07 January 2009

Humpday Happenings...
Get ready for the city's "Slip N Slide" this morning, as it's going to be a wee bit on the slick side along the streets and roads.
Just last evening, the FWPD were way too busy with accidents, especially in the areas of West Jefferson and State Blvds.
Sure would be nice to bring back STUDDED snow tires or those TIRE CHAINS Philly PD used to have. No problem getting around with those babies on, I can tell you.
I've always been a firm believer that if you want to see the dark side of humanity, put someone behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Better (or worse) yet, do it in weather like THIS.
Along those lines...
City Council voted in Tom Smith as their president, with Glynn Hines as vice-president. Smith beat out Marty Bender by ONE vote.
I noticed Tim Pape with some facial hair...must have gone KLINGON for the holidays with that goatee.
Not pretty, Tim...not pretty one bit.
And the City Council voted for the "parking amnesty" program.
Interesting thing, I found out that the city DOES NOT BOOT vehicles in violation, unlike damn near every other city I've been to. And clerk Sandy Kennedy had a good reason (I think)...it's due to all the LAWSUITS the city "would" get.
Well, that follows along the yellow brick road, right, Toto?
I mean it makes sense NOT to punish wrong behavior by enforcing a law or ordinance for fear of legal reprisal.
Oh, no...wait...it DOESN'T make sense.
Yet our city (Fort Wayne) does it anyway.
You know, this city's got a pretty damn good parking plan in place....it's CHEAP (to park) and it's relatively AVAILABLE, which is something that doesn't exist anywhere in Philadelphia, where parking laws are enforced.
And the ticket for meter parking (here) is ONLY FIVE FRIGGING DOLLARS!
Yet people have neglected paying that (even after the price doubles to TEN dollars), and in some cases, this violation occurred close to TEN YEARS AGO. You got it good here, people, and the LEAST you can do is pay the hell up when YOU are wrong. It's not going to break your bank anytime soon, that's for sure.
On the flip side, it PAYS (you) to ignore the parking meters, the violation and the fines, because the city can't do much about it. Your car won't be booted, and as a result, will not be towed away or otherwise confiscated.
Sweet deal, huh?
And all due to the fact that the CITY is AFRAID of LAWSUITS. I say counter sue the assholes back then. THEY did wrong by skirting the law and not paying up.
Oh, but that would mean that OTHER ordinances might have to be enforced more stringently...like the NOISE ordinance.
Yeah, imagine if THIS city followed cities that actually CONFISCATE the offending vehicles for noise law violations...now THAT I could get on board with REAL fast, but since many departments within the city are scared shitless to enact any REAL enforcement, we (the people) have to muddle through, accepting these "token" enforcements that slap the wrists of offenders every once in a while.
Sure says a lot when officers repeatedly tell the SAME PEOPLE to turn their car stereo down, after neighbors repeatedly call it in. I have NEVER witnessed anyone getting cuffed and stuffed after being pulled over for a noise violation, or for that matter, even when the officer went to a HOUSE that was loud. The officers stop, they do the speech aka "turn it down", they leave, and the noise soon returns.
Same goes for parking scofflaws in this city...they just IGNORE the law...period.
Just ask a person with a VALID REASON to have a HANDICAPPED PLATE to tell you about how all the times they have tried to park in handicapped areas only to find the spots occupied by those with NO HANDICAP.
At least that costs more..about $50 (it could be a LOT more, like OTHER cities that have fines AS HIGH AS $250, but our City Council voted the current price in years ago, so blame them).
For some odd reason, this city is scared of it's own shadow when it comes to enforcing laws, ordinances, and basically telling the morons living in this town that THEY have broken the law and must pay the price.
The people who flagrantly thumb their noses at the laws in this city aren't going to be changing their stripes anytime soon, either, so this city better get on the stick and start cracking down on those who would ignore the law.
And they need to start at the TOP of the judicial system. Get some judges with some BALLS that know HOW to creatively sentence people to penitence that is required. Then we need a prosecutor that knows HOW to prosecute....often and with a strong arm.None of this toss every case out if there's the slightest notion it can't be tried.
Hell, the defendants have more chances than you can shake a stick at...gamble a little, you might surprise yourself and win a lot more cases!
We need to further empower the police in order to allow them to fully perform the job we've paid them to do, namely ENFORCE the law...and arrest those who break it...period. Screw the racial profiling, because that's nonsense (and a convenient tool used in ethnic neighborhoods to get a "hands off" aspect from law-enforcement). LET the police do what they're trained to do.
And we need lawmakers that make GOOD laws, and not some frivolous nonsense (like this light amendment to the noise ordinance). Let's not allow a handful to dictate policy for the masses, shall we?
That is certainly NOT a democratic republic. You know it, and I know it.
As long as this "lawsuit mentality" reigns in our cities, don't expect things to ever get BETTER. When a city, along with it's laws, codes, and ordinances can be "held hostage" by the lawbreakers who will drop a legal suit at City hall's doorstep soon as look at you, nothing will change for the better.
When all of us begin to reverse this trend, THEN, and only then will these laws, written to protect all of us mean more than the ink used to write them, and the paper they were written on.
It's nothing short of common sense.
And it's long overdue.

06 January 2009

No One Is Immune...
No matter if the shirt you wear is blue with a shield or not, sooner or later you WILL have what a former supervisor of mine back in Columbus used to refer to as...a BRAIN FART.
Everybody has them as sure as they have a pound or so of grey matter rattling around in their primate skulls. There's just NO getting around it.
Hopefully, the brain fart YOU will have will not result in injury or death, will not cost you a ton of foldin' money, or will wind up with you behind bars.
Most of our brain farts are but mere lapses in memory, or trains of thought. Some will manifest themselves in lapses of JUDGMENT or protocol. And others will provide hours of amusement to ourselves (again, hopefully) as well as our friends, colleagues, and even strangers.
Some of the more humorous ones are the times when a woman leaves a restroom, only to find she has grown a tail of toilet tissue trailing her from beneath her skirt (yes, some women still DO wear skirts). Or how about the person that leaves a gas station with the PUMP STILL ATTACHED to the filler tube? I like where a person leaves a drink on top of the car, drives off and makes it home with the drink curiously missing, all the time wondering WHERE that container of double latte went to.
You have to admit that brain farts are nothing more than nature's way of saying "Hey, take life just a tad SLOWER, and pay some attention to what you're doing".
Nevertheless, there will be times when having a brain fart turns into a form of cranial diarrhea.
Then we have a problem.
Case in point: The situation concerning former Sgt. Jon Bonar, a distinguished veteran of the FWPD.
Jon has been instrumental in ticketing and/or arresting drunk (or otherwise impaired) drivers here in Fort Wayne for years.
But Jon had a serious brain fart.
Like I said, it happens to us ALL.
This one was kinda large.
Seems (then) Sgt. Bonar had a DUI suspect in custody at a local hospital. That suspect escaped (but was later recaptured the same day). His supervisory capacity (and subsequent negligence, as Chief York put it) was called into question (Bonar had another officer with him at the time). In another instance, the securing of a fatal crash scene is being looked into by none other than the prosecutor's office.
Nice one, Karen...you pursue DRUG DEALERS with such verve?
In both cases, there WERE lapses in protocol, and while I think busting Sgt. Bonar back to patrolman is a bit on the severe side (I would have him cough up a stripe to corporal), someone's got to take the fall, and who better than the person that had the brain fart?
The person replacing Bonar in his position is Lt. Tony Maze. I met Tony Maze on a repo call a few years back, when he was a Sgt., and he's good people. And he's as tall as I am, so we've a kinship there...(in other words, never let someone's STATURE fool you, kapeesh?)
He was the supervisor on scene along with officers Ryan Moore and Bernie Ebetino, and I can say that Tony handled the situation expeditiously, and should be just as good, if not better in his new role.
Still, busting Bonar back to patrolman seems harsh.
I know for a fact that there are many officers that draw reprimands that are totally UN-deserved, especially on the SOUTH side of this city.
There are people (down here) who WILL SUE the department for the least trivial item, even when they KNOW they themselves did wrong.
That's just the nature of this beast on the SOUTH side.
And I also know of "advocates" that are intermediaries between these "citizens" (read law-breakers) and the department who lobby for disciplinary action against officers whose only fault is doing DAMN good police work. Unfortunately, it's racially-based in nature.
Police were called to a person's home yesterday, and one officer added a caveat to the second officer saying that "this woman has sued the department twice in the last year...be advised".
That's what the police have to deal with around here in my part of town...DAILY. Should I therefore think that Jon Bonar deserves NO reprimand?
Not hardly.
But the severity of such discipline when making "the punishment fit the crime" needs to be called to attention.
What Bonar did was wrong. I'll give you that.
And he should be disciplined...in as much as the severity of the lapse of protocol and professional negligence would call for...FAIRLY!
Every officer will make mistakes...EVERY SINGLE ONE.
And each officer has to live with the results of that mistake, whether it's shooting a person that was believed to have a weapon, but had none, not being able to arrive before someone else was killed, or even having a prisoner/suspect escape from custody.
A few officers don't even get that luxury, as their "mistake" (as in hesitating one second too long) results in THEM being shot or killed in the line of duty. And that is the ultimate lapse of judgment, albeit for the want to not necessarily invoke deadly force.
In a better world, the CRIMINALS would get as severe reprimands as has Jon Bonar.
Then again, in a better world, we'd have a lot more people making FEWER brain farts, taking personal responsibility for THEIR actions, holding THEMSELVES accountable by making much better choices, thereby allowing the policing of the citizenry to become a MUCH easier task.
Yeah...a better world...we CAN still dream, can't we?

05 January 2009

Monday Musings...
If there is one thing you can take away from ANY Monday morning, it's that someone SURE got it right by sticking MONDAY at the BEGINNING of the week, rather that right before or during a WEEKEND.
Best to get it over and done with ASAP, right?
Wouldn't you just hate to go Friday, Saturday, MONDAY, Sunday?
Man, that scenario would dry up a wet dream pronto!
So it's GOOD that Monday is where it's at, and the weekend is where IT'S at.
Moving along...
Okay, I admit it...I caved.
I just HAD to watch that History Channel show "Nostradamus 2012".
After watching shows regarding the 7 Deadly Sins, I was so hooked about our impending apocalyptic fate, I couldn't tear myself away...not even for Revenge of the Sith (got that on DVD anyway).
Now, I am already aware that most of Nostradamus's writings are subjective and can be interpreted in a myriad of ways.
But there have been a lot more civilizations that have seen our "end of days".
And it seems we don't have to wait for some iceball or meteoroid to whack us upside our planetary head...
The "Galactic Alignment" might take of that for us very nicely.
The sun will align with the "center" of the Milky Way galaxy...first time in 26,000 years (give or take). And it will occur during the winter solstice (21 DEC) in the year 2012
Sure, it sounds foreboding, and kinda cool too, but think about our current state of affairs right here on Planet Earth.
There are scientists that already postulate we're at the beginning of another possible ICE AGE (keep the thermal undies and hot cocoa handy), or that we're due for a shift in the gravity fields of the planet (gonna play hell with your iPods and Blackberrys, people), or even that our magnetic field will falter and weaken (anyone for an SPS 400 SUNBLOCK?), leaving Earth vulnerable to the cosmic "winds of fate".
Earth is a FRAGILE planet, and it's located in a PRECARIOUS position in the universe.
Think about it...
If the temperature across the planet went up ONLY ten degrees Fahrenheit...we'd be in pretty deep $hit!
If the Earth tilted less than FIVE DEGREES off it's current axis, we'd see climate shifts that would devastate the planet, and eradicate much of life as we know it...again, some pretty deep $hit
If the Earth were to change it's orbit of the sun by ONLY a few THOUSAND MILES (nearer or farther)...we'd either bake to death or freeze to death...yep, you guessed it...some pretty deep $hit.
Now I'm not going out and start hugging some trees....that's just NOT going to happen, but I do realize the potential for disaster, as should the rest of us. We don't have to get on Gore's bandwagon, but we CAN be practical in the manner in which respect this planet.
Let's face it, until something else comes along, we're all pretty much STUCK with THIS planet, so we'd best do what we can to keep it for a spell. Nothing wrong with wanting to take care of something that provides you with LIFE now, is there?
I've spoken here about external causes of Earth's possible demise, such as GRBs (Gamma Ray Bursts) and those nasty EMPs (Electro-Magnetic Pulses) that emanate from stars SO far away, it takes LIGHT over 600 YEARS to get here. Either of these can get us REAL gone, REAL fast.
But much of the world is too busy fighting for LAND (pssst...the planet only has SO MUCH of it..get used to it), WEALTH (and there's always someone that comes along to relieve you of it, no matter how much YOU take from others), POWER (which is as transient as a fart in a stiff breeze), or whatever other whim someone might be disposed of.
I've always been a person that respects the land, much like native Americans do. And I can thank that to all the time I spent in wooded areas hiking, biking, walking, whatever. There is something about the relative calm of such an area.
Yet all of this can be gone if we keep pissing off our planet.
All it takes is ONE 1/2 mile diameter rock to smack us in the kisser to plunge us into another "cold spell"...like the one that offed the dinosaurs.
My dad used to say that "Something that's worth HAVING...is worth KEEPING". Kind of fits the venue regarding this planet, don't you think?
We just have to be a bit more mindful of the "stewardship" we, as the human race have been given.
Sure we're going to screw up now and then...that's how we LEARN.
We can correct those mistakes.
But our ignorance will be our own undoing, if we permit it.
Planet earth has given us a nice ride, so far.
Be a real shame to not show some appreciation along the way.
December 21, 2012...sounds a bit OMINOUS, doesn't it?
It could be the end...or it could merely be a wake-up call.
Either way, we "might" want to keep this date open...
Just in case.

02 January 2009

The FIRST Weekend of the New Year...
Seems like we just finished having some "down time", and now here we go again.
Hey, I'm not griping ONE bit.
Sometimes you need a rest from all the "fun", anyway.
And speaking of bread and circuses...
--Didn't get many homicides solved last year in our city, did we?
In today's J/G is an article about the nuts and bolts of the past year's murders around the city, and they all DID occur within the city limits, with most occurring on the (all together people...) SOUTH SIDE (thank you).
Police have only an 11% "success" rate, compared to 2007's 48% rate. Well, if you NEED to kill someone, I'd suggest come HERE and do it. I mean what the hell...the chance of it being solved is LOW enough, and people are not forthcoming with information, will lie to protect family, and so on and so forth.
I will say one thing...Philly, PA saw a nice drop in homicides..better than 15% from the previous year, so they've got a plan in place, it would seem. Then again, all it takes is ONE person to go out and for no good reason known to man, commit multiple homicides to skew the stats.
We saw that happen here at the end of 2006.
But this IS a new year, and we still have HOPE (and our new President promises CHANGE).
--Speaking of things that might last...
*Dan Turkette/AWB had a good post yesterday at his blog (FortWayneNews) about the former mayor, Graham Richard's "legacy", and that is worth a read.
*Leo Morris's blog is always topical and oft times funny as hell.
*Sgt. Murphy can spin a yarn better than damn near anyone (imho).
*Kenn Gividen is my "go-to" guy for statistical truth...period.
*Phil Marx (MyHUDhouse) is someone I can REALLY relate to.
*Everett White - great photographer!
And I KNOW I'm forgetting SO many others of you, but I promise that THIS year, I'll devote posts to many (if not ALL) of you, in some fashion.
If there is ONE thing about the list of fellow "bloggers" and linked sites on MY blog, it's that it is DIVERSE in opinion.
Take the time to click on some of them, and you'll find people from all over the nation with wonderful views and commentary on a multitude of things.
And I suppose that's one thing I really enjoy about these blogs.
It's the humor, the candidness, the pungent social commentary, and even the pathos.
I've only met ONE person on my list, spoken to a very few, and yet, I find a nice kinship with them.
Doesn't matter if you're in Salt Lake City, Florida, the Texas panhandle, or even in Fort Wayne, because everyone has a story to tell, and many times it's not the content as the manner a tale is told that grabs you.
Now I'm a traditionalist, which means I like sending letters, taking real pictures, and otherwise conversing face to face with friends, relatives and people. yet today, I find this scenario as fulfilling as being there in person.
Here is a classic case of technology actually becoming beneficial to others, instead of being an intrusion or an annoyance (like texting while driving).
Now I said all that to say this...
I'm not into blogging for the money.
God knows that to be true.
For me, there is not one red cent in compensation for what is typed here. I suppose there "could" be, and maybe I'll pursue that later, but for now, free is fine.
I'm not into blogging because of boredom or an overabundance of solitude, either. I can always find things to occupy my time (and in this neighborhood, it can often become a full-time job, sans paycheck).
I blog because, like many of you, there is something to say, or needs to be said. As is often the case, the differing viewpoints help make or break a person's stand on something...anything. I look at this blog as a way to better understand my fellow man or woman. It's a way of continuing my "education", if you will, by allowing me to know what you know, see through YOUR eyes, listen to what YOU have heard.
If it all sounds a bit vicarious, I suppose it is, but it IS still a method of increasing one's ability to comprehend what other's might think, feel, or understand themselves.
It's a marvelous journey into who we are, and where we might be going.
And it's relatively free.
You can't beat that with a stick. I don't care who you are.
So the rest of you out there with something to say....keep right on saying it. It probably needs to be said anyway, and that's what (and who) our Constitution was written for.
As for me?
I will do likewise, as long as there is even ONE person willing to listen.
DO have a SAFE weekend out there.

01 January 2009

Happy New Year...2009 Edition
Here we finally are...out of the starting gate of a brand new year, ready to race the course.
And by the looks of how we left LAST year, THIS year is going to be nothing, if not interesting in SO many ways.
--We've got an economy that is hanging on by the skin of it's teeth.
--We've got a NEW President, marvelously unproven, ready to invoke "change we can believe in".
--We've got a bailout plan for damn near anyone with a rich-ass CEO at the helm
So it looks like America's plate is already kind of full.
Still, whatever ails this nation will be slowly fixed, and not necessarily by those in "power".
I look to see much of this nation's problems being solved by none other than YOU and ME.
The common man and woman will be the ones that bring this country back from the precipice of recession.
Perhaps that sounds a bit idealistic, but when you think about it, this nation couldn't move a damn inch in ANY direction WITHOUT the "little people"...the "grunts in the trenches"...the ones doing what they HAVE to do, because it's the RIGHT thing to do.
Sure it seems all to simplistic, yet it's true, and every one of you out there knows it.
Trouble is, those running the show don't seem to think so, at least not to the point where they will acknowledge it fairly.
Time to allow THEM the opportunity to LEARN from OUR example, right?
And in other tidbits out and about...
--If you want to read a GOOD article not only about the new Clint Eastwood movie (Gran Torino), but also to get some insight into WHY the "Big-3" automakers are in the predicament they find themselves, check this story out:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090101/FEAT/901010321
Funny thing, I used to own a Torino myself (1975 base model 2 door, dark hunter green w/ oversized blackwall tires, moon hubcaps, and a CB antenna on the trunk lid), and I'll have to get a picture of it on here. Nice car, no A/C, so all the power went to the road, but it was a handful in really snowy/icy weather, even for me...lol!
Love that 26 GALLON fuel tank, especially during the Oil Embargo price era...there went almost HALF of my paycheck!
But that will be another tale for another day, and it will be worth the wait, trust me.
--Last night's re-enactment of the TET OFFENSIVE in our neighborhood was a lot less than I expected...chalk that up to good patrolling by the FWPD. Sounded more like a skirmish along the Mekong (thankfully).
Usually I spend New Year's Eve watching Dick Clark, but last night, Wifey and I listened to the police scanner to see what those area rascals were up to. And we weren't all surprised to learn that the police had their hands full with DUIs, intoxicated people, unconscious people, and even responding to gunfire calls (yaaaaayyyyy...Hoo-rah)!
Amazing how nice and relatively serene this area can be when the "5-0" is around...
Now...if we can only start cracking down on those nasty-ass drug dealers.
And the "Boomcar Boyz"
And the roaming bands of teens after hours.
And the scrappers.
And the rapists.
And the burglars.
And the robbers.
And the home-invaders.
And the murderers.
And those with illegal firearms.
Nah...doesn't seem like to hard a mission to undertake, does it?
I will go on record and say that I believe we're going to see another TWENTY-FIVE homicides this year (last year was 26 - undershot by ONE), so get that betting pool at work or at home, and start keeping count, okay?
I don't know why, but I tend to think the number will be HIGHER for some reason...just got that feeling.
Then again, with a growing population, it just makes sense (per capita, that is).
Lastly, I want to go on record here when I CHALLENGE those in power in this town to take a GOOD look at MY part of the city (S/E side) and decide to do something OTHER than toss up a few $100,000 houses in the badlands along with some amenities and call it a "Renaissance".
Take back the neighborhoods that are distressed, and make them LIVABLE for those a lot less lazy and can contribute to the tax base we've been seeing erode in Fort Wayne.
And maybe if something like THAT would have been enacted YEARS ago, we wouldn't be staring at some hole in the ground, pie-in-the-sky crapshoot of a downtown revitalization, more than likely destined to be more of a bane than a boom to this town.
Gonna say this real EARLY this year, and those running this city best pay attention:
"Any city is only AS GOOD as it's WORST area".
(Yes, you may quote me)
So pay attention, City Hall, we (the people) are watching AND listening.
In the meantime...
Enjoy the new year, and don't worry...that shine & "new" smell will wear off REAL fast.
And just like that brand new car, this year is bound to depreciate a good 33% as soon as we "drive it off the lot".
Now...go have some corned beef and cabbage...LOL!