01 September 2011

And Now...It's September...
To me, this has always been the harbinger of fall...and of course we'll have Labor Day weekend right down the road.
Weather today is going BACK into the 90s, so perhaps a bit of "Indian Summer" awaits us.
In any event, I'm sure we'll come out the other side just fine.
Now, about YESTERDAY'S QUOTE ("Who said that?")
If you guessed none other than GEORGE WASHINGTON, give yourself a gold star!
That quote was written BY Washington on 10 July, 1779 in a letter to GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE.
(writings XV, 1936, p.397)
I figure what better way to begin than with our FIRST President, and the "namesake" of the city I live in now.
I honestly am enjoying that military quotation book...(kinda obvious, huh?)
Pretty cool stuff, and with over 300 pages, we've got plenty of quotes to last a while.
(If the government doesn't decide to DO AWAY with Wednesdays, that is...LOL)
Moving on...
*** I said in yesterday's post about the trial of Andre Washington "possibly" ending up as a MISTRIAL.
Well, friends, chalk another one up for this old fart being right...yet AGAIN.
(that never gets old)
And here's the proof - even made the front page:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110901/LOCAL03/309019976/1002/LOCAL Seems there was a "lapse" in testing the firearm involved in this case (a .40 caliber pistol), and again, we see the prosecutors neglecting to inform the defense of their findings (it didn't appear to be THE weapon as tested by state police, but was taken from Washington during a traffic stop).
Can YOU say "OOPS"?
Now, I saw this coming a mile off, and I've sat on HOW MANY juries in my lifetime???
Uh...lemme see, now...NONE!
And now you know WHY I have no desire to do so in this city...
(I'd be laughing my ass off too loudly, and would probably be held in "contempt")
Sorry, but the way this system is set up (and flawed as it has been for too long), it's up to the PROSECUTION to "make the case".
All the defense has to do is refute or disprove it...cast a shadow of doubt upon 12 people...that's all.
And a perp WILL walk (if they don't plea-deal down beforehand).
I guess watching Perry Mason and Barnaby Jones had SOME influence on my investigative skills.
(so does working for the Feds...or driving down a lot of streets and going into a lot of houses)
But, it's NOT rocket science, people...anyone with common sense and who can pay attention can see this stuff.
Elsewhere...
*** Fort Wayne has recorded it's 14th HOMICIDE this year (slackers)...
Here's the scoop on a "late entry":
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110901/LOCAL07/309019980/1002/LOCAL
The event that led to the subsequent death of the victim (Charles Lee Milton) occurred back on 16 February 2011, and after the perp (Edward James Turner) pushed Milton down some stairs, it left Milton with a broken neck and other injuries.
Milton hung on until 12 July, when he died in a nursing home at the age of 37.
Cause of death was listed as respiratory failure, as a result of the broken neck (fall).
Turner is now being charged with homicide..
When he failed to appear to court, a warrant was issued 18 July for him to be arrested and held without bail.
The case had been set for a jury trial (don't worry, I won't BE THERE either), but that has been postponed.
As of this past Wednesday, Turner is NOT in the county jail (guess he's STILL-AT-LARGE then?), and the case remains under investigation.
Guess the prosecutor's office dropped another one, hmm?
My, how they are adding up.
*** The yearly ACD (Auburn, Cord, Dusenberg) festival and auction begins today up in Auburn, and I really need to get up there some year and check it the hell out. They also have a WW2 museum I want to see as well.
Here's a link to the WANE preview:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/acd-festival-runs-this-weekend
The ACD gig is brilliant (from what I've seen from TV and news) in years past.
I'm a classic car lover...can't help it.
I grew up being able to ID most every car my Dad would point out to me long before I entered first grade.
But, that was a time when cars LOOKED a lot better than today (with very few, and expensive exceptions).
The Auburns, Cords and Dusenbergs WERE before my time (and not likely found in neiighborhoods like ours), but Dad remembered them, and we'd go to the library and peruse old magazines that had ADS touting these fine motorcars.
All three models represented in this festival were engineering marvels and beautiful to look at.
--The Auburn company only lasted from 1900-1936, but the last years produced some REAL gorgeous machines.
Here's the WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_Automobile
The Boattail Speedster could top 100 MPH...and that was with a straight-8 engine (with supercharger).
--And the Cord was an offshoot from the Auburn company, producing motorcars from 1929-1932 and from 1936 to 1937.
Here's the WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cord_Automobile
The Cord was the FIRST FWD car produced for the general public in America.
And it also was the first to feature HIDDEN HEADLAMPS.
The most memorable models are the 810 and the 812.
--The Dusenberg was another Auburn, Indiana-based car company that existed from 1913 to 1937.
It was noted for some of the highest quality workmanship as well as setting race records.
Here's the WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duesenberg
And whenever you use the phrase 'That's a doozey", it's really a bastardization of the proper saying "It's a Duesy", meaning the motorcar.
Duseys won the Indy 500 in 1924, 1925, and 1927
And while the engineering was top-notch, the business was lacking.
Prices were over $6000 and that WAS A LOT of moolah in those days!!!
Cord took over Dusenberg on 26 October 1926 and that's when things turned even more expensive.
The chassis and engine would be factory-built, with ALL coachwork done BY HAND, and to the owner's specifications.
That priced Duseys out of the average person's hands, especially with the advent of the *J* and *SJ* models.
But it was still a damn fine automobile.
Two model *SSJ* Speedsters were built in 1935 and were said to have 400 BHP! These convertibles were owned by Clark Gable and Gary Cooper...!
And when Cord's financial empires failed in 1937, it took Dusenberg along for the "ride"...
So there you have it...American Capitalism at it's best (yet not without it's problems), with some excellent assistance from (immigrant) German engineering.
That is the kind of "melting pot" this nation used to be...good, bad, or indifferent..
All these motorcars were the RIGHT vehicles, that arrived at the WRONG time.
Post-Depression America wasn't the best time to try and sell expensive cars to Joe Average.
That's what Henry Ford was there for.
But, Americas did bounce back, unlike these car models.
Yet we recall those halcyon days with the wind in our hair, a long-nose straight eight in front of us, with plenty of road to exercise our prerogatives on a Sunday drive. And that's what this Festival invokes in us all, and especially for the fortunate few who OWN one of these fantastic cars.
Again, we see the resiliency of this nation and her people, and it's something we need to embrace, rather than shun.
We can always do better...good motto for the day, right?
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

4 comments:

CWMartin said...

So who was the brain surgeon who thought it was a good idea to let a perp accused of murder out on his own recognizance? Boy, civil libertarianism makes morons of us all, doesn't it?

Oh, and in my book, 80-85 is indian summer. 95-100 is indian HELL!

Bob G. said...

CWM:
I stand corrected according to your book on Indians...LOL.
(yeah,it is closer to HELL)

As to brain surgery?
City Hall must have received ALL the med-school dropouts, eh?

I know there should be "fairness" in HIRING, but...WTF, gang!

Hey, thanks for stopping on by today and commenting.

Stay safe up there.

Slamdunk said...

Hopefully you did not notice the silence on your question (I would not Google cheat) as I had no idea.

Sounds like the DA's office is not have a good run of late...

Bob G. said...

Slamdunk:
When I chose the question, it was totally at random...I just opened the book, saw Washington's name and went for it...lol.

The prosecutor's office in this city seems to be concerned with the "nothing-but-net" aspect to any case.

(A GOOD prosecutor is the one that KNOWS enough to make a decent case STICK and is willing to "sniff around" to take known felons off our streets, and not just give them a "revolving door" in their cell...imho)

I've noticed this "trend" for some time, so it's not anything that's just come up of late.

I've got more on this in Friday's post.
Stay tuned.

And thanks for stopping on by and commenting.

Stay safe out there.