Star-Telegram Opinion Police On Recent Police Shooting

The money line from the article:

Even without knowing all the details, this event provides a clear lesson for those who own firearms, even for use in protecting their homes. Those weapons must be put away or surrendered when police arrive to take charge.

Really? How about cops putting away their weapons until they figure out the right house to go to.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• It looks like the shooting of the Fort Worth homeowner is probably going to be a major police screw-up.  But the ol' "we were in fear for our safety" has already been bantered around. 
•  "Kountze ISD say it is appealing a district judge's decision to allow cheerleaders to display banners with Bible messages at district sporting events." That struck me as odd at first but I think I know why the school is appealing. (Stay with me here.)  It's all about framing the legal issue. If it is the ACLU vs. both The School and the Girls, then the school has to support the kids' right to make the banner and we get perilously close to having a school sponsored religious message. If the school, on the other hand, takes the opposite side of the girls, the issue is framed as government trying to suppress free speech. This give the girls a better chance to win. And I think that's what the school wants. 
• Tell me when the hockey and basketball season is over. 
• Heard on the radio yesterday: The new fashion trend for younger men is a tank top with horizontal stripes? (The first internet search I did revealed one from Brooks Brothers for $50.)  Ugh. So it's a fashionable wife beater? 
• If I just mention the word "Benghazi" every now and then will it make some of you feel better?
• Lots of news talk about a tornado near Alvord last night but some weatherman kept referring to it as Alverd. (And I think the worst of it was closer to Sunset.)
• The number of typos and errors were even higher than usual on here over the last couple of days. And that's because most of it was written while I was loopy off of medication. 
• The boys on the radio keeping talking about a tornado movie over at the OMNI in Fort Worth in IMAX format. Anyone seen it?
• In our own American version of a Sunni-Shiite battle, The United Methodist Reporter is ceasing publication while The Baptist Standard keeps plugging along. The Paper Holy War is over. 
• What in the heck are they doing to the roads at I-35W and 287 at "the Decatur cutoff."   The whole metroplex is under construction. Sheesh.
• From the Update: "CSCOPE MEETING – Alice Linehan with Women on the Wall will speak about CSCOPE curriculum and Common Core state standards 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, at the Decatur Civic Center." Uh. Did someone not get the message that the curriculum is gone? Or did I miss a new memo?
• Obscure baseball stat that only I care about: Chris Davis, the one time hapless member with the Rangers after getting chance after chance, is now batting .359 with 19 homers and 50 RBIs  He's 27 years old from Longview, Texas and may have finally figured it out. (I think my sister-in-law knows his mother and says he's a good kid.)
• Most Recent Dennis Prager beatdown: A caller, for some reason, mentioned his diet and Prager shut him down and said, "Let me tell you, I know a great deal about nutrition."  What does he not know!!!???

Rangers Ground Crew Trying To Keep It Dry Last Night

New Interactive Graph For School Funding Over Next Two Years

All schools here.  Seems like a little increase, but not much.

Don't Throw Beer At Jimmie

That's the easiest way to have your woman slap you, walk off, and divorce you.

It's Marriage 101.

Hot Chick Wins Contest And Then Told "We've Made A Horrible Mistake"

I've told this story before, but when I was a kid there was a huge Little Miss Bridgeport contestant. When it came down to the five finalists, there was a screwup between the scorers and the announcers.  A "1" written down on the car  could either mean (1") "First Place" or it could mean (2) "Only One Point" out of a possible five.   One little Bridgeport girl was named queen when she should have taken fifth place.

I was a kid, but man that tension in the auditorium lives with me today. The negotiations to fix the situation were so intense we probably could have ended the Cold War if we taken them internationally.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughs

• Update: Edited a little bit. My wheels were off this morning. 
• Lauren Green is a McKinney High student with a GPA near 4.0 and 30 college credit hours. So far so good. But the district says she is one of 13 kids who showed up to senior prom drunk, on a rented bus. She was ordered to attend a disciplinary alternative school for 30 days, which would make her miss graduation. I never have understood kids like that being banned from the ceremony -- after that, they still get to graduate and get the diploma. 
• Your Fort Worth house is your castle until the cops come by looking for a different house and then shoot you six times until dead while your in your own garage. Looks like the 72 year old dead man used to have a father who pastored a church in Jacksboro.
• I'm all the way up to date on Breaking Bad. Nice touch for them to play "crystal blue persuasion."
• The Texas House passed some huge "water bill" but for the life of me I can't figure out how it impacts Wise County. 
• Mrs. LL is always monitoring my mental health. I'm concerned that she thinks she has to do that. 
• Isn't it about time for the West Nile Freakout?
• Mrs. LL and I played x-box's beach volleyball. We managed to get into a fight. A brief one but we sent each other to our rooms for 15 minutes. That seemed to do it. 
• And it only seemed months ago that the "Economy" was the major issue of every election. 

Missing College Football In May

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I had always heard about the shocking ending to The Cabin In The Woods, so I finally watched it over the weekend. It was beyond horrible.
• One of life's mysteries is that Mrs. LL sees no humor in Arrested Development. It is so frustrating. 
• But she was locked in to Behind the Candelabra on HBO on Saturday. Michael Douglas is great in whatever he does.
• And now to lower the bar: We saw The Hangover III at the 7th Street Movie Tavern on Saturday. Verdict: They just keep getting worse (with the exception of the last 15 minutes which were shockingly funny.)
• I don't see the Star-Telegram's paywall.  I mean, it no longer appears when I visit the site. 
• The New Puppy In The House is now able to walk and run. Mrs. LL will take it for a short walk down the street and literally stops traffic because of its cuteness. 
• CBS 11 says that the storm shelter business is booming in Decatur.
• There was a moment the other day where I caught myself watching The Kids laughing as they jumped on the trampoline while the dogs were running around in joyful glee. This is life, right?
• I saw a 40 Something lady at the softball park in a sun dress. She was pretty dignified but she had a ton of tattoos. It was one of those "what will she think when she gets older" one of moments. That time has arrived. Yu Darvish struck out 14 and lost?
• Rick Perry paid a visit to the world's oldest WWII veteran (107 years old) yesterday and gave him a bottle of whiskey. I would think the casualty count of The War is high enough.
• The alleged drug cartel hit in Southlake Town Square is more shocking after a few days have passed. 
• Lake Bridgeport is now down 19 feet. 
• "PHOENIX — A federal judge ruled on Friday that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies had violated the constitutional rights of Latinos by targeting them during raids and traffic stops here and throughout Maricopa County." I wonder if Republican presidential candidates will continue to kiss his ring or realize he's hurting their cause as he parades as the last living dinosaur?
• Do young people still go to the Colonial golf tournament? 
• I don't play any online/app games but I almost got addicted to "Dots" this weekend. The most simple of games has exploded over the last month. Remember: Squares begat squares.
• An ice/water dispenser it the door of a new refrigerator? Maybe the greatest invention in the history of ever. 
• Very funny: JC Penney sells a tea kettle that looks like Hitler. Wait. What?
• The legend of Chris Kyle becomes more and more muddied. It seem that his war hero status gives him immunity from being called a liar. 

Rangers Animated GIF/"Jiff" Bonanza

From Last Night (worth the wait.)

Double Vision

This was the back end of a called double play last night. More (with audio.)

Above The Fold

The Color Red Taking You Into The Weekend

Amanda Bynes Watch

In court after her Throwing Away Bong arrest last night.  Pure sexiness.

Next stop: Being on the side of the road with a Walmart bag over her head faking an assault.

Texas Lawmakers. A $20,000 Restaurant Bill. And Lobbyists' Credit Cards.

Story.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• So why exactly did Rick Perry need to immediately release a statement condemning the Boy Scouts for its decision on gay members? It's a private organization. Doesn't that smack of Big-Government-We-Are-Watching-You for him to express his opinion? 
• Random Wise County Facebook post: "I don't believe this; I was a boyscout and now they are going to let sodomy; gays, queers and fags in the scouts. So much for anything pure anymore I think I'm going to go puke."
• Got the new refrigerator installed. I was excited to use the in door ice-maker only to see a handwritten sign from Mrs. LL that read, "Don't use the ice-maker yet." (And its got some funking lights inside. I almost expect to hear some type of heavenly music when I open it.)
• A guy analyzes the final episode of Save By The Bell which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Funny.
• From the Update: "BALLET PERFORMANCE – Wise Performing Arts Guild’s ballet production of 'The Arabian Nights' has sold out its Saturday, June 15 performance." Arabian Nights? Isn't there some good 'merican play they could perform?
• The most screwed up television sports graphic in the history of ever. 
• "NEW YORK (WABC) -- Actress Amanda Bynes was arrested in Midtown Manhattan Thursday night after she allegedly tossed a bong out her 36th-floor window." That girl's wheels are just flying off in every direction.
• The Jodi Arias jury ended up deadlocked so a new jury will have to be empaneled to decided life or death. And even though they won't have to deliberate guilt/not guilt, the State will still have to put on all the evidence of the murder so get ready for weeks and weeks of testimony. (In Texas, a deadlocked jury in a capital murder trial means automatic life. Probably a good idea.) 
• But the judged declared a mistrial after only 13 hours of deliberations when the trial took five months?
• My dream news story would be Arias and Sheriff Joe having an illicit relationship behind bars which leads to her escape.  
• Dallas Cowboy Josh Brent is back in court today as prosecutors claim he drank alcohol and tried to tamper with his ankle monitor (known as a SCRAM device.) Three years ago I pointed out this article which shows how the "violation reports" from that company can be very, very wrong.  I hope his defense lawyers are aware of that. 
• This is my 15,486th blog post with just under a quarter of a million comments published . I've got my faults but one thing you can say about me: I'm disciplined and dependable. I'm always here. 
• I ask this every three months: Whatever happened to the cop who shot the unarmed guy 40 something times in front of his girlfriend after a chase? Fox 4, where art thou? 
• On the evening of the Oklahoma tornado I decided to listen to an Oklahoma City news radio station via IHeartRadio.com.  At one point, the host let the audience know that the broadcast was being simulcast on various sister radio stations and he listed them off. One was "101.9 The Twister." 
• And in Guys Who Wear The White Hat news . . . 

Hot Chick Fakes Her Own Assault To Get Boyfriend Back

PLEASANT GROVE, Alabama - A woman found on a Pleasant Grove roadside Tuesday with a Walmart bag over her head has been criminally charged after authorities found she made up the ordeal.

Pleasant Grove police today charged 19-year-old Kayla B. Earl with False Reporting to Law Enforcement. The crime is a misdemeanor.

Investigators said Earl, of Hueytown, was trying to lure back her estranged boyfriend with sympathy when she told lawmen she was attacked in a Pleasant Grove cemetery. A Jefferson County sheriff's deputy on patrol spotted the woman about 5 a.m. in the dirt just off the road near Five Acre Road. She appeared unconscious. More.

Oh, it's the same old love story. Guy meets hot girl. Guy dates hot girl. Guy breaks up with hot girl once he discovers there's a ton of cray cray under that hot skin. Girl decides to put herself in the dirt with a Walmart sack over her head in order to get guy back. Man, this makes me long for my younger days.  My exes would use a Gibson's or Kmart sack, but the sentiment was just as earnest. The love of a crazy hot chick is just hard to shake. 

Update: Welcome To The Mean Streets Of Southlake

News 8 has confirmed victim in Southlake shooting is Juan Guerrero Chapa. A mexican natl. believed to work for drug cartel. He's an attorney
— Rebecca Lopez (@rlopezwfaa) May 23, 2013