Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• A 26 year old white guy kills 26 people in a First Baptist Church in Texas. And this comes on the heels of Las Vegas at a country concert.  And comes on the heels of Orlando. But let's just focus on Radical Islamic Terrorism. (And the service, according to their Sheriff, was recorded. I don't want to see it.)
• Gov. Greg Abbott, who I'm convinced is oblivious to reality, became "emotional" discussing the shooting. Two years ago: 
  
• I stole these lines: The second amendment was written 226 years ago. Think about writing an amendment right now that governs gun laws in 2243.
• The dumbest "legal expert" in the history of legal experts was on CNN giving an opinion on whether the shooting could be a federal crime. Good lord, woman. (1) The guy is dead, and (2) If he were alive, what do you think a Texas state court jury would do to him?
• The 911 tapes in the children killing case involving the East Texas woman are chlling.  She is mentally ill but the Sheriff said she had planned it out. If daddy is haunted by this for the rest of his life for doing nothing, he needs to be.
• A lot of people were upset that Bowe Bergdahl was not sentenced to prison. Trump thought he should have been executed.  (1) It was a military court so there are facts we do not know. There has to be a reason for the sentence because military courts aren't known for being lenient, (2) This proves the military is not sharing facts with Trump,
• At the same location on 287 that the young man was killed early Friday, an 18 wheeler pulled right out in front of me for the other direction later on that day. Wait until the coast is clear! Use the shoulder!  It is there for a reason!
• Zeke's fans say,  "There is no proof" he did anything wrong. You have no idea how many people are in prison simply because one person said it happened without any corroborating evidence. One person's statement counts as "proof."
• TMZ Sports caught up with Yu Darvish on the street. We learned that after years of using an interpreter in Texas, he can speak English. 
• George H.W. Bush called Trump a "blowhard" and said, "I'm not too excited about him being a leader." And this was in a new book -- it wasn't an off the cuff remark.
• Odd: Two women were found murdered Saturday night in the parking lot of First Financial Bank in Parker County.  It turned out to be a white guy who was arrested.
• I had forgotten about the Twin Peaks Trial going on in Waco but there's a reason. It keeps getting stopped because the DA didn't turn over evidence. It has been over two years! That guy is incompetent. Amazing: Dumbest DA's office in the State. 
• College football: (1) I don't know if this is true, but one of the announcers in the Baylor game said Baylor had a 70 player traveling crew to Kansas and 20 of them were walk-ons. (2) The OSU/OU game was wildly entertaining. Even Mrs. LL was locked in. (3) A great moment was after Penn State lost and one  player just headed to the locker room. The coach ran him down and told him to get back out there and congratulate them. (4) TCU is good. Very good. (5) Hot sports prediction: Both UT and Baylor will be good, very good, in two or three years. (6) Fun fact:  The USC/Arizona game ended at 1:30 a.m. in the both East and Central time zones. (7) And, finally, what is going on?:
  
• Obviously, I'm not a fan of Trump but I do admire his stamina -- especially at his age. That travel schedule he is on over the next few days is brutal. And throw in the fact that he spends his days in front of the cameras and not sitting on the beach, and it makes it almost amazing. Mrs. LL and I remarked to each other on Thursday of last week that we still hadn't recovered from our Florida trip. 
• Then again, he made it to Japan and said they were a "Warrior Nation." Good lord, man. There is no greater warrior nation than the U.S. over the last 200 years. We've fought The British. Mexico. The Civil War. World War I. World War II. Vietnam. North Korea. Iraq (twice). Afghanistan. Missile strikes on Libya. Grenada. And that's off the top of my head. 
• Someone in Austin fired at multiple cars on I-35 in Austin early Sunday morning injuring four, including a seven year old boy.
• Local: I saw  K.C. Schoenthal, 54, funeral notice in the Update. He served as my investigator for awhile when I was D.A. but haven't talked to him in years. Was he sick? 

Uh, Oh

@JennyAFox4 excessive or nah? I think so  pic.twitter.com/qCrVcSlrkx

— Cody Ludwig (@LudwigCody) November 5, 2017

Above The Fold

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

Bits are fun.

I'm sure the water is probably an inch deep, but 

I want to believe there is a Jesus Dog.

You keep waiting for disaster and then learn these guys are geniuses.

There are face plants, and then there are very funny face plants. 

You have to admire his build up. He's a born showman.

You knew it was going to be bad, but not that bad. 

This will be me on my first day after my move to Costa Rica.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I didn't post a comment about Black Creek K-9 Services and partial ownership yesterday, but I am interested. Can you send me some proof to verify what you tried to post?
• "U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said fossil fuels can help prevent sexual assault." Uh, say what?
• "Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein is joining President Trump on his trip to China." How's that swamp thing working out?
• In a moment of great comedy, an outgoing Twitter employee shut down Trump's account. It was down a little over 10 minutes. 
• There were actually people upset that the Omni in Dallas payed tribute to the Astros. How could you possibly care? 
  
• This made my head explode. If a person requests a lawyer, all questioning must end. (It was a concurrence.)
  
• An East Texas woman shot and killed her five and seven year old daughters. Historically, it's been hard to convict in cases like this because the mother often suffers from mental illness. I think we all want to believe that is the only way it could happen.
  
• Houston ISD is closed today because of an Astros celebration. You kidding me? That puts many parents in a bind with barely little notice. 
• I just learned seconds ago that I know the kid that was killed. I'm sick to my stomach.
  
  
• The new iPhone costs $1,000? Sheesh.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• More and more I'm convinced people drive like morons. I'll have people blow by me in Rhome doing 85 and  weaving in and out of traffic. Not only might you cause a wreck, you are begging to be stopped. 
• I wonder where the missing Wise County K-9 dog ended up. I'm guessing he's fine and in someone's care. 
• I feel sorry for Yu Darvish after being lit up in two World Series games. I also feel sorry for his agent as he hits free agency. 
• One of the oddest things I've seen happened last night in the game when some Astro walked up to the plate in the first inning and tipped his batting helmet to Yu Darvish. That was solely to mess with his head. It worked. Edit: I didn't get to posting the comments to around 10:00. Uh, I'm pretty sure now that the tip of the hat was actually an apology. 
• Because of a part-time job, I've spent a pretty good amount of time with Decatur's Chief of Police Rex Hoskins over the last couple of months. (I've known him for years.) But now I know why he has been Chief for decades. His attitude when something is getting out of hand is not "You better back down and shut up or I'm putting you against the wall and you are going to be arrested." No, his attitude is, calmly, to say "Come over here, calm down, and let's talk about this." And it has worked every time. 
• Mrs. LL yesterday: "My shoulder has frozen up again." (I don't want to tell her, but I'm not sure I remember the first time it happened.) 
• What that guy did was moronic and he needed to be fired. But $500,000? I'd let a cop do that to me for half a million. Heck, I'd take $5,000. Maybe $500.
  
• Baseball umpires used to have these huge hand held pads that they could hold up with on hand. I'm not sure when they went away.
• This is incredible. Ted Cruz uses the Astros win and the slogan for Houston's Hurricane recovery to raise money last night. Sir, do you have no shame? 
  
• The social media executives testifying before Congress about the fake accounts created by Russsia to influence the presidential election should scare us all. Yet what a perfect plan: Create fake news to dupe a country which is quickly getting dumber and dumber.
• Ugh: 
  
• The UIL is doing high school realignment and I'm really surprised by these enrollment numbers: Alvord 212, Boyd 401, Bridgeport 651, Slidell 60, Bowie is 497, and Decatur 1,054. The disparity between Bridgeport and Decatur is shocking. 

I Told You This Morning That Junior Was Losing It

Why don’t we simplify this greatly and publish a list of those in Hollywood who aren’t creeps??? Apparently a much smaller group. https://t.co/TZTeRmKvg9

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 1, 2017

Dude, your dad had a TV show and made that statement to Billy Bush on the bus. How can you possibly be this dumb to make this post?

Christmas Is Cancelled, Kids

Victim dies after being stabbed in neck; suspect in custody https://t.co/cp92mJJj8z pic.twitter.com/OLXpgXpC4V

— WFAA-TV (@wfaachannel8) November 1, 2017

Too soon?

Above The Fold

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Eight people were killed by a legal immigrant in New York City yesterday. Don't forget that a white American citizen killed 58 in Las Vegas a month ago.
• I'm a huge fan of Pulp Fiction, but I learned something at the courthouse yesterday about the movie. After the "Gimp Scene", where Marsellus Wallace is letting Bruce Willis go, and he's looking at the guy who did something, uh, bad to him, he says he is going to call a couple of "pipe hitting [n word]" to mess that guy up. For 20 years I've thought that meant people were coming over with pipes. Nope, "pipe hitting" is referring to a crack pipe. I had no idea.
• Watching experienced civil trial lawyers who know what they are doing is a thing of beauty. It makes me realize what a sorry state the criminal bar is in. (There's a trial going on in Wise County.)
• After I made my Bannon joke at the Brock Smith luncheon this week, I have received notices of  "You are my hero" to  "That was the greatest speech I've ever heard" to "Are you OK?" The last one was from someone who didn't understand what I did. I swear everyone of those are exact quotes. And I can't reveal some of the others.
• Halloween was great last night. I've told this story many times before, but my buddy Kevin Clark, many years ago, ran out of candy and some straggler came up and rang the doorbell. He goes to his change jar, grabs a bunch of coins, and dumps them in the kid's basket. The kid turns around and screams, "He's giving away money!" and Kevin was suddenly inundated with kids. 
• No one got crushed more than Junior on Twitter last night after he posted this. For example, someone pointed out that all the candy came from going door to door and asking to get it for free.  Junior has been acting strange lately. I suppose the thought of going to jail will do it to you.
  
• Everyone realize this is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas who people rely upon for spiritual guidance. This is strange.

• 
• I can't wait to read this just released by Texas Monthly. 
  
  
  
• I stumbled on Jaws last night. It holds up.
• I'm not a baseball fan, but even I'll watch a Game Seven of the World Series where Yu Darvish is a starting pitcher. 

Hey, You Wise County Old Timers!

Who remembers the proposed "Satellite City" development that was proposed in 1974? This is the plat. It was supposed to be on 2264 north of Decatur. Edit: Make that south of Decatur. I was temporarily directionally challenged.

It never happened. I'm not sure I've ever heard about it.

Look at it (if you can see it.) A ton of homes. Golf course. Hospital. Retirement center. And more.

Wendy Williams Goes Down!

Wendy Williams just collapsed on air CALL THE PARAMEDICS. SAVE WENDY! #HowYouDoin #NotGreat  pic.twitter.com/TOMJw4HRxW

— KFC (@KFCBarstool) October 31, 2017

Sadly, I don't know what is real and what is fake any longer. 

If You Think You Can Get Away With Anything These Days, You Are Wrong

Someone’s spying on Florida legislators. Tallahassee is on edge. https://t.co/PBMDoXHP6d pic.twitter.com/bHusnpDnLv

— Afraidy Hollyfield🎃 (@amy_hollyfield) October 31, 2017

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• I caught so much grief over wearing cargo shorts in the photo that I posted yesterday. One of my buddies even gave me the business about it in person. As I told him, "Once you get to certain age, it's not that you don't understand fashion, it's about the fact that you just don't care."
• Something that happened yesterday I would never have dreamed of: I spoke in front of a big crowd at the Decatur Convention Center, made a Steve Bannon joke, and actually got quite a few laughs. 
• In the same event, Decatur lawyer Mark Howell had a very funny line as he takes over as the Wise County Bar Association presidency: "I promise to do the same thing as Barry Green has done for the last 15 years. Nothing." That's quality comedy, sir. And true.
• I was exhausted yesterday. Traveled from Florida the day before, ended up watching what might be one of the greatest MLB World Series games of all time past midnight, and then woke up shortly after 5:00. I'm too old for that. 
• The Russia Collusion thing heats up. Look up "Papadopoulos guilty plea." And I love Sean Hannity's defense: "He admitted, OK, he lied to the FBI. I think he is 29 years old." (But all I can think of now is Vegas Vacation and Papagiorgio.")
• One thing I forgot to mention about Disney World: We did the Haunted Mansion "ride" and I wanted to because it fascinated me thirty years ago. Oh, my. Has it been ramped up. They had a hologram of a head which was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.
• And one thing we didn't even think about: We were there right before Halloween and visitors were dressed up left and right in costumes. It was pretty insane. 
• As I predicted yesterday, House of Cards has been cancelled. I'm an Entertainment Genius.
• Reminder to self: Wear a cap or sunscreen when you go to Florida even in October.
• As a kid, I never dreamed that giving out candy on Halloween would be more fun than getting it. But it may not happen tonight because of the rain.
• I don't understand how you can deposit a check by taking photos of it. There are obviously safeguards to keep it from being deposited twice, but I don't know how it works. 
• NFL Commissioner Robert Roger Goodell is a strange guy. I don't know if he is ethical or crazy. He takes on two owners and two of the best players in the league on, arguably, shaky grounds. That being Brady and Bob Kraft, and Zeke and Jerry Jones. He is paid millions a year and he may end up my be losing his job. 
• There was a fake character on The Ticket once who called Zeke the "Ecstasy Ewok." That's funny.
• Another travel story: We got to see the overbooked flight where they started the bid process to get someone to give up their seat. Mrs. LL and The Freshman in The House asked me what it would take to stay behind (it included a free hotel and a flight out early the next morning.) And said there was no price. Mrs. LL said there had to be a price. I finally said I would start considering it at $1,500. It went for $600. 

Bridgeport Guy

Totanka with my A-1 spotter pic.twitter.com/HdD9knvaSA

— Neal Hawks (@nhhbbfan) October 30, 2017

Am I crazy for simply asking the question, "Why?"

Cop Suffers Panic Attack

Two completely different points: (1) First I'm not sure why he quickly fired shots at the beginning. (2) The panic attack hits him at around the 5:30 mark. I've known people who suffer from them, and I've seen them. Crazy breathing that you can't control.

From Last Night

Instant karma's gonna get you. pic.twitter.com/EKiYr3Xtlt

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) October 30, 2017

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury has indicted Trump's former campaign manager in the Russia probe. It begins. 
  
• And always remember this graphic from Fox News.
  
  
• Kevin Spacey had a heck of statement yesterday regarding allegations he abused a young boy. If there was going to be another season of House of Cards there won't be now. 
• My theory of there are ads buried everywhere became even more true during the World Series this weekend. In the bullpen, there was some website scribble on the back wall in big letters. Later, from the same camera position, it turned into a full blown professional graphic. 
• I was in Florida this weekend for a softball tournament. Like I said on Friday, traveling is a beating. I had the most intensive TSA pat down going through screening and they even swabbed my hands with the guy turning to another TSA agent and saying, "I've got to check this" as he then went to some kind of machine. I could be wrong, but they seem to be on high alert. 
• Oh, and American Airlines issued two boarding passes for me and another guy which had the same seat assignment. 
• We went to Cocoa Beach which pretty much looks like Padre Island with all the sea weeds on the shore. 
• But it did give rise to a picture of me looking at a Random Thought Girl taken by Mrs. LL. (The wind is blowing my hair by the way.) And, yes, I have no butt. 
  
• We also went to Disney World. There are a multitude of parks now but I wanted to go back to the original for nostalgic reasons. Our family went there as a kid and after we got home my dad wanted to know the stock price of Disney. Nothing has changed. That place is printing money.
• One thing I noticed about Disney World: Around noon all you see is beaten down parents with happy kids. A few hours later you've got beaten down parents and beaten down kids. 
• "You stand right here and I'll be right back. I don't want to issue a 'Silver Alert'" - Mrs. LL to me. I tend to get lost from time to time. 
• At the softball complex near Orlando, I took a walk and found a pond and, much to my surprise, a baby alligator. Mrs. LL came to see it and we both had the same thought: "Where's momma?" as we suddenly had our heads on a swivel.
• The team of the Freshman in the House lost every game. I think it was eight. But Mrs. LL and I got into an argument when a coach of her team yelled at the third baseman (the dugout was on that side) after the batter laid down a perfect bunt which no one could possibly have gotten to. The coach yelled, "You have to anticipate that!"  My position: You're the coach. If you saw it coming (which is obvious), tell the kid to cheat up. You see that in college softball all the time. Her position: The coach is teaching the kid a lesson for not having situational awareness.
• I watched about three episodes of the new season of Stranger Things. That's good stuff. And the fact that Paul Reiser, from Mad About You,  is in it is fantastic. (But, man, we all get old.)
  
• That was a crazy Major League game last night but it was into five hours in the ninth when the score was 12-12.
• As I predicted, Texas beat Baylor. #Liar #MayNotBeSportsGenius