10 May 2011

Still Feels Like A Monday...
Another gray morning...off and on rain showers...more days passing without having the roof repaired.
Didn't we just go through this LAST week?
I am always fond of saying that down here in our little corner of the ghettohood, it's far from "boring"...
Damn shame...I could use about a ton and a half of BORING right about now.
*** So, I wound up placing another call into the FWPD for loud music last evening.
This one group of human trash likes to crank up the CAR stereo, using it as their primary "music" source.
Naturally, it's a CADILLAC...nice to see our TAX MONEY isn't being wasted, hmm?
Pretty annoying when the people live down the block, and the thumping can be heard at the other end of your house.
Oh, these people just KNOW what button to push in order to piss you off, that's for sure.
Well, they DO have all that "free time" on their hands to figure all that stuff out, courtesy of the working class taxpayers right?
And if there's anything that cries out "my property is worth less every day", it's (almost daily) having something like a group of meandering bodies constantly wanting to congregate at or around YOUR property.
(they must LIKE you, Bob)
Yeah, that always makes it look just SO damn inviting...
Sure, I want to live THERE.
Sign me up...(not)
*** Speaking of property values...and the lack thereof, you might find THESE articles interesting:
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/economy/zillow-see-the-worst-home-prices-drop-since-2008.html
And this one:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-crash-is-getting-worse-2011-05-09?link=MW_latest_news
Now, I used to avoid any type of business news like the plague, but being a homeowner for quite sometime now, I've come to appreciate being informed.
And appreciation is something that OUR HOUSE is not suffering THESE days, thanks to the merchants of mayhem in our fair city.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Tell 'ya one thing, if you EVER want to have your property taxes DROP markedly (that would be like a lead balloon), then by all means, DO allow a SECTION 8 house on YOUR block.
That will ensure lower taxes for YEARS to come.
There is a caveat, however...
You must also be prepared for drugs, barking dogs, unsupervised kids roaming about, public intoxication, loud music, loud cars, prostituion, welfare fraud, EMS visits, police sirens, drugs, public urination, disrespect for you and your property, robberies, vandalism, burglaries, rapes, domestic quarrels, fights, public drunkenness, gunfire, speeding, and litter out the wazoo.
But...your property taxes WILL be lower, so see...it's not so bad after all.
Helluva trade-off, hmm?
Curiously enough, some of the areas with the HIGHEST RATE of devalued property are Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, and Miami Beach.
(can Fort Wayne be that far behind?)
Now, I wonder what all those OTHER FOUR areas have "in common"?
Well, it's probably NOT a large contingent of MINORITIES and HUD housing...can't possibly be THAT, right?
(I know and you know otherwise)
*** We had a minor ant infestation last evening as well...those really small ones, and only on one part of the corner of the kitchen counter.
After getting the area totally spotless (clean enough to perform surgery on) and dosing it with a LOT of killer bug juice, it appears we got the majority of them.
Now where they came from, I have NO idea, but no one's going home to invite the rest of the "family", that's for sure..
The kitchen is the one place that I'm really fussy about...it's the whole food thing, you know.
And every container that might have anything sweet enough to attract them is always tightly sealed.
But the ants did not get INTO any cabinets that I could see (and that big, honking spotlight does a nice job of letting me see).
So, we shall see what happens.
In any event, there are a lot of orphans in the "ant world" this morning as a result of my "blitzkrieg" tactics.
I think Seal team Six would approve...lol.
*** Been doing some cogitating about this whole jury duty gig, and while I have not wavered in my personal feelings about it one damn bit (which by itself SHOULD have washed me out of it in the first place), I do believe I have found a marvelous method by which I can "assist" those that keep calling me downtown to refrain from doing so in the future...
It's a little document known as the UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION...!
(...pause for thunderous cheers and applause....)
Who knew, right?
Well, within this document is something called the THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT, which states:
" Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
Here's the *411* on this from WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution#Text
Now, you might be wondering "WTF?" Bob...how is ANY of that pertinent to jury duty?
Good question.
Look at those words INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE...carefully.
Now think about what constitutes jury duty itself...
-Is it VOLUNTARY?
-Are you being compelled, coerced or otherwise "forced" to partake in it?
-Is jury duty selection comparable to conscription?
If you answered "YES" to any or all of these questions...give yourself a GOLD STAR.
Here's a link to what one professor of economics stated in an article written for the CATO Institute back in 2006:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6546
Abolish the jury "draft", and make it like our military...ALL VOLUNTEER.
Sounds reasonable enough. Let those who CAN be a lot more impartial sit on a jury.
It's replacing the "threat of coercion with the consent of the governed"...
Now HOW FAIR is that in a free society?
This is another take on it...a bit more gritty:
http://www.spectacle.org/0600/lizard.html
Funny, that I wasn't kicked off the list after expressing my feelings, but then again, "slaves" really DON'T have feelings as such, do (we) they?
(pretty convincing so far, huh?)
Then there's that "U.S. v Kozminski" - (US 931 - 1988) where the Supreme Court ruled that the Thirteenth Amendment did not prohibit compulsion of servitude through psychological coercion.
Kozminski limited involuntary servitude to those situations when the master subjects the servant to:
1-threatened or actual physical force,
2-threatened or actual state-imposed legal coercion or
3-fraud or deceit where the servant is a minor, an immigrant or mentally incompetent.
I'm especially intrigued by that whole "state-imposed legal coercion"...which would be a summons with FEAR of a fine and/or bench warrant for contempt.
My plan is to call to question the "coercive" aspect of jury duty during voir dire, if I even get that far.
I might call the court clerk and belabor this point...see what shakes from that. And I think it's a good plan, at least one that is based in the freedom and liberty bestowed by our founding document.
We shall see, won't we?
There are those wanting to abolish MANDATORY jury duty based on just that, so I think I have a shot.
Yeah, sometimes the legal system is too busy getting criminals out on plea deals, that they don't bother to read the REAL LAW of the land.
Gotta love that.
Now who was it that said that "a little bit of knowledge is dangerous"?
Folks, at this point, I plan to be DEADLY as all get out.
Letting them have it with both barrels, figuratively-speaking that is...lol.
Hey, I might have only ONE year of formal college, but I think I manage to glean a few pearls of wisdom along the rest of my time here.
In any event, if it comes down to being in the court room and being asked questions by the attorneys, it will prove most interesting, that much is certain.
Then again, sometimes it's OK to toss boredom to the curb.
In this instance, it's pretty much required...don'cha think?
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

8 comments:

Momma Fargo said...

Super great stuff as usual, Bob. G.

But let me just help you in one area...the car stereo thumping thing...have you ever heard of...if you can't lick 'em, join 'em? See...you need to find your Zen...feel the music...love the music. Like me...I roll dirty in the ghettohood. And I like rap music. I know, sick, isn't it? LOL

Have a great day!

Wrexie said...

I'm guessing the ants moved in to get away from the loud music on the street! lol

I have bees... ants are sounding downright fun at the moment.

Bob G. said...

Momma Fargo:
Somehow, I don't think my part of the ghettohood is quite READY for me playing Tchaikovsky's 1812 OVERTURE at say...140 decibels!

I'd be getting the po-po called on ME (when those cannons go off near the end)...LOL.
Now THAT the FWPD would respond to quickly...go figure.

Hey, everyone can play whatever pleases their hearts...just don't force me to listen to it a block away...
I love my coffee...BUT, I don't carry a jug of it on my hip, walk down the street and pour it down everyone's throat.

Guess that's the ONLY "sticking point" we might ever have...I'm good with that.

Thanks a lot for rolling on up today and commenting.

Stay safe out there.

Bob G. said...

Wrexie:
We had some yellow jackets the other year...set up shop in a small hole in the siding that was a former telephone line in...
Took care of that ASAP...filled the hole with CAULK.

Haven't heard a lick from them since.
(wonder why?)

As to the ants, I'm not going to ship ANY of them out to you, so don't worry...LOL.

Yeah, maybe THEY don't like the LOUD either...makes sense to me.

Thank you for stopping on by here today to comment.

Stay safe (and fire-retardent) out there.

ms nk rey said...

Re jury duty: I found it an educational and interesting way to learn about the process and understanding how the justice system works in this country. I have been called only twice in my life, once I served and once I was dismissed.
Be sure you check my blog tomorrow I took some pictures with you in mind.

Bob G. said...

MSN:
I was one of those "nerds" in school that paid attention in when we used to have classes in and about our Constitution...
(always was a history buff - still am)
Never knew I'd be referring to it SO MUCH these days...LOL.

Having worked FOR the federal government (in another life, it seems), I know how the "system" works, and what passes for REAL justice these days (sadly).
I like to call it "Deviation Boulevard".

What troubles me, is that the judicial system tends to run slipshod over Americans, and prefers the innocent ones, much to my chagrin.

Jury duty should NEVER be "mandatory"(under penalty of fine or arrest) and the writers of our founding documents, as well as those who came afterwards and amended our Constitution since knew this full well.

Whenever someone is "compelled" or otherwise FORCED to do something, they don't have their heart in it, or when a person has knowledge about the "system" not privvy to the average citizen (as in gov't or law-enforcement), it can often compromise the proceedings.

(Shoulda been a history teacher, I know...lol)

Believe you me, living in an neighborhood that has "changed" and become a ghettohood over the last 12-14 years IS in and of itself a very sobering "learning experience".
And not one for the faint-of-heart.

Thanks for stopping by.
I'll be looking forward to your pictures.

Stay safe down there.

CWMartin said...

BG:
I feel for ya, but NO WAY should an all-volunteer jury pool be instituted.

Every crime would swiftly become an "OJ" trial, juries packed to the gills with the defendant's "peers", and I doubt any of them are going to be interested in justice- particularly if "the man" is involved.

If I have to be the difference between some perp skating because the jury was full of Latin Kings members, then so be it.

This, to me, is kinda like voting- if you don't want the crap in your own back yard, you gotta do the time.

Of course, I haven't been the "frequent flyer" that you have.

Funny thing about the music, though- nobody had a problem raiding that barn full of white kids in columbia city, did they?

Funny the things you can get away with these days when your liable to "racial profiling", isn't it?

Don't sound like the roof's getting it this weekend either, does it? Hope for the best, pray for the rest.

Bob G. said...

CWM:
I hear what you're saying about jury duty, but I think with proper screening, a more UNBIASED jury can (and should) be made available.

Many times, a lot of people not wanting to BE THERE will in fact, rule summarily JUST to "get it over with", and many come way with a cavalier "whew, glad that's over" attitude. That doesn't help foster a sense of justice (to me).

I make NO bones about MY bias against the criminal element here (or anywhere else)...I live among a lot of them (by city design, and not by choice).
And having NOT been arrested or otherwise charged with any crime in 58 years HAS to mean something (aside from my Guardian Angel doing a ton of O/T), right?

Wednesday's post will focus on things JUST like that barn raid...stay tuned.

As for the roof?
Well, we don't have an "indoor water feature yet"...not that it would ADD to the "value" of the place...LOL.

Hey, thanks for stopping on by.
Much appreciated.

Stay safe up there.