Liberally Lean From The Land Of Dairy Queen

8.15.2016

Theology 101 Final Exam: Discuss

(I haven't figured out who the pastor is yet. Vegas says the odds are on Robert Jeffress.)

In Case You Missed It

I saw this Saturday, and I'm still stunned by it. That gal and Fido were on the fast track to the watery and pearly gate but for this hero.

You may have seen the short version. The full version above is even better.

Made Me Laugh Last Night

I don't know what was tougher for Usain Bolt. Holding off Gatlin or showing this guy how to properly take a selfie pic.twitter.com/y5K0A6XL0t
— Reno Boyd (@Reno_Boyd) August 15, 2016

"See. You take the phone. You turn it around with the screen towards you. Push this button to flip the camera view. Sheesh. Do I have to do everything for you people?"

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

The Trump-Not-Releasing-Tax-Return controversy is perfectly timed. And it was prompted by Hillary releasing her returns.
Trump is now blaming the press for his woes . . . .
I don't know why Fox 4 News keeps promoting "YouTube sensations Brooklyn and Bailey" but their audience can't be interested. I'm not.
Last night I learned a group of people came out to the Trinity River near downtown Fort Worth to honor two guys who drowned. What got my attention was that they were part of the "DFW Kayak Fishing" club where its leader referred to them as a "brotherhood". Looks like I'm going to be joining a gang so you boys need to tread lightly in the comments from now on.
Had the ol' "drop off the kid at college" weekend. The whole experience is weird.
Not as weird as having a flat tire on I-20 after dark in deep East Texas on the way there.
I can't drive through Hooks without thinking that Barry Switzer came there to recruit Billy Sims. I didn't see any signs for Sims, but I did see one for this gal:
I have a question: Why can't this plane fly itself? Seriously. The thing costs $148 million.
Per the Messenger, there looks like quite the budget battle in Wise County government as the plummeting of mineral values causes a crisis. A few positions have been eliminated -- something that never happens in local government. (One official said every county employee should have their salary cut by $5,000 to solve the budget crisis.)
Did you know the county has paid for a full time secretarial position at the DPS office in Decatur for thirty years? Side note: There are 38 troopers assigned to that office. Source. Edit: Link fixed
The death of Sgt. Craig Hutchinson of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office was ruled a suicide. Round Rock police who investigated the incident announced their findings at a 3:00 p.m. on Friday press conference -- the time when you want to bury news.
More trouble at the Waco DA's office: A DWI prosecutor and Baylor grad was arrested for DWI.
Paula Jones took a selfie with Trump in the background:
Let's find some parking by the Coliseum for the Dallas/LA preseason game on Saturday . . .
Let's check on the men vs. women press coverage:
Crazy helmet that Air Force will wear on September 10th:
I caught the first episode of Hard Knocks. I get sucked in every year.
The Dallas Observer went hard to find out if Dallas DA Susan Hawk has been paid during her absences. No one in government will tell them. That's amazing. (Loved this line about our perceptions of Hawk going in: "Surely this sharp, affluent-looking, young (white) professional couldn’t be a junkie or a nutcase.")
I don't trust swimmer Ryan Lochte and he was less than convincing in the recounting of his alleged robbery in Rio to NBC News.

8.12.2016

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here.

Rate This Proposal

Remember That Judge In The "No Pants" Courtroom Appearance Case?

Well, she's back in the news. This time she lets and inmate hold his newborn son.

Trust me, stuff like that is a sometimes a better wake up call to "get your crap together" than being put in a cage.

"I'll take the inside. It seems safer."

You, literally, had just one job. pic.twitter.com/46LQTENBEB
— Srijandeep Das (@srijandeep) August 11, 2016

What Do You Score That? 1-U-4-3?

This is the craziest double play I have ever seen https://t.co/QzXhQuhqKH
— Kent (@RealKentMurphy) August 12, 2016

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

I own these socks (but not the tennis shoes -- although I did have a pair of those sweet Converse back in the day) . . .
"I figure it is probably, maybe the only way I'm going to get to heaven. So I better do a good job." - Trump on winning the Presidency. I've just been thrown into Theological Confusion and an Ethical Dilemma.
I just discovered that Decatur will play a regular season high school football game in the new indoor practice facility of the Cowboys in Frisco. That's cool.
Hell or High Water looks good. But it looks like No Country for Old Men. If I hear a trailer that mentions Midland, Odessa, or Abilene I suddenly get interested.
"I get banned for not liking Bush and now Trump can practically put a hit out on Hillary and he's still all over country radio! Hypocrites!" - Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks.
It's August and still no trials in the Waco Twin Peaks' biker cases and the Montague County DA has still not released records to the Messenger regarding the shooting of the Wise County drug dog.
I'm not sure the last time I remember multiple days of rain projected in August.
A three year old boy was injured when he fell from a roller coaster in Pennsylvania. What's the world coming to when a three year old can't ride a roller coaster?
The NFL won't let Dallas players wear a decal supporting Dallas police in the regular season. This is the way it has always been: If the NFL can't make money off of something, they ban it. (Case in point: Get your official NFL pink breast cancer gear right here.)
Oldest player in NFL: Kicker Adam Vinatieri at age 43. To put that in perspective: Bill Clinton was in his first term when Vinatieri entered the league.
There was a high speed chase that dominated the local news yesterday afternoon. How did it end? He stopped. Obeyed orders to get on the ground. And the cops simply walked over to him and handcuffed him. Simple as that.
With the approval of a $175,000 legal bill yesterday, the City of Dallas has now spent $400,000 and climbing on fighting the Exxxotica Convention.
Airing up a tire is tense. (I think that goes back to a 60 Minutes episode decades ago where there was a story on truck tires and defective rims. They would explode sometimes while being aired up.)
A taxpayer funded investigation (which must be labeled a "sting") in El Paso by the FBI and "the [state] Office of Inspector General - TDCJ and other law enforcement agencies" nets the arrest of six people who worked for taxpayers for allegedly -- wait for it -- falsifying records. The case will now go forward to those paid by the taxpayer who work in incarceration, prosecution, and the courts. The economic impact will be greater than the criminal justice impact.

8.11.2016

It's Game Time In Arlington

Yep. Actual photo.

From Last Night

Nacho, nacho man. I want to be a nacho man. 😂
(via @MLB) https://t.co/HKfDTT2GJB https://t.co/aCuJ9LCquD
— SB Nation (@SBNation) August 11, 2016

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

The Rangers have a day game today with the start time at 1:05. That may be the closest that game time and the temperature are equal to each other in Ranger history.
The Alvord Watermelon Festival has a theme for its beauty pageant. Do we have a Bum Steer candidate? . . .
Eighteen year old Malia Obama was seen allegedly smoking weed in Chicago where it is legal? Oh, the horror! (The boys on WBAP thought the Secret Service should be held "responsible" for "contributing to the delinquency of a minor." Seriously.)
I feel sorry for the husbands having to listen to them. Can you imagine that chatter? . . .
This may be the first presidential election in history where the goal of the candidate is to keep the focus on the other candidate.
I didn't watch any of The Bachelorette but Mrs. LL might have received her doctorate in What-Will-JoJo-Do. JoJo and her new mate will live in ~~sin~~ a 1,547 square foot home on the M Streets in Dallas.
New Time magazine cover . . .
By the way, Trump called the President the "founder of ISIS" yesterday.
Dallas County Commissioners gave themselves a raise to $157,111. I've said it for years: Somewhere along the way government jobs became better gigs than private sector jobs.
The Air Force has a pilot shortage? Easy solution: Just remake and release Top Gun on Snapchat.
The AP released its Texas high school football polls yesterday. No Wise County school made any divisional Top 10. In fact, no Wise County school received a single vote.
If you show up for jury duty in Dallas County, do you know who you'll see in the instructional video? Fox 4's Clarice Tinsley. Can you imagine the life force being drained from the general jury room when that video begins to roll?

"Am I here to help you? Yes! Just label me . . . 'Guilty'!"
A random post on the official and public Texas prosecutor message board probably is a great way to screen out potential applicants. Bad mouth my office in public and then ask for a job? Riiiiiiight. (Not to mention that any prosecutor opening gets a million applicants these days. You aren't exactly in a position of power if you are a lawyer looking for a job these days.)
Any one can allege anything in a lawsuit, but a prominent professional calf roper from Decatur makes the front page of the Star-Telegram today.