That Was Some Serious Traffic In Raleigh, NC Yesterday

I saw this on some newscast, but I can't recall which station.  Looks like the Apocalypse.

Gun News

Link.

Everyone seems pretty excited about a case that just came down -- and it concerns an issue that you would think have been decided: What do the words "right to bear" arms in the Second Amendment mean?   Specifically, can government pass a law that prohibits you from carrying a gun for self defense or does the "right to bear" arms trump that? If not, what restrictions, if  any, can the government place upon that right.

In the newest case, San Diego County enacted rules that allowed for concealed carry but the one rule contested was the one requiring a showing of "good cause". Basically, wishing to generally protect yourself was not enough. You had to provide some proof that set you apart from the mainstream (i.e. a police report where you had been threatened, a protective order, or a letter from a prosecutor discussing how you were in danger.)  So under the rules of the county, you could be a completely law abiding citizen who is willing to go through all required training to obtain a concealed carry license, but if you had no need for self protection that wasn't any different that everyone else, you could get a concealed handgun license.

Can the county do that? No, according to today's opinion.  But courts all over the nation are divided on the issue.

It's amazing this hasn't been decided by now.

Curling: The Next Concussion Crisis

Courage, young man. Courage.

Au-stral-ia! Au-stral-ia! Au-stral-ia!

Silver medalist in the halfpipe: Torah Bright.

Random Video Of A Pack Of Wolves

I have no idea.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• The Senate followed the House and raised the debt ceiling yesterday. Ted Cruz attempted the equivalent of a filibuster but, with the help of Sen. John Cornyn, he was slapped down. (They ain't got time for that.) Then the Senate passed the measure with every Democrat voting for it and every Republican voting against it. It's all about practical realities over grandstanding. 
• Hey, Mrs. LL! Read this!: "He’s corny, homophobic, manipulative, creepy, rude, boring, and not as attractive as ABC tries to convince me he is. [The Bachelor's] Juan Pablo is a special kind of mean disguised as a nice guy."
• The Northwest teenager who was killed in the wreck on icy roads this week attended Wise County's Aurora Baptist Church.
• And it is sadly refreshing the girl's parents haven't been on the news giving interviews. I was beginning to wonder if real grief was slowly disappearing.
• The Fifth Grader In The House asked if Dallas would ever host the Summer Olympics. You know, I thought it was crazy when Dallas submitted a bid many years ago, but not so much now. We currently have a facilities gold mine consisting of Cowboys Stadium, SMU's football stadium and a renovated basketball arena, TCU's renovated stadium and soon-to-be renovated basketball facility, The Ballpark in Arlington, Baylor's new stadium, and UNT's new stadium. Heck, there wouldn't be much to build. But the summer heat and those multiple "paddling sports" (invented name) would be the biggest problems.
• There's an Outlaw Monster Truck based in Decatur?
• I heard a political ad this morning that said, "And I'm a former U.S. Attorney. So I know a little something about defending the constitution." Huh? I've never met a prosecutor who was a big advocate of the Fourth Amendment. 
• The NCAA is proposing a new football rule that prevents offenses from snapping the ball with more than 30 seconds on the play clock. They claim it's for safety. It's really to slow down the up tempo offenses that the old guard is scared of. (Those offenses of Oregon, Baylor, Tech, and maybe TCU next year.) Case in point: The proposed rule doesn't apply during the last two minutes. So they don't care about safety in the last two minutes?
• In Mark Davis' most recent Morning News column, he tries to explain why he is against the legalization of marijuana. One of his points: "Most people consuming alcohol are not looking to get drunk; everyone smoking pot is looking to get high." The vitriolic comments he receives make me feel loved by comparison.
• That composite video of the women's downhill, showing what it would look like if two competitors raced at the same time may be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. (And that was a heck of a crash yesterday involving Marie Arvier-Marchand in the women's downhill -- but I can't find thed video of it.) 
• Hey, it's now the United States vs. Russia in hockey very early on Saturday morning. 
• I received a spam email intended for family law lawyers. The user name is "Divorce Marketing Group?" Sounds like a name for someone selling divorce.:
• 
• We knew when UT's Mack Brown resigned that he would assume some new vague position at the school with a salary of $500,000 annually. But yesterday we learned he will also receive a severance of $2.75  million. Wait. Don't you get a severance only when you are fired? 
• Dale Hansen's Unplugged this weekend (he signed the screen!) about the Missouri college player coming out as gay before the NFL Draft has gone viral. (But I'd like to point out that he delivered it as WFAA was scrolling the school delay/closing ticker at the bottom of the screen. Wise County towns are now famous.)
• Bad cops: (1) Fort Worth cop fired in traffic ticket scandal, (2) Dallas cop suspended over road rage incident, and (3) Ex-Arlington cop gets a year in jail for tipping off an illegal steroid dealer. 
• Heck of snow storm in the South and Northeast. The Duke/North Carolina game, which those people are crazy about, was cancelled last night. 

  

Two Texas Lawyers Running Against Each Other For Congress Out Of Dallas Are Less Than Truthful

First comes this handsome family man who definitely lied to the Dallas Morning News (despite the author's defense) about having never being arrested.  (He may also have lied about being involved in a "criminal proceeding" thereafter depending on the nuances of Virginia law -- at least per the comments.)

"And to think I just wanted to take a selfie"

And then comes this Ted Cruz looking guy who says he has been issued a "probationary law license" because he disclosed to the Board of Legal Examiners before he took the bar that he had decided to "abstain from the use of alcohol." Huh?

His first name is "Chart". Really

I don't know if this is a lesson of "always be truthful" or "who would want to run for public office and put up with this crap."  And the icing on the cake may be that the Dallas Morning News endorsed the guy at the top without disclosing that he's done legal work for the paper.

Johnny Weir's Outfit Of The Day

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• The Republican controlled House of Representatives voted yesterday to raise the debt ceiling -- no strings attached. 
• I don't mind a 15 year old edging out Shaun White for the silver medal in the halfpipe - a "sport" that looks like it belongs in the X-Games instead of the Olympics.
• One thing about Decatur football coach Kyle Story's new Frisco Independence job: It should be relatively stress free. Taking over as head coach for a school that has absolutely no history or tradition doesn't exactly load you down with expectations. (And the fan base of your typical 5A or 6A school doesn't take football near as seriously as your typical rural small Texas town.) 
• Frisco High's coach makes $104,000. Frisco Centennial's coach makes $103,000.
• Callback: Someone challenged me on thinking it was surprising that Dallas Carter, of Friday Night Lights fame, has now dropped down to 4A. Baloney. Consider: 3A was recently renamed as 4A.  So, under the old naming system, Carter has gone from 5A, where they won a state championship in Texas' then largest division, to 3A. 
• AG Eric Holder is urging the lifting of the ban on felon's being unable to vote saying the current law is "a vestige of the racist policies of the South after the Civil War." WBAP brought the issue up this morning with Hal Jay and Brian Estridge. They first said it had nothing to do with race. Then Hal Jay suggested that the ban maybe should not apply to things like "white collar crime." Then Estridge suggested the repeal of the ban would help the Democratic Party. This prompted Hal Jay to ask if most felons vote Democrat and Estridge replied, and I'm not making this up, "Yeah, just look at them." 
• A "wire fox terrier called Sky" won Best in Show last night.  Want to know what Sports Illustrated's Peter King tweeted this morning about it? "Q: 'Sky, what was the Best In Show competition like out there?' Sky: 'Ruff.'" And you wonder why I think that guy offers nothing.
• The Kids in the House have an afternoon snack which is typically big enough to be a meal. I don't think that's typical.
• I wonder if there is a story behind the Northwest High School girl involved in the fatality wreck being named "Shyann" instead of "Cheyenne". 
• Mrs. LL got a new vacuum cleaner. You would have thought she acquired a diamond watch based upon her excitement. 
• Based upon a brief experiment, you can watch VH1's Top Twenty Countdown and pretty much be caught up on the playlist of KISS radio for the next four months.

Above The Fold

Breaking? This True?

Decatur, which is in football district with Hirschi, Graham and Burkburnett, needs new coach as Kyle Story heads to Frisco Independence.
— Zach Duncan (@zduncansports) February 11, 2014

He's a reporter for the Times Record News in Wichita Falls.

Edit: Yep, true.

Snowflake Alert

At 2:45 p.m., we are receiving one heck of a snowstorm. Not sure it's sticking, but those are some big time snowflakes coming down.

And Another

2014 is coming out throwing haymakers.

Story.

Edit: A repeat? Some Liberally Lean reporter is getting canned.

The 16 Year Old Northwest High School Student Who Was Killed Last Night In Car Accident

Her friends have taken to Twitter with #SmileLikeShyann

Awkward. Pauses.

But give him credit. When given the opportunity to bail out, he bails out.

Ex-Skater Johnny Weir Is Just Killing It As An Olympics Commentator

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Closed: Decatur ISD, Chico ISD, Alvord ISD, Boyd ISD, Slidell ISD, Bridgeport ISD, Paradise ISD. #IceForceLevelOne
• The tough call for schools this morning is the possible second wave of ice after 10:00 p.m. And with at least four deaths in the metroplex in the last 12 hours (including a Northwest High School student), I'm glad it's not my call. 
• Shirley Temple has died. 
• For you Bill O'Reilly fans, how long have they been doing that  "The Watters Factor" bit with Jessie Waters?  Although he is basically stealing from The Daily Show, I'll agree it's well executed. Not clever. But well done. 
• The high tone Keller lady, who was first charged with murdering her husband, but later pled guilty to only Tampering with Evidence and Deadly Conduct, really screwed up her case by talking. Since she had not yet been sentenced, once she proclaimed openly that she wasn't guilty, the judge had no choice then to reject her plea of guilty. Now the murder case is back on the table. But the prosecution has already expressed doubts about the strength of that case -- that's why they initially agreed to a lesser plea. What a mess. 
• There never has been arrest in that "hit", likely orchestrated by a drug cartel, in the Southlake Town Center.
• Junior Miller on The Ticket raved about The Americans this morning. Better than House of Cards?
• The Lego Movie has a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $69 million on its opening weekend. (It more than doubled The Monuments Men which doesn't look nearly as good as it should.)
• Look at this couple who ranked second in a list of "Texas Most Generous Families in 2013". He looks like a teenager. 
• BagOfNothing made a reference to Neil deGrasse Tyson this morning. That made me feel a little dumb in that I've never heard of him.
• I watched the Olympics on and off last night, but I did perk up when a guy won the gold medal in a speed skating event and then was booted down to the silver medal less than thirty seconds later due to a "timing error". Truly, the guy spent half a minute in sheer joy believing he had won the gold medal. 

o

What Exactly Are These Things?