Humpday Happenings...
Well, the space shuttle Atlantis made it to orbit in order to effect repairs on the Hubble telescope, the stock market had a hard time climbing only FIFTY points yesterday, and Miss California gets to keep her crown for speaking the TRUTH.
Can we stand the strain?
We're smack dab in the middle of NATIONAL POLICE WEEK, and I can tell you that we've been having some really strange sh*t going on around Fort Wayne.
I do know there is a "new sport" that has taken off on the SOUTH side of the city, and that's the "5 Meter Backdoor Kick-In".
There has been an UNUSUAL amount of chatter on this. Seems some "poor" people (read too lazy to work, but take the free money from YOUR pocket just as quickly) have nothing BETTER to do than to kick in doors to houses, vacant or not, all for the sake of getting something that simply DOES NOT BELONG to them, in order to make it THEIR OWN.
Gee, don't people act in such a manner where centuries of tribal conflict has kept nations throughout central AFRICA in a 3rd world status, while the remainder of the world progressed?
Yeah, that sums it up nicely.
It was interesting to watch all the "buzz" at the Regional Academy (at Southtown) on TV yesterday when officers received their TASER training, and "took the hit" as it were.
It was also good to see Sgt. Scott Berning (TASER instructor) again.
He's a great guy to talk to, knows his "stuff", and is another credit to the department as well as the Academy.
And...he gives damn fine TOURS...LOL!
Now, I can truly say I've never been "tased" ('bro), but I have taken something called B+ voltage across my chest (it's an electrical thing). Let's just say it was a LOT more than a 12VDC car battery coursing through me (for less than 2 seconds), and the after-effects were weird (slurred speech for one thing) beyond belief.
At least I found my screwdriver...got stuck in the WALL when I got "nailed".
Don't recall "tossing" it, either.
Felt like life was going "slo-mo" for 5 minutes.
In retrospect, I would have much rather BEEN tased, than confused...LOL!
** Heard a really intense call yesterday on the PD radio. It was a pursuit that was initiated when the officer tried to pull over this known drug dealer (U/C buys, priors, the whole 9 yards on this bird). Well the guy, one Jermaine Cooper, in his black Alero takes the hell OFF, winding through the S/E side of Fort Wayne, drives out Tillman to Minnick, as the officer called off the cross streets every few seconds, and then out onto Rt 27, headed south towards Decatur (20 minutes away at normal speed, give or take).
And I swear the perp AND the officer got TO Decatur in LESS than TEN MINUTES!!!
I guess travelling 90 MPH will do that, hmm?
At least they recovered the pistol the perp tossed (in the vicinity of Maple Grove, Schaper and Werling Sts). Village Elementary went on a code yellow lock down (no outdoor recess) until the firearm was recovered (as a precaution).
Good call.
The local news states the perp "wanted to get one last burrito before he went to jail" for the laundry list of items he had been wanted on. He was caught at the TACO BELL (parking lot) in Decatur (along Rt. 27)...yeah, right, "and I'm a 'da Pope, so kiss a my ring, you lying, farging icehole"
Nice job in nailing this drug dealer, people. And a special THANK YOU to the officer than stuck to that perp's bumper like a tick on a hound dog through all those streets and down into Decatur.
You've made ALL our streets a bit safer, patrolman!
I've made no bones about the fact that OUR house is ALWAYS a "safe" house for ANY law-enforcement officer from ANY agency.
Damn shame MORE citizens don't feel likewise.
All too often these men and women in blue spend time in neighborhoods that look like a ghetto (on a good day),or Mosul (on a bad one). Be really nice if something could be done to make our neighborhoods down here MORE inviting to good people, so we can chase out the rabble. Unfortunately, the city has not the money NOR THE WILL to make this happen.
Damn shame...we've got nice areas that have been infested with human vermin, and need a good pest-control expert to clean house.
** Speaking of vermin...
The OP-ED page of the J/G today had an interesting article about "Teaching the Teachers"
Yeahhhhh......rrrrrriiiiiight.
The teachers that NEED to be taught are few in number, compared to the kids that show up but never give a damn about education.
These kids think all they HAVE to do is show the hell UP, and that ensures a PASSING GRADE...screw the classwork.
WRONG!
Never heard of ANY army that "just showed up" (no rifle or equipment, and did not participate in action) and won ANY battle or war.
That dog just doesn't hunt.
Lessons are there for kids to LEARN.
Ditto for HOMEWORK.
You don't learn, that's not the teacher's fault.
It's the fault of the STUDENT (and even the parents).
Now my wife tells me of the assignments she gives her students, and to ME, anyway, most of them are "slam-dunks", as far as difficulty and ability required to complete the project. But a select few of her kids have problems with doing things...like school work.
Again, the kids have this "entitlement" mentality.
Well, they ARE "entitled" to a quality education, and if THEY (the kids) spend a few minutes to APPLY THEMSELVES...that's EXACTLY what they will receive. Pretty damn simple, huh?
Learning (or teaching) is never ONLY a "one-way" street. NO ONE learns that way.
If the students are not motivated to learn, they simply wont.
And I don't mean the educators have to make the classroom a bloody Barnum & Bailey or Shriners 3-ring frigging circus, complete with rides, clowns, and popcorn. That's sheer nonsense.
It falls upon each and every student to CHALLENGE THEMSELVES (first). Then, and only then, can a teacher begin to challenge them further, thereby causing the "educational process" to happen in totality.
As I said yesterday, ANY "new" manner of teaching kids so that we don't have ANY left behind (which, in and off itself is an impossibility...everyone learns at differing levels and aptitudes), is doomed from the git-go.There is NO universal panacea, NO magic bullet than can predict, with certainty, that EVERY SINGLE child will not EVER fail or be left behind.
That's just the way human nature is.
Been like that since the model came out.
We'll always have good and bad in every aspect of humanity, whether its police officers, teachers, students, or citizens.
All we can do is separate the "wheat from the chaff" in that regard. Promote and otherwise acknowledge those that are GOOD, and, if need be, point out the failings to the bad ones, and attempt to help them rectify their situation.
No molly-coddling, no hand-holding, and certainly NO more handouts.
But if it's a HAND UP they want (and need), well, the rest of us can manage that.
Now, get out there and thank some cops, smile at some teachers, and otherwise...
Stay safe out there, America.