Weekend Roundup....
If any of you in the Midwest were wondering WHERE the cold weather has been hiding...keep your shirts on, it's COMING.
In the meanwhile, let's summarize the goings on for this past week, by peeking into those recently de-classified files I've been keeping in my basement (next to my shooting range and comic collection), shall we?
I mean, it's not like we all have anything BETTER to do this morning, right?
** From the "It's About Damn Time" files:
Accused shooter, Anthony Parish has been found GUILTY (again) in an '08 shooting.
Here's the link to the whole story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091119/LOCAL03/311199992
This boy has been about "20 miles of bad road" since he was in double digits, and it's damn nice to see this punk-ass gangsta (most likely) face life in prison...yep, feels good.
Now, if we can get RICO PARRISH (not a direct relation, and who testified AGAINST Anthony) off the damn streets and away from any "protection" from any agency, I'm sure a lot of people will be happy. Rico's been known to brandish firearms and shoot them randomly around his part of "da hood", but seems to also be made of teflon, as his sorry ass isn't in the slammer...yet (that I know of). If he IS...by all means, KEEP him the hell THERE, and do the city a favor.
Definitely have a GANG problem in THIS "burg", but I guess all the bling, the expensive SUVs and cars, and the dope seized damn near weekly kinda gives THAT away...doesn't it?
I still have a few very suspicious houses in MY neighborhood that need surveillance and closing down, in case anyone is interested in helping me take back MY area of the city.
** From the "Has It Been THAT Long?" files:
Looks like the queen of afternoon TV, and resident "Mother Teresa", Oprah Winfrey will be calling it quits by 2011.
Well, considering that Steadman (her longtime beau) is doing Eric Holder's "stuntwork" and stand-ins these days, I guess Oprah is looking for greener pastures (to go with her palatial estates).
(She will be creating her OWN cable network, so Big Sister could be watching US while we watch her? All hail the "O")
Maybe she can go to Africa, and personally save all THEIR economies...it has the novelty of never having been tried...yet.
How's that "hope and change" working out for YOU, Oprah?
** From the "Let's Make A Deal" files:
Looks like a local rapist might be able to "bargain" his way out of the charges.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091120/LOCAL03/311209985
This is EXACTLY what is so damn FLAWED with our judicial system...
Who speaks for the WOMAN aka the VICTIM here?
The rapist, Chad A Reuille, age 31, might wind up with what amounts to a slap on the wrist for his heinous behavior.
Crime might not "pay", but it seems to have nice "benefits" here in Fort Wayne.
Betcha he'd be singing a much different (and HIGHER) song, if he pulled this kind of crap in a "less civilized" society overseas, hmm?
** From the "Caveat Emptor" files:
It would appear that when the city bought the Renaissance Square building downtown, it was looking at a "gold mine" of sorts.
Now, it seems they not ONLY got the "mine"...but the SHAFT, as well.
Allen County council ONLY tossed $3 mil at the project to renovate and combine city-county offices....not ENOUGH for the city's likings (they wanted about TWICE that from the county), so the thrill is gone, and the deal is off.
The city will vacate the City-County Building and move into the Renaissance Square building (except for dispatch).
Here's the link to the skinny on this:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091120/LOCAL/311209993
In a recessive situation as we find our economy, by all means, let's SPEND some money (better yet...BORROW some) to the tune of $17+ million for a nice white elephant. I dunno...the grey one worked pretty damn well.
Lastly, we're heading into the home stretch for the Thanksgiving holiday, and that is a portent to the Christmas season.
So naturally, the "WAR ON CHRISTMAS" has commenced.
Gee, I guess the War On Terror...uh, I mean our "Overseas Contingency Operation" must not be as "entertaining" as first thought.
(btw, Mr. President...ANY chance of taking a gander at the TROOP STRATEGIES for the MIDDLE EAST anytime soon? You ONLY had a plan on your damn desk for OVER 90 DAYS...and we're still losing troopers, so let's get on the damn stick, kapeesh?)
The GAP has decided that while it LOVES the commerce that the CHRISTMAS season brings, when it actually comes to speaking about CHRISTMAS...they don't want it.
Here's the article in the L.A. Times written by Dan Neil:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-neil17-2009nov17,0,2040716.story
Gee, I didn't know a "Fatwa" was issued against the CHRISTIAN populace of this nation...did you?
I get REALLY pissed at those who "don't want to offend" those who might not embrace CHRISTMAS...
Tough Sh*t!
Build a damn bridge and GET OVER IT.
I don't find a damn thing wrong about PEACE ON EARTH...or GOOD WILL TOWARDS MEN that's associated with CHRISTMAS...do you?
And let's give props to the JEWISH sect of our society, who willingly fill in for those (nasty) CHRISTIANS during CHRISTMAS.
They don't seem to have ANY problem with CHRISTMAS...
But "some" folks apparently DO.
America is, and has always been a "melting pot", and that means we ALL have homogeneously BLENDED into ONE PEOPLE.
Sure, we might have been founded by God-fearing men and women, and we've thanked our Creator FOR the opportunity to be given a nation free from tyranny and free from the shackles of oppression.
We are AMERICANS, and the beliefs and customs OF America is what makes this nation separate from all the others.
Those customs could have come from Germany...or England...or Russia, or even Italy, Ireland, or Greece. Doesn't matter where. They were added TO our nation, making it stronger.
And in times such as these, we need to garner ALL the strength we can, no matter WHAT the season.
Have a great weekend, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

Here's To Your Health...
I don't know about YOU, but I've just about heard and seen enough concerning this health care "bill" that's been kicked about like some mega-buck soccer ball.
I suppose it hasn't occurred to ANYONE in the current administration that we need a few more "important" things in our nation taken care of FIRST...
One of them would be a little something called J O B S !
Americans are being laid off or otherwise "given the axe" in damn near record numbers, which means a helluva lot MORE people are on the unemployment dole. Fortunately for THEM, benefits may be extended another 19 weeks (I recall when all you got was about 19 weeks total), and the money to pay for all that is coming from WHERE, exactly?
We also hear tell about unemployment rates declining....really?
REALLY?
Maybe you should check those numbers, because when people have run their allotment of benefits and drop OFF the radar, that does NOT mean they are suddenly employed anew...
Yes, we're being lied to again.
Unemployment is REALLY increasing.
Funny how that claim of unemployment NOT going over 8% got tossed out with the bath water (we're now hovering around 10.2%). Maybe Obama should have checked the FACTS with someone who knows something about ACCOUNTING and basic MATH.
Which brings me to Harry Reid, who I wouldn't let do a head count of the members of a baseball team on a field, due to his "flawed" mathematical abilities.
Where the hell is anything being SAVED when you're spending over a TRILLION BUCKS of some health care bill that the vast MAJORITY of citizens simply DO NOT WANT?
And why aren't YOU signing up for this health care, Mr. Reid???
Seems to me YOU should be at the FRONT of the line.
Now, call me misinformed, but in order for "someone" to PAY for this "new healthcare" (which is unconstitutional in so many ways), we're going to need people with MONEY.
And that MONEY usually comes from being gainfully EMPLOYED, doesn't it?
I think MY logic is a tad more substantial than Mr. Reid's, don'cha think?
If Deja Vu serves me correctly, didn't Clinton try passing another lame-ass "Hillary-Care" back in the 1990s?
And that went over about as well as a pregnant pole-vaulter, right?.
Now Reid has a solution for paying some of the freight on this crap...TAX the rich.
Now, wouldn't the "rich" include those who OWN or RUN businesses that EMPLOY people?
And wouldn't MORE taxes impact on those "bottom lines"?
Could we see even MORE layoffs, because a business shut down, thanks to over-taxation?
I'm just sayin'...this is one snowball we really don't want to kick down that mountain.
I guess what REALLY amazes me, is the fact that anyone with HALF a brain and a smattering of mathematical aptitude can actually BELIEVE all this bullsh*t being touted by these politicians who want this health care to pass.
That's like allowing the inmates to RUN the bloody asylum, for God's sake!
If ANY of us mere citizens were to consider living OUR financial lives in a manner paralleling that of those in Congress or the Senate, we'd have been committed a LONG time ago, and fitted up with one of those really nice, tight, white "long-sleeve", buckle jackets!
But think on this...is it REALLY all about "health care"?
Well, it is but ONE way to control a people...
Control the health care and you WILL control a nation's people.
Another way is to control the CURRENCY.
People need money, it's THAT simple. We can't conduct ANY transaction without it, unless we wish to go back to the old bartering days...(service for service).
Find a method to devalue a currency to the point of worthlessness, and the people will succumb to your will, no matter how bad it might taste. They need to survive, and controlling the primary means to purchase anything is a damn fine way to manage that.
Still another method of control is to take away guns from the people.
Well, we know that bird's not going to fly all that well.
When you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have them.
One other way to control a people is to control the media.
Tell a lie often enough, and make it seem palatable, and people will begin to believe it. That's a paraphrase of a quote by none other than Adolph Hitler himself (Mein Kampf).
Trouble with ALL of these things is that they WILL work...and that doesn't bode well for any of us who still covet freedom and liberty for everyone. And the really BAD thing is that ALL of these methods are being thrust at us at the SAME time.
It's like I said the other day about "information and sensory overload".
We're being hit with SO MUCH at ONE TIME, we can barely discern what the hell is going on, let alone separate the wheat from the chaff. And that's another way to control the people...KEEP THEM CONFUSED.
Face it, a confused person is a docile person...one who is more prone to becoming "compliant", or malleable in thought and reason.
Now that's not anything I want to be part and parcel to...how about you?
Yeah, our President and his cronies SHOULD be focusing on getting our people EMPLOYED, bolstering our DOLLAR, and providing to the rest of the world a nation that has the ability to rebound from impending financial crises, and come out stronger on the other side.
Not seeing that happen, people...
It would seem that the phrase "Of the people, by the people, for the people" should be sounding more like "Force the people, tax the people. control the people".
Now I don't recall seeing THAT in ANY of our founding documents, or mentioned by ANY former leader of this nation.
Let me know if I'm wrong here, OK?. Maybe I missed something somewhere.
What we can take away from all this imminent "control" is a system whereby those that have, will be forced (in some fashion) to give to those who have not. Gee, we used to call that CHARITY. Wonder where THAT went?
And charity always began in the home.
Well, I suppose we'll all be in government-imposed housing soon enough...can't wait for that.
Americans need to get back what this nation USED to stand for, and NOT stand for all the "change" that's being perpetrated against decent, hard-working people.
Americans need to have their voice heard, and their petitions addressed.
We need to take a stand, and to not be moved aside by the winds of such "change".
If we need to change anything, it's the direction this nation is headed....if we want to remain the nation our forefathers fought and died for.
That's something to think about.
Stay safe out there, America.

Humpday Happenings...
I have to confess that there are just so many things going on in our world that are directly having an effect on every single one of us, that I sometimes suffer from "sensory overload".
I'm sure you feel likewise...too much information to assimilate in such a short time.
The good news is, we're probably NOT alone there.
The bad news is, I don't see this crap letting up any time soon.
If one could use the analogy, the current state of affairs on this planet is looking more and more like "The Perfect Storm".
Still, it behooves us to keep our attention focused, because the powers that be would like nothing better than for us to divert OUR eyes and ears from what is being done.
Now, my wife and I are fortunate enough to keep close tabs on any debt we incur...and pay it off ASAP. I've always been that way...blame my parents.
They KNEW the value of a dollar (even when it was WORTH a lot closer to a buck).
Today, the value is changing so often, and downward to boot, that it's damn hard to figure that much out.
But we make due, nonetheless.
It's called FRUGALITY.
I don't HAVE to have the "name-brand" product when I go shopping, and I don't have to have the MOST EXPENSIVE item in the lot.
If I can find some bargain somewhere...fantastic, and the bigger the bargain, the better.
We live well within our means, and never have "need" for life's basics.
We appreciate what we have, what we worked for, and are determined to be good stewards of such things.
So, why would we decide to eliminate whatever debt we may have incurred by going out and SPENDING enormous amounts of money that we never have in order to "buy down" that debt?
Gee, we still owe a little on the garage roof...so let's BUY all new WINDOWS, two new DOORS and toss a roof on the HOUSE as well....yeah, that'll teach that nasty (small) debt we have. Great way to take care of a $1000 debt...go out and blow $15000!!!
That saved us a TON of money...NOT!
Well, our government feels THAT IS THE WAY TO GO...and I've yet to see ANY logic contained within that mindset.
You remove debt by making MORE debt...doesn't sound quite right to me.
Does it sound right to YOU?
(didn't think so)
And this health care debacle that is costing more with every breath taken by the current administration...This is just plain WRONG.
I mean, if I wanted to be ROBBED, I could find a lot better people to do it, and with a more "sincere" intent behind it.
For example, you have a blown out license plate bulb (which seems to be an epidemic on the SOUTH side of town, even with NEW vehicles), so rather than REPLACE that $2 bulb, you REPLACE THE WHOLE CAR...or maybe JUST the engine to "solve" the problem.
Well folks, that's EXACTLY what this Obamacare will do to us all.
It will replace the CAR when it should be FIXING THE DAMN BULB...and it won't be free, either.
Don't think that for a moment.
It will KEEP costing LONG after most of us have taken that long dirt nap.
Nice legacy for the kids, hmm?
Oh, by the way, the reason it will KEEP on costing us will be due to the devaluing of our currency.
(but they can always print more)
Yeah, but printing MORE money takes away from the value OF that money, because we (as a nation) have NOTHING to back UP those bucks flying off the printing presses. We're OFF the gold standard, remember?
Our indebtedness to CHINA is beyond belief.
And that nation is only the FIRST "person" in a growing line of "creditors".
If we want a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT and CURRENCY...well folks, we're damn well on the way to making that happen.
Personally, I'm not on board with that.
I prefer MY country...INTACT, along with her currency.
I prefer to see AMERICA being a LEADER, and not some tuck-tailed, bailed-out country relying on other nations for the next scrap of bread or drop of water.
Funny...we USED to be that LEADER, so WTF happened, anyway?
And HOW the hell can we get THAT all back?
Well, if any of us had all THOSE answers, we'd be a lot further up the "food chain", wouldn't we?
God, I miss the days when the only thing that concerned us was being nuked by the USSR...don't you?
We used to be the country that led others with innovative technologies.
We used to be the nation that was able to feed other nations.
We used to be the nation that others looked to because OUR money was worth more than anyone else's.
Tell you one thing, if THIS type of crap that's happening TODAY happened during WW2, I can't imagine HOW MANY people would be jailed for treasonous behavior and actions. You don't mess with this country.
But people ARE messing with it, and many of them are on the mountain top, looking down at the rest of us.
This nation is damn near in a flat spin, and most every time, that is something that is unrecoverable...ask a pilot.
That's not their "favorite maneuver", trust me.
America cannot remain on it's current course and expect to come out the other side BETTER off. That dog ain't gonna hunt.
The numbers don't add up, the logic is non-existent, and there is simply no sense behind what is happening.
We need to regain control of the manor house, because the "hired help" ain't doin' such a great job of running it.
And if that means we all get frugal, get involved, and get busy living, instead of rolling over and playing dead, then so be it.
We are AMERICANS...that should speak volumes in and of itself.
We can make it through this and come out victorious..it's in our nature.
Stay safe out there, America.

Tales From The South Side...
Yes, friends...another soiree' into the realm of the surreal.
An exercise in futility, tinged with a hint of mint.
It's the playground of the absurd, the unusual, the forsaken and the ignored.
But, it's not ALL bad...just MOST of it.
And it's the stuff that term papers in abnormal psychology are all about.
So, without any further ado, let's plow forward, feet planted on the ground, ear to the rail, shoulder to the wheel, nose to the grindstone, head up and smiling (now, try actually WORKING in THAT position).
** ((Air board hires firm to promote vacant hub - Officials hope to find tenant to take over ex-Kitty Hawk site
Amanda Iacone-The Journal Gazette
The airport authority has hired a professional site-selector firm to help market the cargo hub vacated by Kitty Hawk.
The Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority board voted Monday to hire Pollina to help find a new tenant for the air cargo facility, which includes a 240,000-square-foot warehouse.
Kitty Hawk Inc. filed for bankruptcy in 2007 and quickly closed its operation at Fort Wayne International, leaving the airport and taxpayers on the hook for repaying a $24 million bond used to build the hub and lure Kitty Hawk. This was the first year taxpayers were asked to make those bond payments.
The airport spent an additional $10 million to build a ramp for the cargo hub.
Pollina, of Park Ridge, Ill., is a company hired by large corporations to find properties, and it aggressively looks for properties that fit its clients’ needs, board member Jerry Henry said.
The cargo hub is a building only a few companies could use, Henry said.
However, several of Pollina’s clients would be a good fit for the hub, said Tory Richardson, the authority’s executive director.
The site selector will also give the hub national and even international exposure that local brokers can’t offer, Richardson said.
The firm won’t be paid unless a tenant signs a lease, he said.
In the meantime, the authority has tentative plans to mothball part of the facility until a new tenant is found. The board transferred money into the facility construction budget line to ensure enough money is available for the project.
Richardson also announced that the authority received $298,000 toward the claim the airport filed as part of Kitty Hawk’s bankruptcy.
As of May 2008, Kitty Hawk owed an estimated $8.5 million to the authority.
In other business, the authority said Wednesday it will celebrate the reopening of both runways at Smith Field, the general aviation airport on Fort Wayne’s north side. The shorter runway opened about two weeks ago after new asphalt was laid. Since then, the longer runway
has reopened after airfield lights were installed, giving pilots more flexibility.
Without the lights, pilots were limited to daylight trips, Richardson said.
A mix of stimulus funds, federal and state grants and local dollars paid for the $1.7 million project, which was the first major work to the field’s runways in 30 years.
The board also agreed to buy a one-acre property on the northwest edge of Fort Wayne International’s airfield from the Harlow family.
A storage building sits on the Indianapolis Road property and will likely be demolished, Richardson said.
The authority agreed to pay the owners $40,000, and the owners agreed to not take legal action against the airport. The owners alleged that the airport flooded their property when the airport built a large drainage basin nearby, he said.))
Okay, just so we're clear about this, Fort Wayne International Airport DOES NOT FLY OVERSEAS or to ANY other country. It's a "feeder" facility that will shuttle you TO an airport that DOES fly out of country,...got it?
And this is STILL one of OVER THIRTY "entities" that CAN (and usually DOES) levy PROPERTY TAX INCREASES to homeowners.
THAT is where they get most of their money for "capital projects".
Feds pay for upgraded equipment and repairs to current equipment.
** ((Panel to promote Southtown area
Benjamin Lanka-The Journal Gazette
In an effort to better lure business and other development to Fort Wayne’s southeast quadrant, Mayor Tom Henry on Monday announced the creation of committee of community stakeholders.
Henry signed an executive order creating the Southtown Area Advisory Committee, which consists of 13 business owners, community leaders and pastors. The group is intended to promote the area around the former Southtown Mall to potential investors and gather input from the community on what it wants in the area.
"We have a number of people on this committee who are very successful doing business in southeast Fort Wayne," Henry said. "By promoting this area to potential investors and sharing their stories, these entrepreneurs can help us attract new businesses and ultimately additional jobs to the Southtown area."
Ted Williams, local McDonald’s restaurant owner, said business owners can talk to developers in different ways than the city and try to promote the area. He is serving as co-chair of the group with John Dortch, of The Preston Joan Group. Mike Landram, president of the
Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, will serve as interim president.
Henry added the group’s goal is to help the sustainability of the Regional Public Safety Academy, which has seen financial losses since opening. Henry said while the building should focus on public safety, he also wants to see it used as a community center for
different groups and offer educational opportunities."It is a community building," he said.
The group met initially Thursday and plans to meet weekly. Henry said he will review its results after two years and decide then whether to extend its charter or let it expire.
Southtown committee - Here are the members of the newly created group:
-Ted Williams, McDonald’s Restaurant
-John Dortch, The Preston Joan Group
-Rick Bender, Walmart south store manager
-Mike Bynum, southeast strategy advisory committee
-Pastor Wayne Feay, Fellowship Missionary Church
-City Councilman Glynn Hines, D-6th
-Charlie Hire, Hires Automotive Center, vp of Southside Business Group
-Lewis King, King’s Barbershop and southeast strategy advisory committee
-Mike Landram, Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce president
-Michael Olson, Belmont Beverage
-Pastor Anthony Payton, Come As You Are Community Church
-Marge Wulliman, Southside Business Group president
-Fernando Zapari, El Mexicano newspaper
Source: City of Fort Wayne ))
First off, we wouldn't be having this conversation of creating this "group" if the city would have taken care of the CRIME that festers in the SE part of town (where I happen to live).
That ONE thing is what caused OVER SIXTY stores and restaurants to close down here over the last 12 years, along with the Southtown Mall and cinema.
The few stores that are still "stand alones" (Menards, K-Mart and Wal Mart excluded) are STILL the target of robbers (Belmont Beverage shooting earlier this year where the ROBBER was shot for a change).
One person that I don't see on this board is someone who represents a group of REALTORS or the real-estate market in general.
It is damn hard to promote ANY business when you're being targeted by thugs (daily).
I've said SO many times that the way to affect real change for the better down here is to chase the crime AWAY...period.
You go into a fast food place down here, and you "might" wind up in the middle of a brawl between staff and would-be criminals who demand some free take out. Or, your car might get broken into WHILE you're eating (or shopping).
Frequenting what few retailers we still DO have down here becomes a crapshoot. Hell, just living among these ghetto flies IS a crapshoot. You "hope" no one breaks into your house while you're off somewhere ELSE shopping (as anyone down here will tell you we have to do).
If I were a business owner or CEO of a big box chain, I'd be hard-pressed to blindly build some stores in an area I KNEW was going to cost me a sizable chunk of change. I have employee safety to be concerned about, "shrink" from the inventory (we called it Loss Prevention, and I was damn good at that job), the safety of the shoppers both IN the store and in the parking areas...lots to consider.
Logistically, it can become a nightmare...and that's why you weigh the good against the bad when deciding WHERE to build another store. It's just good business sense. No one climbs out on a limb, in a stiff wind...with a chainsaw, bent of sawing that branch off while still clinging to it...that's nonsense.
** Lastly, even though this didn't occur in Indiana, I found it "interesting"...
Welfare Workers On Edge - As Michigan Ails, Clients Get Unruly.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091117/NEWS03/311179939
Leave it to Michigan to have themselves offices full of upstarts, wanting to incite some sort of quasi-riot.
I suppose this will soon be mirrored across most all inner cities.
Can't get your "something for nothing" SOON ENOUGH? Burn the damn place down, and punch out a few federal workers along the way...make you feel like a REAL man (or woman) again, right?.
By the way, you LOSERS are making it DIFFICULT for those that honestly NEED some assistance...just so ya know.
And in a related story...or sorts:
** IPFW lecturer faces WELFARE FRAUD charges.
Here's the link to the brief story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091117/LOCAL07/311179934
Now WHO KNEW that being a college lecturer (even a part-time one) was wrought with such things as lying about one's income to receive FOOD STAMPS...(horrors)?
I mean investigators seem to have spotted THIS GUY soon enough...but what about all the ones that are STILL flying under the radar, as it were? Don't see or hear much about THEM now, do we?
I mean just because this guy made about $100,000 in 2008 and has 4 kids, shouldn't be a reason to DENY assistance, right?
What's that you say? He makes ENOUGH money?
Well, perhaps he does, and therein lies the FRAUD.
I would be remiss to not state that others (in my area) receive "other income" and yet STILL do the "food stamp two-step", but since dealing drugs is not (yet) a recognized "act of employment" by the government, THEY get a "free pass".
And that explains being able to OWN a new Cadillac Escalade, while living in a hovel worth less than HALF the price of that Caddy.
Remember...it's ALL about being "entertained"...and if you can defraud the government...it's entertainment.
Forget conventionality and working for a living...that's "old school" down here.
Better to "pillage the village" than to be productive to the community.
It's no wonder businesses up and LEAVE...
It's a vicious cycle, with little chance of being broken at this point.
This could all turn back around and get right again...
But until CRIME is forced to go on extended "holiday", not much will change.
This sure isn't how I thought life would evolve.
It was supposed to be getting BETTER.
Maybe tomorrow?
Stay safe out there, America.

Monday Musings...
A rainy day in Hoosierland, but nothing close to what the east coast was walloped with the past week. Thank God for small favors, hmm? And, as the song goes "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down".
Not really... I could find a lot more and better things to get depressed over than a rainy Monday.
I actually view a day like this as a respite from all the incessant thumping from the damn boomcars we have in my part of Fort Wayne. Seems when the weather becomes inclement, the loud-ass audio-terrorists run and hide, except for a few die hards that should be dragged out into the street and shot.
But, hey...it's not like the city "leaders" CARE about this part of town...they're way too busy chasing their latest windmill to bother with such "petty" things as crime down here.
Still, those few of us down here (among the madding crowd) do what we do to keep from going postal.
And on such a happy note, let's see what's been going on...
** I did watch some very good TV this past weekend, starting with Friday's Glenn Beck Show on FOX.
His audience consisted entirely of black conservatives...and was one of the BEST hours of debate and commentary I have ever seen. And it was SO refreshing to hear black people, REAL people state the facts...and the TRUTH, and not claim to being a race-card carrying victicrat.
THESE are the people I remember growing up with...NOT the gravy-train riding flotsam that inhabits the rentals around here.
Then I watched the remake of the 1966 show THE PRISONER (Sunday) on AMC. It had similarities, but I feel this is a show that was best when sticking to the original nuances. This is a show that will get you thinking...about a LOT of things. I will say the root basics of the original show were kept intact (mercifully).
Then, after that, I flipped over to the Military Channel, where they had a fantastic show called: NO DOG LEFT BEHIND
...It's all about several pooches our troops in the Middle East befriended and then managed to bring stateside through a ASPCA Int'l program designed to help both the dogs AND the troopers. It was touching to say the least, and is a must-see when it airs again (check online for listings).
Here's a link to the backstory of the program: http://www.peoplepets.com/news/pets-in-the-news/tv-s-no-dogs-left-behind-follows-rescued-war-dogs-on-journey-to-u-s/1
It was real hard to keep a dry eye for the whole hour, trust me.
Also happening a bit closer to "home":
** ((Lafayette St. tobacco store robbed - Journal Gazette - 15 Nov 2009
Fort Wayne police investigated a robbery at Low Bob’s Discount Tobacco on Saturday.
The robbery was reported just after 1 p.m. at the tobacco store at 4601 Lafayette St.
Two men entered the business, one of whom brandished a handgun and demanded money, police said.
The robbers left with an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes, according to police.
They fled in a red four-door car, heading east on East Sherwood Terrace, witnesses told police.
Compete descriptions of the robbers were not available.))
This is a really small store, and I find it interesting that descriptions are NOT "available". I mean the customer area is as small as in the inside of a large elevator, so you can't help but notice people...and things.
This is one of our frequented places to grab decently-priced smokes, and is usually targeted at least TWICE a year. I guess sooner or later, the owner will just close up and leave the area. I hope not.
But wait...there's more...
** ((Video store robbed of bank deposit - Journal Gazette - 16 Nov 2009
Fort Wayne police investigated an armed robbery at a south-side video rental store Sunday morning.
The robbery was reported just after 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Blockbuster Video at 100 E. Pettit Ave., said officer Liza Thomas, a police spokeswoman. A store employee was leaving to make a bank deposit when a man sitting on a bench outside the store approached the employee with a handgun, she said.
The man demanded money and fled west on Lennox Avenue on a bicycle with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The robber was described as a young man in his late teens to early 20s, black, about 5-foot-8 and wearing an orange hooded sweatshirt.))
Again, this is located at Southgate Plaza (walking disance from our house), and is the store at the far end of the location, alongside Big Lots.
I suppose if these two recently robbed businesses decide to go elsewhere, someone's going to be bitching about how "they" have NO STORES down here.
You all HAD a really nice MALL...and a LOT more stores overall, but you allowed the criminal element to get a foothold and prosper. You allowed the black community to sit on it's thumbs (as it still seems to do) when it comes to dealing with the amount of criminal activity displayed by it's OWN people, instead of beating the streets with some positive changes that should have been enacted several decades ago.
You've GIVEN food, shelter, and sundry other amenities to those who have NO desire to EARN them, and then patted yourselves on the back at your "empathy" that you've handed out...all at the working people's expense.
Nice job, morons.
You've provided at least ONE generation with a sense of entitlement that surpasses logic and ethics, and you loved every minute of "helping the needy", when in fact, the only thing these people really NEED is a good, swift kick in their asses to motivate them into becoming USEFUL citizens, and not the financial leeches you're fostered over time.
Sound about right?
** But have no fear...Obama is in CHINA..sucking up to the commies in order to keep them from "calling in their marker" for ALL the money owed to THEM...by US.
Face it, we are in hock past our eye teeth to this nation...they make damn near everything on the planet as it is. We're just indebeted to them a HELLUVA lot more than any other nation.
Nice to know we're still at the top of SOME lists, isn't it?
Trouble is, these are the lists we should not even BE ON.
To live in a nation that was once THE nation that has lent money to others, and is now walking a line that sees other countries that are all but bankrupt scares the hell out of me.
We're SO in debt...and yet this administration feels the ONLY way to see ourselves clear of such problems is to SPEND MORE MONEY (that we really don't have either).
Everyday citizens do without to save, and will make sacrifices as well wherever they need to. WHY the hell can't our government take a page from OUR textbook, and get with this program?
I suppose if I had the answers to all these questions, I'd be one of the richest people on earth.
Yeah...it's rainy, it's Monday...the nation's financial future is up in the air, Rosetta Stone's Chinese version DVDs are selling like hotcakes, and our house is surrounded by Aborigines on the dole (or selling drugs)...what's there to be depressed about, eh?
It could always be worse...I just have difficulty imagining HOW...lol!
Stay safe out there, America.