Monday Musings...

Another rainy, dreary day in the Summit City, and lots of things to ponder. So here we go. Hang on...it's a bit slick out there today.

-Item: Harrison Square walkway still "up in the air". Well it IS going to eventually be located ABOVE the ground, right? I honestly don't know what is taking SO damn long to figure out what "type" of walkway is needed (how about one that WORKS and is BUILT WELL?). Apparently, there are numerous things being considered, not the LEAST of which is how much MORE this will wind up costing the taxpayers of this city (who by a majority didn't want the current incarnation of this "project" in the FIRST place)?

-Item: New police/fire academy to open this week at Southtown Centre. This looks to be THE regional diamond in our crown (and about damn time too), so if you're not doing anything this Wednesday (28 November) at 2PM...take a drive over and check it out.

-Item: Double shooting on the city's SOUTH side (where else?) leaves one dead and another in the hospital. That brings our current number of homicides up to TWENTY THREE (so far) and it looks to be a good bet on the "25" total for this year that I have MY money on. Lemme guess...this was another drug deal gone bad? AND it's probably gang-related as well? AND the people shot were BOTH "good people - never bother or harm anyone", right? Yeah.

-Item: The Family Channel is now in the "meat-processing" business, and by that I mean BUTCHER! I wouldn't have thought this myself, but after watching the perennial season favorite, WHITE CHRISTMAS this past weekend, I can now truthfully say that I haven't seen such a HACK JOB since SWEENEY TODD first hit Broadway! Do yourselves a favor...buy the DVD instead of viewing the Family Channel's pathetic attempt to show a Christmas classic.

-Item: Fort Wayne's economic growth is in the crapper. We've come out 273rd out of 363 metro areas (of similar size), and yet we still manage to hang onto a 20% manufacturing share. My question would be: "So where are all these jobs we are promised that will spur faster growth"? Tell you one thing - if we had to rely on farmers CROPS growing as slowly as Fort Wayne's economic growth...we'd be starvin' for sure. Makes a good argument for a third world country within our own country, doesn' it?

-Item: Christmas shopping off to a great start. Must have been all those "bargains" the early birds camped out for. Personally, I don't see the overall "gain" that the market THINKS it will garner. I think the peak of spending is already past us, and only the last-minute shoppers will bring in any further serious revenue. Who can bloody afford to blow the wad when you've got to consider home heating, fuel for the cars, and rising cost of everything else (also because of the fuel prices)?

-Item: Supreme Court working on D.C. gun ban. This COULD overturn a 76 year-old ban on handguns for the District of Columbia (you can still have long guns, but they have to be locked or disassembled - great in case of emergencies, eh?). This will have far-reaching effects in places like Chicago as well, where the constitutionality of these bans is also in question. Considering that both D.C. and Chi-Town have had MORE homicides (in spite of some of the STRICTEST gun laws) due to handguns over the years with such bans in place, one has to wonder exactly how much GOOD these bans have provided the law-abiding public. The answer is absolutely NO DAMN GOOD. Criminals don't adhere to bans, don't follow laws, and thumb their collective noses at the law. That's why they're called CRIMINALS. Time to make THEM pay for a change...instead of innocent people.

And there you are....lots to talk about at the water cooler. Lot's to think about, and if there is ONE THING you can be sure that you will take away from THIS blog, it's knowing that if nothing else, you will be encouraged to THINK. And thinking can motivate one into action...and affect a change for the better.

And the BEST part...I provide it to all of you GRATIS....Gotta love that, eh?