Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• I used to see "public bids" in the Messenger whenever the county government was going to make a purchase of any significance. Is that no longer required or am I just missing it? 
• Regarding the Vegas line of the number of season wins for the Texas Rangers, I told you to take the under. Once again, I'm a Sports Genius. 
• I told you that if he didn't testify he would be convicted. Once again, I'm a Legal Genius. 
  
• There's an appeal that has been filed in a Wise County criminal felony case. The briefs will be available online and, trust me, it's going to get tense. I'll keep you posted. 
• The West, Texas explosion that killed 15 was five years ago today. Time flies. 
• I haven't mentioned the arrest at Starbucks of the guys who happen to be African-American because I want more background facts. If a private establishment tells you to leave because you aren't buying anything, you leave.
• A judge forced Trump's lawyer, The Dumbest Lawyer in America, Michael Cohen, to reveal the names of his clients yesterday. He had three. The last one revealed was Fox News' Sean Hannity. I'm giddy. Hannity, who has interviewed Cohen numerous times without revealing the relationship, is going to be fired. Then again, it's Fox News. Edit: Hannity made $36 million last year and he chose Cohen as his lawyer. 

  

  Once again, the old white man "thumbs up" photo

  

  Going to court. He has a cover over his umbrella.

• The concept that you have to be paid as a lawyer in order for the attorney/client privilege to exist is 100% false. 
• Cohen had more lawyers representing him at the hearing than he has clients. Side note: When your lawyer needs a team of lawyers you've got a bad lawyer. #MelCooleySchoolOfLaw
• And the fact that Stormy Daniels showed up makes the Trump Administration an official clown car. 
  
• How's that "Make America Great Again" working out for you? 
  

  

  So sad.
• It's tax day.
• The courthouse is getting new outside security cameras. If you work on the courthouse square, they will be able to see everything in high-def.
• The University of Texas is going to expand their stadium at a cost of $140 million. And people struggle to pay to put their kids through that "public university." That couldn't be used for academic scholarships?
• The "Night Court" judge, Harry Anderson has died at 65. 
• Someone asked me why I don't run for chairman of the Democratic Party in Wise County in order to organize them and energize them. 
• Mrs. LL and I watched the second episode of Green Acres. It is comedy gold. (Does Mr. Douglas wear a suit, white shirt, and tie throughout the entire series?)

Ethics Hypothetical

This was proposed to me at the courthouse last week:

There is Suspect A and Suspect B. I represent Suspect B. A murder during a robbery was committed where Suspect B, my client, was in the "getaway car" and arrested. The cops don't know the identity of Suspect A who got away. Suspect B tells me, "I didn't know he was going to do that. I'm innocent. But I can tell you his name if it will help me with the prosecutor."

Now Suspect B unexpectedly dies.

There is a Crime Stoppers reward offered for the identity of Suspect A.

Does the lawyer for the dead Suspect B reveal Suspect A's identity? Does the attorney-client privilege prevent it? Could the lawyer reveal it and collect the reward?

My answer: No way I would collect the reward. But the question of going to the prosecutors and telling them who Suspect A is would keep me up at night. My now dead client wanted me to do that with the condition that it helps him when he was alive but now he is dead. Does that matter? What's the right thing to do?

This hypo comes from a movie I had never heard of. And has the great line of "I'm tired of trying to do the impossible for the ungrateful."

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• The great R. Lee Ermey has died.
  
• The bombing of Syria is right out of Wag The Dog. 
• Those familiar with the history of the Southern Baptist Convention, and I certainly am, know who this man is. Story: 
  
• I had our big dead tree cut down and the stump grinded for $600. Mrs. LL set up the deal. She might be the best business person in history and not know it yet. It was "interesting" that the company that did it would only take cash. 
• On Friday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders might have had the worst press conference ever defending Trump. She was sweating. Her hair was a mess. She attacked the FBI. And, oddly, when someone asked her an expected question, she would read from a script that was obviously written by someone else. Let me give her some advice: Walk away from that job. Now. 
• Regarding Sanders and Trump constantly attacking the FBI, here's a flashback to 2016:
  
• Art Bell has died. For those West of the Rockies, you have my thoughts and prayers.
• My oddest moment of the weekend (and the year): I'm in Walmart. A guy, probably in his late 20s asks, "Does the name Tom mean anything to you?" At this point, I'm already irritated, but I'm polite and simply say, "No." He says, "I'm a Christian and sometimes I feel things. Is there anything I can pray for you about?" Me (in a CashMeOutside-HowAboutThat voice): "Nope."
• Someone made this comment on Friday: "Barry doesn't care what you believe, he just hates hypocrites and liars." No truer words have ever been spoken. 
• Unless they are looking at the forecast from the National Weather Service in order to repeat it, I don't believe this photo caption: 
  
• I heard this on the radio the other day (paraphrasing): "We will not know the damage that social media is doing to our kids until 20 years from now. But perhaps the kids today, once they become parents, will be smart enough to tell the to simply 'keep off of it.'"
• In some of the weirdest news of the weekend, Trump's lawyer negotiated a $1.6 million settlement for a Republican donor who impregnated a Playboy model. Then the donor issued a statement to apologize but candidly actually used the term "Playboy Playmate" as his paramour.  That's kind of like saying "I'm a bad guy" but I want you to know she was really, really hot. 
• And more news about Trump's lawyer: He might have secretly recorded conversations and that's why his office was raided via search warrant. One may have been with his negotiations with Stormy's lawyer. He is truly the Dumbest Lawyer In America. 
• 
• Even George W. Bush wouldn't pardon Scooter Libby for lying. Trump did so on Friday. 
• Me telling Mrs. LL, who just turned 40, that she needed to know Elvis died at age 42 led to a "What is wrong with you?" moment. 
• I know Joel Osteen is scam artist, but I also think the same thing about the "Elevate Life" church. After watching Olsteen on Sunday, a commercial came on from their "pastor" Keith Craft who said they were "no longer on TV" after Olsteen's show and that the church had moved from Frisco to McKinney and are now meeting in a Middle School building. That sounds like a church going under. Anyone have any info?
• He didn't testify as I said he had to in the Grapevine murder case. The verdict will come down today, and I'll bet the house it is guilty of murder. 
  
• American Gothic. Pure Genius:
  
  
• I watched the Andre the Giant documentary that just came out. It is fantastic.

I'll Never Not Love This

I can name almost every movie except for three or four.

Above The Fold

Full page PDF.

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

"You will respect my authority!"

I'm getting old because I'm more fascinated by the surfing behind a boat than anything else.

Get me this . . . well, you know.

I'm so confused.

As we all learned from The Breakfast Club, if you mess with bull you get the horns. 

The husband filming this was smirking and thinking, "I know what's coming."

He Be Gone

HE'S GONE: Dez Bryant waves goodbye to the cameras after being released by the Dallas Cowboys on Friday. https://t.co/a6hxqaM5uc pic.twitter.com/vO56Urruby

— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) April 13, 2018

Good riddance.

Hey, what kind of car does he drive?

Edit: He be mad. Please sign with the Redskins, Eagles or Giants to make the NFL at least remotely interesting for me.

If I didn’t have my edge I got it now... I’m sorry they got to feel me it’s personal... it’s very personal

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) April 13, 2018

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Today, of all days, there seems like a serious fire danger for North Texas. 
• I heard a reference to Wise County's "Hippy Ridge" this week. I have not thought about that place in years. 
• The Batman TV series was comedic genius. In this scene depicted below, ice melting slowly puts the dynamic duo into sulphric acid (clearly labeled). And look at the labels on the scales. It goes from "Close" to "Agony" to "K.O." to "Curtains."   And then the episode, like most of them, would always end by telling us to tune in next week to find out what happens. "Same bat time. Same bat channel."
  
• This can't be good for tourism: 
  
• HBO has renewed Barry for a second season. I must be a crowd pleaser. 
• 1 Timothy 2:9: "I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety . . . ." I hope she doesn't sue me. (Or, is it One Timothy 2:9?)
  
  
• There are 750 different felonies in Texas. I think we've got everything covered.
• "It's not that I don't like people, it's just that I don't want to hang out with them." - Someone to me in the courthouse this week. We could be soul mates. 
• In an embarrassing photo op yesterday, Gov. Abbott appeared in front of National Guard members to talk about border security.  "There has been an increase of more than 200% of people coming across the border without authority," he said. Someone (or probably both of them) are lying:
  
• Someone said to me at the courthouse yesterday: "You don't get mad [when you don't get what you asked for], you just sulk." There's a lot of truth to that. 
  
• What an incredible photo: Wilt Chamberlain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Andre the Giant:
  
• Twenty-four buried bodies have been found at a Sugar Land, TX construction site. That city used to be home of a sugar farm where prison inmates were treated as slaves on a plantation and were forced to work for free.
• You learn from your father: 
  
• I didn't even mention the new Comey book. Despite conservative commentators begging Trump just to ignore it, the Toddler In Chief couldn't help himself. He called Comey an "untruthful slime ball" this morning. 

Making America Great Again

Dear David Hogg pic.twitter.com/uvB4NU4S2s

— 🇺🇸 LAWereWolf 🇺🇸 (@MagaFrank2) April 12, 2018

Based upon his Twitter comments, he excuses it as "performance art."

Edit: His account was suspended but you can still see the video here.

What The Heck Is Going On With The Tarrant County DA's Office?

This is from the official "trial board" webpage of the DA's office.

Look at this. Five "not guilty" verdicts. I didn't think that was possible in one week. And one guy beat two assistant DAs while representing himself. Do they have any idea what they are doing? Does any one train them? Can no one spot a crappy case beforehand?

Time Is Very Creative

Left: March 2017 Time cover

Right: Latest Time cover...the waters are rising. pic.twitter.com/t6zvDnsoXa

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 12, 2018

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• For some reason Mrs. LL and I watched the first episode of Green Acres the other night. Let me tell you something: That was some pretty witty humor. (And I never knew that Eddie Albert's character, the guy who just walked away to live on a farm, was a lawyer who was sick of his job.)
• This is what ethical journalism looks like: 
  
• Because of job obligations, I've spent time with the Decatur Police of Chief over the last few months. I can't tell you how much I often agree with him when he fires off hot opinions. I know why he has kept his job for over 30 years -- a feat which is almost impossible in America.
• There was an Andy Griffith Show episode where Andy walked into the house of a guy firing all around him as a "state agent" from Mount Pilot was there to monitor Andy's office. The state agent, in his suit and tie, was horrified. Andy went in, got the shooter, and walked him out without handcuffs. The agent then berates Andy because "You could have been killed!" I'm paraphrasing, but Andy says, "I've known him for years. He could shoot the ear off a flea at 30 paces if he wanted to."  That's why veteran small town police are the best police.
• I've never understood the old white man's desire to do a "thumbs up" in a photo. Nice diversity, by the way:
  
• There were six people killed in a fiery plane crash in Phoenix shortly after it took off. I find this stunning: Their ages ranged from 22 to 28.
  
• Is there any fast food restaurant which serves grilled cheese sandwiches? (Asking for a friend.)
• The Republicans have controlled the Presidency, the House, and the Senate for well over a year. An opportunity to do anything they want has turned into chaos. 
• And we will all miss the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, who is running away from one of the strongest positions in American government. (He used the age old lame excuse that he "wanted to spend more time with my family.") Uh, why was he in Texas last week raising at least $4 million in fundraisers for his campaign? Can Texas Republicans get their money back?:
  
• During a confirmation hearing for one of Trump's federal judges yesterday, she refused to admit that Brown v. Board of Education was correctly decided. Think about that. It is shocking.  I never thought I would see the resurrection of the Klan during my lifetime. They no longer wear white hoods.
  
• There is no greater coward than an American League pitcher who intentionally hits someone. (And I love the batter who who will go after the pitcher as was the case in Boston last night. Not a bad brawl, by the way.)
• A few years back I said that government jobs were now the best jobs. I stumbled on this from the great Texas Tribune when I was trying to look for the starting salary of a new assistant DA in Tarrant County. These figures (which are old from 2016) do not include retirement and insurance. I know some of the people on that list. I don't think they could survive in the private sector. 
  
• Part of the Mark Zuckerberg testimony turned into "content control" as Ted Cruz said this: "There are a great many of Americans deeply concerned Facebook and other tech companies are engaged in a pervasive pattern of bias and political censorship." He actually was mad about Facebook "censoring" the clown car of Diamond and Silk. Has America come to this? Facebook can censor anything they want to and there is not a single thing the government can do about it. It's called the First Amendment. Cruz knows this. He's just playing the Texas voters for fools. Edit: I love the comment that said Cruz didn't mention Diamond and Silk and I was just making it up. 
  
• Trump warned Russia and Syria that missiles were coming yesterday. Today he said maybe now, maybe later. Dear readers, we will end up in a thermo-nuclear war because of an unstable elected celebrity who gets up every morning, watches Fox News, and gets on Twitter. 
• Shout to the person who pulled me aside yesterday to tip me off to government waste in Wise County. I'm on it. 

They Are All Jumping Ship

Above The Fold

Full page PDF.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Wow: The Wise County Messenger's Wednesday edition will now be free. I'll speculate that the reason is this: Can you make more money off paid subscriptions or going to potential advertisers and telling them it is being sent to 27,000 houses?
  
• From the best I can tell from discovery disclosures of videos in my criminal cases, body cams are now fully or partially implemented at Decatur PD, Bridgeport PD, Boyd PD, and the Wise County Sheriff's Office. I don't think I've ever watched a video from DPS with a body cam. With their massive budget, that is surprising. 
• His spelling is worse than mine:
  
   
• I told you Zuckerberg, who suffers from anxiety, would not like testifying before Congress. This moment (photo below) had to have been frightening for him. Overall, however, he did very well.  That being said, Congressional hearings are nothing but a dog and pony show.  If I were him, I would have been so tempted to tell them, "I'm the owner of a company where I allow citizens, even you, to make money off of me. I'm a billionaire because of the private sector and American Capitalism. You are government employees who live off of my taxes and all the Facebook users who pay taxes. You are our servants but have forgotten that. Get off my ass." Then you walk out. Look back and say, "If you want to subpoena me, do it. I'll show up. Let's see how that works out for you in the next election."
  
  
• One Congressman told him, with all America to see, "Your user agreement sucks." That may be true but that could be a scene right out of Idiocracy.
• Trump cancelled his South American trip. Why?
• I made this pun (the name of the album) the other day and the Females in the House told me it was an old joke. "Let me tell you where it came from," I said.
  
  
• For you old folks familiar with the songs on the album, I happen to know an incredibly successful businessman in Decatur who broke up with his high school girlfriend (temporarily) and told her, "It's time for me to fly."  He came to his senses and has been married to her for at least 30 years. 
• I had a brief but great discussion with someone at the courthouse yesterday about both of us retiring in the future. We both worried if we would get bored if we did. I thought it was funny that later in the day I saw that the coach of the Highland Park Scots, who had retired a month or so ago, announced that he was coming back. 
• Oh, my!!! Fox News' Diamond and Silk attacked Ted Cruz! "Uh, huh! That's right!"
  
• I'm trying to convince Mrs. LL to get a picture of us with Stormy Daniels when she comes to Fort Worth. Unless we are both lazy that day, it's a done deal. 
• Whatever happened to Boil In A Bag meals? (I think I've got that name right.)
• The original Roseanne was horrible. The new version is worse. And the fact that they actually use a laugh track in 2018 tells you all you need to know. (I'm ashamed that the great John Goodman would allow himself to be a part of it.)
• I've been beaten down for years from those who say, "I don't have anything to hide. The police can search my house at any time even without a warrant."  Now those same people are upset about a good and honest man investigating Trump.
• If Trump "fires" Mueller, which the incompetent Sarah Huckabee Sanders said yesterday he had the right to do, the Justice Department would simply ignore him and the investigation and grand jury would continue. Who do you think wins that war? I know. We have no Kings in America. 

Is This Real?

For those still in disbelief that Tucker Carlson was talking about pandas instead of Trump's attorney getting raided by the feds pic.twitter.com/UP0IaappUA

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) April 10, 2018

Tell me it is not real.

Black Face: Fraternity Bros At Cal Poly Aren't Very Smart

Story (along with videos of the reaction.)

But everyone can calm down because the frat president says it "wasn't racially motivated." That settles it, I guess. (The fraternity was suspended.)