And They Once Walked Down The Aisle Smiling

I've got a buddy who tells me, "If you think criminal defense law is stressful, you've never practiced criminal family law."  I'm beginning to agree with him.

P.S. Hey, gal, call me. Even I know how to take a license plate off. There's a right way to do that thing and using a hammer ain't it.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Politically intensive upcoming before I move on to other things . . . 
• White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday, after yet another school shooting, that President Barack Obama is “always” looking for opportunities to act “unilaterally” on guns, though he would prefer to work with Congress. (That might have been a throw away comment by the new spokesman, but the conservative blogs sure did get riled up.)
• But there have been 74 school shootings since Sandy Hook?! "There’s no advanced developed country on earth that would put up with this." - President Obama yesterday. True that. 
• What a crazy upset last night in Virginia where an underfunded Tea Party candidate beat the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. What's the old say? "A house divided against itself . . . ." It's like watching a political internal civil war. 
• And I was stunned to learn that Cantor was the only Republican in Congress who is Jewish. You think that had anything to do with his defeat? And before you jump me, the Texas Tea Party has long been under criticism for going after Texas House Leader Joe Strauss, who just happens to be Jewish, by sending out emails that said he was "going down in Jesus' name."
• And the guy who beat Cantor is named David Brat. That prompted the silly Texas Supreme Court justice to throw out this dad-like humor on Twitter. 
• But despite the "Tea Party Rising!" claims, target and Senator Lindsay Graham beat six Tea Party opponents and even avoided a runoff. They forgot the game plan: Make it one Tea Partier in a three man race and get it to a runoff.
• In connection with the "illegal horse racing" on the front page of the Messenger, did anyone in law enforcement go to them and say, "Hey, if you don't have a license cut this out or we'll have to take action"? Or did they haul off and make arrests and shove them in an already crowded system?
• Has the Messenger changed their policy of how much you can read of an article online without being a paid subscriber?
• I can't tell you what an awful night of nightmares I had last night -- all coming within 30 minute intervals between me being jarred awake. Examples: Watching a knifing, watching a heart attack, losing my passport (which I don't know why sent me into a panic since I was somewhere in West Texas) and others which I'm too exhausted to remember. After I awoke from each one, I dreaded going back to sleep because I new another one would follow. And it would. (Fortunately, I rarely go through this but I can't find any lifestyle correlation as to when they come to haunt me.)
• "The New Taco Bell Quesarito, Which Is a Burrito Wrapped in a Quesadilla, Is Perfect" - headline of an actual article on the Dallas Observer blog.
• I'm not an NBA fan but I did watch the second quarter of Spurs/Heat last night. What the Spurs did (going 25 of 33 at the half) was borderline historic, right? 
• I could have sworn I heard on the national news last night that Pat Tillman was the only other soldier to be killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan before the five soldiers yesterday. Anyone else even remotely believe that?

Above The Fold

Oh, My

DRAMATIC VIDEO: House on cliff overlooking Lake Whitney at peril of falling WATCH LIVE: http://t.co/udOovZStVt pic.twitter.com/hdlUgm5hWB
— WFAA TV (@wfaachannel8) June 11, 2014

I'm Insane Now

The caption on this thing is "The Joker Vs Cyclone @ Texas Heatwave 2013". So that clears up everything, right?

But I'll tell you, when the red/white/blue car launched itself at around the forty second mark, I literally did laugh out loud.

(And I think I've got some tricking up to do on the Family Gangsta Mobile -- just in time to surprise Mrs. LL for our anniversary.)

Feel Brett Shipp's Power

Story.

And Another - Queens, NY

Can she not walk?

Story.

Get Me This Dog Who Loves(?)/Hates(?) A Leaf Blower!!!

Side note: Nagasaki after World War II looks more inviting than that pool.

(I noticed that BagofNothing posted this before me but I had it auto-programmed from yesterday to load at 9:00 a.m. today.)

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• We bombed and killed five of our own soldiers in Afghanistan overnight. 
• The Sixth Grader In The House says "remember when" a lot, and I agree even though I have no idea what she is talking about.
• TCU won an exciting playoff game last night but ESPN2 went dark with two outs, two strikes, in the bottom of the ninth and missed the final out. 
• The landscape behind the fences at TCU's baseball field has a ton on beautiful trees but the area right in front of the trees looks like it just got run over by a bulldozer. 
• The fact that the Muslim hating school board member from Keller remains on a board "speaks volumes" doesn't it. (She was supported by the very abrasive Tea Party group called "Empower Texans".)
• Lake Bridgeport rose a miniscule quarter of an inch over the weekend and the Update gives it the quantum physics treatment in its first entry. 
• I watched 30 for 30's The Ghosts of Ole Miss again last night. It's fantastic. And it helps that I've now been there. 
• Just so we are clear on my Rangers prediction at the first of the season, I said we couldn't depend on that makeshift pitching staff and we couldn't depend on those injured to return. As of today, the starters have the worst ERA in the major leagues. 
• Radio Shack reported a first quarter loss of almost $100 million. Do they ever report a profit? Will it be around in two years? 
• Amy Van Dyken Rouen, a six-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer, is hospitalized in an intensive-care unit in Scottsdale after severing her spine in an all-terrain vehicle accident.
• Another goofy tweet from that Texas Supreme Court justice. 

Well, It Looks Like My Prayers Have Been Answered

As a guy who has put on a suit for almost thirty years, it looks like things are about to change. The Wise County Courthouse will never be the same.

Two Cops Were Killed In Las Vegas Yesterday

Story.

Great Coach Flop

Was he shot? Was there a sniper in the building?

Color Me Confused

A Baylor fan. At a Tech baseball playoff game. Religiously throwing water. Referring to football.

Makes perfect sense.

You Want To See A Guy Whose Wife Gave Him A Total Beat Down?

In case you missed it, this owner of the potential Triple Crown winner went on a mild rant over the weekend which included him chastising his wife who was trying to reel him in. So he went to Good Morning America today to publically apologize. Man, that's one beaten down guy. 

But I'm not sure she appreciated the line of "she has literally stood behind me since we started this journey". 

Texas Republican Platform From Fort Worth Last Week

The new language, which was drafted earlier in the week, reads, “We recognize the legitimacy and efficacy of counseling, which offers reparative therapy and treatment for those patients seeking healing and wholeness from their homosexual lifestyle. No laws or executive orders shall be imposed to limit or restrict access to this type of therapy.”

Which prompted this from Texas Monthly:

The platform ignores the legitimate needs of the state (water, transportation, public and higher education, health care). Worse, it sends a signal around the country that the state's leadership is focused inward on its own divisions instead of outward on strengthening the state's economy. I'm not surprised. But if the grownups fail to get a grasp on what is happening to the Republican party, they are going to see it all go down the drain.

Go Kart Fight

What the heck is going on here? Adults in go karts? But that was some serious message sending when you tump a guy over.

More Goats

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Without googling, whatever happened to the actor "Sebastian" from Cruel Intentions (not a bad flick, by the way)
• I'm 100% sure I had my hair cut by a gal on meth yesterday. But, on the good side, it was quick.
• The rant by the would be Triple Crown winner's owner is receiving way too much press. 
• I channel surfed over to The Longhorn Network on Saturday night expecting to see a game from the 1980s or something but instead found an electric concert ongoing because of the X-Games. (But I did learn that Mrs. LL wasn't familiar with the concept of concerts produced exclusively by DJs.)
• The Star-Telegram recently had an article on civil forfeiture cases by the Tarrant County DA's office but I completely missed this: "Of the property seized, almost $845,000 was spent on salaries for 16 employees at the office."  I'm at loss to understand why the anti-Big Government groups give law enforcement a complete pass. There's so much fiscal abuse going on. 
• I watched most of The Canyons this weekend -- the recent movie by Lindsay Lohan that was the subject of this New York Times article on how difficult she is to deal with. Not bad. Bizarre. But not bad. 
• Sir Mix-A-Lot singing Baby Got Back with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra may be one of the weirdest things I've seen. (h/t BagOfNothing)
• There are now more security cameras at the Wise County Courthouse than in Walmart.
• I jogged before 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. I then slept way too much the rest of the weekend. 
• I watched the soon to be Junior-In-The-House (good grief) play in a softball all-star tournament on Friday night. That stuff is still more entertaining than any NBA, MLB, or NHL game. 
• Kansas City ball boy grabs a ball that wasn't foul and then acts like his life is over. 
• I'll put Fox News' "Judge" Andrew Napolitano in the same category as Sean Hannity or Dennis Prager. Nothing he says should be given any consideration.
• From the Update: "Firefighter Paramedic James Carr, a member of the Decatur Fire Department, was named the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas EMS Responder of the Year this weekend." I asking honestly: Why?
• If Fox 4 could coax Christina Pascucci from Los Angeles, I'd never change the channel. 
• That couple who were killed in the head on collision (in separate cars) were newlyweds. Photo.