7.23.2015

Dallas Morning News Expose On High School Athlete Transfers


I wonder if Bridgeport will be mentioned . . . . Uh, oh . . . .


And that's just the beginning. Full story.

Edit: And I don't know if the following was a response to the story by Hawks, but it certainly has a "Well, allow me to retort" feel to it if it is:


For Those Who . . .

 . . . don't care about America's Funniest Home Videos of guys being hit in the crotch, this news is heaven:


But, man, the AP youtube channel is an absolute mess. Almost all of the videos aren't labeled.

Maypearl, Texas Police Chief Arrested

Story.

Hey, has anyone seen TCU coach Gary Patterson? Even the towel is similar!


Trump In Danger! Forges On To The Border!



Be safe, buddy. There were THREE murders in Laredo in 2013.

Dallas Police Give Helpful Hint To Avoid Them Killing You



Bear vs. Idiot Woman: Who Ya Got?



(AP) - A male polar bear named “Blinky” at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage grabbed and badly injured an Australian tourist on Saturday. 29-year-old Sydney woman Kathryn Warburton had climbed over two protective fences in an attempt to take close-up photographs. Evidently, she encroached too close for Blinky’s liking. He leaned forward, grabbed Warburton with his paws and dragged her towards him. Warburton sustained a broken leg and bite wounds and has undergone surgery. 

OK, since she lived, I don't feel guilty for smiling when I saw the bear holding her tennis shoe.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts




  • While you were sleeping: Five people found stabbed to death in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and two teens are in custody.
  • Another crazy and random conversation last night -- this time about chloroform. Can you dab it on a rag and "knock someone out"? No. Can you buy it over the counter? Yes. (The family member who was googling all of that has set herself up for a false accusation if one of the other family member decides to go crazy with chloroform.)
  • I found some candy on the counter in a package and ate it. I then learned the Senior In The House bought it on vacation for a friend. That may have been my biggest Homer Simpson moment ever. 
  • I finally watched the Sandra Bland video, and I can't get past the trooper turning into a maniac after she wouldn't put out her cigarette. Why did he ask her to do that? Was this a DWI investigation? No. Did he fear it could be a weapon? No. He did it because he arrogantly thought he could demand anything. Give the lady credit (or at least we could if she wasn't dead) for standing up for herself. 
  • And before I hear from the "just comply with the police" crowd, think about this: The government stopped and detained an American citizen for changing lanes without signaling - the horror!!! The government told her to stop smoking. The government ordered her out of her car. The government pointed a taser at her and told her they would "light her up." The government physically put her on the ground. The government arrested her. The government put her in a cage for three days. 
  • She may very well have committed suicide while in jail. But, man, this is weird. She seems like the kind of person who couldn't wait to get out of jail because she would want to raise hell about that arrest. 
  • As I was falling asleep last night, I watched a portion of Gone Girl.  Oh, my. 
  • Someone emailed me about an underrated Natalie Wood movie: Splendor in the Grass.
  • Does the flag code apply to private citizens? Heard that issue come up on the Mark Davis Show, and he was so off base. If it is your flag on your private property, you can do anything you want with it. 
  • An assistant county attorney in Kentucky was fired after anti-gay and/or racist remarks because his apology letter used the always odd phrase of, "If I have offended anyone."
  • Trump is coming to the border today!!! Trump is coming to the border today!! Edit: It was just cancelled!! It was just cancelled!! Double edit: It's back on!! It's back on!!
  • I saw an obituary notice for Martha Hughes in the Update. I'm guessing that is the widow of the late Wise County District Judge and Fort Worth Court of Appeals Justice W.A. Hughes. (A Google search about Judge Hughes turned out to be shockingly frustrating.)
  • Denton police taser a guy on a motel balcony for not "backing up" as they subdue a naked woman. (That's  a crazy sentence.) I didn't know they could mandate an arbitrary distance.  Story. Video


7.22.2015

It's a Republican Thermonuclear War



Trumpin'


Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts




  • I had an impromptu (very random) discussion about Natalie Wood last night. I had forgotten that Christopher Walken was on the boat that she fell off of and drowned (or did she!?) Sadly, I was able to remember her last movie, Brainstorm, but then realized I have never seen Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without A Cause, or West Side Story.  
  • I explained the plot of Brainstorm to Mrs. LL, but this morning I looked it up and realized I had mistakenly explained the plot of Dreamscape.  I began to feel senile then it dawned on me that those are two spare movies which I saw one time over thirty years ago. 
  • Shin-Soo Choo hit for the cycle last night which again reminded me of how overrated that "achievement" is. Four home runs would be better. Four triples would be as well. Heck, four doubles is an equivalent number of bases. 
  • I've not watched the Sandra Bland traffic stop video yet, but I've heard the trooper gets aggravated because she wouldn't put out her cigarette as she sat in her car. (If only she had invoked Basic Instinct and said, "What are you going to do? Arrest me for smoking?")
  • But this may be the biggest news: "Texas Department of Public Safety authorities said late Tuesday they were looking into alleged edits to a 52-minute dashcam video of the traffic stop and arrest of Sandra Bland." First, I don't want DPS to investigate themselves. I don't even want the Texas Rangers (also DPS) to investigate it. Can we have someone independent without a law enforcement bias? And if it turns out that DPS edited a video and represented it to be true, DPS Director Steve McCraw should pay dearly. Edit: Here is DPS current position on the matter where they blame it on a technical issue. 
  • I find it absolutely amazing that people try to defend Donald Trump. (Radio guy Mark Davis is among those.)  Even if you have only a passing interest in politics, watch what is going on right now. I been preaching for years that demographics would be the death of the Republican Party on the national level. It is now coming to fruition at warp speed. 
  • I was told by a very reliable source that the Wise County Sheriff's Deputy accused of "improper photography" was actually charged in federal court.  I'm working on confirmation. (And, by the way, that seems prosecutorial overkill.)
  • While trying to confirm it, somehow I came across the DEA "legal notice" filed yesterday listing various money and property they have seized. It's shocking. 
  • Duck Dynasty: Cleburne Edition . . . 


7.21.2015

Random Look At Lifelock's Stock Right Now



But you promised me!!!!!!

(I actually don't own a dime of the stock. But a 40% drop in a stock in a matter of moments will get a guy's attention.)

Donald Trump Just Went Full Throttle Again



Pretty much called Rick Perry stupid, and gave out Sen. Lindsay Graham's phone number (at 2:30).

And To Think This World Once Needed A Genius Like Don Draper As An Ad Man

Can They Put A Barbed Wire Cage Around The Stage?


Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts




  • Over a week ago two people were shot and killed outside of an "after hours club" in Fort Worth named "Liquorville". What are the odds?
  • Donald Trump: Keep talking, buddy. If I'm Hillary, I'm sitting on a beach for the next three months as I watch the implosion on the other side. 
  • And I keep hearing Trump doesn't have the ready cash to keep the campaign going. Why does he need to spend a dime? He gets his message our for free. 
  • I'm slow to the news of Sandra Bland, but it sounds like we'll have some info today. 
  • Whatever happened to the case about the Wise County Sheriff's deputy accused of "improper photography" of registered sex offenders. The arrest was one year ago this month. (A civil case was filed against the county under cause number CV14-12-924 but it looks like it was removed to a federal court earlier this year.) 
  • As the Dallas Mavericks were getting embarrassed by losing free agent DeAndre Jordan, Mark Cuban was firing off hot opinions on an app he has invested in and constantly promotes. Twitter was full of screenshots of Cuban's comments from the app -- an app which has one job: Your messages should disappear into history. Oh, the irony.
  • You can buy the home of the pastor of First Baptist Decatur for $324,900.
  • Two greatest investments for hiking I've ever made: A trekking pole and Merrell hiking shoes. 
  • Dez Bryant gets a new deal for five years with $45 million guaranteed. You think that's a lot? It is. But consider that the NFL distributes $7.2 billion among the teams to start each year and that doesn't even count stadium/parking/concession/other revenues. Dez may be the best receiver in the NFL. Terrance Williams, by comparison, averages $750,000 a year. And his career will be over by age 30.