03 October 2008

Weekend Roundup...
It's Friday and that long hard grind is coming to a close (for those still employed), and it's time to weigh in on matters that concern a lot of us.
So pour another cup of java (feel free to sweeten it with whatever choice bourbon or scotch is at hand...you're gonna need it), and let's start the end of the week off with a shout and not a whimper, fair enough?
** I admit to having watched the VP debate last night in it's entirety, and I came away very impressed.
It's not that I don't like Joe Biden...I think he has his place in the Senate (which he performed quite well when grilling others while on a committee), it's that I'd rather see him continue in that position.
I DO think that Governor Sarah Palin came away in a lot better shape (and she sure has one) than many gave her credit for.
I don't really look for "winners" or "losers"...it's a debate, not a boxing match.
But I would said that Sarah went the distance (as did Rocky Balboa), came out a lot better looking , and was none the worse for wear. She did what she had to do...with panache.
C'mon now, be honest guys... you have to admit...she's got NICE legs...AND she can shoot (unlike Cheney...on both counts).
She responded well, and with a folksy demeanor, saying a LOT to the common man and woman sitting in their modest homes. Palin even took a jab at the MSM, which delighted me to no end. She did her homework, and is to be applauded for that. And I believe that she could quite easily grow into the job of VP.
It's like being a parent, I suppose. No matter HOW MANY people advise you on HOW to raise a child, and no matter how many books you read, nothing will prepare YOU and the unique problems you will encounter in that process. You always come away learning something. I believe the same goes for the highest offices of the United States. No matter what your resume says, or how much you know, there will ALWAYS be something that comes in from left field, testing your mettle in the process.
That's when the rubber meets the road.
And I feel Governor Palin is up to that challenge, as does she.
You done good, girl!
Closer to home...
** Looks like the FWPD might be losing their motorcycle officers, at least that's what Chief York wants to pursue (due to costs).
Anyone else seeing a knee-jerk here?
I have to say that there ARE times when a squad car simply can't GET to where the action is...like on a busy highway with gridlocked traffic. Sure the cycles don't have laptops mounted on them, and the paperwork is still...paper, but I'd wager that electronic transmission of reports are possible for cycle cops.
Problem is, all the solutions have not been explored to any degree. We have blackberrys and other gadgets out the ass to keep every one of US informed...why not a cycle cop? It can be done...and should be.
Motorcycles are cheaper to purchase, cheaper to run (44 MPG - top THAT), and can go places cars can only dream of.
Sure it costs to maintain them...what doesn't?
Perhaps a lease program from a local dealer?
Remember, you heard about the M/C leasing gig here first, should it come up.
Speaking of the police...
** Seems the "D Boys" are at it again. The shooting of a person Wednesday near Yorkshire Drive & Maple Grove Avenue is believed to be gang-related. Nothing is etched in stone yet, but if the police have their suspicions, that's good enough for me.
And if any of those thugs try anything around OUR house, that "D" in the name D BOYS will come to mean DEAD...as in DECEASED BOYS.
Time to put a foot on their little ethnic necks..and keep it there.
**In Adams County, ISP officers pulled a car over that just happened to have about 60 POUNDS of marijuana in it. Two people were arrested (Francisco Moreno-Albarran, 23 of Decatur, Michigan, and Rodolfo Moreno, 18, of Elkhart). Don't let the (cell) door hit you in the ass on the way IN, boys!
**Another traffic stop in Kosciusko County resulted in FOUR arrests. After doing 90 in a 60 zone, ISP pulled the car over and found 250 grams of cocaine and 120 grams of marijuana in the vehicle. The driver, Sarah Shaw, 36, along with Ochieaunna Maxwell, 18, Roosevelt Allen, 24 (all from Ft. Wayne), and Philip Tate, 28 of Chicago (that toddlin' town) were arrested and face charges of felony possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana (See 'ya ...wouldn't wanna BE 'ya).
**A Fort Wayne teen has been arrested for the home invasion and beating of an 89 year old woman on Oakhurst drive near Stellhorn Road back on 13 September.
Deangelo James Holland, 18 is charged with robbery, burglary, criminal confinement, battery, and theft (I'd toss in intimidation as well...just to make an even half-dozen). Thanks to Wal-mart, J. C. Penney and several gas station's surveillance tapes, Holland was spotted using credit cards belonging to the woman and her husband (also robbed). Nice job, people.
Lastly, file this stuff in the UBER-OBVIOUS folder...
The Indiana State Board of Education thinks history text books are nothing short of BOR-ING!
Well, it IS history, folks...lots of facts, figures, and dead people.
When it comes to history, textbooks are the STARTING POINT...the REFERENCE guide, the "Rosetta Stone" of knowledge, if you will. If you wish to amplify the past, the best way to do that is with some A/V presentations, either recorded or live.
Get the kids to a museum (like the Lincoln one we just closed here...oops, too late...can't do that), or bring in some living history people that can assist with the study. All a teacher has to do is spark the interest in history...the rest will take care of itself.
It's not a thrill show, or a ballgame..it's the PAST.
Speaking of ballgames and the past...
The new name for the Fort Wayne Wizards is...(empty your mouth of fluids and food first unless you want the keyboard to need cleaning)....(drum roll)...the Fort Wayne TIN CAPS.
(sound of uproarious laughter)
Yeah...that's what I felt as well.
Seems the same people that rammed Harrison Square down your piehole have now named our ball club, with a (tin)hat tip to Johnny Appleseed (who we really don't know all that much about, except he really lived, unlike Pecos Bill, or Paul Bunyan), but you get the idea.
Now we have a smirking apple with a tin pot on it's head facing backward with a branch growing out the side as a team LOGO....just how f$cked up is that anyway?
I mean the MAD ANTS mascot is enough to scare the piss out of any child under 4 as it is...now we have a frigging smirking apple that can't wear a pot the right way on his head (like most of the people I see daily who are NOT catchers for any ball club).
Some people think the name will GROW ON US...what, like a freaking FUNGUS?
And the new ball park is farther AWAY from where Johnny Appleseed (Chapman) is believed to be buried anyway (the old stadium was closer), so where is the connection there?
Nothing to do with our 3 "rivers"...nothing to do with Abe Lincoln (who lived here for a brief time), and we sure don't need anything else to do with "Mad" Anthony Wayne. Nice to be known for some guy with "issues" in the Revolutionary War. Since we WERE a "fort" back then, no ideas on military themes, such as the Garrison...or the Minutemen?
And with Parkview Hospital tossing money at the stadium, no mention to hospital-medical-related things? The Fort Wayne Bedpans?
The Crash Carts?
The Orderlies?
This new name put us firmly in the Lansing LUGNUTS category...as is stupidest named team.
When all the city had to do was rename the team to The Fort Wayne Railsplitters (in honor of Mr. Lincoln). Hire the guy that posed as Lincoln at the defunct museum, hand him and axe, and turn him loose on the field.
Being a RAILSPLITTER sounds a lot TOUGHER than being a TIN CAP...right?
And having a mascot with an AXE has got to be better than a huge freaking apple ANY day.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go laugh some more at this city...thankfully, we're never running at a deficit when it comes to the bizarre, the inane, the insipid, or the ludicrous.
This city is defined by it's own capacity for stupidity.
I mean, with all THAT, what's there NOT to like about Fort Wayne, hmm?
(well, we COULD be Lansing)
DO have a SAFE weekend, everyone!

4 comments:

Tim Zank said...

Great report this week Bobby! Hey, I really like that "railsplitters" idea! That's a great idea, too bad you'll be the TinCaps instead! I guess on the bright side though, you probably won't even have a team in a few years anyway! heh heh heh....

Bob G. said...

Tim:
I have a feeling (back of the neck hairs are on end) that with ALL the "press" received, as well as ALL the POLLS going around (even the local papers are in on it now), that the name might perhaps change...

Then again, this IS Fort Wayne, eh?
(and the Padres just might move the team as you mentioned...
(if that happens I have a great idea for the future VACANT stadium...bwahahahaha)

Thanks for stopping by, Tim.

B.G.

Anonymous said...

Bob, I'm not sure if things have changed, but Harley Davidson has historically gone to great lengths to maintain their dominance of the police market. I believe that at least one of the local Harley dealers still offers to lease brand-new motorcycles to police departments for the princely sum of one dollar per year, per bike. At the end of that year, the dealership swaps the used bike for a new one & still sells it at a profit due to preferential pricing on police bikes. That said, I think it could be argued that it's not about money.
On the bright side, you should have been there on 9/23 in the 4000 block of Reed St. to see six of the D-Boys on their knees in the front yard of a house, being taken into custody by FWPD following yet another "shots fired" incident. Two semi-auto rifles were recovered, and the D-Boys got punked out right on their own turf, so the battle continues.

Bob G. said...

Jim:
First off, thanks for your comments!
I agree that H/D has often been the dominating bike on PD forces. I recall the old "side-shifters" back in Philly.
Those were some great bikes!

And I hope the lease program locally IS given a fair shake.

I think you're right when it's "not about the money"...there's some politics behind it.

WTG w/ the bust on Reed...!
Nice to see the "boyz" get what's comin' to 'em.
Shame they never show THAT on the 6o'clock news, eh?

Stay Safe out there.

B.G.