Hump-Day Happenings...



Middle of the work week...and what better time to bring you more of the stories that need a good, solid dose of sarcasm, laced with pungent social comment.

So be prepared to smirk, smile, guffaw, chortle, nod in agreement, shake your head in disgust, or even wonder to yourself "WTF planet did I wake up on this morning, 'cause things weren't THIS bollixed up when I went to bed last night?", OK?

Item - Atlanta Seeks "Dress Code" Ordinance:
This city might just be the first to enact a "law" that would otherwise BAN those (what I like to call) "saggy-bottom boys" roaming around. Public display of skin or underwear while the pants ride at or below the buttocks (Yes, Forrest...I said BUTTOCKS) is coming under scrutiny, citing a degrading and slovenly appearance. Not to mention, it's easier to run from police when you have BOTH hands free (as in better fitting pants that need no "assistance").
I didn't say you won't STILL get caught, though...LOL!
Now those of you who read here regularly KNOW EXACTLY how I feel about this; When you DRESS like a slob, people will LOOK at you like...(all together now)...a slob. It's just one of my "universal truths". And nothing says SLOB to me MORE than some young buck parading his Calvin Klein-clad butt cheeks, hanging out like some mandrill in heat for all the world to see as he waltzes down a street, or in a mall. There is NO redeeming value in this manner of dress whatsoever.
It's mainly a "gang-thang". Buy a frigging BELT, you assholes!
I'd love to see this "ban" become the norm all across America. Maybe if we can get people to LOOK LIKE PEOPLE again, we can avoid this "devolving of society" that we've been "enjoying" lo, these many years. I wish the city leaders in Atlanta good luck, because you KNOW they're going to NEED it. The NAACP and the ACLU are already licking their chops over this. They know fresh underwear...I mean meat...when they see it.

Item - Median Income in Indiana Stumbles:
The household income across Indiana has dropped 10% (Allen County is at 11% -since 2000), and although neither inflation nor taxation has dropped in kind, many are finding it much more difficult to make ends meet (except if you're dealing drugs and on welfare and bilking the system by having 5+ kids and a new boyfriend every damn month...then you're doing fine). The Census Bureau's American Community Survey of 3 million households (which WE were not one of) noted that of the 25 counties and eight cities studied, all were failing as far as median income levels went (versus the national averages). They reported that the poverty level dropped between 2005-2006 from 12.6% to 12.3% respectively (big frigging deal, huh?), while the number of people without health insurance ROSE from 44.8 million to 47 million (hell, they just had to pay for all the tax increases...something's got to give). Indiana's median income was as estimated $45,394 (pssst...don't tell any educators or police and fire officers it's that high) last year (national median was $50,815 in 2000, adjusted for inflation). Only Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina had greater declines (hmm...I wonder what ALL these states have in common...let me see). Eight states actually outpaced inflation (and I can guess which ones THEY are). IU's Carol Rogers (assoc dir/ Info sys & serv) believes Indiana has dropped in ranking due to "Reduction of high-wage jobs". She linked the decline partially to a loss of production jobs through "faster, leaner ways of introducing products" (that would mean the jobs lost to Mexico and overseas nations such as CHINA), and through attrition as older workers retire (but what do they have to retire TO...or WITH?). And naturally the black & Hispanic incomes showed the largest inflationary decline (not hard to imagine when only 70% or less OF those people even bother to look for work, let alone actively pursue it).
In a nutshell...get manufacturing jobs BACK to the USA...kapesh?

Item - Downtown Project Clears Hurdle:
The quasi-economic Fort Wayne juggernaut (known as Harrison Square) keeps on moving, like a runaway train down the Matterhorn, slowing for no one, hell bent on completion, whether or not the vast majority of people want it or not. Amazing what a good, solid CABAL in city government can do, isn't it? Zoning has been given (after a LOT of under the table wheeling and dealing no doubt) to make the downtown project another green light closer to completion.
Only councilman John Shoaff (at large-D) rebuffed the proceeding, asking whether the zoning is appropriate for OTHER downtown developments (we're getting a new ballpark and hotel John...what else do we REALLY need down there anyway?).
Still...Shoaff makes a good case; namely to examine different zoning rules for downtown areas to allow different and mixed-use development in the urban core. City officials have previously said the rules need to be changed for downtown development (but I guess they just forgot, huh John?). City council must still approve a short-term bond to begin the project and approve closing some streets needed for the project.
Happy Motoring!

And lastly, some tidbits (and appropriate commentary):

-America is the most heavily-armed nation in the world -
U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies. About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States, it said. "There is roughly one firearm for every seven people worldwide."
"Without the United States, though, this drops to about one firearm per 10 people," it said. India had the world's second-largest civilian gun arsenal, with an estimated 46 million firearms outside law enforcement and the military, though this represented just four guns per 100 people there.
China, ranked third with 40 million privately held guns, had 3 firearms per 100 people. Germany, France, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil and Russia were next in the ranking of country's overall civilian gun arsenals. On a per-capita basis, Yemen had the second most heavily armed citizenry behind the United States, with 61 guns per 100 people, followed by Finland with 56, Switzerland with 46, Iraq with 39 and Serbia with 38. France, Canada, Sweden, Austria and Germany were next, each with about 30 guns per 100 people, while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower.
Nigeria, for instance, had just one gun per 100 people. "Firearms are very unevenly distributed around the world. The image we have of certain regions such as Africa or Latin America being awash with weapons -- these images are certainly misleading," Small Arms Survey director Keith Krause said. "Weapons ownership may be correlated with rising levels of wealth, and that means we need to think about future demand in parts of the world where economic growth is giving people larger disposable income," he told a Geneva news conference.
The report, which relied on government data, surveys and media reports to estimate the size of world arsenals, estimated there were 650 million civilian firearms worldwide, and 225 million held by law enforcement and military forces.
Hallelujah...now...who wants to f$ck with US?

-Boy dies in skatepark fall -
A Ft. Wayne boy died when his head struck the cement after he took a fall from his skateboard. It's called wearing the CORRECT attire...like a damn HELMET. The place is made of C-O-N-C-R-E-T-E (unlike the human skull, although even THAT point can be argued in some cases). You want o skateboard there and have fun...try practicing a little SAFETY...you'd be surprised how it can help you in the REAL world! This was another totally-preventable tragedy.

Two year anniversary of hurricane Katrina -
What I have seen since Katrina:
-The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm.
-Black, white, Hispanic, oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm.
-Christian people giving, giving, giving.
-Neighbors going door to door helping one another.
-Thugs & hoodlums going door to door helping THEMSELVES.
-Ice & water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace.
-People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because shelters are full.
-Out of town volunteers coming with food and water & staying for over a week still serving it.
-The Churches all over this part of the country doing what Christians do in a crisis.
-The Red Cross doing a great job in the shelters.
-The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community.
-400 crewman from everywhere bringing back the power to homes, churches & businesses.
-Lines at service stations a block to a mile long.
-National Guardsman patrolling the streets of Mccomb along with Kentucky policemen protecting people from the hoodlums & thugs of McComb, Pike County & New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before Katrina.)
-Drug dealers working outside shelters.
-Doctors, nurses & other hospital personnel working tirelessly, sleeping in the hospital to do the job God called them to do.

WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN:
-The ACLU setting up a feeding line.
-People for the American Way helping in the shelters
-The NAACP doing any work whatsoever.
-The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters.
-Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations.
I could go on but you get the idea. The gripers in Congress should take a trip down and get in line to pass the water and the ice. Are you listening, Hillary, Chuck, Teddy, and all the other sorry loafers we call Senators & Congressmen? They apparently don't have clue one as to what life is all about on the gulf coast.

(Man, that was one GOOD cup of coffee...time for a refill)

Have a Good hump-Day!