I'm GLAD It's Monday...
Never thought I'd hear myself say THAT, but given the interesting weekend we had (aren't they pretty much ALL interesting to some degree down here?), I'd say I'm about due for some down time, and Monday is as good a day as any to start.
So here goes...
After returning Friday morning from a wonderfully UN-eventful trip to the grocery, we happened to see THIS "artwork" adorning the side of a vacant business building.
Wow, nice to know this city doesn't have a graffiti problem. Oh, wait...we DO have one.
Be nice to have someone come by and CLEAN IT UP, because leaving it there says a lot to those that put it there...like 'we can do more of this - no one cares'.
Other than that...it was "relatively" sedate around here (as one could hope for, given the people that inhabit the area).
Later that day, my wife rang up our aunt & uncle in Portland to wish them well, and see what was going on in Jay County, when our brand new cordless phone went dead. Now that wasn't normal by any means.
So, I went inside and found out we had a tripped circuit breaker. And knowing the way this house is wired (electrician's worse nightmare), the "outage" encompassed the entire north wall of the family room, as well as the back door light and the security flood on the garage. We would be in darkness, save for any street lights. Not a nice prospect.
After trying to reset it (and failing immediately - would not reset), I determined we had a dead short...somewhere. I took everything off of the circuit to see if any of them were the culprit...nope.
I even changed the floodlight bulb out, just in case...again, no dice. But I did find ONE thing weird; my NO TRESPASSING SIGN was AWOL, as in taken right off of the garage wall , never to be seen again!
And it happened while we were both AT HOME...(how f$cking BRAZEN is that?), and it must have happened about the same time the phone died and the "dead short" occurred. What a coincidence. Maybe someone damaged the flood socket?
So we had to call in an electrician (emergency call...gonna cost some $$$), and he couldn't make it until 1AM (so much for getting ANY sleep). Now let me preface this by saying that I've never been a fan of HIGH voltage, and that's not busting on the creator of alternating current: Nikola Tesla. I greatly admire the man, in fact.
I also highly RESPECT high voltage, because I know WHAT it can (and usually WILL) do. It's just that, after having "B+" voltage course through my body, thanks to an old television set I accidentally grounded myself to (think something akin to a good size tasering), you tend to get a little bit "shy" when dicking around with anything OVER 50 volts! Security systems and phone lines...no problem - low voltage. But if I absolutely HAVE to muck with 120v, then I make triple sure it's not live before I change anything out. Once "bitten"...more than twice shy (to me).
I had a buddy who worked on A/C transformers (no...not THAT kind...the REAL ones), and there was one guy that touched the wrong thing on the job, took about 50K volts @15 amps, and was dead before he hit the floor. The AMPS are what will REALLY do you in (we're talking heart-stopping), but anything over 220v will more than wise one up as well (or kill as quickly).
And that will ruin ANYONE'S week REAL fast, trust me.
I did jury-rig a flood bulb into a trouble light for the interim, so we could have some illumination out back (neighborhood thieves LOVE a darkened house, trust me).
After the electrician came, he determined the problem as located in the garage, but thought the short was in an underground line that perhaps a mouse had bitten through (bad for the mouse, eh?), while I had reservations about that...too many "ifs" for me. I will say one thing...he was nothing if anything THOROUGH. I like that.
Anyway, he did get the back door light off the circuit and working, and he bypassed the garage lines. There was still power to the garage via a second line powering the doors, outlets and switches...only this ONE SPECIFIC area was dead.
So we at least had a back door light once again. But what to do about a flood light that was non-functioning?
It was off to Menards bright and early (the wife and I only got around 5 hours sleep...felt like the good old days of partying...lol) to get about 50ft of electrical cable, a new DUAL FLOOD light and some cover plates and other odd items.
Now all I had to do was get it working without having another electrician come to cost us another $150.
Simple...rrrrrriiiiight.
Enlisting the aid of Phil Marx (God knew what he was doing when he made this man...who likes pizza for lunch, btw...lol), we took down the old fixture on the garage and managed to run a new cable into the garage (using the old, dead line as a "pull string"), and get the new dual flood installed. Having Phil's HEIGHT and REACH helped to no small end.
I also placed a NEW sign with reads PRIVATE PROPERTY - KEEP OUT, and used a lot more staples to secure that in place of the missing former sign.
So, with all that done, the new time and sensor controlled dual flood was now installed. By the way, I didn't want the flood to come on ONLY when someone passed by...it'd be going on and off all damn night, and the timer resets after one day, so that was also pointless. I just wanted to turn it on AT DUSK and off AT DAWN.
The circuit board with the timer and motion sensor...GONE. I rewired the light (prior to installing it) to do a simple ON and OFF when I put power to it...and lo, and behold...it worked perfectly after my "modifications".
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
The only problem was WHERE to get the power from. I had several choices as far as outlets go, so I chose one nearest the door and after splicing a plug onto the cable, we now have a fully-functioning 300W (combined) security floodlight out back - TWICE the lumens (about 3300 - 1650 per bulb) to "dissuade" any would-be assholes that find our house so damn inviting.
While we were putting up the light, a black SUV (see picture) stopped and someone got out and walked around the corner. Well, after seeing WAY too many "suspicious" vehicles parking near my house the last 48 hours, I took a picture of it. That's when this hot-headed, big-mouthed (aren't they ALL?) black girl gets out and DEMANDS to know why I'm taking a picture? I told her: "It's my HOBBY". She said I had no business doing that. Excuse me, it's called freedom of expression, and I'm allowed to take pictures of anything and anyone I want to...(BITCH!)
She said: "I ran out of gas...what am I supposed to do"?
I said "Check the fuel gauge once in a while". (dumb ass)
Don't EVER give me any "blacktitude"...one of MY cardinal rules for human interaction. Trying to duel with me on the verbal level will be JUST like me shooting an unarmed person.
Naturally, the (non-working, welfare leeching) "neighbors" were doing "their THANG" (bypassing the fireworks laws in the process). And not one police car around. Imagine that. They usually go elsewhere during the 4th weekend as well as New Year's Eve. They must like all the LOUD BANGS.
And that was only the 24 hours during the 4th and 5th.
Found out one thing...I sure as hell am not 30 years old any more. Doing that wire-rat gig, and helping the electrician (read running up and down the steps to throw the breakers over 40 times) got me my cardio workout for the bloody YEAR.
Functionally, everything does what it's supposed to. As to the aesthetics? Well, that's another "project" for another day. Like we used to say back in my STS days : "It ain't pretty...but it WORKS".
My wife and I did manage to salvage the rest of this "holiday" weekend.
All we have to do is wait until the next "situation" presents itself.
I'd wager that most of you out there don't have to have this Sword of Damocles over YOUR heads...right?
Must be all the normal people you have in YOUR neighborhoods. Next time you see THEM, you might want to take that into consideration and thank your lucky stars you're bothered, vandalized, accosted, and disrespected by section 8 human refuse daily.
You know who I mean.
The black and white trash of the world that the city has seen fit to allow to dwell in one "specific" part of our city, to the detriment of anyone left in that area that still gives a damn.
But hey...it could be worse.
Just not by all that much.
And it's Monday...thank the maker!

Welcome To the Weekend...
And with it the annual celebration of this nation's independence from the "Crown" (that would be ENGLAND for all the "historically-inhibited" out there).
Independence Day was supposed to be the 2nd of July, but with ANY group of politicians, there was some bickering, and things were pushed back to the 4th. Good for us, because somehow yelling "Put out the flag...It's the SECOND OF JULY", doesn't quite roll off the tongue all that well. Must be the monosyllabic aspect of the word FOURTH.
Anyway, John Adams might have been a great rabble-rouser, and an excellent statesmen, but he wasn't all that up to speed when it came to time lines and calendar dates. he even wrote his wife saying the Declaration of Independence would be completed on the 2nd. Lucky for everyone concerned it wasn't, eh?
Now this is one of the most important days in THIS nation, make no mistake about that. And to me it was always right up there with MEMORIAL DAY and VETERAN'S DAY. To my Dad it was the "big three", and it was one days such as this when we'd pack up and take a drive to some local AIR SHOW, or go downtown to watch a PARADE.
Seemed we used to do a LOT more of them back in the 1960s.
It was all about PATRIOTISM.
And that's something (too many) Americans have lost touch with.
Wanting what is BEST for this nation and her people constitutes part of patriotism.
The willingness to make a sacrifice FOR this nation is another aspect to patriotism.
The selfless devotion TO this nation in good times as well as bad is another hallmark of patriotism.
It can be as simple as flying our flag, or it be as profound as losing a son or daughter in another country while KNOWING that the life they gave was for the cause of what this nation was founded upon in the first place...namely FREEDOM and LIBERTY.
But maybe we're too busy setting off fireworks to notice all that. After all, that's not as "exciting".
Liberty and freedom can most times be downright BORING, but they are the BUILDING BLOCKS of this country, and the reasons YOU can set those fireworks off in the first place. They are the reasons you can say "NO" when someone else says "YES".
Today was the first milestone in this nation's journey, and I feel that there are many more along our trek along history's road.
And like any sojourn, sometimes it's nice to pull the car over and take a gander of that spectacular VIEW that doesn't cost one red cent. maybe we all need to do that a bit more frequently...just so we don't forget.
(CAUTION - SEGUE ALERT)
And speaking about NOT forgetting....let it not be said that THIS blog doesn't bring you stories AS THEY HAPPEN in our fair city.
Take last evening for example.
We had a car pull up in front of the house around 2050 HRS...no big deal, right? Well, stay with me, now. The car was occupied by THREE males (2 white, one mixed ethnicity). The mixed male gets out and into a van that pulled in front of the car, and the van drove further down the street. Right away I though "drug deal", so I kept watching.
I initially thought it "could" be some U/Cs doing a buy, but the more I watched, the "antsier" the one male in the car became. This young man was chewing his fingers the whole time, and I told the wife "he must be up to the 2nd knuckle by now" The other male was slouched back in the passenger seat.
After about 20 minutes of this I thought it was taking too damn long for a buy, even for a U/C team, so called it into dispatch as a code 48, 36 (suspicious - parked vehicle occupied).. After being placed on HOLD by the FWPD desk (wtf?) I finally got the call through, and didn't expect to even see anyone arrive on scene until long after these guys drove off.
Nice to be WRONG, for once.
Within FIVE minutes, a black SUV pulled up across the street as well as the "Batmobile" (the all black Impala with the cage in the back seat). THREE officers surrounded the car, and asked the boys to step out.
And then...things got, shall we say... "interesting".
Officers patted the guys down, had them sit on the curb, while they turned their attention to the vehicle.
After all was said and done, the FWPD officers found a nice size bag of REEFER...a DIGITAL SCALE...AND A STUN GUN. There was also a bag in the trunk (empty) but was taken along as it had some residue in it.
Not a bad haul for a "typical PD call". The officers were ALL smiling from ear to ear on this one. One was even showing the others the stun gun. It was one of those $50 models that cranks out over 100,000 volts (the Panther - trust me, I know my ordnance)
The boys were both "cuffed and stuffed", and the vehicle became the property of the Allen County/Fort Wayne IMPOUND YARD when Kelley's flatbed took it away. Well, at least these two guys didn't NEED A RIDE HOME, did they?. They are now "guests" of the AC lockup, and all because someone took a few moments to act on something that didn't appear right. Imagine that, eh?
Lesson to be learned here?
There are TWO, really:
1) NEVER try to do something illegal IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE.
It WILL cost you. It will cost you BIG.
2) Always go with your gut instinct.
And it was #2 that made #1 possible.
(How's THAT, Phil?)
And in retrospect, it feels REAL GOOD...damn, I miss that rush. This was better than watching COPS. And like ANY good show...it is ALWAYS BETTER LIVE.
So remember that when you go to the fireworks tonight.
It's live, and it'll be fantastic.
Always remember that there ARE people like me that will ALWAYS give a damn.
And if it were not for others that, back in the late 18th century (living here) did not feel likewise, things would have panned out a LOT more differently for us all.
Stay safe & have a gloriously patriotic weekend.
Fly the flag proudly!
And to our troops around the globe...Carry On!

More of the Unbelievable...
Just when you think it can't get ANY more ridiculous, you come across things in the news that have you going "WTF?" or "IT'S ABOUT TIME", or even "WHAT A SURPRISE...NOT".
Submitted for your amusement are the following. And please keep a napkin handy, in case you find some of it a tad amusing; there's nothing worse than liquid on the keyboard, right?
--FWPD chief Rusty York on the "short list" for same job in Phoenix .
OK, Rus...hope your SPANISH is better than your ebonics, because, quite frankly, in the last EIGHT YEARS...I haven't been all that impressed. Neighborhoods (like mine) HAVE gotten worse, crime DID go UP (no matter how much you try to fudge the numbers), and it was all pretty much on YOUR watch.
Maybe it's time for some new blood in the big chair.
The down side to this is that we can always wind up with someone a LOT worse (and most likely will, considering the manner in which problems of immediacy are addressed in this city). He HAS done an OK job, but in a city withgrowing problems like ours,merely "OK" doesn't quite cut the muster.
I hope Rusty gets the job in AZ.
He needs a break from all this reality until he retires, and I wish him well, should he be the one selected for the position.
This city WILL burn you OUT, make NO mistake about that.
-- Urban League sets plans and goals.
Well, now...MORE talking, more planning, more of the same, in other words...and that means...(here comes my Music Man reference...wait for it)...Trouble...with a capital *T* and that rhymes with *B* and that stands for...BULL$HIT.
And wouldn't you know one of the FIRST words out of the mouth of Jonathan Ray (Urban League "boss") was the *P* word...oh, that's POVERTY, by the way. Poverty is ALWAYS the cause of crime...kinda like the way FLIES cause GARBAGE (he said sarcastically). Granted that poverty is a CONTRIBUTING FACTOR, but it is NOT the "alpha and omega" of crime, bub. It's just that poor people make better VICTIMS, because of the fear factor. Jeffery Dahmer...came from a well-off family. Ditto for Ted Bundy. Tim McVey...not the poorest kid on his block, either. So don't feed me THAT tripe about poverty.
Someday, someone in the black community will speak up and tell the TRUTH, that being the FACT that their own people are STILL in slavery (and NOT to the white man per se). They have traded the chains of oppression forged in iron for the shackles of the corporate juggernauts, forged in the coin of the realm (and any manner it can be secured). They are SLAVES to the media hype, the merchandisers, the glamor moguls, the corporate gurus who feed them crap and tell them it's porterhouse steak. Oh wait, Bill Cosby pretty much has been DOING that...and has been relatively dismissed by many of his own people, because it's not "entertaining" enough (unlike "fiddy cent"). Imagine that.
--GM stock falls to under $10.
Yes, folks,...it's been over THIRTY YEARS in the making, and now, it has arrived. The fall of the former #2 business in America (next the former #1 - the Catholic church...lol), and not one person could see this coming....WHY?
Seems some CEO at GM should have READ a copy of Gibbons 3 volume set of THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE...they might have LEARNED something...don'cha think?
All I can say is good luck with a possible "chapter 2" situation (google it for all the details).
I hope America like foreign cars made in this nation...that's what we're all going to get driving soon enough. And to think when Toyota FIRST hit the shores here (in the 70s), they were a real POS...and that was when they were NEW...they did get even worse. Live and learn, eh?
-- Twin Oaks Apts. makes the news AGAIN.
I'll wager their PR campaign for tenants isn't going QUITE as planned, at least not with the fire they had there early this morning. If it's not a shooting, it someone attempting to use something as "complex" as a frigging STOVE. Considering the source, it comes as no surprise that someone will be shouting POVERTY again. yeah, poor people are stupid. Sorry, DUMB people are stupid. Poor people are just "financially-challenged", but don't tell all those that get free housing, free food, and a nice shiny new vehicles out front, and still have the ability to smoke dope and buy tons of fireworks while crapping out babies every 9 months, OK? That'll be our little secret.
--Watermelon...the New "Viagra"?
When I first heard this yesterday, I almost pissed myself laughing. I don't really like watermelon (it's a whitey thing with me...too messy as well), and yet I have no trouble with "performance" when called upon, if you get my drift.
But I will confess that this latest chemical revelation speaks VOLUMES as to the explanations of SO MUCH in certain communities. Actually, it kind of explains it ALL...LOL!
Let's do some "ciphering", shall we?
What areas have high crime?
What areas have large black populations?
Do those areas have high teen pregnancy numbers?
Do those areas have rampant drug usage?
What percentage of people in those areas are below poverty level?
Do those areas have more people "shacking up"?
Do these areas sell a greater amount of watermelon?
Hmm....
Hey, people...it's not racism...it's just the FACTS. Do the math yourselves.
It is all about diversity, though. We are cajoled into embracing this diversity for the sake of I don't know what. I have a hard enough time embracing my SANITY when having all these animals living around me to be bothered with diversity. I will grant you that when it DOES come to diversity, there is a DIVERSE number of ways people can be stupid.
That goes without saying.
When people having nothing to do at all, and all day in which to do it says much about how any "system" is helping these people. And yet their own community does little to assist them in becoming more productive members of society. They just look for more handouts and entitlements. That's not help - that's doing things FOR THEM, and not letting them do things FOR THEMSELVES. In many ways, the community holds back it's own people for reasons only they know.
But hey, it's not someone on the OUTSIDE of all this can be objective and point out these flaws...is it?
Oh, wait...I already did.
--Today marks the end of the 3 day conflict between the forces of the North and the South during the Civil War in Gettysburg, PA (1863). Culminating in what has become known as Pickett's Charge, Lee's forces were repelled by Gen. Meade's troops at a place on the battlefield known as The Angle.
Having travelled there many times when living in Philly, and having strode along every inch of the place, I can truthfully say it is a humbling experience. The history surrounds you and penetrates your soul. You cannot help but be caught up in this epic struggle. It was reported we lost MORE American soldiers in those THREE DAYS than we lost during the entire war in Vietnam. That alone is something to think about.
--Finally, some rather poignant news (and after all that, we can use some). A mile of Indiana state road 24 has been dedicated to Master Trooper Detective Dave Rich, who was killed in the line of duty this time last year. A fine tribute for an officer taken way before his time.
I feel compelled to take a drive along that stretch of road...someday soon.

Tales From the SOUTH Side...
We're winding up to "the" day. You know the one I'm talking about. The 4th of July.
And if you're "fortunate" enough to live on the SOUTH side of the city, you know EXACTLY where this is headed.
Right now, we're smack dab in the middle of what I like to call "Hell Week" (to be precise, it's more like Hell MONTH). This is the time of year when idiots (because we all know that PEOPLE wouldn't act this way) find enough money to buy enough fireworks so that you can kiss whatever used to resemble living bye-bye.
Yes, Virginia, there ARE fireworks in Baghdad...I mean Fort Wayne.
Every year it gets a little worse, as in NOISIER with LARGER ordnance being detonated. Oh no...we're not talking about the old "lady fingers" any longer. We're talking about the "Big Mamas" - not to be confused with all the morbidly-obese, single baby-mamas in our area, although THEY are JUST AS noisy, when their pie hole opens the hell up.
And these fireworks sound like an 82mm mortar crew is bivouacked in your back yard!
But hey, I've only been beating THIS "dead horse" in front of the FWPD for YEARS...with no result (seeing a pattern here). Hell, you don't see ANY officers patrolling the area when fireworks are going off any time near the 4th...same with New years Eve. Not a cop to be found. AT ALL. it's like they're all AWOL or something. And that's why I suggested a few more DONUT SHOPS around here years ago...still waiting on that too.
You can call and tell the police that mailbox-busting mini-bombs are being set off in the damn middle of an intersection (as is usually the case), and they MIGHT stop by and tell the idiots to move along...for all the good that does (and that would be NONE).
Short-term memory problems...remember?
Many citizens in areas like mine simply resign themselves to the fact that the police won't show up...and many times, they are right. it all comes down the the priority level of the call to dispatch. Personally, I feel that when it comes to OUR neighborhoods down here, EVERY call is a low-priority ("officer down" being the exception...or a white guy that was shaken from his sleep by a honking car at 2AM and is shining a laser that car at...THAT will get about 5 cruisers with big, strapping officers at your door in a hurry...trust me). When you make a 44LM/FW/LP call, you might see an officer in 15-40 minutes AFTER the call is made (unless they're ONE street over - then it takes only TEN minutes...LOL)
Basically, the city is telling us to "suck it up"..."deal with it"...."it's only once a year"...THAT kind of bull$hit.
1) First off, I've sucked it up for TOO damn long...Let the city suck it up for a change.
2) Oh, believe me, I PLAN to "deal with it"...in my OWN way, so back the f$ck off.
3) And it's NOT "once a year"...it's more like 2.5 MONTHS, give or take. And that's only when we're not ALSO dealing with all the damn BOOMCARS you people can't get off our streets, vehicles with bad mufflers (or none at all), gunshots, barking dogs, and screaming kids and adults.
As city neighborhoods go, the one I currently reside in is the WORST as far as noise goes, and I used to live 8 houses from one intersection in Philly (Robbins Avenue & Cottage St - look it in an atlas and see for yourself) that was a major artery for trailer-truck traffic to New Jersey, and even THAT wasn't as bad as THIS place...and we had more people on every block, not just a mere TEN HOUSES on one street. It's what's been placed INTO those houses over the past ten years that has put that bitter taste in my mouth.
Yeah, we've gotten much worse over the decades when it comes to basic CIVILITY and manners, that's for sure.
I still live by that creed. I;m quite mannerly when needed.
I always say PLEASE and THANK YOU.
For example:
"PLEASE move your vehicle off my property before put a bullet in your bonehead, you ignorant savage, and when I shoot you, try to fall with your arms crossed to make it easier for the coroner when they arrive...THANK YOU".
And yet they don't appreciate my mannerly behavior.
I just don't understand it.
And speaking of parking on property, when was the LAST time you found someone parked in YOUR DRIVEWAY that was a complete stranger? Think about it.
Some guy just parks his car or truck in YOUR driveway (maybe you weren't home), so he can visit some OTHER house on another street. Well, that happens around here with regularity.
The truck is at a relatively vacant house (lawn care guy/owner comes by once a week to see if scrappers have hit it I guess - yeah, he's the one with the tall weeds..the LAWN CARE GUY), visiting another house around the corner (where there is PLENTY of parking, btw).
That's why I do not allow ANYONE that is not expected or invited to even PULL INTO my driveway for an illegal u-turn.
I look at it this way...when these f$cking morons decide to pay some TAXES on this place, I'll grant them access, no sweat...but NOT before.
That's why the sign reads: NO TRESPASSING.
SO simple, a caveman...well, I WISH I had cavemen living here, they'd at LEAST figure that one out.And it would be a step UP on the evolutionary ladder, that is certain.
I mean who the hell in their right mind would park ONE place to go to another UNLESS there is something afoot there, hmm? Something to hide, perhaps? He isn't supposed to be at the house he's "visiting"? The police are after him?
Who can say, really?
All I know is...it's WRONG...period.
And people would be wise to notice this, and report it ASAP. You never know what might shake out. You might catch the nation's most wanted. You can never tell. Maybe the guy has outstanding warrants (that doesn''t mean those warrants are really good, either).
Yet when people stop caring (that DOES means paying attention to what is transpiring in their neighborhood), the whole area suffers, and who in their right mind likes ghetto living anyway (except you-know-who)?
Today's suburbs can easily become tomorrow's ghettos...all it takes is the right impetus by the right people (who are always the WRONG people). And it doesn't take many. It just takes ONE who's really good at making other people move.
And it takes the type of policing that condones such behavior, instead of enforcing ALL the laws.
Uncaring people, police admins that goes through the motions, community leaders that couldn't poor piss from a boot with instructions written on the heel, and a city government that is more concerned about it's downtown than the neighborhoods that created it in the first place...it ALL adds up.
Yeah, it's a very easy equation to figure out.
All you have to do...is the math.

I have to hand it to Texas...they know how to ACQUIT a man (they also still remember how to EXECUTE them as well, unlike states that would rather have taxpayers foot the bill for lifetime incarceration).
***Take the case of old Joe Horn, who was initially charged in the shooting deaths of two would be burglars. At 62 years of age, he took his shotgun and pump these perps full of 12 gauge justice after he called 911 to have the police come to the area.
While dispatch advised him to remain inside and do nothing (something too many people wind up doing, and then wondering WHY crime is doing so damn well), Joe grabbed his shotgun, went outside and told the two men to stop. When they didn't Joe helped them. He shot both men in the back...DEAD.
The Harris County DA said: "The message we're trying to send here is that the criminal justice system works". From where I stand...it works DAMN WELL.
Lemme do the math on this:
-old guy w/ shotgun
+2 burglars dead
=old guy is not convicted
Yeah, it works for me too.
Mr. Horn's attorney said that Joe never wanted to hurt anyone (yet it takes courage to stand up for what you believe in, and NOT tolerate crime...and if that means the criminal gets one in the back...so be it. I like head shots myself).
Interestingly enough, the two burglars killed by Horn were UNEMPLOYED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS from Colombia. Riasco Torres (one of the two killed) was deported to Colombia in 1999 after a 1994 COCAINE-related conviction. And this thug STILL got the hell BACK INTO America.
Now why does this NOT come as a shock to me?
Betcha Riasco won't be coming or going back ANYWHERE (except to that nice piece of 3 x 3 x 6 chunk of real estate he "inherited").
Of course this episode fired up all the civil rights advocates who said the shooting was racially-motivated (and who says likewise when it's minorities doing it to WHITES?), and that Horn took the law into his own hands. Like I said, the police are mere MINUTES away, while your gun is only SECONDS away.
Texas law allows people to use DEADLY FORCE to PROTECT themselves if it is REASONABLE to believe they are in MORTAL DANGER. And while it wasn't clear that the neighbor whose house being burglarized at the time of the shooting actually ASKED Joe to watch it, I'm sure they damn well APPRECIATE it.
I know I would!
Joe Horn stated that if he had to do it all over again, he would simply stay inside and DO NOTHING.
Gee, isn't what too many people are doing ALREADY every single day?
S'OK, Joe..."you done good. You done REAL good".
Lesson learned here, kids, is that crime doesn't pay...everyone clear with that now?
***Another interesting tidbit -
In London (Oh, those wacky Brits are at it again), a high school student received credit for writing nothing but a two-word obscenity on an exam paper because the phrase expressed "meaning", and it was also SPELLED CORRECTLY!
OOOOOoooookay....
Wonder how that would shake out in the FWCS classrooms?
The phrase (f$ck-off) garnered the student TWO points out of a possible 27 for the test (What? he got NAUGHT for a correct name? What a travesty).
The teacher said: "It would be wicked to give it zero because it DOES show some VERY BASIC skills we are looking for (perhaps in the porn video arena), like conveying some meaning and some spelling. It's better than someone that doesn't write anything at all".
The teacher went on to say that the student would have received a HIGHER mark had the phrase been PROPERLY PUNCTUATED.
AHHhhhh, well, that would make sense.
Just imagine the score if the student had said f$ck off in FRENCH (foutre le camp). That has GOT to be worth another TEN points, right?
Seems someone needs a good swift one in the BOLLOCKS on this one, eh?
*** Lastly, to come to the defense of the Brits (but not for their educational nuances), I have to say that the (newly-acquired thanks to FiOS) BBC AMERICA channel has some damn good shows that are really MUST-SEE.
When I think AUTOMOBILES, I no longer think of the SPEED channel. Sorry folks, pimping whatever for some "entertainer" isn't my idea of motoring about. They used to have good shows on there (like the repair shows or the rebuild shows for older cars), but no longer. And the old MOTORWEEK show is too long in the tooth for me (and they always seem to highlight cars I wouldn't WANT to drive, nor could EVER afford unless I wanted to sell the house).


BBCA has a show called TOP GEAR, hosted by three lads who are as funny as the "Tappet Brothers" on NPR , while also being as engaging as any GOOD reporters. They showcase their (mis) "adventures" (travelling to America's south while bashing NASCAR and having gay rights slogans on their POS cars - too funny), as well as driving tests (even laps by UK celebs), and the obligatory super car heaven, classic car retrospects, and those daily drivers we've come to love (or detest).
They even participated in a 24 hour race...and managed to PASS someone (well there were a few with mechanical problems worse that theirs).
All in all a fantastic show, brilliantly executed.
The other program is RAMSAY'S KITCHEN NIGHTMARES. If you've ever seen HELLS KITCHEN, you already know about chef Gordon Ramsay, and his often rather "blue" lexicon. Well this BBCA show goes one step further. It highlights REAL restaurants in the UK that are having "difficulties", and Gordon comes to the rescue, ctriticizing (and sometimes praising) anything and everything from menus to decor to cooking staff. And in the end, he does it to turn the place around and make the place an eatery that people WANT to come to (often), and will SUCCEED, rather than fail. It's a honest to God good watch, and I don;t say that lightly with the current channels to choose from.
This show will be coming to US network in the fall, and if it's ANYTHING like it's predecessor, it will be a good hour of television...even for us "Colonials".
Now... about that tea we were going to dump in the St. Mary's...