe" at noon today and, based upon his twitter feed, this could be very Wheels Off. 

Saddest Photo In The History Of Ever

This puzzled koala was discovered sitting on a pile of shredded bark and sawdust - a place it once inhabited - after forestry workers felled trees in NSW's Vittoria State Forest . . . . 

"Koalas would have been moved out of their homes in preparation for planned logging activities," WIRES NSW general manager Leanne Taylor said.

"It is common for koalas to roam back to their home range afterwards and become confused to find nothing there. A worker noticed a koala had been sitting stationary in broad daylight on top of wood piles for over an hour."

Ms Taylor said the male koala was taken to a local vet and later released near an established koala colony.

Source.

One Of Those Killed In West, Texas Has A Bridgeport Connection

From Paula Tolle's Facebook page: "1st Thursday Jam (in collaboration with the Bridgeport Volunteer Fire Department) will be accepting any donations for the Harris Family at the Jam - May 2nd. Lucky's dad Kenneth Harris was the Bridgeport High School Band Director in the 60's. While at BHS he wrote the school song and the school fight song between '62 and '65 and later updated the arrangement in the 90's. Let's show the Harris Family Bridgeport appreciates them!!!!! Peace be with you Captain Harris."

FWPD Having A Buford T. Justice Kind Of Day

That Rusty Hardin Guy Has His Fingers In A Lot Of Pies

He represented Roger Clemens in a perjury case, and just finished up as the prosecutor in the Court Of Inquiry case against the crooked DA.  (I'm not sure how much he had to do with this settlement though.)

Here's the press release by the firm.  Note how under the terms of the settlement, the name of the other driver and his employer weren't disclosed. (News story easily located here.)

And you Personal Injury boys, isn't $10 million pretty high for a wrongful death case these days? A 51 year old welder. Two children. But sounds like lots of suffering and mental anguish before death.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• It's interesting that the 14 year old from North Richland Hills who ran off with the twenty something guy didn't qualify as an "Amber Alert". Yeah, she left on her own will but still . . . . 
• Mrs. LL the other day told me she thought the Amber Alert was only for abductions by a parent. I thought that was silly at first, but she had every right to think that. Over the last ten years, I bet 90% or more of the Amber Alerts involve a parent. 
• Heard a rumor that long time "law and order" district judge Sharen Wilson will run for DA in Tarrant County.  There's a lot of lawyers in Fort Worth will suffer Slumped Shoulders when they read that. 
• Someone said yesterday that Dennis Prager will kill me in a debate? Uh, duh. He absolutely would. But just because Bill Maher would slaughter the average conservative in a debate, doesn't make Maher any less of a snake oil salesman. 
• "A Philadelphia jury ended a second day of deliberations on Wednesday without reaching verdicts in the murder trial of a doctor accused of killing babies and a patient during late-term abortions at a clinic serving low-income women." Man, the talk shows would explode if this turns out to be an acquittal.
• The death toll in that Bangladesh building collapse has risen to 430.
• I don't understand the popularity of Duck Dynasty.
• A lawsuit has been filed to remove the Austin DA from office after her conviction for DWI. Oddly, the law says certain public officials "may" (not "shall") be removed from office after a trial for "intoxication on or off duty caused by drinking an alcoholic beverage." So if a jury wants to throw her out they can, but they are not bound to do so.
• From the Update: "DEVON LOSS – Devon Energy Corp. reported a net loss of $1.4 billion for the first quarter of 2013. Devon blamed the loss on a $1.9 billion non-cash asset adjustment related to lower oil and natural gas liquids pricing." Someone translate that second sentence. In English. 
• The Fourth Grader In The House said, "I can't wait until next Tuesday" and then just stared at me. I then went into an explanation of what a "Leading Statement Guy" is. 
• If you want to read comments that will make your head explode, read those under the article about the Dallas man beaten outside of a club that was hosting a porn star's birthday party. (And the comments in the Reddit link as well.)
• A "prayer" headline and a "pastor arrest" headline:

Hide Yo Wife, Hide Yo Plants, Because It's Gonna Be Freezin' All Up In Herre

Pete Delkus says the National Weather Service has issued a "Freeze Watch."