The Queen of Wink, Princess Annie, Steve Doeung & Me Taking Stock In The Fort Worth Stockyards

That is the Queen of Wink moseying along the boardwalk that hovers above the actual Stockyards at the Fort Worth Stockyards.

The Queen & Annie & I went to the Stockyards after the Steve Doeung vs. Chesapeake Energy day in court was done, well, done for today. It's not over, for good, yet.

During the proceedings on the courthouse steps this tall blonde lady seemed to be being consulted by various people. At one point she was introduced as Electra.

When the court session was over, Electra came over to me and handed me a slip of paper. She told me "that's my number, call me when you decide where you're having lunch."

It was very mysterious. In the picture, where the Queen is walking on the boardwalk, she is talking to Steve Doeung. He was about to be interviewed by some TV news people. But he wanted to meet up with us at the Stockyards.

I figured the Love Shack would be a good place. So, I called the number Electra gave me, she answered, all I said was "Love Shack at 11, or so." She said, "I'll be there."

I thought we'd pretty much have the Stockyards to ourselves, it being Thursday, and not tourist season. But like I've long said, it's always busy in the Stockyards. And so it was today. Hundreds, maybe thousands of school kids. You don't see any of the little darlings in the picture of the boardwalk, but, just minutes before, we had to wait in a long line while the little darlings went, one by one, through the turnstile.

When we first got to the Stockyards, Annie and the Queen thought doing the Cowtown Maze looked fun. Along with dozens of the aforementioned darlings. I opted out and chose, instead, to observe from the Observation platform.

If you are a The Amazing Race viewer, the Cowtown Maze was a Roadblock on the final leg of Season 5.

Cowtown Maze Rats have to find 4 letters and get their race card punched to successfully complete the maze. Annie and the Queen were not good maze rats. Eventually the proprietor had to help the pair get past a few confusions. It was pretty amusing to watch.

Eventually they found the exit. Eventually.

And then it was on to explore the Fort Worth Stockyards, including Saunders Park, walking under Exchange Street, alongside the Venice canal like feature that few see.

At one point we were in Booger Red's Saloon, where Annie plopped herself on a saddle stool underneath the big buffalo butt that's stuck on the wall. The bartender told Annie he would need to see some I.D. Annie said, "Just give me a shot of sarsaparilla, barkeep."

Moving on, it was time to head to the Love Shack for lunch. But it was also almost time for the Fort Worth Herd to make one of their 2 daily cattle drives. The cattle drive does not drive by the Love Shack.

So, we decided to head to Riscky's BBQ, which the Longhorns do drive by. I called Electra to inform her of the change. The Queen called Steve.

We sat at the outdoor zone of Riscky's. As we pondered what we wanted, water arrived. The Queen deemed her glass of water not fit to consume, due to the presence of a lemon slice and too much ice. The thoroughly chagrined waitress bowed humbly and begged the Queen's pardon.

Later Annie objected to the fat content of her pork ribs. Immediately a less fat beef rib was delivered. A special take home glass of Dr Pepper was delivered to Annie, along with a special container for dog bones. And when the Queen complained of chilly hands, the waitress brought a glass filled with hot water, so that the Queen could warm herself.

I tell you, when you hang with royalty you get treated royally.

At some point the Fort Worth Herd drove by. A large crowd assembled to watch.

After we had finished our vittles, Steve Doeung showed up. We had a real nice talk. I tell you, this is one smart guy. I zone out after about a half hour of smart talk. This guy had already been doing more smart talk than I do in a week, whilst in court this morning, and he still had energy for more smart talk with me and the Queen. Mostly I listened while the Queen and Steve were interesting to listen to.

The Queen wanted to be on the road, heading back to her Wink Kingdom, by 1. That didn't happen, but I did manage to lead her to I-30 and head the Queen of Wink and Annie back west, about a half hour after the preferred start time.

Electra never showed up. She did call twice. I did not hear my phone ring. Nor did anyone else.

The Carter Avenue Rescue Operation Had A Good Day Today & So Did Steve Doeung

I am a bit exhausted. Up before 4. Downtown in chilly Fort Worth at 7. The Tarrant County Courthouse a half hour later.

Using telecommunicators, the Queen of Wink and I were able to match locations and coordinate the search for a parking spot.

With the parking spot secured, we took off, on foot, the Queen, Princess Annie and I, toward the Courthouse. Mid-way the Queen got a Royal Chill, so we had to find a Starbucks to get something hot.

With that need met, it was on to the Carter Street Rescue Rally. By the time we got there the bullhorn was already at full throttle, signs were waving, people were being noisy.

I was sort of wandering around taking pictures, so maybe I was not as actively listening as I should have been, but I believe Steve Doeung started off the proceedings, introducing someone who introduced someone else.

The speeches were brief and to the point, with a lot of shouted punctuations from the crowd, things like, "Chesapeake Sucks" "No Eminent Domain Abuse" "Aubrey McClendon Boo," stuff like that.

At one point, fresh, young firebrand, Glen Bucy, spoke. I asked one of the coordinators of this event to introduce me to Glen Bucy, because I admire his rhetoric, which reminds me so much of my own, but, for some reason, she did not.

That is Glen Bucy looking at me taking his picture, with Steve Doeung under the lower left hand corner of the "Hey Chesapeake Take this PIPELINE and SHOVE IT!" sign.

As the protest rally was going on, cars drove by honking horns of support. A lot of horn honkings of support.

After the Carter Avenue Rescue Project Rally was over it was time to head to the courtroom. There will be no pictures of the courtroom. It was forbidden. My group had trouble finding the courtroom. We exhausted all 4 floors before we found where we needed to be.

The last time Steve Doeung faced a judge and Cheseapeake Energy's legal team, he did it alone, with Don Young his sole support in the chamber. This time Steve Doeung was not alone. The courtroom was full of support.

The proceedings started off dull, with it seeming like Steve Doeung was in way over his head. And then, sort of like watching a Frank Capra movie, Steve seemed to grow stronger and stronger. Always polite, always articulate, always calm.
At one point the judge told Steve he was wrong on a point of law. One of the Chesapeake lawyers begged your honor's pardon to inform the judge that Steve was actually correct. I think the audience cheered. At least in the movie version.

At another point Steve was arguing the absurdity of a private citizen being put in the position of having to defend himself from a private business using eminent domain to try and take his property, asking that the judge even the playing field by appointing Steve legal counsel.

The judge explained that this was impossible. Steve suggested that if he kicked the Chesapeake lawyer, not that he was considering it, but, if he did, then legal counsel would be assigned. In other words, when you commit a crime, legal help is provided. But when you are the victim of what many believe to be a crime, you have to use your own resources to defend yourself.

In Steve Doeung's case, he may not be blessed with financial resources, but he is blessed with another powerful resource, as in he has a first rate mind, praised by the judge. And the Chesapeake lawyers.

At one point in the court proceeding a Texan with a cowboy hat came into the court, sat down, proceeded to pass his cowboy hat around to the courtwatchers, with people putting money in the hat, as if sitting in a pew at church.

When the bailiff saw this going on he escorted the cowboy out of church, I mean court. The cowboy was collecting money for Steve Doeung's defense. Later I was to see the amount of money that had been collected. It was not a small amount.

The King of Anti Eminent Domain Abuse, Billy Mitchell, is in one of the above pictures, speaking above the upper left corner of a "Chesapeake Sucks!" sign. I did not get a chance to meet Billy Mitchell. I don't think the opportunity presented itself.

That is DISH mayor Calvin Tillman on the right of the distinguished looking gentleman holding up what looks to be a very well-designed protest sign. And an American flag.

Okay, that is Part 1 of my day, today, in downtown Fort Worth. Part 2 took place at the Fort Worth Stockyards. I'll get to that after the break. I mean, after I take a break.

Mr. Smith Went To Washington While Steve Doeung Goes To Fort Worth

Mr. Jefferson Smith went to Washington and won an ugly battle against corruption and an entrenched good ol' boy network.

Tomorrow morning Steve "Jefferson" Doeung goes to a Fort Worth courtroom to fight, again, in an ugly battle against corruption and a good ol' boy network.

Jefferson Smith went to Washington, all idealistic.

Steve "Jefferson" Doeung came to America, all idealistic. Believing America to be the Land of the Free, where The People rule, where Freedom of Speech was a Right, where the government's job was to Serve and Protect The People, unlike the land he fled, to come to America.

When idealistic Mr. Smith got to Washington he came up with legislation that would have the federal government loan money to buy land for a national boys' camp, to be paid back by kids across America. Donations poured in.

But, the proposed campsite was already part of a lake-building/flood diversion scheme, I mean, dam-building/graft scheme engineered by the Moncrief, I mean, Taylor, political machine.

When Jefferson Smith learned of the political machine's plan to run a non-odorized gas pipeline, I mean build a dam, on the land Mr. Smith had intended for a national boy's camp, well, he fought back.

A one man battle against the U.S. Senate.

Every attempt, to throw every "rule" in the book, at Jefferson Smith, to shut him up, failed. Every attempt at intimidation, by political thugs, failed. In the end, Jefferson Smith, won.

Steve "Jefferson" Doeung's battle against every "rule" in the crooked book being thrown at him, has, so far, been successful. In Mr. Doeung goes to Fort Worth, we are now at the scene in the movie where The People see quite clearly that the politicians have been doing some dirty dealing.

And now, tomorrow, The People will be cheering in the gallery. For Steve Doeung.

At this very moment, wheels are on the road, from distant parts of Texas, heading to Fort Worth.

When Frank Capra released Mr. Smith goes to Washington there were quite a few objections from corrupt politicians all over the world.

Corrupt politicians do not want The People getting the idea that they have any Power. It scares them.

Mr. Smith goes to Washington was banned in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Some European countries dubbed the film to alter the message. When the Nazis occupied France in 1942 American films were banned. Many theaters chose to show Mr. Smith goes to Washington as the last film screened before the ban went into effect.

I wonder how many years it'll be before Mr. Doeung goes to Fort Worth hits movie theater? Moviegoers love happy endings.

A Blue Sky Sprouts Again In Southlake Fort Worth & North Texas

You are looking at produce in Sprouts Farmers Market, in Southlake, at a little after noon today.

The picture does not do the crowd justice, but it was human gridlock, at times, in Sprouts today. I took 5 pictures, trying to get a good one of the gridlock, but I had to be very surreptitious, due to the fact that people seem to have an aversion to having their picture taken when they are grocery shopping.

We have had a return to blue sky and warm temperatures, again, here in North Texas. It is a bit over 60 out there. I felt too HOT in here. So, I have a window open.

Could the end of winter be here? The 5 day forecast has us in the 60s with one day in the 70s. It is only 18 days til spring. Could our long Arctic Texas nightmare be over?

That's the blue sky view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony around 3 this afternoon. It's hard to believe just a couple weeks ago this view was covered by more than a foot of snow.

I have an interesting day to look forward to tomorrow. I think. I am fairly certain, unlike today, it will not begin with a refreshing dip in a cool pool.

Texas Turns Arctic While The Northwest Turns Tropical

That is a Dallas school kid on a sled on a hill in Highland Park by Turtle Creek, sledding during a rare snow day caused by the record breaking over a foot of snow we had fall on us here, in North Texas.

This has been the harshest winter since I've been in Texas. My memory of winter in Washington has faded, but I really don't remember this harsh a winter in Washington.

Almost every day this winter when I first log in to read the local papers, online, I make note of that morning's low temperature. Practically every day this winter I'd see the local temperature and then go to the Seattle P-I and see it 20 to 30 degrees warmer.

This is not normal.

Yesterday I was talking to a Western Washingtonian, based in the balmy Skagit Valley, telling me about the record breaking HOT winter and the resulting early blooming of things that are not supposed to bloom in winter.

However, right at this very moment, coming up on 10am, I am reading 43 here in Fort Worth. I just checked on Seattle and it is also 43. A rare instance of being equally cold this winter.

The bizarre weather was brought to mind by a letter to the editor in today's Dallas Morning News. The letter was from Harold Whittington from Garland, Texas.

Below is what Harold had to say...

Normally, I don't get into the Winter Olympics, but I really did this year, watching every night. I even watched curling and ice dancing -- in front of other people.

After the final ceremonies, I tried to determine why I had this newfound interest in an event that I had largely ignored over the years. I could come to only one conclusion -- it was the weather.

It's hard to get jazzed up about the frigid Winter Olympics when you just finished washing your car in 70-plus-degree weather wearing jeans, a T-shirt and flip-flops. The transition is just too much.

This year, however, it was different. Our weather on some days didn't look too much different than the weather at the Winter Olympics. The fantasy was complete!

We Won't Pipe Down: Americans to Save Fort Worth's Carter Avenue

Well. Yesterday I committed a massive faux pas. I was asked if I could possibly make a logo for the CARO Project Press Release. I always do what I'm asked to do, so I made a logo.

The original logo said "We Won't Pipe Down: North Texans to Save Carter Avenue: Rescue Operation."

Can you spot the mistake that had me receiving blistering emails this morning? Okay, I'm exaggerating. They weren't all blistering.

I heard from several CARO supporters who are not located in North Texas, including one full of umbrage West Texan, a couple from Oklahoma, a guy from Austin, another guy from California and an acquaintance of mine from Washington.

So, changing "North Texas" to "Americans" should fix the problem. Unless I hear now from a Canadian, Mexican or Iranian. If I do, it is easy to change "Americans" to "World."

Come to think of it, this really should be a Global Cause.

Recipe For Successful Drilling In Barnett Shale Communities & Towns

TXsharon thought the following information might be useful to anyone in any of the natural gas drilling shale zones.

Is your community or town plagued with out of control drilling and rapid issuance of new drilling permits? If so, I have a simple recipe with simple steps you can follow to success.

1. Download Drill-Right Texas: Best Oil & Gas Development Practices for Texas.

2. Print out and distribute a copy for each city council member and each member of the planning and zoning committee.

3. Sign up for the citizens' agenda at your next city council meeting and ask for a moratorium on new projects until all the Drill-Right Texas best practices are addressed with the city's ordinances.

If your city council happens to be addressing an application to drill at that meeting, ask the following 3 questions:

1. Has the applicant mapped where the pipelines will go and how they will tie into larger transmission pipelines?

2. Has the applicant detailed their emission controls during drilling activities and on the stationary equipment and compressors they will leave at the drill site?

3. Has the applicant disclosed where the water they will use will come from, what chemicals additives will go into the water and how they will dispose of or treat all the waste water from the site.

These questions must be answered before approving any permits.

The Texas Insitute For Justice Is Afraid To Take On Barnett Gas Driller Eminent Domain Abuse

A couple days ago I blogged about what I now know to be the Institute for Injustice, wondering why this entity that calls itself the Institute for Justice, claiming to work to help victims of eminent domain abuse and freedom of speech ,was not all over the Steve Doeung Carter Avenue Eminent Domain Abuse Case like a fat fly on a Texas Longhorn.

In the blogging about the Institute for Injustice I asked if anyone knew if this was a legit operation or not.

Well. I soon heard from Chris who had heard from another Chris, that being Chris Grodecki of the Castle Coalition and Institute for Justice.

I'll copy the comment from Chris below, followed by two comments from the ever ubiquitous Anonymous....

Chris said...

Regarding the Institute for Justice, I have been down that road before. They do not get involved in eminent domain disputes involving energy companies because the "public good" argument tends to favor energy or utility companies.

As Chris Grodecki of the Castle Coalition and Institute for Justice wrote to me in November of 2008:

"As you may know, we provide resources for property owners threatened by eminent domain for private economic development. Situations that involve energy companies are bit more complicated because those companies are considered common carriers. Because they are licensed by the government to provide services to the general public, their uses of eminent domain are very likely to be considered as "public use" by the courts. We, unfortunately, do not get directly involved in situations that regard takings for "public use"; that's not a judgment, however, on the merits of your situation, which while fully legal, doesn't necessarily make it any less wrong."

Activate your grassroots! Educate yourself and talk to your neighbors. It does take stamina and patience, however, because you will have to "saddle your own horse." Compare notes with our experience: Spectra Energy

Anonymous then said...

Let me get this right: the Institute for Justice only takes cases they can win and will not take cases involving energy companies because THEY HAVE DECIDED THAT THEY ARE UNBEATABLE. Either that claim is pretty absurd or this Steve on Carter guy's been doing some mighty impressive "lawyering" --esp. with being disabled and untrained in the law in any way. With this kind of attitude from self-proclaimed public interest firms fighting for justice and liberty, old Steve might just be better off fighting on his own --with "We the people" supporting him in any way possible. This kind of stuff is what gives lawyers and even the legal system a bad name and Shakespeare...nevermind.

And then Anonymous had more to say...

One more thing: if the services to the "public good" provided by these oil and gas companies are so overwhelmingly helpful to the American public and even the economy, then let Wal-mart and big trucking companies have the rights of eminent domain to take people's front yards to provide overnight stops so that they can drive safely in their work to provide cheaper consumer goods of all sorts and get the needed rest without having to find sparse and costly truck stops/motels. Besides, trucks idling overnight on people's front yards don't hardly ever blow up and destroy whole neighborhoods like a 16-24 inch natural gas lines do on a fairly regular intervals.

---

On a totally different, yet related to the Anonymous comments, note. Anonymous typed in his comments twice. This happens when commentators do not notice the "comments moderated" message. I have to moderate the comments or it would be an awful lot of bother to go through the various posts to delete inappropriate comments. Every day there are dozens of spam comments, nonsense comments and demented comments. Moderating the comments makes it way simpler. Sorry you had to go to the bother of typing in your comments twice, Anonymous, but I'm glad you did.

A Safe, Orderly, Peaceful Coming Together In Texas In Support Of Steve Doeung

I've been getting messages from Texans heading to Thursday's CARO Support Rally in downtown Fort Worth, concerned that the Rally will somehow be disrupted by the City of Fort Worth.

One party asked me if events spin out of control, would I help her escape, due to having a very important appointment that afternoon that she would prefer not missing due to being tasered and in jail.

And then, a mother, who is bringing her pre-teen daughter to the Support Rally, told me her daughter asked if they might be sprayed by water hoses. February was Black History month and so the pre-teen had learned of some of the Civil Rights Fight type bad doings by those in authority back in those ugly days.

Permits for large protests or marches are required in some jurisdictions, like New York City and America's capital, and others. Permits are required for large demonstrations, with the protesters having to estimate the size of the crowd, so the city knows how many police to assign to stifle the dissent, I mean, keep law and order.

Thursday morning Steve Doeung has a date in court in his Battle with Chesapeake Energy. People have come together to support Steve Doeung and to make certain he is no longer fighting this battle alone.

The right to assemble is one of our rights, you know, in that part of the U.S. Constitution known as the Bill of Rights. The right to assemble was considered, by the Founding Fathers, to be part of Free Speech, and a vital part of the preservation of Freedom in a Democracy.

Texans armed with cell phones and cameras will be at the CARO Rally. Should there be any bad behaviors, by authorities, such as were committed in Fort Worth in the raid on the Rainbow Lounge, it will go global before the day is done.

And, might I add, way back in time, a short while before 1776, some guys in Boston decided they were not all that happy with the British and a new tax. So, a group got together and threw a lot of tea into Boston Harbor. This is known as the Boston Tea Party. It's sort of an American tradition.

Those long ago teabaggers attained no permits to exercise what was then only their God-given right to protest, that was codified, about 15 years later, into the United States Constitution.

And, also remember, things did not go all that well, for the British, after the Boston Tea Party.

Walking Around Fort Worth's Fosdic Lake Listening To Tootsie Tonasket's Tale Of A Washington State Gestapo Stormtrooper Raid

The picture is from Sunday, feeding the birds at Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park in sunny Fort Worth.

There was a thick frost on roofs and windows when I did my icy Sunday morning dip yesterday.

This morning there was no dip due to a constant drip. Yes, rain has returned. It's like I am back living in the Pacific Northwest, which is currently having one of its most balmy winters ever, with buds sprouting and flowers blooming way too early.

Yesterday when I walked around Fosdic Lake I talked to Tootsie Tonasket and heard the bizarre explanation for the plea for help she left on my phone late Friday.

The Tootsie Tonasket voice mail message was "the police are here and are yelling at me to come out with my hands in the air. Do I have to do that?"

Tootsie was calling me, 2,200 or more miles distant, to ask what to do while police were yelling at her to surrender?

One of the more bizarre messages I've ever gotten, and that covers a lot of bizarre messages. The story of what lead to that phone message and what happened after that is also very bizarre.

As I listened to Tootsie's tale I was thinking to myself, this is the type stuff that happens here in Texas, in Fort Worth, in particular, not in a bucolic little town in Eastern Washington.

The sky continues to drip. I'm thinking maybe the first day of the new month of March is my one day of the month to do nothing aerobic, as much as that pains me.