Back To Business...

Well, imagine waking up this morning and seeing something falling from the sky...and it's not a chunk of some old Russkie satellite, or random aircraft parts...It's something we used to call RAIN.

Now, the lightshow and thunder wasn't all that bad either, but to see and feel that rain come down, however light and sporadic it was, didn't seem all that bad somehow.

As for our Memorial day at our "Fortress", we dined on a nice steak (marinaded with sangria and spices), beef franks and hamburgers - all wonderfuklly grilled.
I even made some baked beans (hold the bourbon.,..for once...LOL), and through it all, Wifey and I could actually hear one another, converse at a normal tone (without resorting to shouting), and enjoy the day for the most part.

Since Memorial day is now behind us, let's play some "catch-up" on some of the wonderful things that have transpired in the Summit City.

*** It's stories like this that always get me laughing, because no matter HOW many times I'm right, it STILL never gets old.
Here's the link:

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120526/LOCAL/305269983/0/SEARCH

Crime was on the RISE in Ft. Wayne in 2011...and now "surges" in 2012...WHO KNEW?
(I did...and said so right HERE for quite some time)
FWPD chief Rusty York thinks the rise is attributable to crimes of opportunity, and I have to (provisionally) agree for the most part.
I would say that when you "allow" the level of OPPORTUNITY in areas like ours to occur, crime WILL thrive...that's a given.
And we can blame the lack of vision when it comes to the Broken Window Theory, which when ignored DOES produce the "opportunities" to present themselves.

Most robberies, for example are representative of those committed against PEOPLE, rather than businesses.
Gee, with retail all but non-existent, that's no surprise...one can't take a walk without the possibility of being accosted.
A state law reclassified some batteries from misdemeanors to felonies...
That's one way of ginning up (or down) the stats, dependant upon possible grant monies available for specified projects or programs.
Just as crime (supposedly) went DOWN 13% on the ...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE, we can clearly see that in fact, it HAS GONE...UP (homicides are six ahead of last year at this same time).
Rusty likes to compare this to SALES...
"Maybe you have a good year, and then a not-so-good year. You really have to look at a longer comparison to get any trends."
Really, Rus???
How's about we put a few officers on COMMISSION then, when it comes to noise violations, and after they make several hundred thousand bucks in the first year, we look at those "trends" again, hmm?
We DEFINITELY need a new (and more effective) police chief here in Ft. Wayne.
*** And then there's THIS little gem that got buried (probably) faster than the victim.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120527/LOCAL07/305279935/0/SEARCH

I would be willing to call this as homicide number FIFTEEN (for those keeping count in the dead pools at home or work), because it appears the man was shot, but NO weapon was found...kinda seals that part up nicely.
The shooting happened in the house at 2516 S. Lafayette St., near the Reservoir Park.
The victim was listed as dead at scene (but the coroner's report will no doubt prove it WAS a homicide).
As of today, no name or C.O.D. has been released (and it's been 3 days).
That would place us damn near DOUBLE the homicide rate from last year.
And it's not EVEN summer yet...
*** Here's another update to the shooting on Spatz Ave.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120525/LOCAL07/305259888/0/SEARCH

Seems that 50 year old man that was JUST DRIVING down that street was caught in gang-related crossfire.
I KNEW the guy must have been clean as well as his two passengers...no real criminal activity by ANY of the three.
It was just senseless "gunplay".
I would maintain that whatever "gangs" were involved might have mistook that tan Nissan for a car they believed to be someone else's.
SPRAY AND PRAY works fine in theater, especially in a thick jungle environment, when the enemy cannot be readily seen...but on a frigging CITY STREET for God's SAKE?

And how was behavior like THIS allowed to happen?
Well, we can point fingers at the last 4-5 administrations running this dog-and-pony show called Fort Wayne, and we can blame the FWPD bosses for not acting soon enough and fast enough, and strong enough to keep this kind of thing at bay. Knuckling under to minority "pressure" for the whole lame-ass "driving while black" BS, while good police work was kicked to the curb in it's stead really isn't working out ALL THAT WELL around here...is it, people?
Didn't hear one damn word from the BLACK community when David Wilson Jr. was (mistakenly?) shot and killed driving down a SE side street...did we?

But, let a LEO so much as look at a black man or woman the "wrong" way, and you've got lawsuits out the ass directed at the department.
Sure sounds like a kind of DISCONNECT within the black community, doesn't it?
There is an (easy-fix) answer...we could just appoint a black police chief...(and then watch the city go down the crapper. UNLESS you find someone the caliber of ALLEN WEST...or LARRY ELDER).
In almost every city where there is a large black community, they have a black police chief...and (apparently) lots of crime...
Who the hell could not see that coming?
It's like the higher-ups want to placate to the minorities...and to what end?
Is life BETTER for those decent blacks suffering at the hands of THEIR OWN PEOPLE?
Certainly not.
And life is definitely not any better for anyone else dealing with the "minority of the minority" aka the thugs and gangs.

You simply cannot look the other way with such criminals...nor can you back off when the community calls you for targeting minorities (because THEY happen to be the ones breaking the laws).
That may be part of this whole community-oriented policing gig, but it's solving ANY problems...it's just pushing them to the back burner.
What is really needed in such cases is PROBLEM-oriented policing...period.
Address the problems first, and by that you find the root causes that created the problems in the first place...and deal with THOSE.
If people can think up and them implement such procedural adaptations and change the initial paradigm of how cities can be policed more effectively and efficiently, then by God, it must be practical enough to be used not just in one city, but ALL cities.
*** Lastly today, it's easy to see how things have gotten, and how things have changed over time.
It's also easy to see that when faced with issues, there are solutions that can be used...if desired.
If a city is meant to be as safe as it possibly can be, then it has to be safe for EVERYONE, or everyone is not safe...pretty simple to figure that much out.

If, on the other hand, a city wants to embrace "acceptable losses" and attribute them to "collateral damage" from certain ethnicities, all in the name of diversity, that's a bold-faced LIE to ALL the citizens of that city.

If any city has a "bad" area, then it HAS to be addressed, and not swept under a carpet in some downtown office.

To tout only the good things in a city, when ignoring the bad, and wanting to do as little as possible to correct it, sends a bad message to the people that pay the taxes, and keep that city solvent.

Just some food for thought there...
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America