1.29.2015

You Normally Think "Impaled" Refers To A Person




But that car is impaled.
at 8:49 AM

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts


  • The Super Bowl was in Dallas a few years back and we had a week long ice storm. And now we have this week with near perfect weather. 
  • There was a Senate confirmation hearing yesterday for Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch. I kept hearing that news story and thinking Loretta "Lynn" all day yesterday. There's has to be some clever word play on Coal Miner's Daughter, right?
  • Goofball and Tea Party darling Jonathan Stickland has already been named to a "Worst Legislator" list. 
  • "The future of work will be Time Arbitrage  you will get paid by people who can earn more from your time than you can." - Mark Cuban on Twitter yesterday.  Even his fan boys called him out for stating an obvious truth that has been known for centuries. 
  • We receive a flyer for Coach purses from time to time addressed to "Ashley Green" at our address. I don't know an Ashley Green. Mrs. LL will cock an eyebrow and has begun to suspect I'm buying some gal named Ashley purses on the side. (Note to Ashley: Can we keep this on the downlow?) 
  • Sports: (1)  Wade Phillips somehow got a job with the Denver Broncos. (2). I've not watched one Mavs game this year but from what I heard there will be a lot of people joining me if they keep it up. (3) After just recovering from an Achilles injury, an aging Kobe Bryant is out for the year with a shoulder injury. He will make $23.5 million this year and $25 million next year. (4) Of all 22 starters in the Super Bowl this week, none were ranked "5 stars" coming out of high school. 
  • A University Park "mother of five" is upset that a non-fiction book, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, is being used in a high school English class. She calls it "socialist" and "Marxist."  Anyone have a picture of her? I have a stereotypical image in my head, and I prefer to deal in facts. 
  • The Decatur School Board killed new turf from a possible bond proposal. The battle continues. 
  • The guy shot by police in Sunset yesterday on the Montague/Wise County line had warrants out of Tarrant County. But I don't see even a mention of it in the Star-Telegram this morning. That seems odd. 
  • Yesterday I saw a black Dodge Charger on 287 with red and blue lights flashing in its grill. No markings were on it whatsoever. Anyone ever seen that? I'm assuming it was headed to Sunset. 
  • WBAP Hal Jay quote of the day about all press secretaries for Presidents of the U.S.: "They are all idiots." 
  • It is buried in this story, but today the Texas Historical Commission will vote on whether to give Wise County a historical marker for Machine Gun Kelley. As well as two others named "St. John the Baptizer Catholic Church" and "Lake Bridgeport WWII Training Site". 
  • "Every time travel movie ranked." (I noticed Mrs. LL had recorded Somewhere in Time which was a huge player with the girls back when I was in high school.) 

at 8:38 AM

1.28.2015

Police Shooting of Man In Montague County (May Involve Wise County Troopers)



A police dog was also killed. Always hate the death of a puppy dog. RIP Pepper.

But a very odd report as the news was breaking: "Now what we know through our experience and you as viewers here at the station -- is that a K-9 dog is a police officer. If you assault a canine dog you are assaulting a police officer. And that would take deadly force into response." - Steve Eager, Fox 4 News with a tortured attempted explanation of the Texas Penal Code of which I was not aware.


at 5:51 PM

The Internet Is So Evil

Mrs. LL and I are thinking about having some tile put down in place of carpet in a room or two and she sent me a link from Home Depot in a Gmail message. I clicked on it.

A few days later I looked on Facebook (which I rarely do) and the same tile she had referred to in the Gmail shows up as an ad on the side.


Yeah, I've seen stuff happen like this before and I know if can be done with "cookies", but it is still weird.
at 2:31 PM

The Criminal Justice System Is Getting Out Of Control




These special prosecutors are stealing from the State.

Defense lawyers for Perry have already billed him over $1 million which is mind boggling and, in my opinion, close to a robbery of whatever PAC is paying for it.

(And, yes, I agree the prosecution is beyond ridiculous.)
at 12:00 PM

"I Will No Longer Tinker With The Machinery Of Death" *


The DA in San Antonio announced that he (and his staff) will not seek the death penalty against a suspect accused of killing a cop.

I don't have a problem with the decision, because the death penalty needs to be abolished outright. But what a crazy system we currently have. A DA has the right, without any oversight or rules, to decide whether someone lives.   Truly.  If this DA had sought the death penalty, we can't rule out the fact that he might have received it from a jury. But it he doesn't ask for it(based upon whatever reason he wants), it cannot happen.

One guy. A government worker. He can decide to shield a man from death. Heck, it's a one man death panel.

And for the life of me, I don't know how to fix it. Other than to abolish the death penalty option all the way around.
______
* Words from the greatest dissent in the history of the Supreme Court.
at 10:09 AM

This Really Is Amazing


Not an opinion of the law about Open Carry. But it is just shocking that so many states allow you to walk around with a handgun without a permit or a license.
at 9:41 AM

Nerdy Kicking Stat


Source.

We've come a long way since when we thought this was next to impossible. (With a straight on kicker with half a foot.)

at 9:15 AM

Budweiser Going Back To The Dog Theme For 2015 Super Bowl

at 8:42 AM

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts


  • Breaking: Word on the street is that the surprisingly upstart Bridgeport High School basketball team is about to be hit with a couple of player suspensions. It's unconfirmed, but I trust my source.
  • And, remember, I grew up on the mean streets of Bridgeport. #Connected
  • Marshawn Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks appeared at media day yesterday during Super Bowl week and answered 29 questions with the answer, "I'm here so I won't get fined." (He's not a fan of the media.) But that was the most entertaining interview of the hundreds/thousands of other interviews what will occur this week. 
  • I've heard on the news that the subway system in New York City was shut down for the first time ever in anticipation of the (not) blizzard that hit yesterday.  It wasn't shut down on 9/11?
  • There were 125 criminal exonerations in the U.S. last year -- an all time high. And that doesn't scratch the surface of the damage unethical and/or incompetent prosecutors have caused. 
  • Oh, and Texas prosecutors have taken $486 million from people in "civil forfeitures" in the last decade. (Remember that's one of the reasons why Wise County got its reputation of being corrupt in the 1980s.) Shockingly, the prosecutors get to keep a share of the forfeiture proceeds.  How conservatives don't care about this issue is a mystery to me.
  • Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said yesterday that "Open Carry" probably didn't have enough votes to pass. I haven't heard the response from the bill's sponsor, Jonathan Stickland, but I'm guessing it is something along the lines of, "Ok, daddy." 
  • But our own (and basically absentee) State Sen. Craig Estes filed a bill on Friday that would authorize open carry of modern handguns in Texas by anyone with a license, so long as the handguns are carried in shoulder or belt holsters. Why are we so obsessed with clinging to guns all of a sudden? 
  • I don't know if it made the print issue, but People magazine's website has reported on the missing dogs from Wise County. They cite many media sources but the Messenger is not one of them.
  • It's going to be 80 degrees today. 80.
  • I now know why I had to initially rescue Family Pup #2 from the middle of the road. That dog is dumb. Loveable, but dumb. (I'll get up in the morning and go down stairs, return, and she begins to growl and bark at me like she's never seen me before. Or she's barking because she wants to be petted. Either way, the dog ain't right.)  Edit: Someone asked if she might have an eye problem. I've thought about that. I've performed the very technical test of "OK, dog, follow my finger" and she passed. But I'm not ruling that issue out. 
  • Only one person will understand this: "Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters" was on Hannity last night and went off on a rant against Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (the guy who left his post in Afghanistan). Peters came across as someone who needs to go through anger management (Hannity even seemed taken aback). But he is probably just looking for a gig on Fox News. So angry. So old. So white. Heck, he might get the job.  (Here is the clip all cued up.)
  • I'll actually watch the Golf Channel this week only to see footage of the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open -- the craziest scene of any golf event. 
  • My assistant at work (who does a great job by the way) told me yesterday that she reads Random Thoughts so she'll know what kind of mood I'm in. That's funny. 
  • I'm an early riser. A very early riser. And yet I'm still stunned when I see elementary school kids get on a bus at 7:00 a.m. Getting up that early is fine for old men like me (we like to brag about it), but I'm not sure about kids doing the same. 


at 8:32 AM

1.27.2015

Overly Detailed Medical Examiner's Summary


One of the oddest local sites on the Internet is the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's web page. There they list all the autopsies they perform and the results thereof. If you ever read about a death in Tarrant County and "then name of the deceased has not been released", most reporters know just to monitor that site because the name will soon appear.

This screenshot was sent to me, presumably, because of my longstanding position that a motorcycle will get you killed.  Or it might have been sent because that description is uncomfortably detailed. Normally it was say something like "motor vehicle accident."

Chisholm Trail Parkway is the new tollway which heads south out of Tarrant County. I have no idea if this death resulted from a high speed death, but I mentioned to Mrs. LL the other day when we were on the new North Tarrant Express toll road that it would be perfect for those high speed bikes. I hope we don't see this trend.

at 1:19 PM

You Want A Job?




Am I missing something? Are there any DA related jobs in that link? I not, this tweet is the equivalent of "You want a job? Take a hike."

And the fact that every single Assistant DA position is taken in an office which has to be a miserable place to work, uh, "speaks volumes."  If you ever wanted proof there is a glut of lawyers, here you have it.
at 11:03 AM

I Don't Know Why I Think This Is Funny



I don't care about basketball. Certainly don't care about nerf basketball. And I have no idea who this couple is.

But, man, does she dunk on him. Even tears the backboard off the wall. (If she didn't demand that he call her "Ms. Shaq" after that, she missed an opportunity to humiliate him even more.)

(Sidenote: As a kid I had a nerf hoop in my room, and I'd play on that thing it all day long. I even had tournaments against make believe teams where I'd play for both teams. Miraculously, the team I always wanted to win just happen to win. I think it had something to do with the fake Celtics just happening to shoot 10 foot jumpers all the time, while the fake Lakers tended to dump it underneath to the fake Abdul-Jabbar who liked to do a sky hook from one foot away.)
at 10:59 AM

Old Index (Which Probably Should Have Been Posted Around Christmas)



  • I like Shootin' Blind when it has hot political opinions. Stand up comedy? Not so much.
  • Another beauty pageant! (I would end up dating her little sister back in the day. Well, that is, if riding over to her house on a bicycle constitutes dating.) 
  • Anyone know who that crying kid is? 
  • Burglaries by going through the roof seems like a dicey proposition. But those guys were right out of Ocean's 11.
at 10:24 AM

"And Another" Allegedly Doesn't Understand Recidivism

Link.
at 9:00 AM

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • I was watching Aerial America last night (maybe my favorite show ever) which was featuring Oregon. I had no idea that a Japanese submarine off the West coast fired upon Fort Stevens during World War II.
  • And I discovered last night that the narrator for Aerial America is the professional voice for promos on the Ticket: Jim Conrad. I'd love to have a job as a voice guy. 
  • I often say I'm no longer a music fan but I stumbled upon 91.7 FM where I heard, for the first time in two decades, Elton John's Madman Across the Water followed by the Cranberries Linger and then some new stuff which was pretty cool. Anyone else familiar with this station?
  • Music note #2: I heard a review of Billy Joel's concert he had in Dallas last week in a sold out AAC. He was described as energetic and engaging with the crowd during a two hour show.  For a guy who hasn't put out a new record in twenty years, that's pretty impressive.
  • The President's approval rating is rising. And fast. That's unheard of for a lame duck president entering his final two year.
  • Attorneys for Kaufman ex-JP Eric Williams want a new trial for the convicted killer, saying that his “brain is broken” and that newly discovered “brain damage” could have changed the outcome of his trial. His lawyers might should have thought about that before the trial.
  • "During a lecture at the University of Florida on Jan. 20, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens acknowledged evidence that proved 'beyond a shadow of doubt' that Texas executed an innocent man in the 1980s." That seems like it should be pretty big news. (You can spend more than a day exploring the case he was referring to here. I found that link a couple of years ago and was fascinated.)
  • “[There has not been] a single case – not one – in which it is clear that a person was executed for a crime he did not commit. If such an event had occurred… the innocent’s name would be shouted from the rooftops.” - Justice Antonin Scalia in 2006.
  • The Messenger seems miffed that their "missing dogs" story went national but they aren't getting any credit. That's understandable. 
  • I've been a long time critic of Sport's Illustrated's Peter King because I think he has a big bag of nothing and is a lap dog for the NFL. He's had a 10 minute show on the Ticket this fall year, and I've noticed that when he has a hot sport's take he will preface it every time with "I think" or "In my opinion." That gives him wiggle room. 
  • Speaking of the NFL: News came out yesterday where they might be in possession of a video showing a ball boy for the Patriots removing the balls from the field in Deflategate. They are able to obtain that video within 10 days but couldn't get a hold of the Ray Rice video of him beating his wife? 
  • "Do you mind if I un-invite you to Arkansas for this weekend?" - Mrs. LL last night. (The Sixth Grader In The House didn't want to make the college visit trip with the Junior In The House so I now get to stay home and babysit.) 
  • American Airlines, which went through bankruptcy,  had a record net profit in 2014 of $4.2 billion which is up 115% from 2013. In 2003, when the airline was on its knees due to 9/11, I bought some stock in it as it plummeted. Those shares are now up a mind boggling 1,564%.  The problem is that I bought very, very few shares. (And for every hit like that, I've got an equal -- or more -- number of misses.) 
  • I'm not sure I understand the first item in the Update other than to learn Wise Regional Hospital seems to be getting deep into the nursing home business.
  • Based upon the news coverage last night, I'll be stunned if anyone in the Northeast is alive this morning after the snow storm. (CNN had a reporter running around in "Blizzardmobile".)


at 8:37 AM

1.26.2015

Greatest Thief In The History Of Ever

at 2:00 PM

He Will Not Be Featured in "Catch Me If You Can, Part 2"


at 1:00 PM
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)