It'll Be A Little Slow Around Here: My Mom Has Passed Away

I found an old 8 mm home video a couple of years ago. It had been stored in a closet in my parent's home for years. That's her. I'm guessing it was 1960. I wasn't even born yet.

But as of today, it's even more wonderful than it was when I first viewed it.

A beautiful woman leans over and checks on her first born child,  pauses, looks at all of us, smiles, and then exits gracefully.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I've got an elderly gentleman who lives by me and speaks nothing but Russian. Whenever we try to communicate, it is comical. The other day I wrote him a note asking him if he had family or friends that served in World War 2 because I would love to hear about it (his family could interpret.) It was just fun to have him a note he couldn't read with me pointing at my brain and smiling (trying to communicate, "That's something I've thought about for years.")
• If I'm Mack Brown, I'd be TV analyst over the Texas AD any day of the week and that's a no brainer. Any coach which goes into TV almost never goes back. It's less work, less stress, and the money is great. 
• The drama in Rhome is really insane. Here's the Facebook page someone asked about. 
• Here's a photo of a Fed Ex big rig on fire this morning near Terrell.
• This will now abruptly end because of a phone call I just received. Family related. 

Keep An Eye On This Story

This investigation had to be going on a long time. And they moved this morning. Story.  I wonder what prompted that?  I just had a thought about a rabbit.

And this crazy post is based upon an unsubstantiated hunch. And also my belief that "nothing is as it seems".

Edit: If this makes any sense to any of you out there, email me.

Oh, My

Student dies after school bus falls off Houston overpass http://t.co/WuJ8LOnDwk pic.twitter.com/TU3B1Gv0Gg

— WFAA TV (@wfaachannel8) September 15, 2015

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

Girl In Trump Dress In Dallas

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

• Breaking: Charles Manson is dead.  Edit: At least The Ticket just said that but I'm having a hard time confirming it. Double Edit: We have a Monty Python like error. He's not dead yet. 
• Breaking Sports News: Texas AD Steve Patterson expected to be fired by UT President. (I still haven't read Chip Brown's article on Patterson from a couple on month's back, but when he was hired everyone knew he was pretty much a nut.)
• The crap I hear some lawyers tell their clients in the Wise County courthouse hallways is amazing. 
• I had one out-of-town lawyer come up to me last week and say, "Can I ask you a little legal advice?" That made me smile because it was brutally honest admission of "I need a little help here." But he had a basic (and very good) question about how a judge handles certain issues. I was more than happy to help him out. 
• I've always been a fan of dramas but it's funny how technological advances have quickly made made some past scenes seem silly. Tom Cruise in The Firm moving boxes and boxes of documents so they can be hand copied. Harrison Ford hitting the "PrtSrn" button on a computer as fast as he could in Clear and Present Danger. 
• I was talking to a guy yesterday about the details of "Load Left" -- one play in the Texas/Nebraska championship game almost twenty years ago. He remembered more than I did. Still the gutsiest call I've ever seen: 4 and 1 at your own 29 leading 30-27 with 2:39 left. You don't punt it, you don't try to draw them offside, you don't run it, you throw it with this result. 
• Man, those New York papers are brutal: Look what they did to Eli Manning after the loss to the Cowboys. 
• I actually made a lady spit out her drink last week when I told her, "I want to be cremated and shot our of a cannon from the Wise County bell tower. But with glitter added." (That was a joke I made probably two years ago, but I'm leaning towards actually doing it now. Anyone who showed up to watch would know I'd be smiling at that moment.)
• I think I see a demographic pattern in the photo below. 

You Should Have Taken Your Family To The Cowboy Game Last NIght!

Language warning.

Explain to me why you want to pay for outrageously priced tickets, outrageous parking prices, outrageous concession prices, and a crappy view just for the experience of that?

If Cowboys Stadium had been made out of stone, it would look like this in the future. There will come a day when everyone wants to stay away.

The Tarrant County DA Just Killed Me With Kindness

This came in the mail today. I spent a short period of time in the Tarrant County DA's office almost 25 years ago.

I've dogged the new Tarrant Couny DA, Sharen Wilson, mercilessly.  Even I thought I crossed the line a couple of times.

Well played Madam DA, and thank you for the photo.

This is how you handle critics.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I've been told I must watch John Oliver's show from last night and his segment about public defenders. 
• I can't wait to tell someone that they changed the channel with 1:30 left in the Cowboys dramatic game last night. (In her defense, I constantly rant about how I don't care about the Cowboys, and it didn't look like I was even remotely paying attention. That was a funny moment.)
• Trump packing the AAC tonight is truly amazing. I remember my dad asking me if Obama could win before his first election because most of us thought it was unlikely. But I remember telling him Obama had packed Reunion Arena a couple of months before and that made me believe it was possible.
• Rick Perry dropped out of the presidential race on Friday. I'll give him credit: He was smart enough to realize he didn't stand a chance and announced it at a time to get as little press coverage as possible.
• On talk radio, there has been an insane number of references to Periscope over the last couple of months. Of course, my paid-ad-disguise radar went off. I didn't think much of it until I was listening to a Mark Davis podcast from Friday where he and his crew were making their season Cowboy predictions. (Now that's bad radio, by the way.) Anyway, "Producer Rhonda" made her prediction and justified it by saying "Periscope is ... is... uh ... suggesting that [Orlando] Scandrick is coming back in two weeks." That may be the craziest thing said on radio. First, Scandrick has a destroyed knee and is out for the year. Secondly, Periscope is a live video app.  And Mark Davis' reaction was pretty funny. (8:30 mark here if you want to listen.) 
• Holy cow! This excerpt from the Dallas Morning News article on the Waco Bikers case: "[Sheriff Parnell] McNamara describes the county's criminal justice system as a close-knit Christian 'posse' of Baylor University graduates committed to 'putting away as many hard-core criminals as possible.'" I've said it from the beginning: The arrest of 177 people is going to turn into a disaster for law enforcement and prosecutors. 
• Sports: (1) TCU beat Stephen F. Austin 70-7. Soft schedule? Nope. The fact they played and won against a (probably) good Minnesota team means they could play Springtown and they won't be criticized. And I understand that. (2) Baylor's backup quarterback is probably better than the starter. But Art Briles has a crazy faithfulness factor.  If there is not a significant difference between Junior and a Freshman, he'll go with the Junior. That loyalty may be the secret to his success. (3) A lot of the guys from the Ticket traveled to Knoxville to see OU vs. Tennessee. I went to a game there once after watching the first quarter of an Alabama game in Tuscaloosa earlier in the day. That spur of the moment decision to do both almost killed me. (4) SMU playing TCU next week will be interesting.
• We had "rabbit" talk yesterday. From the origination of "when the rabbit got the gun" to the rabbit in Fatal Attraction to the family's failed rabbit experiment. 
• I've received a second video regarding Rhome (see post below), but it'll take me a while to get it processed and posted. 

Video Of Rhome City Council Meeting: Wow!

Here are screenshots of the video for now. I'm trying to convert the video, and I'll update this post once it is done.

This is not about physical abuse. This is about citizens being removed from a public meeting for the slightest of comments.

I know WFAA has the video. I suspect others will quickly be on it. But, as always, I could be wrong. However, if I had to bet, I would put money that the Chief is about to get his 15 (unwanted) minutes of fame.

What's one of my favorite sayings?: "This isn't so fun now that the rabbit has the gun, is it?"

Edit: Video is (or will be eventually) here. (Hey, media: Give Liberally Lean a plug, OK? I'm the hardest working man in show business!)

This is what gets my attention: The long time and respected City Attorney was let go at the beginning of the meeting . He gets up, and says a few words which can best be described as "words of warning." The audience stands up and applauds. You can tell that certain members of the city council are none to pleased with the crowd's expression of free speech.

And then Chief Davis makes an appearance. I have no idea if that was prompted by the crowds obvious opposition to firing the City Attorney.  That would be a response based upon the content of the the crowds as opposed to just being a slightly unruly crowd, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

But then I got to around the five minute mark when things started to heat up. Holy, cow!!!! Now someone in the audience makes a remark (technically inappropriate but not a violation of the law), and Chief Davis jumps in. That is intimidation. It's shocking, quite frankly. And for the Chief to imply that simply failing to comply with his demand to leave is "resisting", is flat out a lie or a complete lack of understanding of Resisting Arrest. I just wished those two people would have simply sat there and refused to leave. Who knows what would have happened.

I don't care about Rhome politics. I don't know anyone involved in this mess.

But this is a classroom study of freedom to assemble, freedom of speech, and freedom from being detained without a reasonable suspicion.

Edit: I've had a couple of inquiries about the other cop in the fourth photo. He looks like just be an innocent bystander in this deal and got sucked into a controversy that wasn't his fault. I don't even know his name.

I Know That's Not Representative . . .

Wow. Nasty Trump supporters in Iowa tear up a Latino protestor's sign. RT @GoodSam10 @DREAMIowa pic.twitter.com/G5R6H1lLe8

— ¡Gabe! Ortíz (@TUSK81) September 12, 2015

. . . of Trump supporters. That's really not the point.

My reaction after seeing this was that the prissy gal had no idea about the potential consequences for her actions -- whether deserved or not. To put it another way, she's lucky she didn't get her arse kicked.

Tragedy At Mecca

"Mecca is the birthplace of Muhammad and the site of Muhammad's first revelation of the Quran . . . . and a pilgrimage to it is a requirement at least once for every Muslim." I learned about it on the Discovery Channel, and I think every Muslim also has to touch that center structure at least once. It receives 16 million visitors a year. For the pilgrimage, they walk in a rotation and move in and then out.

Fascinating.

But today a crane collapsed during construction surrounding it. The result: 107 innocent people are dead.

Taking You Into The Weekend: Cop Embracing A Suicidal Man

Dad vs. Upskirt Filmer At Walmart (Neutral Field, I Suppose)

I'll admit that I'm disappointed. I would have bet good money* that we were about to be treated to "Rumble In The Jungle aka Aisle Nine".
__________
*Random Thought Without Googling: Where did the phrase "good money" come from?

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Never have understood the hand signs.
• Jerry Jones just had a second hip replacement a week ago?
• I heard a rumor that some kids at Decatur High School were having the lug nuts on their cars loosened without their knowledge.
• In August of 1994, when DA, I wrote a snooty letter to the County Court at Law Judge over who had jurisdiction of the jury room when there was a scheduling conflict: Me if I needed it for a grand jury or him if he needed it for a trial jury.  From time to time, his court administrator who is the same one, will reach down in her file drawer with the greatest smile on her face and pull out that letter to remind me about it. That happened yesterday.  That letter is 21 years old. And she must preserve it like the Constitution in the National Archives.
• A partial sentence from today's Update about a police chase in Bridgeport that will stop you down:    " . . .  turning down First Street and then driving down the railroad tracks until wrecking his vehicle on the tracks."
• As 9/11 was unfolding that morning, as all of our heads were spinning and we still weren't sure what was going on, my dad called me. I remember asking, "This is my generation's Pearl Harbor, right?"  I remember having a little hesitation before I asked the question because what could possibly compare to Pearl Harbor? He said, "Yes, it is."
• And does anyone else find it hard to believe that 9/11 occurred 14 years ago? 
• Baylor has not sold out its home opener tomorrow. Ranked 4th in the nation, defending conference champion, and the second year of the new stadium. Amazing. But there has been article after article of declining attendance of students and young graduates at college games. A couple of years ago I went to an LSU game against Washington -- everyone told me I had to see a night game there -- and there were huge open sections in the upper deck.
• But TV ratings for college and pro games continues to soar. I bet attendance at all sporting events declines over the years as the population becomes more and more composed of people who have always had smart phones, high def giant TVs, and constant entertainment.  Hey, I'm already at that point for Cowboy games. I received free tickets to a Seahawks game three or four years ago, and I'll never go again because it was such a beating.
• A 7 year old from Alvord in in the Update's obits. Anyone know anything?
• Trump is all about Trump. My new theory:  In the beginning, he thought he had no chance but could get on the debate stage and do a bit that would get everyone talking. And then after the free publicity, he would drop out with a rant about how politics are corrupt, "only for losers", and he has multi-million corporations to run. I still think he'll drop out with bang, but now there's a chance he could win the first  two or three primaries. If he drops out after that, he's an icon (for something) and truly an historic political figure. Heck, we still talk about Ross Perot.

Guy Robbing Gal Of Foul Ball

Wow. pic.twitter.com/IXfHjKXF1D

— Eireann Dolan (@EireannDolan) September 10, 2015

Boss move. Great accomplishment Great celebration. Brought back memories of . . .

But how about the gal cracking a smile instead of going into Angry Mode?  Hey, now!

This Is A Placeholder For Later: I Expect Gold

It sounds like he's appearing by phone, and I don't think this was announced previously.

Edit. Maybe it was scheduled and we didn't get the fireworks I hoped for. Just: "She failed miserably at Hewlett Packard. She failed at Lucent. … She then ran for the Senate; she lost in a landslide. Now she's running for president. I'm talking about her persona.”

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I was passed by five Bandido motorcycle riders on 287 yesterday. I'm pretty sure they all gave me a knowing nod of appreciation because of my continued rants against the Waco Bikers prosecution. Hey, how are those prosecutions working out down there?
• Donald Trump goes rogue again by insulting rival candidate Carly Fiorina: "Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?"  Will it hurt him? No. What have I always said after he does something like this? The people who love him still love him. And everyone else that was even remotely thinking about voting for him take another step back. 
• Huge kudos to Collin County for not being reckless on costs for the special prosecutors in the Texas AG Ken Paxton case. They originally budgeted $2 million (which is ridiculous). They then slashed it to $285,000 after reviewing the cost of the capital murder case in Kaufman County (where a DA, his wife, and assistant were murdered.) Now they are leaning towards $33,000. 
• I couldn't look at the slideshow at the funeral yesterday for Kate who died in her earlier thirties. I didn't know why because I've never had a problem with slideshows at funerals before. Then someone explained it to me: She was young. There should have been so many more slides. 
• And the pastor referenced below had a great message when he mentioned the program in our hands had Kate's date of birth and date of death printed on it and how they were separated by a tiny dash. That's typical. I whole lifetime represented in print by a dash. (He went on to talk about "your dash".)
• The Evil Empire may have an attendance problem next year if (1) they have a bad year, and (2) Charlie Strong comes back. Why: Ticket prices: A season ticket holder "said he was surprised last spring when he was told his $800 tickets in Section 31 would cost him $1,050 this year." You have to be pretty faithful to keep sending in money. There are 15,000 unsold tickets for the season opener. 
• The Kentucky County Clerk, Kim "I'm-Not-Issuing-Marriage-Licenses-To-Gays" Davis makes $80,000 a year plus benefits. (Credit: BagOfNothing). The population of that county is 23,477 -- Wise County is far more than twice that number. Side Note: How many marriage licenses to same sex couples could there possibly be in that tiny Kentucky county?
• Ebby Halliday was 104.  For an unknown reason I thought about Billy Graham. He is 96.

Get Me This Pastor Couple!

I just came from a funeral in Decatur where Rev. Ray Harmon & Rev. Wendy Harmon spoke for just a few moments. They came in from their church in Plano where the church meets in a movie theater.

I don't know anything about them, but they captivated me. And I'm guessing everyone else.

Heartfelt, earnest, and funny ("I've got a little ghetto in me"). And incredibly sweet.

Kate Fostel had attended their church over the last year. The female pastor, while giving a rousing message,  brought out a gift bag next to the pulpit and said that she had "a little something for the family". I promise, at that point, no one knew what to expect. What was it? A sign in sheet from their church's bible study group. An original from a past study. On it, was Kate's signature -- it was the first one she ever attended there.

Pass me the Kleenex.