Skattershooting by taking notes over the past month . . .

• Federal prosecutors (those representing the United States in Federal Court) have increasingly sought the death penalty under the George W. Bush administration. Get this: Of the last 16 trials where they have sought the death penalty, only one defendant has received it. Incredible.
• David Clyde, the 18 year old pitching phenom of the Texas Rangers in 1973, was drafted in the first round. His contract that year? A $62,500 signing bonus and a $22,000 a year salary.
• Alex Rodriguez received a $100,000 bonus for making the All Star team this year.
• Did you see that Dennis Miller got to ride in Air Force One?
• News from last month: "Norma McCorvey (the Roe of Roe v. Wade)  will hold a news conference in Dallas today, at which she's expected to announce her petition to reopen the 'Roe versus Wade' case. A statement issued in advance of the news conference says McCorvey would then move for the high-court decision to vacate its 1973 ruling. The statement says the filing would be is based on changes in law and facts since the high court handed down its decision 30 years ago. It says that since McCorvey was a party to the original litigation, she can petition the court to reopen the case." You don't get to have a "do over" in litigation.
• The Supreme Court ruled last month that there are limits on when the government can forcibly medicate mentally ill criminal defendants to make them well enough to stand trial for fraud or other charges. Who would have thought they could do it at all?
• Normally, nominees for federal judgeships who appear before the senate judiciary committee are scared to speak their mind. Not so for current nominee Bill Pryor: "I believe that not only is [Roe] unsupported by  the text and structure of the Constitution, but it has led to a morally wrong result . . . the slaughter of million of innocent unborn child." He can kiss the job good-bye.
• Did you see that "Cadet Killer" Diane Zamora last month married (from her jail cell) another inmate named Steven Mora . That makes her Diane Zamora-Mora.
• Federal prosecutors last month indicted a couple of folks in Fort Worth for selling a movie that "depicted a rape scene". The defense lawyer admitted it was a sexually oriented film but called it freedom of speech. That made me think. Don't the movies oftentimes depict scenes of illegal activity? Murder and drug use, for example.
• Tiger Woods in a slump? His streak of "making the cut" is now at 105. The person in second, Ernie Els, has recorded 20 in a row.
• Here's an odd one: A couple, Debbie and Stacy Hacker, who were charged with fraud in Rockwall County (of bilking investors out of $235,000) had been offered probation with a small amount of jail time as a condition of the probation. Their response? They were found dead via carbon monoxide poisoning on their garage floor along with a suicide note. (Dallas Morning News 6/20/03 at p. 3B.)
• Nextel will become the new title sponsor for NASCAR having signed a 10 year deal for an estimated $70 to $75 million. That's PER YEAR!
• Here's a touchy subject: An article published in USA Today entitled "Studies shatter myth about abuse"said "It is not just men who hit women. Women hit men, too. And the latest research shows that ignoring the role women play in domestic violence does both women and men a disservice."
• So the Tulia defendants were released from jail? Get this: "Christopher Eugene Jackson, 31, was arrested Friday morning after the police officer said Jackson punched him, evaded arrest and was intoxicated in public. Four days earlier, Jackson and 11 others were freed after a bail hearing in Swisher County. During the hearing, retired state District Judge Ron Chapman urged the 12 to avoid run-ins with the law. Jackson's attorney, Mitch Zamoff, said his client has a heart condition that causes him to occasionally black out and act irrationally and could explain his client's behavior."
• Over the 4th of July we were bombarded with public service ads that said "You drink. You drive. You go to jail."  Technically, that is incorrect. It should read "You drink. You become intoxicated. You drive. You go to jail." I say "technically" because if you get caught driving with alcohol on your breath these days you are going to jail despite what the law says.
• No one seemed to understand the Chante Mallard windshield murder case. She was not tried for intentionally killing another human being. Instead she was charged with the seldom used law of "felony murder". That law says you are guilt of murder if a person "commits . . . [any] felony . . . and . . . in the immediate flight from the commission [of the felony] . . . he commits . . . and act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual". In this case, the "felony" was failing to stop and render aid and the "act clearly dangerous to human life" was driving home with a guy in your windshield. All that talk about her wanting to kill him was irrelevant.
• By the way, am I the only one who thought 50 years in the Mallard case was about 40 years too much?
• Ranger/Stars owner Tom Hick's home is 24,000 square feet and on the tax rolls for $24 million.
• Baseball note: "Reliever Aaron Fultz was unavailable for Wednesday's game after colliding with the outfield wall during batting practice." He's a pitcher!
• Three weeks ago I jotted down this note to put in Skattershooting: "Baylor Center Patrick Dennehy is missing." Boy, was that an understatement.
• Howard Dean is the leading Democratic candidate for President. A couple of weeks ago I found out that his son had been arrested for burglary. Want to know where I read it? On Dean's own web site. I kinda like that.
• Dean, by the way, lead all Democratic nominees in fundraising for the second quarter of 2003 with $7.5 million. President Bush did just a tiny bit better: $34.2 million.
• So there is a "cease fire" in Israel? Can I place a bet anywhere on that?
• There have been a ton of high profile deaths lately. Katharine Hepburn, Buddy Hackett, David Brinkley, Gregory Peck, Buddy Ebsen, and Barry White.
• What was noted (and murdered) funeral director Gregory Wayne Spencer doing in a hotel in Arlington?
• Dallas assistant DA Toby Shook "who has tried 5 death penalty cases in the last 23 months" won the National District Attorneys Association's "Home Run Hitters Club" Award for winning the death penalty in all five cases. That sounds a bit morbid.
• Texas is a big football state. Take a look at the number of "Virginia" schools that finished in college football's top 25 last year: 18. Virginia Tech Hokies (10-4)  22. Virginia Cavaliers (9-5) 25. West Virginia Mountaineers (9-4)
• I actually get feedback from some relatively famous people I write about. I have received emails from Scott Sams (I called him "smug") and Jim Shutze (he writes for the Dallas Observer), and a  phone call from Heather Hay's sister.
• From Justin to Kelly only grossed $2.1 million in its opening weekend, finishing outside of the top 10.  The public isn't as dumb as we think.
• Soledad O'Brien (who I think is hot) is moving from NBC to CNN.
• Did you see that the Dallas Morning News is now publishing gay "unions" on its wedding page?
• There seems to be a growing number of ads for Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. Give me a break.
• Speaking of the windshield murder case, the July 4th edition of the Star-Telegram ran this story: "Brandon Biggs talks about his father's death, Chante Mallard's trial, his upcoming engagement and, most of all, forgiveness." How about explaining why your dad was homeless?
• I actually got an answer to that question on 7/7/03 when he appeared on Larry King Live:  "There's nothing I could have done about that. I'm much too young of a man to support someone else." Whatever.
• Pete Samprass won Wimbledon 7 times. Quick. Name the finalists this year.
• Bill O'Reilly of The O'Reilly Factor said this of George Bush on 7/8/03: George Bush possibly lied about WMD but unless there is "unrefutable" proof of this, it is "irresponsible" for the media to say he "lied".
• Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, the government of Texas has executed 306 people. What is shocking is that over 100 of those executions have occurred over the last three years alone. (It took 24 years to execute the first 200 people)
• Did you see that Nike is buying Converse for $305 million?
• One of the funniest things I've seen lately is Pittsburg Pirate Randall Simon hit the sausage mascot with a bat during a "sausage race". The dumbest thing said about it came from Milwaukee Brewer's VP Rick Schlesinger: "This is one of the most outrageous things I've ever seen inside a ballpark or outside a ballpark. It sickened me to see it."
• And now for movie reviews in a nutshell . . .
• Braveheart: OK, I finally got around to renting it. The review: Great. A slow first 30 minutes and then it gets good. Very good.
• Minority Report: Not bad. Makes a criminal justice kinda guy think.
• The Matrix: (the first one): I have no idea what the plot was but it sure has some cool fight scenes.
• AutoFocus: The life of Bob Crane wasn't nearly as crazy as I expected.
• Run Lola Run: A German film that got great reviews. Now I know why.
• Happiness: This will offend 99 out of every 100 viewers and deals with subject matters never before seen on the big screen. (Two of the cast members of The Practice have major roles).