It's A Great Day For Spelling -- Let's Do Two

And you would think that the scroll is controlled by a different person than the stationary graphic guy.

Edit: Ok, make that one. I've got an explanation but even I don't want to hear it. Dog pile!

Above The Fold

What's Going On By The Decatur Post Office?

Enlarged:

Oregon Taking You Into The Weekend

Fleeing Car vs Two Trains: Utah Chapter

Story.

Some Rivalries . . .

does anyone remember when those Bridgeport girls got shot in the butt with paintball guns during #battleofthebigsandyweek
— Wise County Problems (@WiseCountyProbs) October 25, 2013

. . . are defined by classic games or memorable plays.

We have different standards around here.

Edit: Here's the old Star-Telegram story about the paintball incident (as reprinted, for some reason, in the Victoria Advocate.)

This One Is Not For Everyone

Saw a handful of tweets on my Twitter time line this morning saying things like, "Thanks, NPR for making me cry."  There were enough of them to get me to explore what they were talking about.

It was a 4:53 radio segment.

A transcript with text is here. BUT if you're interested in this, you have to hear it.

Just being kind to one another can solve a lot of problems.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• If you are under the impression that an arrest only occurs after a complete and thorough investigation, you need to read about the wrongful arrest of (not by) a Fort Worth deputy city marshal. 
• "I will not yield to this monkey court" - Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) yesterday during the Congressional hearing on the trouble with the Obamacare web site. Funny.
• When's the last time Bridgeport went into the Decatur game winless? 
• Yesterday the Dallas chief of police fired the cop who almost murdered the mentally ill guy buy shooting him in the abdomen. We've seen the footage from a surveillance camera but was the a dashcam on the cop's car? It was right behind the cop and was at the perfect angle. 
• And the chief announced the cop would be charged with Aggravated Assault but later said he wasn't arrested because "the judge" wouldn't sign the warrant. That's just one of I'd bet 50 judges who have the authority to sign the warrant in Dallas and the Chief could present it to everyone of them until he found someone who would sign it. 
• I don't consider "Do you believe in ghosts?" to even be a serious question. 
• "This is the biggest parade of knuckleheads I've ever seen." - Decatur attorney Paul Belew in closing arguments in Jacksboro regarding the government's witnesses who had testified in a criminal trial. (Although Paul's court appointed client might have been the biggest knucklehead of all.)
• "NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A North Texas woman was handcuffed, stripped down and booked into jail – all because of an overdue traffic ticket."  That Channel 11 story even made The Drudge Report today. I'm not sure why. Getting arrested for an outstanding traffic ticket and booked into jail following standard book-in procedures happens every day. 
• Watch Cam Newton and Steve Mariucci almost have heart attacks when a cannon went off in Tampa Bay's stadium last night.

DPS Has Confused Me Again

So DPS ratcheted up police presence for about three weeks and they were able to take back the border? It's that easy?

And check out these strange numbers from the press release:

This increased patrol presence resulted in the following activity reported by law enforcement, which compares the three-week operation to the three weeks prior, in Cameron, Hidalgo, Kenedy, Starr and Willacy counties:

• 49 percent decrease in marijuana seizures
• 42 percent decrease in cocaine seizures
• 95 percent decrease in methamphetamine seizures
• 185 percent increase in U.S. currency seizures
• 67 percent increase in recovery of stolen vehicles
• 74 percent decrease in felony pursuits

So they found less marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine? Sounds like their presence was so obvious that the drug runners decided to wait them out or simply go through other Texas counties.

In Romanian Bull News

Being a traffic cop in Romania seems like a dicey proposition to start with. And I didn't even consider the loose livestock factor.

(I think it's kind of funny the way he just takes off after he launches the cop. It's like he was overcome with Romanian bull guilt.)

Huh?!

#BREAKING: #USNavy can confirm incident near Naval Support Activity Midsouth in #Millington. Details to follow.
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) October 24, 2013

Edit: Shooting. When the U.S. Navy announces an "incident" that could have meant a lot of things.

Local NBC news now saying at least 2 shot at Millington Navy Base in Tennessee. NBC previously reported 4 shot.
— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) October 24, 2013

Hold That Pose

This photo was everywhere yesterday with captions like "Ridiculously Photogenic Football Player."

It happened last week when this Notre Dame running back lost his helmet during a run only to reveal him to be a GQ model.

But there's a slight local tie with a sad note. The kid's name is Cam McDaniel from Coppell. His little brother and a kid named Jacob Logan jumped off a cliff into Possum Kingdom lake last summer. His little brother came up.  Logan never did.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Jon Stewart really went after the Obamacare website a couple of nights ago. And it was very funny. It made me think of those who won't watch him because he's so "liberal." I've never understood how some people take themselves so seriously. 
• Moneypit update: It was a minor thing, but I had to go up in the attic a couple of nights ago. When I pulled on the cord to have the door drop down it snapped and came off into my hand. Mrs. LL saw it happen so I stood their dramatically with the cord dangling from my fingers. 
• Troy Aikman and Daryl Johnston both declined to join the concussion lawsuit against the NFL. Both probably opted out because they enjoy their job as Fox analysts. Had they sued that probably wouldn't have lasted too long once the NFL mafia put pressure on Fox. 
• Wise County TxDOT District Engineer Bill Nelson is retiring. There was a time on here that he was regularly dogged in the comments, but that stopped once most of the road death traps have been eliminated. 
• If you're a college football fan, there is a weekly show on ESPNU called Crunch Time, and it is fantastic.  It will take the best finishes of five close games and then replays the last 10 minutes of real time of each of them. 
• I watched A Football Life about Pat Summerall. That was a pretty strained relationship he had with his family. (And the show glossed over the fact that Fox basically fired him.) 
• Dennis Miller, like Hannity and Limbaugh, has to be doing a bit right? (And I loved this scathing review of his recent performance in Allen. "When Miller started in on illegal immigrants and how 'Pancho' is taking over, I was done.")
• I've said that I don't really mind Bill O'Reilly but his new line of "killing" books makes me suspicious. I mean, Killing Lincoln (2011) sounds like Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer (2006) and Killing Jesus (2013) sounds almost identical to The Day Christ Died (1957).
• Modern Family still makes me laugh.
• What if your obituary began, "He tried to provide affordable health care to even the poorest of Americans"? Would you be proud of that? 
• I know of at least two Wise County people who have received a call from a fake DEA agent "investigating" online drug purchases and seeking a quick resolution by a fine. This scheme works because there are apparently a lot of people who have bought medication online. Note: Don't worry. Medication issued by a doctor online is still medication issued with a prescription. 
• I was listening the It's Just Banter podcast while jogging yesterday and they replayed the Ali G - Newt Gingrich "interview."  That made me think: (1) How could that have possibly happened, and (2) Every short Ali G bit has made me laugh out loud. 
• Didn't watch a second of the World Series last night. Probably won't watch any of it.

"Fake Faint"

I don't know who is behind "Lady Patriots", but I promise you they also believe the President's birth certificate was fake, that 9/11 was an inside job, that the CIA killed Kennedy, the moon landing was filmed in a Hollywood studio, and that the Earth is shaped like a burrito.

Wednesday Pick Me Up

That Is Full Throttle

Puppy Dog Health Alert

Take this seriously. My dog was violently ill in April of 2012 from this. FDA was ignoring it then. http://t.co/M87THsVbJY
— Rich Phillips (@rphillips1310) October 23, 2013

I'm not sure what kind we use. I just know the Family Pup goes crazy when she hears, "You wanna cookie?"

And Another - Christ Classical Academy in Dyersburg, Tenn

Link.