Skattershooting again . . . .

• So I'm not writing as often? Last week may provide an explanation: I was set for three separate jury trials in the County Court at Law  beginning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  That kind of schedule can take away from a guy's free time.
• So you want know the outcome of the three trials? Monday: Won a DWI case. Wednesday: Another DWI case, but my client pled guilty to a lesser charge. Friday: Won another DWI case. Am I happy? You bet. Do I expect, as a defense lawyer, to always have that kind of success? No way. Do I feel lucky? Absolutely.
• I'll give kudos, I suppose, to your county attorney, Greg Lowery. He won't shy away from a tough case. Unfortunately, he is working both of us to death.
• I went to the Texas-OU football game a couple of weeks ago. There is no greater spectacle in sports than the Red River Shoot-out that takes place in the Cotton Bowl every October.
• When I was leaving the game I walked through the Midway. At 5:30 p.m., I saw one drunk guy punch another drunk guy in the face. Good, wholesome family entertainment.
• When I heard that a tornado went through Decatur, my initial thought was "yeah, right". I was very wrong. The damage was surprising.
• Baseball is only worth watching in the post season.
• Probably one of the most gut wrenching articles about the anthrax scare comes from Johanna Huden of the New York Post. She contracted the disease and, in simple and easy to read English, explains what the ordeal was/is like.
• Attorney General John Ashcroft promises to pursue the anthrax distributors and those that commit anthrax hoaxes with equal vigor. If you don't mind, could you go after the real terrorists first?
• After the Decatur tornado, my law partner got up the next morning, grabbed his son and chain saw, and went to work cutting away damaged branches in residential areas. He always makes realize how little I contribute to society.
• The greatest football invention in the last 20 years is the imaginary "yellow strip" that we see on TV to indicate where the first down marker is located. Did you notice that Fox has discontinued the practice because of the cost ($20,000) per game. Please bring it back.
• I want you to rent the movie Memento. Now.
• I finally saw Meet The Parents the other day on HBO. A very, very funny movie.
• I had to smile when the cameras focused in on Paul McCartney as he attended a recent playoff game at Yankee Stadium. In between innings, the PA guy would play "Band on the Run" and "I Saw Her Standing There". McCartney, all smiles, sang along like a school boy.
• This won't mean much to those outside of law enforcement, but when I was DA I was never a big fan of the North Central Texas Narcotics Task Force.  I refused many a case on the basis that I thought the search or seizure crossed the line from a constitutional standpoint. I couldn't help but smile the other day when the Fort Worth Court of Appeals reversed one of their cases on the basis that its commander had no reason to detain a driver on the side of the highway. See McQuarters v. State, no. 2-00-198-CR (September 20, 2001). (Opinion here in PDF format).
• So Washington DC is now freaking about the mail due to the anthrax scare. What about the millions of letters from kids across the nation that enclosed $1 (to assist Afganistan children) at the request of the President? Will they be opened?
• With all of anthrax scares at all of the major news networks, is it just a coincidence that NBC's Katie Couric hasn't been seen in a couple of weeks?
• I'm getting a bit tired of seeing New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani on TV all of the time.
• I'm not a big baseball fan, but I almost fell out of my chair the other night when I saw Julio Franco up to bat for the Atlanta Braves. I thought the former Ranger was long gone. A little research reveals he had only played one game in the major leagues since 1997 and his age is a mystery (he is either 40 or 43).
• Speaking of baseball, did you see that Ruben Sierra was named Comeback Player of the Year?
• I smell a rat. Gov. Rick Perry creates a "Task Force on Homeland Security" (like we really need one) and names David Dewhurst as vice-chairman. Hmmm. Dewhurst, you may have noticed, is spending a ton of money on becoming Lt. Governor for Texas. Coincidence? I think not.
• How much do you think Bill Lewis, "MADD state public policy liaison", earns?
• Speaking of MADD, did you know that in 1994, according to Money magazine's June 1995 issue, telemarketers raised $38.2 million for MADD but the telemarketers kept $18.5 million of the sum in fees?
• The execution happy State of Texas is sure behind on its average. As of tonight, only 14 folks have been put to death by your state government this year.
• Comedy Central's The Man Show is very funny.
• I have a friend at the courthouse who suggests this: Call off the War on Drugs and place all that energy and money in the fight against terrorism. Moreover, release every person in prison for drugs in exchange for an agreement to go to the Middle East to fight terrorism.
• Monday Night Football's Melissa Stark is still hot.
• Gas prices sure have plummeted (although the main stream convenience stores on 287 in Decatur seem not to quite understand the word "competition").
• Is it any surprise that Texas AG John Cornyn has announced he will run for the Senate seat to be vacated by Phil Gramm?
• Doesn't it seem odd that Gramm is leaving the Senate at the time a Texan has taken over the White House? I bet behind the scenes that Gramm has been neglected by the Bush Administration and he will have no part in such treatment.
• Did you see that famous babe Christina Applegate (Kelly on Married With Children) has become a bride?
• Apparently the main insurer of the World Trade Center issued a policy with a maximum of $3.5 billion per "occurrence". When the attack his on September 11, 2001, did we have two occurrences or one? At Pearl Harbor, was every bomb a single occurrence?  It is a multi-billion dollar question.
• The ESPN behind the scenes look at Texas A&M called "Sidelines" is horrible. Moreover, why in the world is it broadcast only at 11:00 p.m. on Thursday nights?
• Gov. Rick Perry took part in a prayer service in a public school the other day and said he would be willing to make it a campaign issue. "From my personal perspective I think that a prayer life and a country that respects a higher being, our God, is a stronger country. I believe that, and I think the vast majority of the people in Texas and in this country believe that."  Government has no role in the sponsorship of prayer (I suspect you don't want an Islamic prayer said at the beginning of every Alvord school day), and it certainly isn't a "majority rules" issue. Perry is smart enough to know that, and he is only engaging in obscene political pandering.
• You probably heard that Rush Limbaugh is, in essence, deaf. As a consequence, he is beginning to slur his words in a frightening manner and it would appear that his career in radio is in jeopardy. Earlier this year he signed the most lucrative commitment in the history of talk radio -- reportedly $250 million dollars with a $35 million dollar signing bonus until the year 2009. I wonder if this Clinton-Is-An-Evil-Man-Because-He-Told-A-Lie guy mentioned his hearing problems before he signed off on the contract?