Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Hillary is now almost guaranteed to be the nominee and Trump is "this" close.
• Someone explain to me how Oklahoma votes for Bernie Sanders over Hillary.
• Cruz beat Trump handily in Wise County. I'm a little surprised by that. 
• Lane Akin's 8,164 to 1,661 may be the largest percentage win in Wise County history. (That would be a great Messenger project. David Walker had some massive victories as did Phil Ryan. But, as I humbly bow my head, your's truly might be in the top five from an election in 1992.)
• Incumbent Larry Short avoiding a run-off is impressive. Whenever there are three candidates, it is incredibly difficult to get 50% of the vote.
• Example: The 16 year serving Tarrant County Sheriff is in a runoff because the vote was split between three candidates --- one of whom had dropped out before the race but whose name was still on the ballot. 
• The Wise County Democratic Chair vote was decided by eight votes. Eight. 
• Trump did great last night (Although Cruz is sticking around) but seemed very unenthusiastic in his post election speech. And Chris Christie behind him looked like Gob from Arrested Development when he says, "I've made a huge mistake."
• I walked into the bathroom last night to find out that Mrs. LL had gotten up and thrown up. And let me says this: Her aim isn't very good. 
• Average quarterback Sam Bradford may be the luckiest NFL player ever. He was in the last draft before the salary structure was implemented and signed a $76 million contract -- the highest rookie contract in NFL history. And yesterday the crazy Philadelphia Eagles signed him to a two year, $36 million contract with $26 million guaranteed
• Abilene Wylie beat Decatur last night to take Decatur out of the basketball playoffs. It is almost bizarre how Abilene Wylie, who only meets Decatur in the playoffs, beats them in the playoffs in almost any sport. But as for this game, it would be a little hard to deal with Wylie's center who is The 6’4” and 240 pounds. Good lord.
• There was a Euless police officer killed in what appears to be a nice park in the middle of the day during a crazy wild west shoot out. What the heck was that about? I'm telling you. People are acting crazy out there. 
• The female 7th Grader In The House when she saw The Ticket's Norm Hitzges on a TV commercial: "That's what Norm looks like?"  That girl has been subjected to too much sports talk. 

A Time Waste On Tuesday Just For Fun

That movie holds up over the years like no other.

I saw a documentary on it a couple of years back and learned that the director's initial idea was to focus on the "love story" between Danny Noonan and the girl but once they got back to splicing it together he discovered that it was insanely funny to focus on the other characters.

I still quote lines from this movie to Mrs. LL which causes a huge question mark to form over her head.

That's A Bold Statement

Campaign flyer sent out by the incumbent prosecutor in Johnson County, Indiana. (h/t @ConservaTibbs) pic.twitter.com/ILSSdNckSu

— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) March 1, 2016

Car Smashes Into Gas Pump In Arlington

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Man, Fox News dogs Trump constantly. But it doesn't have any impact.
• "More than 200 arrested in panhandling crackdown around downtown Dallas." That'll work. Just make the poor poorer and use government resources to do it.
• Justice Clarence Thomas asked a question yesterday in the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time in a decade. Side note: Having done several oral arguments over the years I can say they are very overrated and most Texas appellate courts have refused to even hold them except in rare cases. 
• There is someone who is running for the Texas Supreme Court who has the initials M.M. who is spending way too much money on TV advertising. That makes me suspicious of him. 
• Jerry Jones thinks Tony Romo will play four or five more years. I think it is possible he might only have four or five games left.
• I haven't felt that great lately so there was no way I could run the Cowtown Half Marathon. But I've ran 12 half marathons and have all the medallions hanging in my garage. In the middle, is a beaten down and rusted "District Attorney" metal sign that used to be in front of my parking spot. It was given to me by a maintenance guy when he put up new ones. Heck, that could probably get me indicted these days but I'm presuming the statute of limitations has run. 
• "Honestly, I don't think [Rubio] could be right now elected a dog catcher in Florida." - Donald Trump. 
• I wonder how many get upset by the state signs that say, "Vote here. Vote aqui."

In Case You Didn't Think Idiocracy Had Not Arrived

The Most Confusing Tweet In The History Of Ever

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I say it every year: The Academy Awards show is a beating.
• But a few weeks back I proclaimed Leo to be the greatest actor of this generation and now he gets his first Best Actor win. The Liberally Lean anti-curse continues. 
• Someone commented who represented themselves as a law enforcement officer and said they have "never" had a case referred to the DA's office with a request that it be sent to the grand jury where it did not happen. Tell me the county. 
• Super Tuesday is tomorrow and it can't get here quick enough. This could be historic. Trump!
• I was going to go to the convention center on Friday to go watch him but had to get a free ticket. I went online and found out that it was sold out. I'm sure I could have gotten in but didn't want to go through a beating in case I couldn't.
• Early voting is breaking records in Wise County and other Texas Counties. It is insane. Trump is going to win this thing. 
• I went to Home Depot and bought a mini fridge but found out I had trouble lifting it. I had to go get one of those low platform rollers from the garden department. When I went to the checkout counter, a very sweet clerk asked me if I needed help with it. For a guy who detests asking for help for anything, I had to concede, "Yes, I do." The disturbing part was the guy that helped me might have been older than me. 
• "SALT LAKE CITY –  A male who authorities say was wielding a broomstick was shot and critically injured by Salt Lake City officers Saturday night, touching off unrest downtown as officers donned riot gear and blocked streets and bystanders threw rocks and bottles." When Utah gets pissed, there's a problem. 
• Speaking of, Mrs. LL had me listed to two new episodes of This American Life regarding police conduct. They were fantastic and were right on point what I've been pointing out over the last two years. (I'll get the link.)
• This weather has given rise to some weeds of biblical proportions. 
• Bridgeport's basketball team, the defending state champions with "the big three" (Edit: Just two ?) being back for a second season, being booted in the first second round is shocking. What went wrong?
• Let me tell you, being on a kayak on the lake when the wind is not blowing is an experience that can only be described as glorious. 
• I had the dreaded "car won't start" and "call a tow truck" weekend. What a beat down. For you car experts, diagnose this for me: It will fire but it sounds like it is struggling to get gas. It will spend five seconds getting close and then peters out. That had happened several times over the last few weeks but eventually would fire up. When it did fire up, it ran like a charm. Clogged fuel filter? 
• I never watch an NBA game but even I can't avoid the sensational season of Steph Curry. 
• 'Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel hit up a Miami nightclub just 'hours' after Dallas police announced that his case would be decided by a grand jury." He's done.

Oh, My! Live From Fort Worth!

#BREAKING: @ChrisChristie endorses @realDonaldTrump for president. Happening now in Fort Worth. pic.twitter.com/SXA5wBYo5f

— Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) February 26, 2016

And those two dogged Rubio throughout this press conference!

This Man Is Full Throttle

Lightweight choker Marco Rubio looks like a little boy on stage. Not presidential material!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2016

Moment Of Silence, Please

McKayla Maroney (of vault and meme fame) is stepping away from competitive gymnastics https://t.co/BjJe7unuU2 pic.twitter.com/SY4mSv5q5i

— CNN (@CNN) February 26, 2016

Still one of the greatest pictures ever.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• There is a pot convention this weekend in Fort Worth?
• I'm always caught off guard when I see one of those huge windmill blades being pulled down the highway by an 18 wheeler. I did an extra double take last weekend when I saw at least 20 of them on a train along 287.
• Speaking of 287, it seems like every guard rail has been smashed into during the last two weeks. 
• I went to the fishing section of a sporting goods store yesterday and my head almost exploded. There are a lot of options between lures, lines, poles, reels and side equipment. I almost called Jimmy Houston.
• The Republican debate last night was insane. And insanely entertaining. It made WWE look tame. And I think Trump schooled both Cruz and Rubio (while the other two guys just seemed to sit in the corner).
• WBAP's Hal Jay, Brian Estridge and a CBS political "expert" thought Texas was a "winner takes all delegates state" this morning. Incredible. How do I know that's not correct when "professionals" don't? 
• Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that he would "live tweet" the Republican debate last night.  I got my popcorn ready. Then he sent out two boring tweets over the next two hours. 
• I watched a very clear Wise County DWI video yesterday which was taken via body cam. The driver was a crying girl and at times I felt like I was watching The Blair Witch Project because she was so scared and her face filled up the screen.
• There are no local political ads more pandering, and more right out of the 1980s, than those of Charlie Geren. 
• I stand behind my Erin Andrews comment from yesterday, but some of you guys seemed to be a little uptight. It's just a nude body. A hot nude body, by the way. And she wasn't doing anything wrong during the secret filming. It wasn't right what the guy did, he was a stalker and a pervert, but why the horror? If someone wants to secretly film me naked, I'd be honored instead of offended. (Although the filmer would probably end up offended.)
• The Dallas police are referring the Johnny Football alleged misdemeanor assault case to the grand jury? There are so many things wrong with these news reports. First, cops don't refer cases to the grand jury -- it has to go through the DA. Secondly, grand juries have the right to review misdemeanors but 99.9% of the time they review felonies only. (There is some passing of the buck going on here.). Thirdly, if the victim truly has a ruptured ear drum, it's a felony case because of the definition of "serious bodily injury" (especially after the way it was interpreted last week by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.)
• Remember my tweet about the water supply yesterday? Well, now Jackson, Mississippi has issued a warning about their water. 
• The Republican debate started with the National Anthem last night. I've asked this many times: When did the hand over your heart thing begin whenever it is played? That was not the case when I was a kid. You did it during the Pledge of Allegiance but not during the National Anthem.
• I still wouldn't let Ben Carson operate on my brain. He might be a genius surgeon but he comes across as someone who has no clue of how to get to a local 7-11.
• Being a presidential candidate would be a beating. The travel alone would kill me.

Greatest City Council Meeting In History Of Ever

I have no idea what this is about other than a guy accuses a mayor of having an affair with his wife. It's hard to understand because of the thick accent. Jamaican? The mayor denies it (in the deepest voice ever) by saying, "I don't know this man!" But there's another council member which keeps calling him out like nobody's business.

Every Messenger reporter who gets beaten down with council meeting prays for things like this.

I'm probably over-selling this but I love the "Oh, no you didn't!!" moments from the audience.

(It's long but pretty dang entertaining.)

I, Robot. I, Now Insane.

This Might Be Over: Trump!

Story. And Florida is Rubio's home state!

This delegate gain is more complicated than it seems. Florida is a "winner take all state" which is huge for Trump. That's critical. In Texas, where Trump and Cruz are neck and neck, the rules are different. (Texas splits up the delegates based upon the percentage of the vote -- with some weird rules thrown in.)

Guy Casually Injects Heroin On A Bus

Dramatic video of male shooting heroin and being saved by Ofc Matt Rugh using Narcan. pic.twitter.com/N0gWdantrJ

— Upper Darby Police (@UDPolice) February 23, 2016

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• This struck me as odd: A Dallas Uptown organization is paying Dallas police for extra patrol. Huh? I understand an off duty cop being hired by a single bar for security but an organization is paying for just general patrol on the street? Isn't that the job of the police in general?
• There are Crime Stopper meetings in Wise County where you can learn the balance of the Crime Stoppers account? (That's based on a comment yesterday.) And a question: Is Crime Stoppers a private or public organization? And who is in charge of that account in Wise County?
• Weird story: A Rangers pitcher sued Victoria's Secret for not getting what he paid for in his VIP package at a convention.  He had paid nearly $70,000. 
• How in the world is reporter Erin Andrews going to claim damages in her lawsuit against a hotel for lack of security after a guy filmed her nude through the peep hole? It's the greatest thing that ever happened to her career and made her even more famous. Then again, as a defense lawyer for the hotel in that case, that's a dicey argument to make. 
• "When Justice Antonin Scalia died 11 days ago at a West Texas ranch, he was among high-ranking members of an exclusive fraternity for hunters called the International Order of St. Hubertus, an Austrian society that dates back to the 1600s . . . . Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark green robes emblazoned with a large cross . . . . " Conspiracy!!!!!
• I would like to announce that I wish to form the International Order of Liberally Leaners where we all fish for crappie while we wear bright robes with the image of Speedo Man on the back. And women, you will not be excluded.  #PossibleCampaignSlogan? #ButTooHardToPutOnBumperSticker #DangIt
• Is everyone on here an English teacher? Good lord. I get kicked in the crotch before 9:00 a.m. every morning. I'll say it for the millionth time: I bang this thing out at rapid speed every morning writing about anything that caught my attention or anything that happened in my life. I then hit "Publish" and get to work for my actual real job. I'm not submitting these things for a Pulitzer Prize.
• I had a blog post below about a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge who (with judges who joined) started his opinion with a quote from The Wire. That crazy Justice Willett is causing all of them to start doing bits.
• Wanna feel old?: Ferris Bueller's Day Off came out 30 years ago this week. And when Ferris sang Shake It Up Baby, the song was "only" 23 years old at time.
• WFAA is reporting that Trump is now tied with Cruz for the Texas vote. This is insane. 
• A guy once told me that once the kid in your house gets a driver's license you will initially be scared to death. Then you will realize that you life has become so much easier because she will become the taxi for the younger one. True that. 
• I dropped the 7th Grader In The House off at school for indoor softball practice yesterday at 5:50 a.m. (The taxi doesn't work that early apparently.) If allergies don't kill me, that routine might.
• I've had Matchbox 20's These Hard Times stuck in my head for the last three days, and I can't think of a reason why. 
• There is nothing funnier than seeing the First Dog In The House go up to the 22 Pound Fat Cat and look at her inquisitively only to see the Fat Cat, with no fear, haul off and slap her upside the head.
• Snake Eyes is an underrated movie. My favorite scene is when Nicolas Cage mockingly and sarcastically holds up his hands and (I'm paraphrasing) says, "Shut the whole place down! It's a crime scene!" I do that from time to time when Mrs. LL gets on to me. One of these days it might turn into a crime scene when she kills me for doing that bit.

The Texas "Crime Stoppers" Mascot Will Haunt Your Dreams

Meet Crime Buster the @TexasCS mascot. @CrimeStopHOU #TxCSConference pic.twitter.com/YNN1TCSWCn

— Michelle Sacks (@masacks) February 24, 2016

By the way, I've asked this before: What is the balance of the Wise County Crime Stoppers account since everyone on probation has to pay $50 into it, and I've never heard of a dime being paid out.

Ann?