Too Many Cops -- Houston Version

The cops opened a fake modeling studio?

(Credit: Fake Justice Willett)

"Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?"

Someone mentioned this PSA from the 1970s yesterday, and I was able to find it. Pretty bizarre.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I've been somewhat in the dark about why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was so intent on speaking before Congress yesterday but I finally figured it out: He's in a heated election set for March 17th and the speech was broadcast in Israel.
• I had someone pretty politically connected tell me yesterday that if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down same sex marriage laws that some Texas county clerks might refuse to issue marriage licenses to gays for religious/moral reasons.  That potential had never crossed my mind. I mentioned that it would seem analogous to a Southern governor standing in front of a school house door after segregation laws were struck down.
• A Fort Worth police officer was arrested for DWI after going out Monday night. (And the Mansfield jail allowed him to exit out the back door to avoid reporters.)
• Bridgeport's basketball team won last night and gets the great joy of traveling to Lubbock for Friday's game as they continue their playoff run.  It's a story with many multiple angles if the metroplex press would pay attention.  
• Far right Republicans tried to block the funding of the President's "amnesty by executive order" action by not funding the Department of Homeland Security yesterday. They failed. Almost all Texas Congressmen voted not to fund it but one who did was Wise County's own Kay Granger. We might want to check her birth certificate because she obviously doesn't love America.
• Some think Speaker John Boehner scheduled the vote on the same day as Netanyahu's speech in order to distract the heat he will take from the Far Right for not strong arming the moderate Republicans into voting no. Not a bad theory.
• I was stunned to see that in a Wise County Criminal Case I'm handling that the officer, after the arrest, notified the arrestee's employer of her arrest and notified a licensing board of it as well.
• Someone in my office has Fleetwood Mac tickets for tonights show in Dallas. And an ice storm is threatening not to be a fan of their music.  
• What happened to all those stories about the U.S. Postal Service being in financial dire straits?
• My commercial-described-as-a-newstory-theory took a twist yesterday when the Ticket's Hardline spent an entire segment promoting a sport website with nothing but glowing praise and with no snark and no criticism.  Trust me, when Corby Davidson says, "It is so easy to navigate", there's a paid commercial going on. 
• Ferguson police officer email about President Obama's first term: “what black man holds a steady job for four years.” I told you having one of those .gov emails could get you in trouble. 

Update From The National Weather Service

My own high tech maps project it to start around 3:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Commercial Disguised As A News Story

I know I may be the only one bothered by this continuing topic, but it drives me crazy. In my opinion, Fox 4 was guilty of it a week ago and now I believe Channel 8 has done it as well.

Video here. It's just weird. A new "lip filler" drug? That can't be newsworthy. The name of the product is prominently featured and we even get to see "before and after" photos showing how great the product works. It is a glowing review. And there is not a single mention of any side effect which you would think would be a no-brainer in an news story. Wait a second. That may be what's going on. If a drug company advertises in print or on TV, they are required to bombard you with warnings required by the FDA. You've heard them -- they are almost comical.  But that requirement wouldn't possibly apply if a company could "convince" a station to run a "news" story about the product. Hmmmm.

I did a quick Google News search for the product and found on the first page alone that there are four other TV stations which have also presented stories about the product. That's a coincidence?

And it is interesting, although I have no proof the two are connected, that the WFAA medical reporter in that story above, Janet St. James, announced she is leaving the station today after nearly 19 years.

If You Need Any Proof That The Nina Pham Lawsuit Is Nothing More Than A Lawyer Publicity Stunt

Look at the lawsuit that was released to the press two days ago by Pham's lawyer before it was even filed -- a tactic which amazingly makes Gloria Allred seem like Atticus Finch.   It has graphics, quotes, and it reads like an article out of People.  Hey, it's been a long time since I've done anything but criminal law, but I'm pretty sure this pleading isn't made for a court -- it's made to get publicity.  And, sadly, it worked. Every local (and national) media outlet was sucked in.

I almost have more respect for those Texas Hammer commercials.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• It's amazing that the federal lawsuit over those ticket holders who did not get a seat at the Super Bowl in Jerry World has gone to a jury trial. Federal. Jury. All over that? The NFL lawyers yesterday told the jury that they are willing to pay for the cost of the tickets as well as all hotel and travel expenses. 
• I'm predicting a Double Not Fake Ice Storm Alert for Wise County tomorrow afternoon.
• Get ready for an insane amount of potholes. (Still love that "Because I'm a pothole!" commercial that has been retired). 
• I'm still not sure what I think about Hillary using a personal email account instead of a government email account when conducting business as Secretary of State. (It sure is big news this morning.)  First, if I'm a high ranking government official, I'm not using email for business at all. Secondly, the last thing I want is an email account that ends in .gov  (or co.wise.tex.us for that matter.) 
• Another police chase last night in Fort Worth with a twist. A cop car was hit as he was headed to the location where the chase had ended without emergency lights. "He stopped at a stop sign and then was hit by a car as he made his way through the intersection." Riiiiiigggghtttt. Injuries ensued. 
• The rescued Family Pup #2 will only walk to the left (her perspective) of the person opening the door for her to go outside. If you move to give her a lot of room to go to the right, she'll just sit there. 
• And there was kind of a disturbing moment with the pup over the weekend when I picked up a spare PVC pipe from the flute project, slightly popped it against my palm, and she took off running to another room. 
• It's behind a paywall (at least for me) but the Star-Telegram elaborated on that crazy murder/suicide yesterday in Benbrook.  A guy goes to an acquaintance house who was dating his former girlfriend. The homeowner goes to the door. Words are exchanged. For some reason, the homeowner fires through the door eventually killing the man. The homeowner calls 911 and then shoots and kills himself. And the woman at the center of this controversy was in the house the whole time.
• DPS just revealed how many new troopers it wants to hire for border security: 250.  And what happens once they are pulled off the border? You know they'll just be assigned to regular duty.  I'd go on my regular rant about Big Government and Too Many Cops but I think we are past the point of no return. 
• I've diagnosed my weird skin condition as an allergy attributable to new shampoo or an excessive amount of jalapeno peppers lately. Or leprosy. 
• Fifty-three Democrats will skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress today. 
• Question heard on the radio yesterday: Is Nina Pham the hottest woman to ever contract Ebola?
• The briefest and most unspectacular "brawl" in the Baylor/Texas game last night ended up with seven players being ejected. (I was fascinated by an assistant Texas coach who ran into the brawl and acted like he was trying to stop a prison riot.)

Grapevine's Fellowship Mega-Church Never Ceases To Amaze

BagOfNothing had a post a couple of days ago about the 25th anniversary of the Church of Bits and mentioned that someone could win $25,000. That certainly got me interested so I had to go and try to find out the details. Yep. a half court basketball shot. I think only five people were selected (probably based upon faith donations and not works) but I'm not exactly sure.

But how bizarre is this? I'm truly stunned.

And You Guys Yell About Jerry Jones Having Too Many Distractions

You know, I've got no problem with this. Cuban is slowly evolving into a bit. Coulter has always been doing a bit.  And those Sharknado movies are so bad that you can't even say "they are so bad they're actually good."

Yes, this pleases me.

I

Watch A College Kid Almost Get Crushed By A Collapsing Goal

My Favorite Stranded Motorist From Over The Weekend

Friday night/Saturday morning. Weather will not stop this girl from getting her party on.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I ran the Cowtown Half Marathon of Sunday (being caught off guard on Saturday night when they announced it was still on).  The initial part of the race took us through Trinity Park and the ice on the road was insane. After that obstacle course, it was pretty clear. Loved it. 
• It's been a couple of years since I've participated in one of those races and there's a huge change: At the starting line, it looks like Selfie City. 
• To get to the race I had to drive I-30 over Camp Bowie which is where only hours earlier an oral surgeon and two of his assistants slid off the road into a creek. He and one assistant died. 
• Something that should get more press: DPS, right before it asked the legislature to shower it with bags of money for more border security, completely changed the way they calculated the value of drug seizures to demonstrate what a great job they are doing. Overnight, they changed the value of drugs seized because of"Operation Strong Safety" from $181 million to $1.8 billion. 
• I've had a crazy rash develop. It looks like fingernails have been drug across my skin over a four inch area and then, within two hours, it will disappear completely only to show up somewhere else. And then disappear once again just as quickly. It's like a horror movie. 
• Good lord, I saw the headlines last night of LAPD shooting a homeless man, but I just watched the unedited video. (Very Graphic.) Have the cops lost their collective minds in the last two years? Deadly force is the last option. And nine cops can't subdue a guy living on the street? 
• I had the best time sledding on Saturday after we found a fantastic high and sloped hill. Watching kids doing that will make you smile. (And huge credit to the Family Unit for getting up early to go do it.)
• Nina Pham is suing Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas because she contracted Ebola. That's disappointing. (And for you civil lawyers, why isn't she limited to a worker's comp claim?)
• Brian Cuban sent me a tweet on 8:02 a.m. on Sunday telling me I should get a life since all I do is obsess about Sean Hannity and "his family".  Hey, buddy, I'm not the one sending tweets to strangers at 8:02 on Sunday morning.  (I would have responded but my life caused me to be in line for the aforementioned half marathon start at that moment. And why does he care about Hannity?)
• I mentioned last week that ESPN writer Ivan Maisel's son was missing. Check out this tweet from Peter King: "I once lost my daughter in a NJ mall for 3 minutes. Worst 3 minutes of my life. I so feel for the @Ivan_Maisel family. #FindMax".   He was summarily roasted for being tone deaf.
• Texas Republican State Representative Tony Tinderholt was so angry that a Travis County judge authorized the marriage of a same sex couple last week that he filed a (handwritten) judicial complaint. He got so many things wrong that it is laughable. Then I learned this man defending the sanctity of marriage has been married five times. 
• Finally watched the Modern Family episode "shot completely on iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2." I thought it was brilliant. 
• Facts are just coming in, but an attempted murder-suicide in Benbrook last night has to have a crazy back story behind it. 

I Mentioned I Separated My Shoulder A Few Years Back

I'll be dang if that BagOfNothing guy didn't find the video Mrs. LL shot that day and created a gif.  That's some X-Games type air I caught on that jump. I'm lucky I survived.

"Uh, Honey, I'm On Top Of A Mailbox"

Car slid down the hill. Cars cannot fit inside mailboxes. (Picture from Mechelle Stone in Southlake) #dfwwx #txwx pic.twitter.com/zZAAf2Yz8j
— DFW Scanner (@DFWscanner) February 27, 2015

RIP Spock

I've never been a big sci-fi fan, but as a kid I couldn't get enough of Star Trek.

Full obituary of Leonard Nimoy.

Wow: Fort Worth Traffic at 10:30 a.m.

Taken from Google Maps with live traffic.

I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like that.

We've Got Wise County Winter Wonderland Chaos!

Entrance to Decatur High School right now. 

Schools closing early.  Government offices closing early. Private businesses closing early (including Devon). Slick roads. Wrecks. Chaos. 

Thanks a lot, Delkus.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I've see a ton of things go viral, but nothing like the "What color is this dress?" yesterday. And it happened because all it took was for you to turn to a co-worker, friend, or family member and ask "You see gold and white don't you?" If you got a different answer, it was on. 
• Alvord ISD is closed today but was a little slow to pull the trigger on that announcement. Edit: Paradise ISD is closed with an even more of a delayed announcement. 
• Serious question: Looking out the window a second ago I saw that the snow was really coming down. Is the stuff that we see right now going to be tough to drive on? 
• DPS is looking to hire officers with two years of experience. You'll go through an eight week course instead of the normal twenty, and after a probationary period you'll earn over $71,000. One caveat: You'll be assigned to the border.
• Another school project last night: Creating a flute out of a PVC pipe. And I'll be dang if we didn't pull it off. (And it helps if the Junior In The House is a heck of flute player who can compensate for design and construction errors.) But have you ever drilled huge holes into a PVC pipe?
• There was a paid commercial disguised as an interview last night on Fox 4 News: Steve Eager had an in-studio interview with the head of some dietary supplement company called IDLife. It felt ridiculously like an infomercial. (And, oddly, right beside him was Troy Aikman with the caption underneath him that read "Investor/Company Spokesman.")
• And there is something wrong with Aikman. He's never been particularly the life of the party, but he seems distant and depressed in almost any interview he gives these days. I bet something is going on.
• Breaking news: At least nine dead in Missouri in a mass shooting. Oddly, it involves as many as "six crime scenes."
• I had someone who should know email yesterday to tell me Chad Littlefield's widow is out of sight because "she has put it behind her." Not exactly sure what that means.
• President Obama did not sign and executive order banning certain bullets for the AR-15. But the ATF is considering doing it on their own.  
• I sign up for the Cowtown Half Marathon and we get this weather? (It kicks off at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday so it should still go on. But the 10K is tomorrow and I'd bet it gets cancelled.)
• If Jeb Bush gets heckled at CPAC, he should use it in a campaign ad named, "See, I told you I'm not a nutcase." (And I love those CPAC speeches. Nothing like a politician going just a little too far because he's playing off of a rabid crowd that isn't exactly mainstream.)