Jerry Jones Channels Mr. Burns of "The Simpsons"

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• That goofy Texas Supreme Court judge who I always dog, Don Willett,  tweeted on Friday that he would be working all weekend "#BecauseServant". Sheesh. He then proceeded to do silly tweets all weekend and revealed he watched the Baylor game, attended a wedding, and went dove hunting on Sunday morning. (A quick Westlaw search only revealed six opinions this year that began, "Justice Willett delivered the opinion of the court".)
• I saw Konni Burton speak on Inside Texas Politics. (She's running for Wendy Davis' old state Senate seat.) What a strange and simplistic woman.
• Couldn't the headline for the Oklahoma guy who killed his co-worker be: "Man With Jesus Tattoo on Chest Beheads Co-worker"?
• The original Yahoo! Directory, which debuted in the 1990s, is now officially dead. The concept was simple: Index every website by placing it in a category then sub-category then sub-category etc. I bet it took them two years to decide that it was completely unmanageable.  
• I've love going back and reading the "Shootin' Blind" columns from old Index papers. Last week, the Index published a picture of the author, Harlan Bridwell, celebrating his birthday at Dos Chiles. I think it said he was 97. 
• Regarding that Greg Abbott traffic commercial: I'm guessing they staged and filmed that at dawn on a Sunday morning. That can't possibly be real traffic because everyone would be acting a fool in the background for the camera. And I say Sunday morning because they wouldn't have shut down a street at a meaningful time. 
• The Rhome City Council, Mayor, and Police Chief are at odds again per the Update. If Wise County towns comprised a family, Rhome would be the drunk uncle. 
• Sports: (1) I'm completely confused by the Cowboys. I understand how they can score points. It defies logic, however, that they can stop anyone. And I'm still not convinced. (2) OU vs. TCU. Baylor vs. Texas. Both are next weekend but, dang it, both begin at 2:30 p.m. Then the next week it flips: OU vs. Texas. TCU vs. Baylor. Man, I fear TCU. (3) Michigan coach Brady Hoke needs to be fired for almost killing his quarterback. I actually saw it live on TV and was appalled. And the student newspaper wants him fired for it. He was punished for indifference to player safety ten years ago. (4). How in the world was Cowboys Stadium designed in a way to allow the sun to blind the players? It was never more apparent than in the late afternoon game of Aggie/Arky. (5) I've got one of my great Football Trips planned for October. Details later. (6) Mrs. LL on Al Michaels last night: "Did he just say baaawwwllll?" (6) After losing to Texas, Kansas fired Charlie Weiss.  Notre Dame owed him $19 million after they fired him and now Kansas owes him the remainder of $2.5 million for this year. (7) I find it amazing that the NFL has packed stadiums when you can watch it at home. Why do people go through the expense and beating? 
• Mark Davis defends the (now repealed) Highland Park ISD book suspension. Never has a man sounded so out of touch.
• Mark Davis this morning on Chelsea Clinton giving birth this weekend with her Jewish husband: "On Chelsea and Marc's to-do list: determine who converts.  Charlotte [the baby] will one day ask if Jesus is the Son of God.  A debate should not ensue." 
• The Black Widow didn't testify. She'll be found guilty and get absolutely crushed with punishment, right? 
• Email I received: "Dude  . . .   I just finished watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO and there is a segment that will make your day.  They rip apart Ayn Rand and included in the bit is a ripping of Mark Cuban."
• Roger Goodell visited the National Domestic Violence Hotline center for the cameras. Incredible. Now if ten years from now he were to write a book and reveal that he had done it secretly because he wanted to get a better understanding of the issue, I would have the utmost respect for him. But to do it as a publicity stunt provides more evidence that he thinks the public is stupid. 
• Too many TV shows exist: Some show called Highway Cowboys on HGTV filmed at Runaway Bay recently. 
• The BagOfNothing guy today wrote about going to his high school reunion.  He actually went there with an open heart which isn't the norm for high school reunions. 
• CNN had a round table discussion on Sunday Morning over the topic: "Is Barack Obama morphing into George W. Bush?" 

Cowboys On Sunday Night Football

I'm pretty sure he cares a little more than I do.

Body Slam Of The Day By Ohio State Assistant Coach

The crowd cheers, but I bet the administration was none too pleased. He might want to leave that to the security folks next time.

After A 50 Yard Fake Punt By Arkansas, This Aggie Girl . . .

will have to suffer from people walking up to her and saying, "I'm so confused!" for the rest of the year.

"Ugly Kardashian"?

The only person who I wanted knocked silly more that the QB was his coach.

Above The Fold

Horrible Saturday News

DFW: Bus carrying North Central Texas College softball team members crashes, 4 killed http://t.co/6dII51Wk8v
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) September 27, 2014

Through twitter posts I was able to find this picture believed to be the #NCTCSoftball victims #PrayersForNCTC pic.twitter.com/FaEWeIscER
— Joangel Concepcion (@JOANGELFOX4) September 27, 2014

Bridgeport vs. Decatur

The start of Battle of Big Sandy pic.twitter.com/NUvb32y75Q
— Richard Greene (@WCM_RGreene) September 27, 2014

Empty seats? Is is now a thing to be fashionably late to a high school football game?

An Example Of Courthouse Compassion

Video link.

HOUSTON (KTRK) --A man charged with capital murder passed out in his first court appearance in the case. Dalton Deune Jones, 26, is charged with the fatal assault of Alejandro Gonzalez-Alonzo, 43.

Either Insurance Fraud Attempt or A Zombie Attack

Index - 1970

Man, what an awful, awful wreck. That had to have rocked Chico.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The father of Wise County Judge In Waiting J.D. Clark was killed yesterday in a wreck on FM 1810. Awful. Eerily, I already prepared a post of a 1970 Index front page -- scheduled to go up in a few minutes -- about another wreck back in the day. I had written, "That had to have rocked Chico." 
• And it wants me to rethink my comment the other day that I felt sorry for the Update writer who had to lead off with "Trail Ride-"  Maybe that's a good thing when that's the biggest news of the day. 
• I don't want to hear your kid in a radio ad: Current violator is Gilley's which is advertising on The Ticket. If a ten year old tells me how great the food is on a menu, I'm not impressed. 
• "BREAKING: Economy grew at 4.6 percent rate in April-June quarter, strongest pace since late 2011."  We've come a long way since being on the brink of an economic disaster.
• Let's see, Iraq used to be ruled by Saddam Hussein who was a Sunni and consequently put other Sunnis in power underneath him. We invaded under false pretenses, captured him, allowed him to be tried in a farce of a trial where he didn't even get to see or know who was testifying against him, and then allowed him to immediately be hanged. Then new "elections" occurred under our watch and the Shiites took power. And we wonder why the Sunni based ISIS group is pissed off and invaded Iraq? (And recall that it is widely believed that George W. didn't even know the difference between the two sects at the time of the invasion.)
• Texas Tech: What's the deal with those helmets from last night? I still don't know what that imagine is on the side. 
• Last night I looked up and The Sixth Grader In The House crawled by on her hands and knees with the normally spastic Family Cat riding on her back. (I started singing the old Jack In The Box commercial about tiny cowboys, but that reference was so obscure I only heard crickets chirping.)
• Questioned posed the other day on the radio: Do kids still play in a backyard "sand box"? I loved my sandbox (which was actually full of soft dirt instead of sand.)
• The lead prosecutor in the Black Widow trial in Fort Worth is Jack Strickland. Fascinating history that guy has. He was a prosecutor on one of the famous Cullen Davis cases back in the 1970s, was then a successful criminal defense lawyer (with an occasional trip to the Wise County Courthouse), and then returned to the prosecution side a few years ago. 
• The number of executions originating by county in the entire United States since 1976: (1) Harris County (Houston) with 122, (2) Dallas County with 53, (3) NOT TEXAS!!!: Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City) with 40, (4) Tarrant County with 38, and (5) Bexar County (San Antonio) with: 37
• You can actually visit the prison where Shawshank Redemption was filmed
• I'm sick of hearing about Derek Jeter but even I appreciated a double in his first at bat and a walk off single on his last at bat in his final game in Yankee Stadium.  But I was reminded of how boring baseball was when I watched his entire first at bat online. Get bat ready. Get glove ready. Step into batting box. Get feet right. Acknowledge to pitcher you're ready. Then Ball. Pause. Ball. Pause. Ball. Pause. Strike. Pause. Double. 

There Was A Report That NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Was Going To Meet With UT Coach Charlie Strong

And the Internet wasn't mature enough to handle it.

FBC Dallas

There's gotta be a better way to say "Why the Jew Is Important to You," First Baptist: http://t.co/yl4sseTy1i pic.twitter.com/WjvDNgVHpX
— D Magazine (@DMagazine) September 25, 2014

My Periodic Rant About JP Courts And Municipal Courts In Texas

JP courts and Municipal courts in Texas handle Class C offenses. Class C means no jail time is possible and the offense is punishable by fine only. Almost all of the offenses those judges handle carry with it a maximum of a $500 fine.

A judge is not a prosecutor. They should be "detached and neutral" which mean he/she should not know a single thing about any criminal case filed in the court other than there is an allegation. They should not advocate one position or another. If called upon, they will preside over a trial to keep it fair.

A prosecutor is the individual which should decide whether a case should be prosecuted. And he should decide what a plea bargain offer should be.  In any Class C case, he has the right to offer a plea bargain of anywhere from a $0 fine to a $500 fine.

But in Texas, every JP or municipal court judge has a fine chart.  You call the court, learn the standard fine, pay it, and you are done. That is clearly illegal under any number of theories. The judge has theoretically pre-judged the case, determined you are guilty, and offered a punishment as a resolution. That's not exactly due process. In essence, the judge is acting as a prosecutor and making a plea bargain offer. Now if the offer came from a prosecutor, that's fine. But a judge can't legally do it despite every JP or municipal judge doing it.

One of these days, the system will be declared illegal.  (Unfortunately, there will be a simple work-around. A citation will be rewritten to read, "Please call the prosecutor's office at [number] if you are interested in a plea bargain." There will then be an employee in that office who will field the call, look at a fine chart, and make the offer. It's the same result, but at least it has the appearance of some semblance of fairness.)

And Another - Jersey

Link.

Hey, You Can Buy Charles Whitman's Gun

Seriously:

This is especially interesting because I've been (oddly) talking about the incident with Decatur lawyer Carol Ann Carson over the last month. She even just recently gave me the book, The Sniper In The Tower. And if you want chills, read the Texas Monthly excerpt from the recent book named, Monday, Monday.