Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• There was lots of discussion yesterday about "fake news" stories (or at least their headlines) which were rapidly passed around Facebook and Twitter and even published by Google News over the last few months.  They were both on the left and the right. And I've even seen some people even regurgitate the false reports in the comments here. The frightening thing is that the fake news is so easy to spot. 
• What happened to the big sign at Grace Baptist in Decatur? It looks like it was destroyed and cleaned up (right around the same time as street construction was going on all around it.) 
• Lakewood's Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas has basically split from the governing Baptist organizations by voting yesterday to grant full membership to LGBT. Here's a question: What happens if an openly gay guy professes Christ as his savior and asks for membership in a Wise County Baptist Church which is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention?
• I should have known about the possibility of Trump's victory when I talked to a client who lives in New Jersey two weeks ago and he told me, "I can't believe she might win."  Did I mention he was from New Jersey?
• Mark Davis said on his radio show that he had to stop himself four or five times over the weekend to remind himself that Trump won.  I have finally reached common ground with the man. 
• Trump weighs in this morning on the "you didn't win the popular vote" narrative.
  
• Side note: Did he mean Texas instead of Florida?
• Hypnotized?
  
• John Battaglia is back in court to determine if he is mentally competent to be executed. (Writing that feels really weird.)  It was a horrific crime that occurred near Deep Ellum -- and right along the path of the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. And death row has aged him: 
  
  
  
  
• One of my many ex-wives was fascinated with that case.
• With the Texas Legislature about to fire back up, it's time to remember that Bedford Rep. Jonathon Stickland is crazy. 
  
• I wonder what BagOfBaylorHate BagOfNothing thinks about the recent "success" of private Baylor University. 
• Rudy Giuliani is the rumored first pick for Secretary of State? Sid Miller for Agricultural Secretary?  Now that should be fake news.
• Executive Decision (much like Die Hard) is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. It was on this week, and I recalled that one of the stars was Marla Maples -- ex-wife of Donald Trump.
  
• Shout out to the guy who chewed me out yesterday for not giving a "spoiler alert" before I "ruined" the ending of twenty six year old Presumed Innocent. Quality comedy.

RIP Reporter Guy

Dick Oliver (right) was part of one of the greatest viral videos in history when he got into it with an anchor. He has passed away.

P.S. How long before Fox 4's Steve Eagar starts acting like the guy on the left?

"Uh, I Thought You Paid The Bill"

Our phone lines are down, if you need to contact us, please call the Wise County Sheriff's Office at 940-627-5971. For emergencies dial 911

— Decatur, TX Police (@DecaturPD) November 14, 2016

Watch A Police Chief Speed

"And you won't believe what happens next!"  Well, not exactly.

In dashboard camera video taken Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, Brinkley Police Chief Ed Randle, is seen being stopped by an Arkansas State Police trooper after reportedly traveling at speeds that approached 100 mph. He was not issued a speeding citation.

Frankie The Amatuer Weatherman Predicted New Zealand's Earthquake

Published October 21st:

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• My head is spinning after seeing Trump on 60 Minutes. I keep hearing the words "softening his stance" this morning. Folks, we have no idea what we have gotten. 
• And someone needs to take away his Twitter account:
  
• If there is no directive, may a person be cremated after death? Who decides?  
• I told you it was not out of the question that OU makes the final four. They crept closer this weekend.
• Nothing stops me down as much as when I hear someone use the phrase "speaks volumes."
• Buried in the Messenger this week was a story about Wise County taking over maintenance of what is the equivalent of the long driveway going out to NRS on 287. One of the justifications was that it needed to be done before TxDOT would ever build a bridge over 287 at that location. You kidding me? There is no way there will be a bridge there nor is there any need for it. We've got a death trap along 287 at 1810 and there is no bridge there.
• Who is leaving the Fort Worth Court of Appeals? That has to be the age reference. 
  
• Presumed Innocent, after all these years, is still really great if you are in the criminal justice business. It starts with a prosecutor saying if you don't have the courage to point at a defendant then how can you expect a jury to have the courage to convict. And the judge at one point tells the jury just because the State says it is so doesn't make it so (my favorite moment). It ends with the judge entering a verdict of not guilty because no "reasonable juror" would be able to do so -- the correct legal standard.
• In a little watched college game, the coach of the university of Hawaii had the benches removed from his sideline during halftime. He didn't think his players even earned the right to sit down.
• I hate the Mannequin Challenge. 
• If someone condescendingly says, "We live in a Republic, not a Democracy!" I'm guessing that's about the only thing they know about government. 
• I haven't ranted about Dennis Prager in a while but on Friday during his very odd "Happiness Hour" he told his listeners to never be as high as a 10 because you'll get as low as a 0. Instead, we should never go higher than a 7 or lower than a 3. He's a simpleton. 
• This actually makes sense. That "pastor" has lost his way.
  
• There was a crazy Saturday Night Live skit in 2015 which actually involved the real Donald Trump and his proposals (complete with a fake Mexican president handing him a check for The Wall.) It's almost like he didn't believe he would ever win. And I'm not sure he did at the time. I'm still not sure he completely believes it now.
• Shout out to the former Decatur resident and former member of the Baylor Board of Regents. Decatur High has a very, very good kicker with a great academic standing. Baylor will need a kicker. (Assuming we will able to get close enough to try a field goal.) You still have connections?
• A story which was well covered but not talked about enough was the JV football player from Joshua who died after a "hard hit." Man, I'd be scared to have sons who play football.
• 
  
•                            
• Some say that the Clinton photo from Friday of her just happening to run into someone in the woods was staged. I bet it was. 

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

Trump voters on election night expecting to 

lose and get drunk. But realize they won.

A re-enactment of my live election night blog

Me versus reality on election night.

 Me going to bed on election night. 

The cup is a metaphor for the country.

Ann. Oh, Ann.

Without fat girls, there would be no protests. pic.twitter.com/Qmd7XE0CJC

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) November 10, 2016

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I had one guy list all the things I've been wrong about lately. I told him I might go all George Costanza and do the exact opposite of every thought I have. His response: "I'm way ahead of you."
• Yesterday we had the first Wise County Bar Association in years with over forty in attendance. There's something very funny about one of the speakers mentioning ALL CAPS guy and how he was hoping a check would have been exchanged at the meeting. And he actually said "all caps guy."
• Shout out to First State Bank and Andrew Rottner for hosting the meeting and buying lunch. (The man who has received more publicity photos in the Messenger over the years than anyone else now has used his super human persuasion powers to get free publicity on Liberally Lean. ) 
• Think someone got to Trump? His tweet last night compared to what he said this morning:
  
  
  
  
• I do not understand this. The guy does crazy bets like this one all the time. For purchases over a $2,000, he allowed customers to bet on either Clinton or Trump. If you won, you got all your money back. How in the world does he make any money? 
  
• I was wrong about the first Wise County Republican being Todd Durden. Two years earlier in 1994, Judge Melton Cude was the first one to switch parties and win an election.
• I heard the phrase "navel gazing" the other day. It means to be over-contemplative with your own thoughts. I had never heard that in my life.
• This from a sitting judge on Texas' highest criminal court in Austin. I'm stunned the guy, especially a veteran, didn't put on a suit for the moment when he is sworn in.
  
• Do you think Sarah Palin is sitting back and thinking she could have won? Heck, she might have. 
• Trump got 86% of the vote in Wise County. You can't get 86% of any group to agree on anything. And I run a blog named Liberally Lean in that county. 
• There's a very uncomfortable narrative going around that the more educated voter voted for Hillary. Example: "Former Texas state senator Wendy Davis says Donald Trump won Tuesday’s election thanks to an 'under-educated electorate'." To make it more uncomfortable, it appears to be correct: 
  
• When it is all said and done, it looks like Clinton will receive almost two million more votes than Trump. Of course, it doesn't technically matter. But this tweet from Trump is 2012 is pretty funny now:
  
• Trump as the new President has to make 4,000 political appointments. Want to win me over? Get the list and a pen and start eliminating needless positions. 
• Trump's conflicts of interest are mind-boggling.  Someone comes to Washington as the guest of the government? There is no way that the federal government can choose, and write a check to, the new Trump hotel. And that is the mildest example I could come up with. 
• I had the strangest email asking me to take down a comment where someone questioned Johnny Football's sexuality because it was allegedly defamatory. It quoted my policy of taking down anything anyone asks and quoted the comment. And it came from an email address that ended with "aussiemail.com.au". What's up with that? 

This Is Pretty Funny

Iman Shumpert was legit amazed that President Obama's podium was movable pic.twitter.com/IxieVZtp4F

— AP (@Ananth_Pandian) November 10, 2016

Golf Etiquette

About 20 mongoose invade the green...

But they know not to interfere with the ball. 👏👏 https://t.co/EBdpVc803Z

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 10, 2016

What's the plural of Mongoose?

First Picture Of Trump In The Whitehouse Today

Too Funny

Story.

Straight Ticket In Wise County

25,164 Total voters

15,037 Straight ticket Republican

2,162 Straight ticket Democrat

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• There were protesters in the street last night about Donald Trump being elected President. I have a message for those doing so who did not vote: Sit your butt down. For those who did vote: Sit your butt down. If you lose, you lose. And give the man a chance. 
  
• The concept of "give the man a chance" is something we all live by. I guess the problem is how you define "a chance."
• Trump's acceptance speech was gracious. Hillary was fantastic yesterday. And President Obama was comforting. As he said, it is the peaceful transition of power that makes us who we are.
• Trump will enter office with an all time stock market high and with real estate at the very end of crazy bubble. Both will probably crash/pop over the next four years. It won't be his fault but he will be blamed for it. It's just time for it to happen.
• I own one of those stainless steel Yeti drink thingies (cue the orchestra music) and one which came from Buc-ee's. They seem to be exactly the same and will hold ice for hours and hours. Someone told me that they are the same and the two companies are owned by brothers who own the same patent. That may not be true, but it makes perfect sense.
• Watch out for this: A Texas Supreme Court judge was re-elected to a six year term but will only be able to serve four years due to an age restriction. He will be replaced by a governor's appointment. Remember that I told you Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's son lost his judgeship in Houston yesterday? There you go. 
• There is absolutely no way any public office age restriction law is constitutional.
• I forgot to mention yesterday that Sheriff Joe got beat. Why don't people retire while they are ahead?
• Tell me the straight ticket voting in Wise County! I do not want to walk thirty yards to the Wise County Election office and ask!
• One commentor on here revealed that he looks at the source code of any photo I post to see how I labeled the ".jpg" file.  That's crazy. But I almost always think about that possibility when I label them so normally I choose names which are completely random (i.e. "fxes1.jpg")
• There was a first time appearing "out of town" lawyer come up to the courthouse this week and was able to piss off a prosecutor who is hard to piss off. I do not understand how so many of those guys can be so dumb. 
• Is Megyn Kelly getting hotter?
• You don't see many Amber Alerts with the "armed and dangerous" warning or "suspect/s" in the warning. (She kind of looks like the crazy girl from Dr. Phil I posted earlier this week.)
  
• Mark Davis said on his weekly appearance on Fox 4 this morning that almost all of the Hispanic roofers you see are here legally. 

And I Just Remembered This Gift That Was Only A Bit At The Time

Above The Fold

Full readable page.

Bonus close up:

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• "I don't believe what I just saw!" - Jack Buck calling Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988 World Series and me, holding a Teddy Bear,  at around 11:00 p.m. last night. 
• I've seen Bush v. Gore at the Supreme Court and the presidential upset of all time. We've all seen some crazy history. 
• Trump beat Hillary like TCU beat Baylor. It's been a good week for me. 
• The Eighth Grader in the House turned 14 today. We told her, "Baby, remember that when you turned 14 that we learned Donald Trump will be President of the United States." Nothing more. Nothing less.
• When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. And I have never in my whole life been so wrong about an election as this one. 
• I thank the Baby Jesus that ALL CAPS guy didn't have $25,000 (or $10) to bet or I would be $25,000 poorer this morning. (Side note: My dad, who never chastises me and lets me be a nut as he stands by shaking his head every day as he reads Random Thoughts, told me last Friday that the bet I proposed was "dumb" and that "you better be careful." He was, as he has always been, correct.)
• Look at my "live blog" from last night (below). I sound like a moron. But at least give me this credit: I never take down any stupid thing I've said. 
• I woke up Mrs. LL last night to tell her that Trump won. She asked, "He won Florida?" My response, "No, baby, he won everything." Her in a very groggy state: "Does this mean we are moving to Costa Rica?"  For a second I thought about putting her on the back of a chopper.
• The great quote going around about Trump voters is this: "They didn't take him literally. They took him seriously." That is the most accurate thing ever written.
• And Mrs. LL can back me up on this as I told her last night before 7:00 p.m. that the Ticket's "Gordon Keith scared the hell out of me this morning. What if there are a ton of voters who just want to throw a human hand grenade into the whole system? We laughed at him when he declared. We laughed at him during the primaries. And we are laughing at him now. And he has proven us wrong every time."
• In all this chaos, the son of crazy Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who was handed a district judgeship in Houston by appointment, got beat by a Democrat. Blame your daddy. And he sounds like a good guy and a fair judge.
• Note to Messenger or the Wise County Election Office: Tell me the percentage of straight ticket Republican voters. I bet it is insane. 
• Random Compliment: Shout out to a clerk in the Wise County Clerk's office who cares so much about her job that she gets rattled when things go wrong when it is not her fault.
• I got into a Twitter Fight with Fox 4's Steve Eagar! I'll post it later.
• Voters in California, Massachusetts and Nevada approved recreational marijuana last night. I told you to invest in legal edibles. That may be the only thing I've been right about lately.