Obama Prom Pictures Released

The man was owning the place even back then. (Story.)

Random Ad On Facebook For Bridgeport Club

Curious about "Charla Corn" and found this . . .

I Used To Hear Years Ago That Disneyland Was Coming To Wise County

Is this the west Fort Worth "theme park" we've always heard about? Announcement June 1 online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-…
— Bud Kennedy (@BudKennedy) May 23, 2013

There's still a lot of open land in northwest Tarrant County that borders Wise County, and Bud Kennedy wonders if the equivalent of Disneyland is finally coming. I've never heard of The DreamVision Company but it seems like they want to be the next Walt Disney. But, lordy, they need someone who can write a press release!!

The only applicable sentence is this: "The DreamVision Company will officially announce their industry platform including the DreamVision award winning proprietary CGI Animation production studios, global theme park and resort development and family entertainment including music and theatrical."

Montague County Releases Video Of Deputy Shot By Colorado Man Who Was Later Killed In Wise County

If you didn't know the deputy survived, he did.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Modern Family is back to being good this season. It may be about the only sit-com I watch.
• I finally watched a 30 for 30 episode on former "Robo-quarterback" Todd Marinovich. Good stuff. He was out of the NFL in two years back in the 1990s and addicted to drugs. "What happened to Todd Marinovich?" the film asks. Easy answer: A crazy over-bearing dad. 
• Finally checked back in on Dennis Prager yesterday. He was laughing about how anyone who takes the Fifth Amendment at trial or asks for a lawyer when contacted by the police could be anything other than guilty. He sounded like a Fourth Grader, and I was actually embarrassed for him. He actually took one call from a guy who tried to explain that those rights are in something called the Constitution, but he cut him off. 
• Congressional hearings are not about truth finding. They are about sound bites. 
• An incredible bridge fire and collapse in Lampasas County. 
• From the Star-Telegram story on prior murders in Southlake: (1) Dr. Scott C. Stone Jr. flew to Southlake in 1999 from North Carolina and ambushed his ex-wife, also a physician, while she was jogging. He then killed himself , and (2) In 1994, Terence O’Regan stabbed his estranged wife because he was afraid that she would reveal his “penchant for cross-dressing.”  They go large. 
• I don't have much of an opinion on the Boy Scouts/Gays controversy. I still believe private organizations can do whatever they want to do. 
• But on WBAP this morning, Hal Jay suggested there just be a "Gay Boy Scouts" group. "I don't care," he said. "I'd by cookies from them." Co-host Brian Estridge said, "They [the cookies] might be better." Estridge, who might be part caveman, would get in a lot of trouble for a lot of his comments if anyone ever heard them on the radio.
• We put a little bell on the new puppy because we're all scared of stepping on her. Then we realized she likes to do gymnastics in the middle of the night. 
• There was lots of publicity of sexual assaults by SMU students over the last couple of years, but one kid was found not guilty yesterday of such an offense in Dallas. I love this part: The prosecutors asked the judge to allow the jury to consider lesser charges (just in case the jury didn't believe the sexual assault charge). The judge denied it telling them, "You do all or nothing here." It's kind of like saying, "You indicted the case that way, now lets see if you backed it up." They didn't. 
• That was a pretty quick "hung jury" note in the Jodi Arias trial. I wonder if we already have a couple of people saying, "We can sit here for years, but I'm not giving that lady the death penalty."
• If you missed the Jose Canseco story yesterday, you've got to read it. He's either crazy or doing the best job of "getting out in front of a story" in the history of ever. 
• Ain't no way I'm running a video camera three feet away from a guy with blood on his hands who is holding murder weapons and talking like a crazy man. 

Say what?

	FW Star-Telegram (@startelegram)
5/22/13, 7:53 PM Police described the Southlake Town Square shooting as a "drive by" bit.ly/10Usvx9

Craziest Thing You'll See All Day

Link.

Texas House Votes To Make Drug Testing Companies Rich

Story.

Beauty Queens Throwing Out First Pitch At Padres Game

Throwing heat in high heels. Truly America's past-time. (Video.)

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Arizona has an odd death penalty phase for their capital murder trials: A witness just gets to stand up and address the jury without being questioned or cross-examined. Jodi Arias did it yesterday. And, boy, was it odd. She asked for life in prison instead of death with all the emotion of a corporate power point presentation.
• Odd breaking news: "A man killed by an FBI agent Wednesday morning in Orlando was friends with the Boston bombing suspects, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel." The FBI doesn't get involved in a lot of shootings, do they? 
• I flew by the radio version of the Mike Huckabee Show on Monday and there was a guest host who was taking calls on the very, very tired topic of the use of the term "African-American." One caller said, "I read less than 3% of those people have even been to Africa, and I bet 85% of them couldn't find it on a map."  He was not rebuked. And the GOP wonders why it has a problem. 
• We get a new refrigerator tomorrow that has a water/ice dispenser in the door -- something I've never owned in my life. 
• Re: The Athletic Director shakeup in Paradise ISD. Something seems extremely out of sorts but I can't get a handle on it. (And I'm sorry that I can't post all the comments but some contain factual assertions that are pushing it.)
• Note to Family Pup: If you don't stop standing on my back at 4:30 a.m. and licking my ear because you want your belly rubbed, we're gonna have a talk. 
• How in the world did the Norman Transcript get the death count so wrong yesterday -- the headline said at least 91 were dead. Obviously, we have a "cover-up", a "lie", and an attempt to "deceive the American people." Or it could just be a mistake based upon bad information. 
• But how in the world did "only" 24 people die in that thing? 
• I don't know why there seemed to be a huge argument last night on Twitter between people I follow on the pronunciation of ".gif".  Some say with a long G and some say you pronounce it like "jiff." I've always pronounced it like the latter which is apparently how the inventor pronounced it as well. 
• The odds of there being a news report about a post-disaster community "coming together" or being "resilient"? 100%.
• Schools letting out school early yesterday or parents picking up their kids early was bizarre. The fact a tornado hit two school in Oklahoma does not mean that tornadoes are attracted to schools. 
• If the purpose of a strike is to annoy another person (to call attention to your concern), the hunger strike seems to have the concept backwards.
• Picture of the Tea Party protests of the IRS in Fort Worth yesterday. 
• From the Update: "The CSCOPE lesson plans had been criticized by many for teaching 'anti-American' and 'anti-Christian' values . . . ."  Define "many".
• I never thought I would think much again about Fuzzy Zoeller and friend chicken, but Sergio Garcia brought it all back to the forefront yesterday. 
• The Rangers lost last night 1-0 with Yu Darvish on the mound. Is there anything sillier than a pitcher's won/loss record? Darvish gets a loss for a performance we would beg for in every single game. 

Above The Fold

The Video Behind The Iconic Photograph

I posted the pic yesterday, and today it seems to have become "the photo" which will always be associated with the Moore tornado.  The video behind it doesn't show that moment, but the couple does make an appearance as they look for (presumably) their remaining child at the 1:20 mark.

But what a gut wrenching video.  You feel for the kids, the parents, and the teachers.

Tell Me This Video Labeled "Pete updating the newsroom on today's weather potential" Is Staged . . .

 . . . with interns who are forced to be in his audience while the camera was rolling.

"Help Us!"

If not, Delkus walking down the hallway would be the equivalent of the boss from Office Space coming at you.

Just Issued

I normally wouldn't post a "watch" but, good grief, how can you not worry about it today.

#4 and #5 of the list of U.S. deadliest tornadoes happened on consecutive days in nearby states. (Although I'm guessing that was the same line that moved from Mississippi and then to Florida.)  List.

Edit:  I feel for the people of Cleburne, but they are really closing schools early? (Thanks, Mrs. LL).

We will post a list of schools closing early as we contact them. It is confirmed for Cleburne, Alvarado and Rio Vista at this time.
— Cle. Times-Review (@ctrnews) May 21, 2013

Edit:  Now here come the Catholics!!

With 'potentially dangerous weather' on the way, Catholic Diocese of Dallas to dismiss 28 elementary schools at noon share.d-news.co/og8GE1H
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) May 21, 2013

IRS Email To Employees

TO ALL EMPLOYEES IN ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA, OKLAHOMA, & TEXAS

On Tuesday, May 21, demonstration are possible at a number of IRS offices across the country.  While all of these demonstrations are expected to be peaceful, please know that local physical security offices are working jointly with federal and local law enforcement and will increase security presence as a precautionary measure to ensure that taxpayers and the IRS business operations are not affected.

For employees who will be reporting to IRS facilities, please note that many of the demonstrations are scheduled for noon, which may make entering and exiting the facilities around that time inconvenient.  If you will be in or around an IRS facility on May 21, please remember:

- As always, please be respectful of demonstrators

- Avoid wearing your work ID outside the office

- Be aware of your surroundings

- Select alternative routes as appropriate

- Review your local Occupant Emergency Plans

I got tipped off to this by a faithful reader but hadn't heard anything about it. A quick search revealed that the Tea Party is behind it. 

Good Grief. What An Error.

MORE: Oklahoma medical examiner says some tornado victims counted twice, toll revised down to 24: apne.ws/191dAaP -DC
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 21, 2013

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Everyone keeps saying the Oklahoma tornado was a "mile wide" or "two miles wide". It was not even close, right? It was devastating but that path of destruction looks to be a quarter-mile wide tops. 
• It takes a back seat to the loss of human life, but over 100 horses were killed at the Orr Family Farm.
• True?: WBAP said that those in Moore, OK who had a safe room would register the GPS coordinates of its location within the house with the city that way rescue workers would know exactly where the front door of the room was if the house was in rubble. I question that. 
• Lady finds dog in rubble during post-tornado interview.
• When we had out-of-state friends stay with us a couple of years ago, they freaked out when they saw news of a "tornado warning".  We forget how much that is part of our culture. 
• But you couldn't help but look at sky late yesterday without having a little bit of anxiety overcome you. 
• I promise on CNN last night the anchor asked the on-air-meteorologist what the chances were of Moore being hit by another tornado today. (Just so you know, she replied that she didn't think they would see one the same size.)
• There were a couple of fantastic underground storm shelters in my neighborhood growing up. But I'm not sure if they were built for protection from the storms or from Russian bombs.
• Pete Delkus has already gone crazy this morning: "Damaging wind (60-80 mph+), large hail (golf ball – baseball size) and tornadoes are possible this afternoon and evening."  He gets an "out" by using the word "possible" I guess. 
• A faithful reader named "Ty" emailed me to say Bridgeport approved artificial turf for the football stadium last night. I don't know it it is true. If it is, you heard it here first. If not, blame Ty. 
• Tony Romo had a "cyst" removed from his back and will miss workouts for the next three weeks?
• Boyd's only Greg Williams wrote yesterday about being abused as a child and then almost killing the guy with a rock. A pretty chilling title, too: "A Boy's Life." 
• CSCOPE lesson plans are dead. I think this means our kids will no longer be converted to Islam. 
• I don't think there is anyone more pompous on Twitter than former Morning News reporter Jean Jacques Taylor. And it makes me insane that he constantly tweets he'll be "spittin' truth" on the radio.

How Bad Is This Going To Be?

I was thinking earlier that this tornado seems as close to the Wichita Falls one in 1979 as I'd ever seen. I looked it up and learned it killed 42 people back then. This one will be much, much worse.