Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Man, there are a lot ATM thefts in the metroplex, and a convenience store in Hurst almost was destroyed last night when one was taken from it -- that will happen when you just drive a vehicle straight into the store to break in. I'd like to be a fly on the wall when they try to get it open. (I think that was a scene in Breaking Bad.)
• Fox News' Bill O'Reilly was really odd last night when, in connection with the HIV announcement of Charlie Sheen, he called it "legal mumbo jumbo" when legal "expert" guests Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl tried to explain whether it would he a crime in California if Sheen had infected someone with HIV. (It would only be a felony if Sheen "intended" to infect the person, they explained, and it would be a misdemeanor otherwise. That's not exactly a high tone legal mumbo jumbo concept that's hard to understand.)
• The aforementioned Lis Wiehl is pretty hot. Fox News originated the Random Thought Girl being on screen while discussing politics. I just stole the idea. I apologize for this theft of intellectual property.
• Today I might file the most unusual Motion ever in the 271st District Court. And not only will it include an interesting constitutional argument, but I'm fairly certain it will also be the first Motion filed in the history of the United States which references the "Salami Theory" and the book Bonfire of the Vanities in footnotes. 
• Oil is at $41 a barrel. That's not going help the oil field come back anytime soon. It was at $105 in June of last year and at $144 in July of 2008.
• TCU dropped in the Playoff Rankings yesterday after escaping horrible Kansas on Saturday. Hey, win out and you'll be in the Top 4. The same goes for Baylor. But I don't see either winning out.
• I always get sucked into Lost in Translation. But I saw Bill Murray on Anthony Bourdain's CNN show over the weekend and he has really, really aged.
• Countdown to the random guy in a Lexus commercial who just seems to easily and without stress present his wife with a new car.
• I just saw a Black Friday commercial by NTB (National Tire and Battery.) I never thought of those products as part of Black Friday. Wait a second! Mrs. LL, I now know what you are getting for Christmas!! What's the PSI on those suckers on the Gangsta mobile? 
• Gov. Abbott wants to "re-screen" Syrian immigrants who have already settled in Texas.  Maybe that screening can take place in a newly created Texas Syrian Concentration Camp sponsored by Pepsi or Doritos. (He also gave someone a government job as "State Refugee Coordinator." It sounds like she has been a government employee for 28 years.)

And You Wonder Why The Supreme Court Has Decided To Hear The Texas Abortion Case

Story published this morning.

And consider the Syrian refugee problem where the Texas (male) leaders are attempting to keep all of them out -- even children. Does every life actually matter?

Baby Race! Who Ya Got!?

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• That was quite the storm. I'm not sure we've had a Family Unit Security Meeting in the middle of the night in the history of ever but we did last night. (Side note to Mrs. LL: Next time don't tweet about me wearing The Family Guy pajama pants with tennis shoes as my emergency protection gear. But it was a ridiculous look and that was comedy gold.)
• Pete Delkus spent this morning retweeting compliments about his performance last night. That is such bad form. And we didn't turn to Channel 8 once during the storm. 
• Three Texas universities are facing federal scrutiny over how they have handled sexual violence allegations. Trinity is one of them? You kidding me? Trinity?
• Great Ticket segment this morning: If you had the power to allow your dog to talk, would you? Answer: NO WAY! What a beating that would be.
• Texas attempting to (illegally) stop any Syrian refugee from living here makes perfect sense. I mean, Governor Abbott (who amazingly has made Gov. Perry look like Einstein) is worried about a terrorist attack, right? His policy would solve the problem. There's no way one of them could, say, move to Colorado and drive to Austin. Abbott is playing politics, and it is embarrassing. 
• And Mark Davis started his program off today going on a rant about anyone who would invoke Jesus as a reason to take in Syrian refugees. Since there exists the possibility that there could be one terrorist, "Tell me in the Bible," Davis said, "Where Jesus said you should risk your life" in order to show compassion for your fellow man? Oh, I thought about two verses in about one-half of a second: "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." 
• Do they still teach people to go to a particular corner of the house during a tornado? That never made any sense to me.  Once I saw the damage from the Wichita Falls tornado in the 1970s, I was pretty well convinced it didn't matter where you were in a house when every house you see for a mile was knocked off its slab.
• We've got another Wise County government office "closed for training". This time is will be for two straight days. 
• I would never debate Sean Hannity because he is the master or interruption and setting up straw men. But I've seen him schooled twice in the last week by two different guests. I never dreamed I would see that. (Here's an example of what he does: If he has a guest on that wishes to debate him about the no-waiting-period aspect of selling a handgun to someone at a gun show, he will interrupt him in the first minute with a question like, "So you don't believe a father has the absolute right to protect his daughters with a handgun when a rapist breaks into his home with the intention to attack his daughters?" The question has nothing to do with debate, the guest is shocked and taken aback, and Hannity then controls the conversation.) 
• Idiocracy: Donald Trump took a shot at UFC fighter Ronda Rousey after her (violent) loss on Saturday by saying he was glad she lost because she is "not a nice person." And since we now have Trump weighing in on a UFC fight, America is as close to President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho than ever before. And it is entertaining. Disturbing. But entertaining.
• Note to city council folks: Don't all show up at the same place in Wise County for dinner and sit at the same table. Even if you aren't talking about government business, it just looks bad and gives the appearance of an Open Meetings violation.

And To Think I Can't Fish Or Hunt Without A Licence

Twinkle Twinkie Twilight found safe. Has 10 sibs. Sisters Mariah Carey and Thumbelina. Mom to be charged. @CBSDFW pic.twitter.com/iEXfC5yEuW

— Dan Haggerty (@HaggertyCBS11) November 16, 2015

Breaking: Charlie Sheen Has "The HIV"?

Story

Just In Case You Think You're Having A Bad Monday

More.

Good Grief

Abbott: Texas won't accept any Syrian refugees in wake of Paris attacks https://t.co/37YxxVS05H pic.twitter.com/3CdfvNinbO

— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) November 16, 2015

And a state has no authority to not "accept" a refugee authorized entrance by the United States.

#Idiocracy

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• The attack on Paris on Friday was unnerving, and it appears that ISIS was behind it.  Wasn't the Middle East more stable when Saddam was in power in Iraq? Why exactly did we go after him?
• I think I've watch Pulp Fiction fifty times and another one was added this weekend. (And Mrs. LL pointed out things in the background which I have never noticed. For example, before the needle-in-the-heart scene there were two kid/board games in the background. Life and Operation.)
• It is Idiocracy when I wake up and my Twitter time line is full of references to one female beating another female in a UFC fight. (But, man, she wore almost nothing on an appearance on Jimmy Fallow where she basically predicted she would lose.)
• I stumbled upon a religious channel yesterday and saw Joel Osteen. He was doing his same bit. I will paraphrase his "sermon": "Are you having marriage issues? Do you have debt and creditors who are hounding you? Do you have a child which has lost his way? Have you lost your job and having trouble finding another? Do you suffer from addiction?" The people that attend his church, or any church that resembles it, are being conned.
• And later in the day I went back to the same channel and saw "Changing Your Life with Gregory Dickow". This guy was doing the same schtick as Olsteen but had it ramped up by talking about the power of communion and its "supernatural powers" as he quoted Bible verses.  It turned out only to be Informational to buy his DVD collection. I was so angry I called the number and left a recorded message. The guy is, in my opinion, a fraud and a snake oil salesman. His number is 888-438-5433.
• OK, Baylor lost. No excuses. But a one loss Big 12 team might still make the final four. (And I told you I had a very bad feeling about that Oklahoma game.) And I also said weeks ago that an Oklahoma team would win the Big 12. I'm a Sports Genius. A depressed Sports Genius this Monday but a Sports Genius nevertheless.
• I've mentioned this before but I still remember when I turned 18 that I went to the Bridgeport Post Office to fill out my registration card in case there was another draft. Vietnam had recently come to an end.  I handed the card back to the man and I asked, "Is that all there is to it?" He looked at me and with a stern look said, "You better hope so."
• There is an Amber Alert on right now for a child named "Twinkle Twinkie Twilight".
• Shout out to Community Bank in Bridgeport for the card you sent me after I opened up an account. You may do that for everyone but I'm assuming you don't. And special shout out to two ladies  -- that was a hard day for me.
• Mrs. LL emailed me on her trip to Indiana on Friday and said she just went through Effingham, Illinois.  Not only is that a funny name, but there was a family who moved into my Bridgeport neighborhood as a kid who came from Effingham.  And when I was DA, after they were long gone, there would be a crime committed in that house which led to a prosecution and trial which still haunts me. (And a lawyer in town as the front page of the Wise County Messenger framed and hanging on his wall.)
• So Dez Bryant drops a ball and doesn't make a decent effort on the last play. The explanation is obvious: Dallas the Monkey kept him up the night before.

Abused Bulls Taking You Into The Weekend

Nice Form Tackle

"It ain't so fun when the bull got the gun"

Things Just Got Real

#BREAKING: #SCOTUS will take up Texas abortion law https://t.co/tRCNiKA2ti pic.twitter.com/f33oWejRqR

— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) November 13, 2015

And the Pro-Life crowd can blame David Dewhurst for all of this because he was a political idiot. The legislation was passed based upon the premise of "women's health". That was a genius strategy. A court may, and still may, uphold the restrictive law on that basis. But after the bill finally passed,  Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst mocked the Pro Choice crowd with the tweet below. What he didn't understand was that he was telling everyone that the real agenda behind the legislation was to ban all abortion in Texas.

This was all part of the Wendy Davis night when she made a political power play that I blogged about. She eventually ended up running for a new political office -- but not against Dewhurst.

Yet Dewhurst was then defeated in the next election by crazy Dan Patrick. Dewhurst never saw it coming.

You have to be politically smart. (Speaking of, whatever happened to the "Stay classy, counselor" guy who used to show up in the comments?)

But what do I know?

We fought to pass SB5 thru the Senate last night, & this is why!  x#StandWithTXChildren #txlege pic.twitter.com/fJbQSJur7i

— David Dewhurst (@DavidHDewhurst) June 19, 2013

I Mentioned Cruise Ship Deaths The Other Day And Then This Happens

Woman goes overboard during cruise ship dance party https://t.co/YTNatc0Gth pic.twitter.com/HqawDLupbA

— CNN (@CNN) November 13, 2015

This is a crazy story. The cruise line spokesperson says it was "not intentional" and . . .

The incident happened on the first day of the so-called Mad Decent Boat Party, an electronic dance music event, as the ship sailed from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico.

On its website, the Mad Decent Party is advertised as a "crazy boat adventure...for four days of friends, fun, sun and non-stop music.

The cruise features performances by electronic dance icons Diplo and Skrillex.

What the heck happened? Did was she accidentally dance off the ship? How is that possible? Was she murdered?

Talk about "Turn Down For What?"

Donald Trump Goes Off On Ben Carson

This goes on for 9:00 minutes. It is all insane.

The first five minutes are the craziest political speech ever. If you watch anything, watch that.

And this man is the leading in the polls for the Republican Presidential nomination.

I think Trump might win the GOP nomination if he doesn't want to stop doing this bit.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I'll post the Donald Trump rant against Dr. Ben Carson in a few moments. That may be the craziest moment in U.S. political history.
• I told you I've been watching local morning news for the first time in a long time. I flipped over to Channel 8 this morning and saw the weather forecast where the guy was doing rain predictions for Sunday. For Tarrant County it was 2.62.  Think about that. The prediction is 2.62. Why not 2.624? Then they went to traffic and I saw a cop in full uniform giving me information about the latest crash.  Ladies and Gentleman, Idiocracy is not coming. It is here. 
• The only thing that would have made Dez Bryant's rant yesterday (see post below) better would be if his pet monkey, Dallas, had been on his shoulder and equally angry and doing a monkey scream. 
• I want to thank the players over in Bridgeport for the voter registration effort on the West Side. I grew up there, and the Hispanic community has been treated as second class citizens for years. 
• College Game Day will be at Baylor this weekend. That's fantastic, but I have an extreme fear about the game against Oklahoma later that night. 
• Mrs. LL is in Indiana on a high school band trip. It was a 16 hour bus ride -- with high schoolers. And people think I'm crazy?
• I mentioned yesterday that there are two 1-9 teams in the Texas high school playoffs. I rode the bench in 1978 for a Bridgeport team that went 9-1 and didn't make the playoffs. 
• There is an effort by the older Dallas Uptown residents to try and get the bars in that effort to be forced to close at midnight instead of 2:00 a.m. Good luck with that.
• There is the craziest story from Plano about a deer running onto a highway and going through a windshield of a car and ending up in the backseat. But the oddest part might be that when some local news stations show a picture of the deer, they blur out his face. (And wanted the deer to simply wake up. It would be right out of Tommy Boy.)
• I saw a former Tarrant County district judge (and a friend of mine since 1991 when we were both in the Tarrant County DA's office.) She was up at the Wise County courthouse when someone walked up to me and talked to me about a Random Thoughts bullet point that I had written that day. She said, with her great smile,  "I haven't read it yet. What are you pissed off about today?" 
• I had never seen the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary called "One Night In Vegas" which features a Mike Tyson fight and the murder of Tupac on the Vegas strip. I watched it last night. Good lord, that was good. 
• The crazy ISIS British guy, who somehow became known as "Jihadi John", who has beheaded people on video has been killed by a U.S. air strike. The Commander In Chief is doing his job. 
• Uterus transplant? . . . 

Breaking Cowboy News: Dez Bryant Went Off On Spare Reporter Jean-Jacques Taylor This Afternoon

Get ready to see and hear about this. Edit: When you know the great Deadspin.com is on it, we've got something to see.

This Guy Is Crazy

Vs.

This Guy's Twitter Account Once Posted A Message To

A Gal and Said He Would Pick Up Chicken Wings For Her In Exchange For A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' (He said he was "hacked".)

Who ya got?

Oh, and this guy was giving an interview and this is his reaction:

Cattle Trailer Overturns In Dallas And We've Got A Runner!

One got out! Heading toward 80 WB lanes. @NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/KK2w10eIX9

— Ellen Bryan (@EllenBryanNBC5) November 12, 2015

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I've taken shots at two Fox 4 morning on-air personalities over the last week or so, and I've heard from a reliable source that my information was wrong. I apologize.
• Mark Cuban giving interviews while on a treadmill (which he did yesterday) is one of the goofiest things I've ever seen.
• The high school football playoffs begin tonight and there are two teams with records of 1-9 who will be playing. (I think that the playoffs expanded to four district teams for at least some level and both of those teams are in four team districts.)
• "A Seattle jury awarded a Springfield, Illinois, man $21.5 million in lawsuit settlement after the man suffered a mild traumatic brain injury when he was hit by an automatic sliding door on board a Holland America Line cruise."
• I ran by Fox News last night and saw Megyn Kelly interviewing a "panel" of 20 of so "regular people" about their reaction to the debate. Their answers were so staged and scripted. What happened to Frank Luntz? At least when he conducted that exercise the answers seemed a little authentic.
• Dallas' Ceder Valley Community College with receive $2,452,567.00 from the federal government for scholarships for $6,000 scholarships which will go to African American men.
• Hot Political Opinion: John Kasich is the only chance for the Republicans to win the Presidency. He doesn't come off as a nut case and he could deliver Ohio. But Trump continues to lead. 
• Three planes were hit with a laser beam near Love Field last night. I suspect it was someone named Frankie who is now on his way to Hollywood. (If you got that joke, feel free to groan and lay out on me.) 
• Big Government? The Dallas City Council tweaked its decade old anti-discrimination law to make it clear that includes "sexual orientation" and "gender identity and expression." That's a city's right to do so. But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a statement calling it "misguided" and calling for its repeal. 
• Bridgeport's John Crisp was on Channel 5's news yesterday because of charity work in Bridgeport. 
• How would you like to Allie Beth Allman and get a call from Warren Buffett saying he wants to buy your real estate company? She just hit the $1.5 billion mother lode. 

It's Veterans Day. Let Get Out Of Here.

(Credit Bud Kennedy.)

I'm going to go home, sit on my sleeping porch, and read a biography of Jefferson Davis. (Source. There's even a fake Hal Jay laugh in there.)