Above The Fold

And we wrap it up with . . .

At 12:30 P.M.

During moment of silence at #JFK50 event, Coalition on Political Assassinations members point toward Elm Street pic.twitter.com/j9Hz7Md4i4
— Robert Wilonsky (@RobertWilonsky) November 22, 2013

For The Second Time In A Week, An OKC Fan Has Hit A Halfcourt Shot to Win $20,000

Story.

And it gave rise to one great photo:

40th Anniversary Photos

I went down to Dealey Plaza on the 40th Anniversary. Dallas had shut down a couple of streets but there was no city sponsored program. But this is a look at the crowd. For some reason Jesse Ventura was there who made some crazy speech into a make shift audio system.

The Magazine Cover That Trumped Another

After the assassination of Kennedy, JFK was placed on the cover of Life. But it was Roger Staubach who had been planned to be used on the cover and a few issues were printed before it was yanked for the special Kennedy issue.

But the subheadings on the Staubach cover make it clear that was a different time in America.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Fox News was not happy with the change in the Senate filibuster rule that will now make it next to impossible for the minority Republicans to block judicial candidates. Now a simple majority rules on the issue. What a concept. 
• Just when I thought it was dead, Slate.com picked up the Judge Jerry Ray chastising the Tarrant County jury story.  They called the judge "dyspeptic." (I admit I had to look it up.)
• And the incident also became a full story in the Texas Lawyer trade publication (paywall?) as of yesterday (where it's pseudo viral status was attributed to everyone and their dog except me.)
• For all the hubbub about the JFK 50th Anniversary Celebration(?) at Dealey Plaza, the timing with the weather could not have been worse. It is miserable out there. (Check out Gordon Keith's set up where he is reporting live from there, and under a tarp, this morning. It is beyond funny and beyond beaten.)
• David McCullough will speak at the Dallas ceremony today. I fell in love with his voice as the narrator of Ken Burns' The Civil War and on an audiobook where I listened to him read his 1776.
• Fox 4 News showed the sand trucks last night and said they were "standing by." Seriously. 
• JFK tidbit: Dallas federal district judge Sarah T. Hughes swore in LBJ on Air Force One that day but beforehand the whole federal courthouse was scrambling to find the text of the Oath of Office. It is Hughes understanding that someone actually called the Attorney General to get the text. But it's actually right there in the Constitution. You could win a Jeopardy answer with that trivia someday. 
• I watched a program last night on the two hours immediately after the assassination. It said that most believed LBJ hurried to be sworn in so that AG Bobby Kennedy couldn't come up with a way to keep him from being President. I scoffed. Then later in the program they played audio from years later of LBJ saying he basically couldn't get in the oval office for three days and he had thought Bobby was trying to figure a way to keep him from assuming the role of the President. 
• They also had audio of LBJ calling Rose Kennedy, JFK's mom, from Air Force One as it flew back to Washington. Her first words were, "Hello, Mr. President." 
• There is a guy tweeting historic photos of Kennedy in Fort Worth and Dallas and he appears to be trying to post them at the moment they happened 50 years ago. Fort Worth photos are being posted right now. 
• Some of the protesters were not being nice to Republicans yesterday at Dealey Plaza.
• Yesterday a Boeing 747 cargo plan landed at the wrong airport in Kansas described as "rural" (surprise!) For awhile they were concerned that the runway might not be long enough for takeoff but the engineers and slide-rulers did the calculations and said it was OK. It took off a few hours later -- with new pilots.
• I know I rile up only one commenter when I dog Dennis Prager, but if you want a taste of what Prager is about read his recent column on five ways to "ensure your child won't" be a liberal. I can summarize it for you: Brainwash him so he won't have the ability to make his own decisions. Incredible. (But, man, he can fire up the masses -- that thing had over a 1,000 comments when I looked yesterday.)
• Speaking of riling people up, Mark Davis' column in the Dallas Morning News on the Cheney sisters gay marriage controversy got people riled up as well. (Davis has been writing there for years but the News interestingly doesn't list him on their "columnists" page.)
• Jerry Jones saying yesterday that head coach Jason Garrett will return as the Cowboys coach in 2014 is like a politician saying he won't run for President. If they later do the opposite, they will just say, "I believed that then but circumstances changed."
• Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon is on Twitter and is full of self-promotion with a "lock 'em all up" attitude.  So I don't know why I was stunned yesterday to read a new case, In Re Ligon, 408 S.W.3d 888 (Tex.App.-Beaumont 2013, no pet. h.) where he tried to prosecute a trespass case where he was the victim! When a judge threw him off the case and appointed the equivalent of a special prosecutor so the defendant could receive a fair trial, Ligon amazingly appealed the decision. There's a word for that: Hubris. As anyone could guess, he lost the appeal. And to think he is responsible for exercising judgment in other cases that can destroy lives. 
• Baylor/OSU Nerd Stat Thought that makes me feel better: Of the all-time offensive Top 10 teams based upon yards per game, Baylor has a shocking three teams on the list: Teams from 2011, 2012, and 2013. And most of those teams are just high flying air-raid teams but not Baylor. Of those teams on the list, Baylor has three of the top four rushing offenses. 

That New Brand Of Attorney And Their Advertising

Obtained from Above The Law which thinks it is worthy of a caption contest.

Newest Hoax Via Text Message

HOUSTON -- It's a new twist on an old scam. Instead of promising wealth over e-mail, scammers are sending death threats to cell phones. Diana Hendrix got an unsettling message via text on Saturday. More.

Man, this world is getting crazy. Back in the day all we had to worry about was holding $10 million for some Nigerian for a $2 million fee.

Simpler times.

JFK Memorabilia Up For Auction

Lee Harvey Oswald's last paycheck for the half day of work* on November 22, 1963.

Yep, they paid him.

Opening bid is $3,000.

*Edit: "4 1/2 Days/ Lee Harvey Oswald/ for Nov. '63". That's what's written in the corner.

Base Running Skills - Who Ya Got? Old Ranger Ian Kinsler or New Ranger Prince Fielder

Reporter Face Plant In Ice Of The Day

Ouch. But she's quite the trooper.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I think I dodged the onset of the flu yesterday.  Incredible chills, weakness, no appetite and the like. I forced down soup in the evening and buried myself in bed under a ton of covers. Based on the way I feel this morning, I think I might be lucky.
• Mrs. LL took a nap earlier because her neck was still killing her. She started talking gibberish so I asked her if she had taken anything. "Muscle relaxers" she mumbled. Oh, boy. I figured she would be out for the evening but in an hour she was up and acting completely normal. The gibberish might have been because she was dozing off.  I was almost responsible for making tacos for the Kids In The House!
• And the Fifth Grader in the House told me how all the kids in school are getting sick.
• And then the Family Pup threw up. (It's always pathetic if she ever does that because I'll rush over to clean it up and comfort her and she just sits there with the saddest eyes thinking she is in trouble.)
• It was an odd commercial for ESPN three years ago, but it had Ian Kinsler and Prince Fielder sitting on a couch talking about being traded. (For the non-sports fans out there, Texas traded Kinsler for Fielder last night.)
• I knew about the oil boom in East Texas but the recent issue of Texas Monthly taught me about an equally productive oil find in South Texas called the Eagle Ford Shale (sounds like a car dealership.) Anyway, yesterday Devon announced it would invest $6 billion into it. Edit: This is in the Update. Didn't think they would see it. 
• Billy Graham, 95, is in the hospital again, but is expected to be released. It was 20 years ago this month that Time magazine put him on the cover with the headline of "A Christian In Winter" -- that is, the last season of his life. 
• I probably should have covered the Bell County trial of C.J. Grisham more because it was fascinating. Did he commit an offense when he objected to turning over his rifle (which can legally be carried out in the open) when an officer, who may or may not have had a reasonable suspicion to detain him, asked to inspect it. After refusing, he was arrested and charged with Interference with a Police Officer. He was found guilty two days ago and sentenced to a $2,000 fine with no jail time yesterday. Gun rights people were, needless to say, up in arms. 
• I've got a bad feeling about Baylor/OSU. It's to the point where I don't want to read anything else about it, and I kind of wish it was over and someone would just tell me the score. 
• Baylor has chosen some outfit named SMG to manage its new stadium and, shockingly, alcohol will be sold at non-Baylor events. 
• I spent 10 minutes scanning the TV guide for any show on JFK last night and couldn't find a single one. That seems impossible. But if I'm wrong, I can blame it on "flu like symptoms."
• Pete Delkus says the "Artic Front" is 12 hours ahead of schedule and will be in DFW around 10:00 p.m. tonight. 

Random Case Of The Day

That guy received 20 years this morning out of Williamson County under facts which seem unusual. It looks like the case got a ton of coverage in the Austin area:

A jury convicted Yazdi in October of murder for the death of 23-year-old Recio in 2012. Recio crashed his car on Avery Ranch Boulevard and fled from the scene about 3 a.m. Feb. 3, 2012 in order to avoid being charged with driving while intoxicated, prosecutors have said.

Recio ended up in Yazdi’s front yard and Yazdi came outside and shot him three times as Recio was climbing over a fence to get away from Yazdi, prosecutors said. Recio died on the sidewalk outside Yazdi’s home on Staked Plains Drive.

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Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• An outfit called GeezerTunes.com is now advertising on the right wing talk radio station 660 AM - The Answer. (That's the home of Mark Davis and Dennis Prager and soon to be the home of Sean Hannity.) Speaks volu..... oh, nevermind.
• And I know I only have one Dennis Prager listener/defender but I gave Prager another chance. No one says the most obvious things and considers them to be profound than that guy. It is mind boggling that he considers himself some kind of life and relationship expert.
• Mrs. LL is down with a sore upper back and I've got the strangest severe chills this morning. We're falling apart. 
• I'd like the Dallas Cowboys serving food at the Salvation Army center yesterday a lot more if the cameras weren't invited. 
• Texas Monthly is now onto Judge Jerry Ray calling his attack on a Tarrant County jury a "bizarre outburst."  I guess the Star-Telegram is going to ignore it. 
• Decatur schools have early release on Friday because of volleyball and football playoff games. Is that commonplace? 
• A Flower Mound police officer participated in a marathon in San Antonio over the weekend then disappeared. Edit: Just found (but no explanation yet.) Edit #2: He was found in Florida.
• A Florida Republican congressman was charged with cocaine possession and, you know what, I don't care. 
• I'm backing off thinking about going to Stillwater on Saturday. Temperatures in the 20s with possible icy roads along the way. 
• I went down to Dealey Plaza ten years ago for the 40th JFK anniversary. It was a peaceful crowd but a handful of conspiracy guys got agitated when Dallas cops started putting on riot gear for no apparent reason. Someone in charge told them to take that stuff off, they did, and everything went back to normal. 
• The "checkpoint" in Fort Worth where drivers were forced to stop and then asked to volunteer saliva, blood or breath was insane. 

Cause the walls start shaking. The earth was quaking.

Back-to-back earthquakes near Azle http://t.co/kNtvbRPnEz
— WFAA TV (@wfaachannel8) November 19, 2013

I'm A Reasonable Guy

You know, peace, love and understanding and all that stuff.

But I wanted to see the security guy beat that punk senseless.

Ok, I feel better.