Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Right out of The Wire:  It's now been revealed that a guy shot to death on his porch in Dallas had $900,000 in cash in his house along with ledgers that reveal he may have had proceeds of $28 million in drug sales over the last decade.
• The President's speech last night: Ok, that was a mess. It looked like he took his original text with the "we need to bomb" them theme and inserted a few sentences with the "maybe not" theme. He probably should have cancelled that. 
• Hey, I agree with most of The Right that bombing Syria is a silly idea, but it's funny to listen to the conservative pundits last night and pretend they were talking about Saddam Hussein and WMDs before the Iraq invasion. 
• There's a story in the Messenger about the survivors of the man killed at Bridgeport Tank Trucks earlier this year has filed a lawsuit. Hey, Messenger, name the lawyers involved next time. 
• The Mess's story about the rodeo participant from Bridgeport who had his face literally crushed by a bull last weekend in Decatur sounds horrific. 
• It's the 9/11 Anniversary with far less references to it, is seems, than in years pass. 
• WBAP had ABC News' Aaron Katersky on this morning to talk about the anniversary. He casually mentioned a New Yorker who was kept out of her apartment for a week after the attacks, but when she was allowed back in she discovered a plane seat had crashed through her apartment window and a body was still strapped in it. Anyone ever heard that before? Sounds very urban legend like.
• Hal Jay then asked him if there was any kind of memorial ceremony at the site today "which will draw 200,000 to 300,000" people. 
• The driver of [the car who was not killed by] the dump truck involved in the double fatality wreck on LBJ yesterday is 40 years old and has eight kids. The deceased couple is TD Mullikin, Jr., 83 and his wife Charlyn, 81 of Trophy Club. I think this is a Facebook photo of them and grandkids. 
• Mark Davis lost his mind again this morning proclaiming that America has not won a war since World War II (yep, he said that) because we don't have the resolve like we did back then. Vietnam, for example, is a place where we "cut and ran." He might want to consult the more than 50,000 families of dead soldiers if we should have stayed and continued to raise the casualty count. 
• And a tweet from Davis last night about current America: "The reason we are war weary is that we have been denied victory by our unwillingness to kill enough of the enemy to win." Sheesh. Yeah, nothing makes me less war weary than more dead bodies. 
• Nathan Hecht is set to be named Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. In 2007, he engaged in political conduct while a judge which I thought so shocking that I thought he needed to be removed from office. 
• From the archives . . . 

Above The Fold

Above The Fold - Delayed Edition From Last Weekend Because I Screwed Something Up

Time For The Internet Experts To Judge This Thing

This has gone viral. (Side note: What doesn't?) Basically, the premise is that this guy just had surgery and is waking up. But he's still out of it due to the drugs. Doesn't recognize his wife. Is surprised to learn they are married. He is stunned. Tells her she's beautiful, how he's hit the jackpot, yada yada yada.

Any of you guys think this is fake? I think I'm leaning that way. Does it make a difference that he's an actor.

Run To The Border

Story.

Jumped out at me:

So many dead bodies of those trying to enter the country are found that Brooks County will spend over $800,000 this year burying the unclaimed bodies.

But this is what really surprised me: “Probably 60 percent to 70 percent of the groups we encounter are not Mexican,” said Dr. Mike Vickers, who started the group and who owns a ranch in South Texas. “We see a lot of Chinese and people from India and Pakistan.”

Something's Not Right

The story says that the trooper who arrested her was suspended for misconduct, and that "Parker County, Texas, Prosecutor John Forest told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . . .) that his office had two years to pursue the case against Walton. But the trooper's suspension won't be over by the Oct. 7 deadline."

Not so fast.  The County Attorney has two years to file the case. Not two years to "pursue" it. (Most DWI cases are filed within three months of the arrest.) And the fact that the trooper is still on suspension while the deadline expires means nothing -- the prosecutor doesn't even need the trooper's signature to formally file the case.

Now if the trooper's misconduct were to be admissible during the DWI trial (it isn't a foregone conclusion that it is), then I can see how the prosecutor might want to boot the case. But having two years to file the case has nothing to do with it.

Story.

LBJ Is Under Major Construction . . .

BREAKING: Dallas Fire confirms one dead in deadly wreck at 635 & Marsh pic.twitter.com/hxWstDtPbM
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) September 10, 2013

. . . at that location and it's always jammed pack with traffic with no shoulders to bail out on. A dump truck jumping the dividing barrier means big trouble.

Britney Spears Coming In Hot

She posted it yesterday on Twitter.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Barnes and Nobles in downtown Fort Worth is closing. I'm not sure there will be any physical book stores in a few years. 
• "Hundreds" of Texas judges were evacuated at a judicial conference last week after a threatening note was found. The evacuation occurred in the last two hours of a week long conference -- I'm stunned "hundreds" were still there. 
• Sports: (1) Everyone is freaking out about a Sports Illustrated five day report about corruption in the Oklahoma State football program. So far I haven't heard anything that we all didn't suspect was going on everywhere. Here's the cover of the new issue. Here's part one. (2) RG3 was awful in the first half last night but better in the second. Maybe not playing at all in the preseason wasn't a good idea after all. (3) Texas wasted another great pitching performance from Yu Darvish last night.  Since the ballpark opened, The Rangers have lost 16 games by a 1-0 score. Three of those are this season with Yu Darvish starting.
• The President is backing off his desire to bomb Syria but is still going to address the nation tonight. What in the heck for? 
• Had an appearance in the comments section yesterday by Double Fake Speaks Volumes Guy. That's funny. 
• Jenny McCarthy was (awkwardly) interviewed by WBAP's Hal Jay and Brian Estridge this morning. Estridge asked if she still believes that her son was "cured" of autism. She says she has never used that word in any of the books or newspaper columns she has written. Once the interview was over, Estridge said, "She's said her son was cured of autism." He either wasn't listening or didn't have the courage to challenge her. 
• Names on the North Texas delinquent tollway fare violators list: Dez Bryant ($162), Tony Romo ($1632), and Deion Sanders ($1035). When "fees" are added, they owe many times more than that. 
• Miley Cyrus releases a new music video and she's even crazier than before. 
• I've long been irritated about the cops/media using the term "person of interest" because it is just code for "suspect" with the hope that a defamation claim can be avoided if they are wrong. Now we've got a great example of Alan Mason who was named last week as a person of interest in a series of south Dallas rapes. Uh, he didn't do it. 
• "As many suspected but few wanted to believe, the 'Worst Twerk Fail EVER' video that went viral last week—including airtime on ABC's The View, CBS' The Talk and countless others, along with more than 9 million views on YouTube at last count—was a hoax. Watch Jimmy Kimmel and stuntwoman Daphne Avalon [who were responsible for it] with the big reveal."

Oh, My

A Waco sign company has created a decal that goes on the tailgate of a pickup showing a blonde woman, her hair covering her face and her hands and feet tied up. When placed on the tailgate, it creates the optical illusion that there’s actually a woman who’s tied up and in the bed of the truck.

Johnny Football At Cowboy Game Last Night

Not that there's anything wrong with that. And talk about "Hey, now."

Source.

I Think He And His Wife Are Divorcing

George Zimmerman in custody after gun incident - Full story: http://t.co/DkPCFav1E0
— ABC News (@ABC) September 9, 2013

$21,316,743

The amount Texas has received in federal funding for "Abstinence Only" Education under Obamacare.

I don't know where to start. Texas hates the federal government, and especially Obamacare, but readily accepts federal funds for programs that cater to the Far Right?

College Football GIFs From The Weekend

 Johnny Football being Johnny Football. In more ways than one. Alabama is a

 9 point favorite this week.

 Michigan's coach desperately tried to call a time out. The ref didn't see him. The play 

happened and Michigan scored anyway. His reaction. 

 Brent Musburger interviewing Eminem. Just because. 

Not technically a GIF, but this is how your boss looks at you when you'll be fired the next day. 

Idiocracy?

Lebron James, Jerry Jones, and Hulk Hogan last night.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• When did air travel turn into the equivalent of riding a bus. Sheesh, it's a beating these days. But the normally grumpy American Airlines flight attendants were in very positive moods.
• I am getting close to the ending of Empire of the Summer Moon and read it on the plane. An elderly guy in a Cowboy hat sitting next to me on the plane said, "I don't want to bother you, but you've got a great book there." For a little known book, I can't tell you the number of people who have told me they've read it. 
• On the way flight back we sat by a guy who looked like a thinner John Lock from Lost. We asked him if he had ever heard that before, and he said "all the time." 
• Leaving the Ole Miss game there was a college student on his cell phone calling a buddy to tell him that a girl was saying he (the buddy) had sexually assaulted her. The odds of Mrs. LL and I slowing our pace so we could hear the conversation? 100%.
• I don't know how we got around before the GPS guide. Mrs. LL's phone has one which is so good we can just have to listen for the instructions and hardly ever have to look down at it. 
• FBC of Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress somehow gets space in the Dallas Morning News to fire off an opinion on Syria. He opines that the President's wish to bomb Syria for using gassing children would be more persuasive if he didn't support abortion.  Way to stay focused there, pastor. 
• Memphis Beale Street: Meh. Much smaller than I thought it would be without that many people. (But there was a huge police presence with females having their purse searched before they entered the area. Which gives rise to an interesting Fourth Amendment issue: You have to agree to be searched before entering a public street?)
• Did we go the entire weekend without Memphis BBQ? Yes.  Arrived Friday and went to the rehearsal dinner. It was a Saturday morning wedding with a lunch reception. We then were at the Ole Miss game from 3:00 to 9:00 and snacked on stadium food. And our flight left the next morning at 11:00. 
• My nephew's wedding was great. I think that's the first person I've ever seen married who I was also at the the hospital for their birth. 
• They are going to Jamaica for their honeymoon. It reminded me of the time I was there and a guy on the beach tried to sell me and two New Jersey cops some weed. When they told they were with law enforcement, he fist bumped them and said, with a Jamaican accent,  "Respect!" 
• Sports: (1) Cowboy fans need to tap the brakes. They won last night because of six turnovers by the Giants. Otherwise, they would have gotten killed. (2) Evil Empire Chaos: The Horns gave up a shocking 550 yards on the ground to BYU and, on the following day, fire their defensive coordinator. That's borderline panic mode. (3) Baylor set a school record with 781 total yards against Buffalo and is averaging 47 points in the first half. 
• A fan fell to his death at the 49ers game. Man, that happens a lot these days.

The Ghosts Of My Ole Miss Field Trip

So Mrs. LL and I journeyed up to Memphis for my nephew's wedding, and then ventured on down Saturday afternoon to the University of Mississippi for a football game.  Random Thoughts . . .

• Everyone has always told me, being the fan of the college football road trip, that I had to go to Ole Miss and see the tailgating at The Grove. Verdict: It was beyond fantastic. I've been to games at LSU, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan, Aggieland, UT, -- those come to mind. But nothing comes close to this. I want to go back in time and enroll there. 
• The campus has a few acres (the Grove)  in the middle of campus which is blanketed by old southern trees and every inch is taken over by tents on game day. And food. And alcohol. And friends.
• This photo doesn't do it justice. This is just the beginning as you walk into the masses . . . 
• 
• Mrs. LL insisted on wearing a breezy dress (she did some research online), and I told her she was crazy. She, as is so often the case, was right. From the sorority girls to moms to grand-moms, they all wore dresses. I've never seen so many red dresses in my life.
• If there was a uniform for the guys, it was a red shirt and khaki shorts. That's what I wore (as I dug through the closet before the trip to find a red shirt.) I just want to blend in and observe.
• The hospitality of almost everyone was fantastic. But, as in all places, there are the problem children in the world. These two gals saw the huge dog and wanted their picture taken with it. Apparently the cigarette smoking boyfriend wasn't prompt enough as the girl in the red yelled, "Take my [expletive deleted] picture!!!]. Some guy will marry her one day. Some guy will regret it. 
• 
• But I did see an old guy with, perhaps, a mail order bride. In leather pants. In hot weather. I'm not judging. Promise. (Mrs. LL noticed that there was a price tag on the bottom of her shoe.)
• 
• And it was Mrs. LL who scurried up to take that photo by the way. I would never do such a thing. 
• Lots of girls in heels. 
• One thing I was very interested in was any historical references to James Meredith, the first black man to enroll at the university in 1962 which led to a riot one night.  I had heard that you could still see bullet holes in the administration building's bricks which were caused either by the National Guard or rednecks with rifles. It's true. I put my finger in three or four of them and almost teared up.
• There's a statue of Meredith walking to a monument memorializing his enrollment. I thought it funny that three white boys were casually relaxing in it and had Mrs. LL snap a pic. One of them was bouncing a tennis ball against one of the columns. 
• 
• The game experience, against an opponent they were favored to beat by 54, was fantastic. The place was rockin'. And, dare I say, more electric that the LSU game I saw last year against Washington. 
• The stadium has signage noting that Ole Miss won the National Championship in 1959, 1960, and 1962. It also has signs for the school's SEC championships which does not include 1959. I didn't notice that. Mrs. LL did. She asked me, "How did they win the National Championship but not win their conference in 1959?" That's a great question. I can kind of see it happening now (with a bit of a fluke) but back then? I've got to research that. 
• It was a bit  of a delay to get in . . . 
• 
• I'll probably update this . . . but I'm tired. 

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Yesterday, the AP was floating around a shocking video of the Syrian Rebels executing government soldiers. And U.S. bombing will support those guys? 
• Prediction: Congress won't approve any Syrian strikes. Nor should they. 
• Peyton Manning through for seven touchdowns last night. Seven. I thought he was done two years ago when he sat out the year with a neck injury.
• Anyone else suffering from allergies? I had everyone in the house tell me last night that I sounded awful. 
• So what did Mrs. LL do after reading about wanting to go to the Ole Miss game and see The Grove on Saturday while in Memphis for the weekend? She bought tickets!
• And for those who have seen The Ghosts Of Ole Miss, I've read that bullet holes from that night of rioting can still be found on one of the famous campus buildings. I'll definitely track that down. 
• I'm hearing lots of good reviews about Drinking Buddies -- kind of a ramped up When Harry Met Sally.
• The Ticket's Mike Rhyner talked yesterday about his traffic accident I posted about. It is amazing he wasn't killed, and he attributes side air-bags for still being alive. I'm not sure I've got side air bags. 
• Is this really the aTm president mimicking the Johnny Manziel "I've got money" gesture?
• Hitler's bodyguard died yesterday. I would have lost a bet if you had asked me if he was alive. 
• A young Tarleton girl was bucked off her horse near Santo and has died. Seems so ironic. Everyone else is dodging in and out of traffic and she dies being in a serene environment. 
• Breaking: Unemployment rate drops to 7.3%.  (Funny, though. I can't find a single story in the "lame stream" media that doesn't say the drop is due to people who have stopped looking for work. Wordkyle's power is greater than I thought.)
• As expected, District Judge Sharen Wilson announced her intent to run for Tarrant County DA yesterday. So what does supporter Sheriff Dee Anderson say about her? “She is a tough but fair judge." Ok. I like that. Anything else? "She sided with law enforcement. She supported law enforcement. She continues to support law enforcement to this day,” said Anderson. So she was a judge who "sided with law enforcement"? That's fair? That's impartial? 
• It all kind of blurred together over Labor Day. We all jumped on the Rhome cop for shooting out the tires of the car with four kids in it, but in a second chase on Monday involving Chad Ervin of Springtown  (which ended up with a trooper crashing his patrol car "miles away") a trooper also shot out the tires of that car. Did everyone watch Smokey and The Bandit or something?
• And the trooper who wrecked his car "miles away" on a slick road during the chase was conveniently not named in any published report. 
• And in the Dallas DA dysfunctional world: "Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has launched a criminal investigation to find out whether two judges improperly encouraged a third judge to hold him in contempt of court."  (Behind paywall.)  Everyone in that sentence works for the government.