Breaking: Conservative Lindsey Graham Wants Russia To Pay Price For Election Hack More Than President Does

“I think what Obama did is throw a pebble. I’m ready to throw a rock.”
– @LindseyGrahamSC on election interference pic.twitter.com/kf62pU2Yb1

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 5, 2017

What A Weird Texas Scouting Fundraiser Video

This is weird from start to finish. The guy eating the ghost peppers comes across as a serial killer, and the guy introducing him comes across as a modern day Charles Manson who directs serial killers.

So odd.

Do you have to eat ghost peppers to become an Eagle Scout these days?

Side note: I'm not sure I've ever had a ghost pepper. Mrs. LL and I were in Mexico once and were encouraged by a waiter to try some kind of pepper -- I ate maybe a 1/4 of an inch of it, and it almost killed me. I guess I just don't have the serial killer DNA.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• America has become a showplace for atrocities caught on video. Yesterday's news: A cop body slamming a kid at school. Four hooligans torturing a handicapped kid (live streamed on Facebook even.)
• I should have mentioned the passing of Fort Worth lawyer Jim Shaw yesterday. Great guy. The Star-Telegram's headline while I was out: "He fought cancer as hard as he fought for his clients."  That makes me want to head back to the jungle. And one thing about a battle with cancer: It's not a fair fight. 
• Trump might implode even before he begins. He praises Julian Assange, mocks our FBI and CIA, and says he knows more about the Russian hacking than others. And have we already forgotten that he dared Russian hackers to find Hillary's missing emails? What if the FBI and CIA has found out he was in cahoots with the Russians so that's why he's trying to discredit them? 
• Hugh Hewitt this morning says Ted Cruz told him Assange "did enormous damage to the United States," and "tells me he cannot imagine ever saying anything good about him."
• There's a guy in Bakersfield, CA who will send me videos of movies and music from time to time simply because he reads the blog every day. That's an incredibly nice gesture.
• If Baylor beats OSU this weekend, they will be the #1 basketball team in the nation on Monday. 
• The Republicans have a mess on their hands on their stance to strike down Obamacare. There's no way they can agree on a replacement. And I don't think they are crazy enough to repeal it without having a replacement. 
• And if they do make a change, even if it is a repeal with no replacement, does anyone think premiums will be cheaper four years from now? 
• I wonder if there is a Texas Monthly college football curse:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Question at the courthouse yesterday: Who was the Decatur police chief before Rex Hoskins?
• The new Texas "fetal burying" rule will be struck down in the next couple of weeks. 

Gal vs. Snowman: Who Ya Got?

Things I Missed

I'd kill that kid if he were mine:

House Speaker Paul Ryan had to stop a congressman's son from dabbing during his father's swearing-in https://t.co/w5hiiNWRn9 pic.twitter.com/v95GgxKbX8

— CNN (@CNN) January 4, 2017

New Texas DA gets sworn in wearing Cowboy jersey.

Above The Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• And now I begin 2017. I do so reluctantly, but it is better than the alternative. 
• When I go off the grid, I really go off the grid. Perfect example: Me to Mrs. LL: "Did Ohio State lose two days ago?" Her: "Yep. Big time. And how in the world do I know this and you don't?" 
• I'm still way behind on anything that happened. It sounds like Wise County almost burned down. 
• As much as people complain about flying, it almost always goes off without a hitch. At least for me. 
• I appreciate vacations the older I get. From the get go, I count down the days remaining and remind myself to enjoy every single minute. 
• One great secret Mrs. LL found is the online vacation rental property sites. You can rent a house for the same price as a hotel. 
• Odd moment from last week: Mrs. LL driving a standard truck like the West Texas girl that she is and almost hitting a monkey scampering across the road. 
• The former McKinney cop (famous for doing a barrel roll and breaking up a pool party) and the city are being sued for $5 million by one of the girls who was held down. That's just dumb. Whenever you hear about someone suing for a specific figure, ask yourself if you'd be willing to go through what they did for that amount of money. 
  
• The drowning deaths of the young dad and his five year old son while preparing to go duck hunting in Hood County was heartbreaking. But, man, you've got to put a life jacket on that kid. And yourself.
• I didn't think Megyn Kelley would go to NBC. And that creates a large hole for Fox News.
• This murder case in Fort Worth is weird. The accused is 29 and the dead woman, owner of Lon Smith Roofing, is 49. And that is one big house. (He was all over the news last night giving jail cell interviews and came across fairly believable.)
   
• A judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has announced she won't run again giving those who want the job two year's notice. That's really unusual.
• Trump will hold his first news conference on January 11th. Delicious. 
• I bought  James A. Michener's Texas. A thirty year old and 1,700 page book. It's my New Year's Resolution to finish it.  Tell me I made a good choice. 
  
• "Texas Lawmaker wants unhappy couples to live apart for 3 years before they can divorce." That's conservative Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth.  You've got to love those anti-big government Republicans. 
• If the Republicans 180 on disbanding the ethics panel on their first day of being in full power, this will be a very entertaining year. 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• It's the Monday after Christmas, and once again I prove I'm the hardest working man in show business
• Random tweet:
  
  
  
  
• Fox News' puppet Sheriff Clarke tried to be cute over the weekend by using an old photo of President Obama with a tear rolling down his face. He might want to check his attempted cuteness. Colin Jones set him straight.
  
  
• After Tiger Woods posted his crazy shirtless Santa picture (see post below), we got to see this. (Tiger's bleached beard can still be seen.)
  
  
• So let me get this straight, Ivanka Trump was verbally harassed last week as she prepared to fly in coach on Jet Blue? She's flying commercial with the common man? She's rich. Her daddy's rich. And her husband's family could buy and sell the Trump family many times over. That was a stunt. No way she's flying in coach on Jet Blue. #TheBigCon
• Mrs. LL and I watched the Christmas movie Scarface on Christmas eve'e eve. (She giggles so much at it you would think it's a comedy.)
• International banks, including Deutsche Bank, have agreed to pay $12.5 billion in fines in connection with the mortgage crisis. (Cue the goofballs who think the mortgage crisis was caused by banks being "forced" to give mortgages to low income people. Note to those people: Look up "credit default swap" (I explained it years ago in that link). And if you aren't willing to do that at least read the book The Big Short. Or any book.).
• Credit default swaps brought down Bear, Stearns and Lehman, Brothers. Something so shocking at the end of the Bush Administration that I still can't believe it.  Goldman, Sachs weathered the storm and is now in perfect position under Trump to become the richest Wall Street firm in history. 
• George Michael, too? Heck, none of us are safe from 2016.
• That Fort Worth throat slashing case has gotten weird.  There seems to be a very real possibility that his anti-anxiety medication really, really messed him up. He certainly gave off the early warning signs. Something's not right. 
• I've said to invest in drones, virtual reality, and legal edible marijuana. I think I might add one: The ton of hard plastic that comes around basically every Christmas gift that needs protection. 
• Every one of you need to be educated on the power and the reoccurring problem of the unethical, deceitful and arrogant prosecutor who does not care about the truth. If you are interested in criminal justice, I beg you to track down ESPN's 30 for 30 on the Duke Lacrosse scandal, Fantastic Lies.  I almost threw up. 
• And now we have some very sad news . . . 

Comments are off not because I don't want them, but it's because that I'm going off the grid. 

I Just Got Pissed Off On Christmas Eve!

Story

Above The Fold

Here's a New Year's prediction: Although the case against the judge is a misdemeanor, it must go to the district court (normally reserved for felonies) because it involves a public official. That means the case will have to be vetted by a Wise County Grand Jury.  I bet the grand jury boots this silliness to the curb in a New York minute. As they should. What an incredible waste of time and taxpayer money.

(And to me the most disturbing thing about this whole case is that the facts, even if true, do not meet the legal definition of Official Oppression. How did it get this far?)

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here. (Assuming Anyone Is Still Here.)

I like these creative kids. Bits are fun. 

Helium + Flame = "Yes! Science!"

America needs to replace the traditional

 dunking booth with this immediately. 

That girl will be a good wife someday.

This girl, on the other hand, is a Wife Wildcard. 

That cat has to be doped up. 

I Want To Know More About This Christmas Story

When a historical marker says "Later a mob lynched Santa", well that's worth a read.
Happened in Cisco. pic.twitter.com/zlvQsJx7S9

— RED CARPET (@TXHRINFO) December 23, 2016

Happened in Cisco.

Edit:

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Greg Abbott's pardons yesterday are mind boggling. Such courage. Such bravery. Putting himself on the line for the most wretched of society! How will he ever survive the political blowback??!!
  
• Seriously, it makes you think everyone on that list is there not as the result of merit but because of a political favor. Not for them but for someone else. A big donor's maid? Dan Patrick's secretary's nephew? Rick Perry's pharmacist's  daughter? 
• Shout out to David West at James Wood Motors. He put me in the poor man's Mach 5 cheaply and easily yesterday. (Actual Mach 5 pictured here for you youngsters. Real car only looks like that in my mind.) And shout out to the manager of the sales department who acknowledged being a Liberally Lean reader. ("He's a liberal, but he writes good stuff.") 
• After getting past Trump using Twitter to talk about nuclear weapons when all previous presidents referred to them very carefully, when's the last time a president advocated increasing them?
• Dallas won the NFC East last night with an Eagles win. Academy then opened up to sell "NFC East Champions" shirts. Why would you ever want one of those? If that's the best that happens, that's a "good" season followed by failure. You can't equate it to a SEC, Big 12 or Big 10 championship shirt. Heck, there are only four teams in the NFC East. 
• That Fort Worth cop is done. You can't arrest people because you're pissed. But from the start of that video it looks like he was just having a bad day. I understand that. We've all performed poorly at our job at one time or another because of a bad day. That being said, he should have just separated everyone, talked to all parties, and assured the Angry Momma that he would file a report but that he couldn't make an arrest even if he believed the child had been assaulted. Then go back and make the report. (All that sounds like a beating. And he was probably thinking of that as all of it was unfolding in front of him. And he was also probably thinking, "If that kid hadn't littered, I wouldn't have to go through all this crap.")
• Mrs. LL found a very, very funny movie named All-Stars about coaching 10 and under girls softball. It is straight out of Best in Show and Spinal Tap -- and there has to be some connection because Fred Willard plays a major role. Trailer here. (I don't know if the thing was even released in theaters. It has an IMDB page which says nothing about the box office and the movie isn't mentioned anywhere on Wikipedia.)
• Trump is mad that the "cool kids" really don't want to have anything to do with him: 
  
• We need to check in on the pulse of Fort Worth and the stock price of Lockheed Martin: 
  
• That guy loves exclamation points!
• The weirdest story of the year might be the guy accused of slashing his wife's and baby's throats in their home near Harmon and 287. He was arrested yesterday on his way to Las Vegas after being stopped in Colorado for driving without a back license plate. (Recall that Timothy McVeigh was arrested after the Oklahoma City bombing because he was stopped for the same violation.)
• A couple of Arlington officers responded to a stolen Christmas gifts call and found it to be true. They then decided to take the mom/victim to Walmart and paid to help replace the gifts. That truly is a touching gesture. But it is ruined when the PR director of Arlington PD decides to take advantage of it by putting the officers and the victimized family in front of an Arlington PD banner and calling a news conference. Kindness does not need to be exploited. 
  
• The Berlin Market Attacker has been killed in Milan, Italy. That's a lot of border crossing going on. They gonna build a wall around every country in Europe? Didn't we work to tear down those that existed over there?

Tiger Woods Just Set Twitter Ablaze

Xmas tradition that my kids love. Mac Daddy Santa is back! -TW pic.twitter.com/pCWZNNKPRG

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) December 22, 2016

The responses are pretty funny.

What A Mess

Fort Worth PD says an internal affairs investigation is underway in response to this video (warning: foul language)https://t.co/2KtRIawYYK

— Tim Ciesco (@TimCiescoNBC5) December 22, 2016

That's how you escalate, not de-escalate, a situation.

Trump Just Moments Ago

The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016

This should all makes us feel comfortable that a man with a hairpin emotional trigger is already talking about ramping up the nukes.

Let's Check In On Today's Youth On A Golf Course

The chubby kid in the Longhorn visor is a stickler for the rules. And he is none too pleased when he sees a PGA violation. If his opponent doesn't acknowledge that he's lying three, there will be consequences.

Kudos to the camera man for recognizing the comedy unfolding in front of him. (Although the damage to the golf bag stand seems to be over the top and overlooked by everyone.)

Language warning: Longhorn kid drops an F bomb there at the end.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• After suffering from painful sinuses that kept me down for almost four full days and the weekend, let me praise the greatness of the Z-Pac. I had never taken that before and it worked like a miracle.
• I think Wise County may have a well fire on the south side of the county in the Boyd-Rhome-Decatur triangle. It's one of those that looks like a giant flame thrower aimed at the sky this morning.
• Bob Stoops on his woman slugging player Joe Mixon yesterday on what would happen if the incident happened today: "Two and a half years later, dismissal is really the only thing that's possible." Huh? You saw the tape back then. What's different about today?
• There is a hero out there somewhere: 
  
• Anyone know anyone in Bridgeport who will rake leaves, bag them (or put them in a trailer), and haul them off? Residential, but an above average sized job. 
• This is worth following:
  
• "Mississippi police have arrested a man for allegedly throwing a homemade explosive device into a Walmart store on Sunday because he was angry employees there stopped selling Confederate flag paraphernalia." Let's call it what it is: Radical White Southern American Racist Terrorism. 
• Everyone reported that former OU coach Barry Switzer met with Trump because Switzer told the media he did after coming out of the elevators at Trump Tower. Now Switzer says he was just joking and had only gone up to Starbucks. 
• [For hardcore Ticket fans only: The funniest thing you'll see all year.]
• Am I out of the loop on the "Billy on The Street" bit? I keep seeing references to it, watched about a minute of one, was unimpressed, and much of it seemed staged. Or has no one else even heard about it?
• I've yet to see Love, Actually this Christmas. Still my favorite. (And I just realized one of the three hot chicks the guy runs into in America at the bar near the end of the movie is January Jones -- later of Mad Men.)