Our Missing Dogs Made "Inside Edition"

Link.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• This will be very Super Bowl free. I watched it. It was great. Halftime was great. The commercials were great. Everyone will talk about it. The NFL will get richer.  However, did you know the guy who made the last second interception was paid $420,000 this year? The NFL, on the other hand, collectively made $10 billion. 
• I saw the headline but didn't read the amazing editorial in the Dallas Morning News on Friday. It concerned the embarrassment that was the interference with Texas Muslim Capitol Day in Austin last week: Excerpt; "Her diatribe created a Lone Star YouTube moment that affirms the worst stereotypes about Texas -- that we’re a bunch of slack-eye cousins to the backwater creatures of Deliverance. Tell your in-laws in New York that we’re not all hateful, hayseed, redneck, ignorant Bubbas. Yes, we do have hateful, hayseed, redneck ignorant Bubbas in Texas. YouTube doesn’t lie." No punches pulled there from the most conservative big city paper in the state.
• Here's the you tube moment it referred to. To quote the Ticket's Bob Sturm, "You can just feel the love of Jesus coming through."
• As reported here first by the hardest working man in show business (me), it looks like we had a couple of suspensions in the Bridgeport High School basketball program.
• New governor Greg Abbott has declared today "Chris Kyle Day" otherwise knows as "There Sure Are A Lot Of People Liking That Movie So How Can I Pander To The Masses Day".
• What other elected official would do such pandering? Certainly, no one would go to Kyle's grave site yesterday and post a picture of it, would they? (For those who don't want to click on the link, it's that goofy tweeting Texas Supreme Court judge,)
• Former Dallas DA Craig Watkins sent out an email to his supporters asking for DWI clients. That embarrassing act of begging is a long way from being the champion of those wrongfully convicted. (Oh, and we learned his office as DA used the "civil forfeiture" laws to take a guy's truck who stole two cases of beer. I'm guessing it was a default judgment because the guy didn't know he had to file a written answer.)
• I'll have a guy comment every now and then who says, "You stole that off Reddit!" Dude, I can't remember the last time I went to that site. You ever heard of Twitter ? It's something that adults follow.  It's like a modern day UPI Teletype (look it up) for everything if you know how to use it.
• An (extreme) Tea Party rookie Texas legislator Tony Tinderholt has filed his first bill which would only allow DPS to take a scan of your thumbprints instead of all ten fingers at the time of obtaining/renewing a driver's license. (I didn't know they did that.) I don't have a problem with the bill, but I don't understand how he claims that is keeping his campaign promise of government "transparency". (Link also shows his "Hey, now" wife.)
• Big head-on wreck on FM 51 on Saturday between Slidell and Decatur. Odd that both cars were occupied by Weatherford residents.
• I finally watched my DVR'd Night Will Fall about the liberation of Auschwitz.  The documentary was average at best. The footage, however, was horrifying. I looked away several times.
• I also watched Flight over the weekend. You know, the movie where Denzel Washington plays a drunk pilot who flies a defective jet airliner upside down to save the passengers? Verdict: Pretty dang entertaining, a hokey ending, and an excellent depiction of the life of an alcoholic. Spoiler alert: No way he's being convicted for what happened due to the legal requirement of "causation."
• A Fort Worth police officer was shot last week and the city's worker's comp rep (who works for an independent contractor named CorVel Enterprise Comp) showed up at the hospital to ask questions. That pissed off the Mayor who fired off a letter which basically says, "Come to my office".  Research reveals that the Fort Worth Weekly had a scathing article about the company in 2013.
• Here's a chart on the deadliest drugs in America. Spoiler: You can go out and by #1 and #2 in Wise County today. The third one will require you to go to your doctor and complain about pain.
• There are going to be so many people run for the Republican nomination. I cannot wait. Example: Probable presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee doesn't approve of the gay lifestyle but he "doesn't shut them out" of his life just like he doesn't shut people out who drink or use profanity.
• Former SMU Law School dean was arrested for prostitution. Hey, unless you are picking up a hooker off the street in a sting operation, it is next to impossible to get arrested for prostitution. 

Our Wise County Judge

My only objection is that "quick weekend trip to Paris" line. (But I have the perfect wedding gift for him if he gets mad because of this post. I'll update later.)

Super Bowl Humor

I didn't care who won. But, man, how dumb was that.

But I would have paid big money just to watch the bettors in Sports Book in Vegas at that moment.

NBC's Super Bowl Pre-Game Show May Kill Us All

Everything about it is so cheesy and such a propaganda machine. I would go on another anti-NFL rant right now, but I'm just too defeated. It's almost enough to make me appreciate Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski because that means we are that much closer to Idiocracy. At least then it will be entertaining.

And for those who missed it: "And after everything that happened in the NFL this year, who would have thought Roger Goodell would still be here?" - Seth Myers during his monologue at the NFL Awards Banquet with Goodell being in the audience and the camera fixed on him. (Cued up here.)

Why I Love Jon Stewart

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

Sports Illustrated Is Rolling Out Its New Swimsuit Models

The second one is from Longview, Texas . . .

Not familiar with her? Me neither.

But.

Wait.

For.

It.

Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyer Sues Ex-Fiancee For Allegedly Sleeping With A Bunch Of Police Officers

More.

And we definitely need a photo of this gal. Her name can be found in the lawsuit included in that link.

Note to lawyer: Cut your losses and go quietly into the night.

Edit: An a faithful follower comes through. Hey, now . . .

That Kind Of Surprises Me

Mitt Romney tells supporters he won't run for president in 2016. http://t.co/BcSry2VN91 pic.twitter.com/if1v6482TW
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 30, 2015

He was sure sounding like he would.

Big Man With A Little Parachute

Actually the parachute looks normal. It just didn't act normal.

And I can't think of any greater panic than having to scramble to look for the cord to my backup parachute as I'm plummeting to an otherwise certain death.

Hey, are there places which let you parachute by yourself after a crash course, or does that not exist any longer?  Every parachute place for novices seems to be that tandem jump.

(You can skip to the 55 second mark.)

Kid, Just Be Glad That Wasn't Texas

We'd have you in Huntsville by the end of the year.

(And what does all that get the kid? A 25 cent plastic piece of junk?)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I confirmed yesterday that Decatur PD arrested a man for the Class C offenses of "no seatbelt" and "defective headlamps" on Wednesday night. (Actually I got a call from an irate person who said, "Can you believe this!?" I then looked the guy up to verify it was true.)
• It was odd that the cops couldn't immediately "confirm" the ID of the man killed in Sunset this week. (They could, of course, they just didn't release it.)  Trust me, I've had two cases over the last two years where officers in Wise County got a quick glance of a stranger in the dark and wear willing to swear who it was within two hours. (Both guys got arrested. Both cases got dismissed.) 
• A loyal reader posted a "Police Dog's Oath" yesterday.  I'm not sure those dogs all agreed to that.
• From the Update: "A memorial service for Pepper is being planned for next week at Grace Fellowship Church in Paradise."
• I'll admit I've never heard of the Meridian Highway but Decatur was a part of it and the Texas Historical Commission is celebrating it -- including an "outreach meeting" here on February 3rd
• Listening to every sports radio station broadcast from Radio Row at the Super Bowl has done something I didn't think was possible: It has made me believe that the non-profit and tax-exempt NFL is  even more corporate, corrupt and sterile than ever.  Hey, Mark Cuban is always wrong these days, but I actually hope his prediction from earlier this year is correct: “I think the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion. When pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they’re getting hoggy. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way. I’m just telling you, when you got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns against you.” 
• And The Ticket boys expressed their displeasure yesterday when comparing the current state of affairs to years gone by: Radio Row is less populated, potential guests roaming Radio Row (whose sponsor pay for the access) are just hawking stuff, face value of game tickets being $1,000, and the press conference with the halftime music guest has turned into a staged unfunny bit (only reporters from major networks or shows get to ask a "random" question -- which they probably paid for the right to get.)  And NFL officials confiscated two very funny one-tooth Mexican puppets at the Katy Perry press conference who had been hanging out all week. 
• And if it's greed doesn't destroy it, when an NFL player dies on the field from a hit, it's over. 
• 615 people died while confined in Texas prisons and jails last year.  I'm guessing most of them were those who are truly a threat to society: The elderly. 
• There was an Islamic prayer before the Fort Worth rodeo and people were upset about it? This State has done a tremendous job of embarrassing itself this week. 

Lived In Alvord At One Time

Wise Co.: Man who was killed after shooting K-9 Pepper to death and firing on law enforcement is Alan Alverson, 45. pic.twitter.com/216ctezSHs
— Monica S. Nagy (@MonicaNagyFWST) January 29, 2015

Wise County criminal history (he also had a robbery arrest in 2011 but the case doesn't appear to have been indicted):

Edit: The robbery was arrest to Assault. He was on probation for that at the time of the new incident.

My Eyes!!!!!

Its cold on the East Coast, but perfect winter weather in AZ, Just like my NYC Times Square pic, warm & inviting. pic.twitter.com/jWKrBbRf3R
— Joe Arpaio (@RealSheriffJoe) January 29, 2015

I thought this was a joke but it is real.

But I'm not sure why some "Arizona business owner" would pay for that.  But, of course, Sheriff Joe just has to be on the up and up, right?

Get Me This Dog Who Loves Tennis . . .

. . . or the Australian Open . . . or Maria Sharapova.  

A Story That Is Not A Story

I've seen this story popping up in places today and some people are expressing shock. A Texas lawmaker has proposed a bill that would allow teachers to use deadly force in self defense against students. And the bigger headline is that the bill allows deadly force to be used to protect school property.

I looked at the bill and guess what? It only says a teacher can use deadly force when any other person would be justified in doing so against anyone else under existing Texas law. It changes nothing. (You could replace "teachers" with "Republicans" and "students" with "Democrats" and that's the current state of the law right now, too. Hey, that would really get some headlines!)

What people should be shocked at is that Texas has for decades allowed for deadly force to be used in some situations to protect property.

It's "Texas Muslim Capitol Day" . . . And Some Don't Seem To Like It

Racism is alive & well at the Texas Capitol today. And it’s totally disgusting. pic.twitter.com/RFOpTYWshC
— Emily Ramshaw (@eramshaw) January 29, 2015

Freshman state Rep. Molly White, R-Belton, is not in Austin today to celebrate Texas Muslim Capitol Day. But she left instructions for the staff in her Capitol office on how to handle visitors who are, including asking them to declare allegiance to the U.S.

"I did leave an Israeli flag on the reception desk in my office with instructions to staff to ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws," she posted on Facebook. "We will see how long they stay in my office."

Story. 

What an odd, odd lady.  She's also had two abortions but don't want others to have that option. 

"Lesson Learned"

Random pic of Wise County Courthouse guestbook.

He might have come back to relive the moment and to send a message that things are so much different now. Good for him.