Humpday Happenings...

It's more rain for the land of Hoosiers today, but we "might" see a sunrise...before the rain returns.
Temps will again reach into the 60s, with a mild breeze.
Sure is making the river (read overgrown creek) levels a might HIGH these days, that's for sure.
Tell 'ya one thing, if those in these parts consider the 3 bodies of water we have running through the Summit City RIVERS...they probably would think the DELAWARE RIVER was a bloody OCEAN!...LOL.
Pennypack CREEK (in Philly) is about as wide as the St. Joe River...no lie!
But, to each his/her own, right? One person's river is another person's creek.
Meanwhile, as the water rises, let's see what's been going on elsewhere.
*** First out of the chute today is our Motto of the Week aka WHO SAID THAT?
"All truth, in the long run, is only common sense clarified."
Short, sweet, and to the point, right?
So, who said it? The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
Moving on...
*** More details come out about the type of bombs used at the Boston marathon.

Here's the lowdown:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130417/NEWS03/304179981
The agencies involved held a "presser" yesterday afternoon, and it was comprehensive, regarding what was done in the aftermath as well as what IS being done from a forensic standpoint in Quantico, VA to trace the items used in the bombings.

A pressure cooker was the vessel that held the explosives and shrapnel, and it's contents believed to have been some type of gunpowder and nails, ball bearings and BBs, all of which can produce a very potent improvised device.
Last evening, I hauled our very own pressure cooker out from the bottom drawer of our stove and showed the lovely Mrs. Bobby G. what they were talking about. Personally, I have never used one...never had the need to based on my cooking skills and dishes I make.
But, it does make sense for some bomb-nut to use one of these...it IS larger than a pipe bomb and creates a much larger area of "influence" when detonated.
Think of a fragmentation grenade, only with a bit more "attitude".

One disturbing aspect to this, is that you can find instructions ONLINE to create such a device (thanks to the Anarchist's Cookbook), which I would caution you all to AVOID googling in depth, because, if I know my government agencies (and I think I do), they will be monitoring WHO visits such sites, and will be more than willing to "look you up", as it were.
As to WHO did this...well that's going to be the real trick, isn't it?

Media sources keep referring to "the person" as a LONE WOLF, and that nomenclature is a bit MISLEADING, because a lone wolf can ALSO be used to describe one of the GOOD guys - a covert operative sent behind enemy lines to either secure information, documents, or even be an assassin.
They operate without intervention by their parent government,. who will disavow any knowledge of their existence, should they be captured...and that's where Mission Impossible got that idea, in case it sounded a bit "familiar".
On the flip side, no one but the operative knows they did a GOOD job when the mission succeeds.
Here's the WIKI that details it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_wolf_(trait)
Here is the terrorist application of the term:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_wolf_(terrorism)

Curiously enough, the term LONE WOLF also referred to the field name of one JOHN RAMBO...
(shades of Hollywood)
And the term also referred to fictional detective Michael Lanyard in a series written by Louis Joseph Vance.
Now...you know the rest of the story, right?
*** One thing that has been bothering me about acknowledging the deaths and injuries incurred at the Boston bombings, is this sudden propensity for LOWERING OUR NATION'S FLAG TO HALF-STAFF.

Now, "traditionally", the flag is lowered to half-staff for the following reasons/events:
-- Death of a current or former President (30 days)
-- Death of a current or former VP, Chief Justice of Speaker of the House (10 days)
-- From date of death to day of internment for a Supreme Court Justice
-- Memorial Day (until 1200 hrs)
-- Day of death and following day for Congress member
-- By Presidential proclamation - 9/11, Columbia disaster, funeral of Neil Armstrong, etc...
It's that last one that (to me) sort of bugs me - it's another EXECUTIVE ORDER (and we know how much we love those).
Now, I don't want to cheapen or diminish our show of respect for the dead, but these are citizens, and although the act committed against them was indeed heinous in nature, do we have to always fly our national flag at half-staff for such a long period (until sunset SATURDAY)?
This is just MY opinion, but I feel it detracts from the REAL reasons we lower our flag. now, if the states want to lower THEIRS...fine by me, but although ALL life is sacred, do we include "regular" citizens with Presidents, heads of state, generals, admirals and the like?

Granted, acts like these serve to galvanize this nation, but we will (once again) soon forget and be on to the next reality show, or whatever else draws away our attention.
At this rate, why not just lower the flag ALL the time, because we DO have people DYING in our cities right HERE every day?
I mean, our national symbol is going up and down as often as a $3 whore,
We need specific levels of solemnity, and this to me, isn't quite it.

We decry the fact that some folks fly our flag UPSIDE DOWN (in times if disaster), when the reality of THAT is self-evident.
This nation IS in trouble...not as much as other countries, but we're far from the "fine and dandy" land of sunshine, unicorns, and lollipops.
If we HAVE to lower our NATIONAL flag in respect, then do it for ONE day (the day following).
Like I said, that's just MY thoughts on this.
*** Another thing about this terrorist attack, is the fact that the explosives used were easily obtainable, and that alone COULD be used as a "foot in the door" for all the GUN-control freaks out there...take care to what I said about watching BOTH hands of the lawgivers in government.

Ammunition is already in short supply in most every caliber out there, so what BETTER way to "dissuade" people from building their own IEDs than to LIMIT or otherwise RESTRICT ammunition/gunpowder sales outright?
That actually serves TWO purposes, when you think about it.
1) What good is ANY gun when you don't have ammo for it?
2) Can't make a bomb easily without gunpowder, can you?
You watch and see if something along these lines tries to rear it's head in D.C.
*** Which brings me to a marvelous conspiracy theory, if you lend credence to that sort of thing...

Suppose, just suppose that our own government was behind this bombing, however ridiculous or indredulous it might seem...
Common items are used...can be bought most anywhere, so no REAL level of sophistication is required, and much of what is used is not easily traceable.
(I mean the DHS DID recently buy MILLIONS of rounds of ammo, did they not?)
If the government was behind this, would you want to know, and how would such a revelation be taken BY the general public?
(not that well)

Naturally, you'd have to find some scapegoat to take the fall for this, and it's pretty easy to create one these days, with ID theft.

The reason behind such a scenario as this would set the stage for more government intervention in our lives.

The best way to cover their tracks would be to want to "protect us" even further.

We'd hardly suspect THAT, and would welcome such protection, however they manage to dress it up...all the while sacrificing our freedoms for a greater level of security (as I mentioned yesterday).
THAT is the way we could lose our freedoms and liberty...slow and calculated, and not in a wholesale manner.
But...all this IS just mere fiction, speculation and conjecture, and could never REALLY happen...right?
*** Lastly today, do you remember when you were a child and Mom or Dad would caution you about FIRE...that is was "bad" and could HURT you?
Well, I'm sure many of us found out the HARD way what fire was all about. Perhaps it was when we reached for the burner on the stove, or tried to stick our hand into a campfire...we became curious about what was "bad" for us.
As we got older, we found out that fire was actually pretty GOOD, as long as we respected it's power and used it properly.
Fire is like that genie in the bottle...you have to be cautious whenever you let it out, because it can get away from you IF you don't take care.

Many aspects of our government are akin to playing with fire, and we always hope they know what they're doing.
Many times, they don't...and WE get burned.
What we need in this country is less NON-sense and more COMMON sense.
Such ideas and concepts are not new...they're just in hibernation.
And perhaps it's high time we wake them up and start using them once again.
It's just a little thought for today.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.