Friday Follies...
Well, here we are again, friends...end of the week, I gave Joe (Friday) the day off, and I'm into day THREE of another one of my Sam Elliott "sound alike" contests aka this damnable cold.
Mentally, I'm about as lucid as I'm ever gonna get (lol..and that is pushing the envelope), but the body don't want to play nice.
It still requires a good HOUR to get all the parts moving in the ways that nature intended.
The morning java helps to no small end there.
So, with a looming several inches (?) of snowfall expected to hit here in Ft. Wayne sometime this afternoon, let's make the most of a mundane situation and have at it...fair enough?
(( WARNING - some of this stuff might cause spontaneous laughter and snorting of one's beverage upon the keyboard)).
(they made me say that)
*** Item - Fluker found GUILTY (no surprise to me there)
Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120210/LOCAL03/302109980
In spite of the prosecution NOT having an eyewitness to the murder, everything else seemed to fall into place to convict this murderer (was it really worth it, Patrick?)
And he shot Tiffany Mendez between her eyes to boot...nice guy.
See what happens when you ENABLE AN ENTITLEMENT MENTALITY?
Crimes like THIS are the result, pure and simple.
So, don't give me any crap about "the poor", or the "minority oppression" that been bandied about over the years...
This boy wasn't oppressed...he was ENABLED...to do what he did, in the manner he did, JUST to "have his jollies" (like too many of this kind do).
This time, this worm didn't wiggle off the damn hook.
And I''ll bet that Patrick was "such a good boy", too....Nah, save THAT compliment for the family DOG.
This SOB got JUST what he deserved, and I hope the family of Ms. Mendez realizes some closure.
*** Item - Ft. Wayne found to be the FIFTH safest city?
Now, if you want to call this a "WTF???" moment...go right ahead...I did when I first heard the story:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/fort-wayne-named-5th-safest-city-in-the-united-states
Personally, I wouldn't give that award to this city even if it ONLY comprised the STATE and not the nation...
The three "criteria" used for this INSURANCE PROVIDERS "study" were:
1) Crime rate
2) Likelihood of natural disaster
3) Driving safety
===============
R-O-F-L-M-A-O....!
===============
You are f$cking kidding me, right???
The TOP TEN (in descending order) are:
#10 Anaheim, California
#9 Aurora, Colorado
#8 El Paso, Texas (Don't lots of illegals come across from HERE?)
#7 Phoenix, Arizona (isn't this the KIDNAP capital of the USA?)
#6 Henderson, Nevada
#5 Fort Wayne, Indiana – Fort Wayne residents go nearly twelve years without an accident, which, combined with their low crime rate, makes up for their mediocre 25 in natural disaster safety. Go Hoosiers!
#4 St. Paul, Minnesota (what about Minneapolis?)
#3 Tucson, Arizona
#2 Colorado Springs, Colorado
#1 Mesa, Arizona
Obviously, the people from this study DID NOT visit the...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE of Ft. Wayne, otherwise they would have severely AMENDED that study of theirs.
Good thing they didn't take into consideration such things as the TYPES of crimes per capita in this quadrant, or the LACK of retail, or the amount of "disposable income" (through the sale of street-corner pharms), or how "easy" it is to do a relatively simple thing like take a damn walk around your block AFTER DARK...
(got a newsflash for these people...it AIN'T...not one damn bit, unless you have a FWPD cruiser alongside)
Funny thing about the INSURANCE PROVIDERS website...it gives you a BLANK page after a few seconds...wonder why?
And the contact and privacy links don't work (that doesn't seem right)...
Curiouser and curiouser...
(actually, the COMMENTS to the story are better than the so-called "facts" of the story...)
I would not put much credence in this "insurance" agency...especially with such a shoddy website.
*** Item - The Obama takes on NCLB...
This gets me rolling my eyes, because he JUST pissed off all the CATHOLICS, so now the DEMS are grasping at any straw they can to perform "damage control". It's like he wants to pull a rabbit out his ass (poor bunny), and divert our attention from the REAL pressing matters concerning our nation.
I find that just short of treasonous...maybe a few hundred meters short to be exact.
Here's the lowdown:
http://journalexpress.net/breakingnews/x741511826/Obama-to-announce-No-Child-Left-Behind-waivers
Now, I never liked this from the start...bad way to go. Teaching to the TESTS? Wrong.
Back to educational BASICS for ALL kids would be a better start...back to where we were say...FORTY years ago.
But hey, it's not like I was a part of a public educational system that USED to work a helluva lot BETTER than it does today.
*** Item - Another smack at the...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE of Fort Wayne.
Here's the story:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/mayor-shuts-down-southtown-advisory-committee
King Henry is at it again...doing away with a Southtown Committee due to (and this will surprise you...NOT) LACK OF INTEREST!!!
(say it ain't so, Bob)
Yep, the advisory committee charged with redevelopment of MY part of town dropped the hammer on an EMPTY chamber...for the past TWO YEARS.
And our noble "king" decided enough was certainly enough.
After all, who wants THIS part of town to be a contributory member to the "realm", right?
Better to have all the mooks, moolies, indigents, drunks, druggies, criminals, and otherwise dispossessed and government-sponsored flotsam right where they are...where "they" can keep an eye on them real well.
Thing is...WE still LIVE HERE, you morons (along with a few others that DO give a rat's ass about OUR neighborhoods)... and WE don't cotton to your "kingly" attitude about the SE.
Paulette Nellems, president of the local NAACP ((rolls eyes)), says more can be done down here...
'Ya think, hon?
You mention BUSINESS development...well dear, you just aren't going to be able to GET businesses to hold the high ground and take a chance on a part of town that has the HIGHEST CRIME RATE in the entire city...I've said that WAY too many times here.
You spend more time chasing OUT the criminal element, and when the businesses feel they CAN conduct business without being regularly robbed or shot at, THEN, the businesses WILL come back...but NOT before.
Jeezus, I wish to hell these thick-headed folks would take a few bucks and BUY a frigging CLUE here!
It's about the PEOPLE...not the businesses...and the CRIME these people BRING to this side of Ft. Wayne...
It doesn't become ANY clearer than that...unless your head is either in the damn sand OR you haven't taken off your damn BLINDERS...kapeesh?
*** Item - King Henry pulls another "fast one".
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/city-hopes-to-stop-funding-homeland-security
Granted, the initial responsibility of the local DHS rested on the shoulders of the COUNTY, but the mayor DID sign on to a "joint-sponsorship" gig...
And now he wants OUT.
Isn't that like trying to change horses in the middle of the stream?
The interesting part to all of this is that the local DHS is responsible for the ENTIRE TOP THIRD of the state of Indiana (that's the way they divided it up)
We have THREE distinct "districts", if you will.
With a city of 250K+, we 're fast coming to a tipping point...
Do we (Fort Wayne) become our OWN county...OR, do we "assimilate" (read annex) the REMAINDER of ALLEN COUNTY?
Philadelphia is it''s OWN city AND county...been like that for a LONG time, and that works logistically (financially, it's currently in shambles, thanks to decades of DEM rule).
Considering the continuing downturn of revenue coming INTO Ft. Wayne (albeit at slower paces than in years past), there will come a time when even the ABOITE annexation will not fully be able to fund the CITY's growing issues, and that means more people "brought in" to the city confines, to shore up the erosion of the tax base...
And who knows...after a few decades, we might even look like DETROIT...who can say?
*** Lastly today, we can see more intrusion of government into a few more aspects of living...
Sometimes, the act of retreat (like Henry closing the Southtown advisory committee when it should have been promoted better) is a more heinous act of intrusion, because it leaves this part of Ft. Wayne more "on it's own", and to deny the responsibility this city OWES to this part of town as well as the decent folks STILL remaining, is appalling, if not downright deplorable.
The SE side has undergone some SERIOUS changes over just the time I have spent here...and I've been keeping notes and taking names over those last 14 or so years.
I believe in the American Spirit, because I've either seen it firsthand, or have read about it so often, as it occurred in our past.
Unfortunately, that spirit only resides in a very small number of people down here, and that in itself is sad.
Many have given up, or worse, given themselves over to the political juggernaut we have created called big government, and only because they were promised "rewards" for doing NOTHING, save to keep the leaders of such a behemoth in power.
Now, I also believe that every person has their "price"...mine happens to be exorbitant beyond belief (Dad always said if you have to think or dream...do it BIG, because the price is right)...lol.
Too many of us have sold out for far less than we're worth, and that also, is quite sad.
There needs to be a sort of renaissance here in this country...not a revitalizing of certain things, but of specific dreams, and the ability to achieve them, for it IS within everyone's reach, IF we have the impetus and motivation to chase after it.
We might not ALL become billionaires (that much is certain), but we DO have the right to be able to live our lives as we (and God) see fit, unfettered by worries about the afflictions that burden this nation, and the government trying to do more than is mandated by our founding documents.
When more people are held to similar standards, and learn to become accountable to (at least) themselves, we ALL make out better in the end.
And I think that kinda sums it up well enough.
Have yourselves a fantastic weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.