- Out of nowhere, Mrs. LL is binge watching Downton Abbey. Great. Now she'll school me in the "Early 20th Century History of England" category on Jeopardy.
- Lookout! Trump watched State TV/Fox News this morning! They had a wacko guest on who said that not only had George Soros paid for the protesters at the capitol last week, but now they hadn't received their checks. Trump bought it and sent out a tweet forty-five minutes later.
- Interesting question posed to me over the weekend: "Would you really want to be the swing vote on the Supreme Court with all those burdens or have a pretty good gig as an associate justice on a federal appeals court?" I think I'd take the lower court gig.
- We should eliminate Columbus Day and create a Voting Day.
- This trial started two weeks ago. I haven't heard a word about it. Is it over? (I'm scared the Star-Telegram can no longer afford to dedicate a reporter for complete coverage of cases like this.)
- That Limo crash that killed 20 is so disturbing. This is the Google Street View angle of it. The limo moved down the street from the left and crossed the highway into the parking lot and beyond.
- What am I missing?: The amount of money spent on advertising for the one Congressional seat held by Pete Sessions and sought by Colin Allred is astonishing. You can't avoid the commercials. But other contested races (take for example the 24th District between Kenny Marchant and Jan McDowell) which covers parts on Dallas, Tarrant and Denton counties seems completely off the radar. They are both one seat.
- I'm an idiot on military warfare (other than to know "Space Force" is stupid) but look at these drones below. I'll ask it again and with all due respect to my friends at Lockheed Martin, do we really need F-35s at over $90 million a piece when we have those things? And they'll only get better.
- Here's a crazy "Fire Ted Cruz" ad produced by a PAC and directed by Richard Linklater (Bernie, Boyhood, Daze and Confused.)
- It's supposed to rain all day. Are there people who are going to the State Fair today and are completely oblivious to the rain forecast? I'm guessing yes.
- Of course he does. (Side note: I hate that his name is on every gas pump with a message that begins "Howdy Neighbors!")
- Can someone explain to me how Elmer Gantry is qualified to give an opinion on law and judicial philosophy.
- I've always loved R.E.M.'s "Fall on Me" performed on MTV's Unplugged. I watched it again last night and realized (1) I still love it and (2) that I'm old. (Love how his eyes roll back in his head at the 1:18 mark.)
- Anyone else think the auction house was in on this self-destructing Banksy painting bit, and that the "buyer" will never be out a dime? Just one big publicity stunt? (Link to the moment.)
- Mrs. LL was over in Dallas this weekend and saw this in her tire. (Artistic photo, by the way.) She ran by the first repair place she saw (Sears) and they told her she needed a new tire. You won't be shocked to learn that a second opinion led to a different conclusion and a simple patch.
- If you agree with the police taking the sign, you have zero comprehension of the First Amendment. (The image first appeared in the Washington Post when Republicans endorsed Roy Moore who, as an adult, liked to pick up young girls in malls.)
- Republicans have every right to celebrate Kavanaugh's confirmation, but what was John Cornyn thinking? Are there no statesmen left?
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- I'll give BagOfNothing credit for tipping me off to the most disgusting and exploitative ad Greg Abbott has ever run.
- "It's a lot of work—maybe they don't want to do it." Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on why there has never been a Republican woman on the committee.
- Paul McCartney was down at Austin this weekend but waved the Chilean flag thinking it was the Texas flag.
- College football development that drives me crazy: The running back being stood up but then two offensive lineman (or more) start pushing the back of the pile forward for five yards or more. I'm seeing it more and more, and UT is the master of it. (It used to be illegal.)
- What a cluster: "An officer killed a police dog in Waco on Friday after it bit its handler while police were attempting to serve an arrest warrant. Authorities had converged on a house in the 2000 block of Seneca Avenue just after noon. As they walked up to the home, the Belgian Malinois bit its handler. Another officer then fatally shot the dog." The guy they were looking for wasn't at home.
- Melanie Trump went all Raiders of the Lost Ark this weekend.
- Technically, since the production is called "Jesus", it is not false advertising. It is a trip to indeed go see Jesus. (Not sure the Messiah would approve of the prices, however.)
- They were also doing a different Jesus bit in College Station.
- Other (unintentional) Aggie humor: "He caught it! Touchdown! He caught it! I'm looking right at it!"
- Trump actually said this at a "rally" of Friday night. It is a 100% blatant lie. But no one cares.
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- I haven't listened to Dennis Prager, the pseudo-intellectual, for quite some time, but I tuned in on Friday for just long enough to hear him call this device a "protractor".
- Messenger: Above The Fold
- Motor Trend magazine did a truck test in Bridgeport at Toyota's request: "To test out the new Tacoma TRD Pro, Toyota attempted to create a mini Baja in its backyard at a former limestone quarry known as Northwest OHV Park in Bridgeport, Texas."
- This guy is on the ballot for the Texas Supreme Court. Any guy who puts Chico on that list should have the vote of every Wise Countian.
- It looks like Mark Cuban's ruse, in light of the Mavs' culture of sexual harrassment, of hiring interim CEO Cynthia "Cyn" Marshall and having an "independent investigation", was indeed a fraud. The Dallas Morning News reports his long time friend and Mav's photographer was part of the problem, and everyone in a position of authority just somehow forgot to mention him.
- A famous security expert warns of that Presidential Alert you received. Then again, you might want to watch Gringo, The Dangerous Life of John McAfee where "Filmmaker Nanette Burstein tries to unravel the strange behaviour of John McAfee, who left his life as a software mogul to become a recluse in the jungles of Belize." (Really good documentary, by the way. I haven't given up my Costa Rica dream.)
- I had no idea of the history of A Star is Born. The original was in 1937, it came out as a musical with Judy Garland in 1954, a remake in 1976 (Streisand and Kristofferson ) and now today's release. Trivia: The first one starred Janet Gaynor who 10 years earlier won the first ever Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in three films.
- In addition to Cornyn not being able to think of a false sexual assault allegation other than in a decades old work of fiction, Tom Robinson would like to raise an objection to this tortured analogy:
- And the best baby Halloween outfit goes to . . .
- I would mention a 3.7% unemployment rate but long-time commentator Wordkyle told me for eight years that the number is a fraud.
- He was 17 years old at the time and road a bus to high school the next day:
- I'm a day late on the anniversary of Michael Morton's release. A day when unethical Texas prosecutors were exposed forever, and a "lock 'em up" state would take measures to force prosecutors to turn over all evidence -- even that stuff that *gasp* indicates the defendant is not guilty.
- The Kavanaugh vote, led by these men, is coming to a head. I'm not sure they represent a cross-section of America.
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| 83, 64, 74, 82 |
- I won't mention that Trump walked up the steps of Air Force One with toilet paper dangling from his foot.
- It was a first yesterday: We had a former Supreme Court Justice say a nominee was unfit for the court while the nominee took the unprecedented step of writing an opinion piece for Murdoch's Wall Street Journal saying, "Yes I am!"
- The Alvord Arson story in the Update seems to be missing a "how" and "why". (Unless you have a confession, arson case are notoriously hard to prove. Maybe they have one.)
- This trailer for a movie about Dick Cheney looks great if only for the cast alone. Christian Bale (Cheney) and Sam Rockwell (Bush) look and sound fantastic. And then you throw in Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld and we have us a winner. (Although I am a little distracted by Bale sounding like he is using his Batman voice while playing Richard Dreyfus.)
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- "In the ’99 Red River Showdown, OU offensive coordinator Mike Leach planted a decoy play script during pregame warmups. The Longhorns found it, used it and fell behind 17-0 before realizing they’d been duped." Link.
- John Nolley was exonerated in Tarrant County yesterday after 19 years in prison. Who were the Tarrant County assistant DAs who prosecuted the case in 1998? There's no indication they did anything ethically wrong, but I'd like to know. It was cause number 0665622D in the 213th Judicial District Court. Online records yield nothing.
- Whenever someone tells me something is "hilarious" I'm automatically inclined to find that it is not.
- It's been a while since I've gone on a "disguised ad" rant, but I noticed The Ticket referencing "Pro Football Focus dot com" during a generic sports talk segment here a lot lately and it sure seems shoehorned in. Paid embedded ad? A part of my conspiracy theory the Ticket's Gordon Keith, when talking about all great scary movies yesterday, said "I'm getting these from a list on a website but since they aren't a sponsor I won't mention them." That seemed like a shot of being forced to shoehorn in paid website plugs.
- Answer: "I need a phone charger" followed by my GPS coordinates.
- When Trump mocked Ford he said she didn't know if the assault occurred upstairs or downstairs. She was very specific. Once again, facts mean nothing to him. (Funny caption on the CNN screenshot below.)
- Actual screenshot when Trump mocked a female reporter at the White House on Monday with an actual screenshot of Biff and his boys. That's good stuff.
- The loudest I've ever heard a stadium while in attendance: When OU's Roy Williams hit Texas' Chris Simms in the end zone to cause a pick six and seal a victory.
- I did NOT get a Presidential Alert yesterday. I'm hurt.
- What a world we live in.
- Williamson County makes the news yet again:
- Ted Cruz and Donald Jr. had a rally in Wichita Falls yesterday. I'll admit that's a funny shirt. (Hey, is Junior's daddy still coming to Texas for Cruz to rally in "the biggest stadium we can find" like he promised? Time is running out.)
- We've got a teacher/student sex case in Lubbock. Question: Why is this a federal prosecution? The feds normally leave these cases to local DAs.
- Prediction: Kavanaugh is confirmed.
- If Mrs. LL has the TV clicker during a football game, I can guarantee I'm going to be forced to watch a replay of a "spin move." Girl still loves the spin move.
- Jimmy Johnson has cut back on this Fox game day in-studio job. He is now leaving mid-afternoon to get back to the Florida Keys. Why show up at all?
- After being very measured about Dr. Ford earlier this week, Trump openly mocked her at his third "rally" this week as old white men from Mississippi laughed in the background. I'm sure that will go over with Kavanaugh's swing voters, and Sen. Flake was not pleased.
- Trump must have been angry at a year and a half investigation into his taxes and "fortune" by the New York Times which, once again, shows him to be nothing more than a lying and cheating con man. It's eight pages long. And it won't make one iota of difference to his base. He can shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and steal $400 million from the U.S. at the same time and it won't matter.
- Trump called the story "old and boring" this morning. Interestingly, he didn't call it "fake."
- Speaking of Kavanaugh, a letter he wrote in preparation for "Beach Week" has been found. Man, they sound insufferable. (Georgetown Prep sounds to be full of the guys who go on to college and hang out in a bar like the one in Good Will Hunting but who can't quote "Vickers, Work in Essex County, Page 98, right?")
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- You'll get a text from Trump at 1:18 today. Pray that no pictures are accidentally attached. (But I would like to be in a crowd at that moment when everyone instantaneously looks down at their phones -- assuming that they aren't already looking at their phones.)
- Lindsey Graham dropping an S Bomb during a CNN interview.
- I love the crazy looking new wild-eyed mascot "Gritty" who has been an Internet sensation, but look how different he looks when one guy photoshopped in some eyelids.
- My movie watching has diminished lately but Bad Times at the El Royale looks really good.
- There's an obvious clue how you know this is an old photo:
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- The former head of Baylor's Board of Regents is being investigated for making racial slurs. But this sentence got my attention more than others: "Baylor’s counsel has traveled to France to speak with a witness to the conversation . . . . " The lawyer went to France for a simple interview? I want that job.
- Is there a list somewhere of athletes who have been cut and unemployed but are collecting large checks because of guaranteed contracts? For example, Prince Fielder got $24 million in 2017.
- I'm not sure about this lede. The DA "says there's a high risk that most victims of [of domestic violence] will wind up dead." Look at these terms: "High risk" and "most" and "wind up dead." What's that even mean? Even if you get past that everyone "winds up" dead, that sentence would cause a the head to explode of a student of Statistics 101.
- Messenger: Above The Fold
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