Monday Musings...

We're up and at 'em once again for another week here in the Summit City.

The weather today promises to me a lot more Springlike with temps into the upper 60s, and sunny skies, so get outside and smell the flowers in your gardens. And if you don't have any flowers, for God's sake, go out and BUY some to plant. You'll be glad you did.

In the meantime, we've PUH-LENTY of "stuff" that's been going on, so let's have at it.
*** First out the door today, I watched "myself" on TV Saturday, and I must say the show aired well.

THE FORT REPORT link to the show can be found HERE:

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130414/NEWS/130419842/1041/LEININGER
I was nervous that I wouldn't seem to get my points across, but I have to admit, the show came off nicely.
And my hair wasn't sticking up in the back like Alfalfa...LOL!
Naturally, my phone has been ringing off the hook ever since, and the paparazzi have been at every window...autograph hounds stop me at every turn, too.
NAH, I'm just messin' with 'ya...been really sedate around here...so far (except for the loud-ass boomcars...as usual).
At least the fortress hasn't come "under siege" and the cats haven't been pressed into service on the parapets.
Yeah, they'll puke HAIRBALLS down upon those attackers...LOL.

Anyway, so much for my time under the bright lights (no fame, just FACT).
I used to be VERY shy as a youngster...hard to believe, huh?
I have my high school drama teacher to thank for being able to speak in public.

It's not ALL about learning lines for a play of musical. It's about feeling at ease with oneself...comfortable in "your own skin" as they say.

Guess that's why I was tapped as a fill-in preacher at my former church in Philly, but that was a couple lifetimes ago.
Moving on...
*** Also on Saturday, I get another one of "those" letters from the court system - THIS time from the U.S. District Court down in Lafayette, IN.
It's another "questionaire" (information mining operation) which always is the precursor to...you guessed it...JURY SELECTION!
((...rolls eyes...))

Yes, that was certainly my "WTF???" moment for the weekend.
And was cause for some serious DEJA VU on MY part....AGAIN.
I'm getting pretty sick and tired of being selected SO often for something I personally have NO interest in, and for reasons I have stated here numerous times. I have little if ANY faith in the current judicial system, and I wish I did, but I don't.
I also liken this "conscription" of citizens to become jurors as a blatant abrogation of our very own THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT of our very own U.S. CONSTITUTION. Here is the amendment in question - verbatim:
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.
How can one ever hope to follow the whole "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", when one is hit with a "summons" for something that people SHOULD want to VOLUNTEER FOR?
The government "claims" that "it is our civic duty" to serve on a jury.
(( AHEM ))
Really?

MY civic duty is to be a model citizen, provide a good example of myself, my family, this city and my country, to obey the law, to be a responsible person fully accountable for my own words and actions, and to be otherwise "drafted" into a jury pool for the sake of filling the ranks smacks back to the days of Vietnam, where so many boys were also DRAFTED into combat with no desire to kill anyone.
Having since gone to an ALL-VOLUNTEER military has PROVEN that conscription doesn't have to be the "way to go" these days.
We STILL have the best military in the whole damn world...and NONE of those serving were drafted into it.
The SAME should apply to jury duty...period.
I would rather be judged by TWELVE people that WANT to be a juror, and can make GOOD, objective decisions based on facts, rather than a gaggle of uninterested people who only want to get out of that venue ASAP, and might make flawed judgments as a result.

Some folks honestly DO want to be full-time jurors, and I applaud THEM, so put THEM in the box, pay THEM a day's wages (and not some paltry and gratuitous insufficient sum) and be done with it.
That's how a truly FREE people would handle this correctly.
And it's the "involuntary servitude" that is at the crux of the matter here.
Technically, conscription IS involuntary servitude....in every form.

I didn't commit ANY crime, so I am not being punished, but in fact that is EXACTLY what the judicial system is saying.
Yet, every day, people involuntarily "serve" on a jury, when it's unlawful for the government to pursue such summoning of it's people.
-- What was really interesting about all this was that the selection for the district court was based on voter ID information...
My personal "data" was MINED from a status going back to November 2005.
Funny thing is, I NEVER registered anywhere CLOSE to that date...ever!
So, all of YOU might want to check your OWN personal voter ID information to make sure someone isn't "borrowing" you for other purposes (like voter fraud or multiple voting...).
I did contact the Allen County folks and they're sending me a request to be taken OFF the voter ID listing...that's one down.

The deal w/ the District Court will need to include a letter to the judge (for all the good that usually does) EXPLAINING things as to why I wish to be excused from jury duty (and I will invoke the 13th Amendment, make NO mistake).
I will also include that wonderful quote from Supreme Court justice Louis D. Brandeis, who said:
"..to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations ... conferred, as against the Government, the right to be let alone--the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men."
THE RIGHT TO BE LET ALONE...pretty easy to figure THAT ONE out, hmm?
I am therefore exercising THAT right regarding this chronic propensity of the judicial system to select ME for jury duty.
Pick someone that truly WANTS to sit in that jury box., and would be a lot more UNBIASED than I am when it comes to crime, criminals and the law.
*** This Sunday's paper has an automotive section, and I always glance at it, being a "motor head" who loves cars, mostly from our past, unfortunately.

But every once in awhile, something newer strikes my fancy.

The paper featured the 2013 Ford Fusion (SE).

Now, at $23.7K, many would consider that a bargain by today's standards...not me, and here's why.

-- Strike 1 - It's a 4 door ONLY vehicle and is FWD.
-- Strike 2 - It's ONLY got a "4-banger" under the hood (1.6L) that provides 178 BHP!
-- Strike 3 - It comes with too many "bells and whistles" which SHOULD be optional if people feel the "need" for it.
Okay, that's 3 strikes...you're OUT.
Now, you want to build yourself a REAL winner for Ford...here's how it's done:
1) Lose the FWD and go to RWD with a posi-traction rear axle
2) Lose TWO of those 4 doors...make a SPORT COUPE variant.
3) Yank that 4 cyl and drop in a supercharged V6 (with a turbo option)
4) Gut the interior with all that electronic nonsense unless people want to ADD it as options only.
(yeah, I can roll my OWN windows up and down nicely, thank you)
5) The ONLY thing going for the current Fusion is the FRONT END...looks like a poor man's Aston Martin...KEEP THAT, and then retool the sides and ass-end to match that wonderful grill, hood and front fascia.

-- Actually, adding a supercharged V6 under that hood would be a GREAT way to create a new police cruiser (in that 4 door version), but make it RWD - it's much easier and cheaper to fix than ANY FWD vehicle.
Again, doing what I suggest will make a car that you won't be able to keep in the showrooms...they'll be flying out the damn doors THAT fast, and will give serious competition to the Chargers and Impala SS variants out there. Trust me, I know my muscle cars and the Fusion has a LOT more potential than Ford will ever realize...UNLESS they DO IT RIGHT, and what they have out now...well, it ain't gonna cut the muster here.

BTW, you COULD do all I mentioned, which could increase the engine output to over 200 BHP, and STILL get well over 30 MPG on the highway...EASILY!
Or, you COULD get GM to bring back PONTIAC to their barn, and get THOSE rolling again...LOL.
*** Cripes, not ANOTHER shooting?

Yes, Virginia, it's TRUE...AGAIN.
Here's the story link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/shooting-reported-at-baxter--robinwood
This occurred yesterday around 1930 hrs (Sunday - a day of REST, and not in peace) on the (where the hell else?) SOUTHEAST SIDE of Ft. Wayne.

The location was given as the 4100 block of Robinwood Dr and Baxter St.

Sounds like another "broken window".
Two men were walking down the street when a black car ( I also heard SUV) pulled up behind them and a person inside the vehicle began to fire. Both men were struck in the back and transported to hospital in critical condition. The car (and suspects within) are still at-large.

So much for trying to bring an END to the violence in the ghettohood, hmm?
Well, when you have a police department whose command staff can't even address the LITTLE things, allowing THEM to fall through the cracks, you will invariably wind up with BIG things such as these shootings.
The department's command staff really needs to start getting the officers POLICING and not showing up AFTER sh*t happens....

Every single time you DON'T actively patrol an area, citing LOUD car stereos, parking violations, walking in the middle of the street, and other such "small" things, you are telling these thugs that's it's OK to do those, and since such morons know NO boundaries (because you're not setting any for them), they will INCREASE and EXTEND their "reach" into more heinous pursuits...that's when the robberies take place.
Act with determination...with resolve, and with the law on your side, and you will cause the criminals to start being AFRAID of the police once again, because right now, they're just thumbing their noses at the department, and that's the wrong message being sent.
*** Today is TAX DAY, and being a former Treasury Dept employee, let me tell you that you really DON'T want to be delinquent...NOT with the I.R.S.

That department is an over-reaching juggernaut that will trample on your freedoms without batting an eye.

So, a word to wise should be sufficient here, right.
Make sure you have filled your forms out correctly, or the computer will red flag it, and you might be in for an audit...for several years (they love to do THAT, too). And if you OWE, pay up NOW to avoid ANY interest and late charges (another thing they love).
*** Today also marks another anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic in the North Atlantic.

It's been 101 years since that mighty ship went down, and there are NO more living survivors of that sinking...only the descendants.
Here's the WIKI on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic
I dunno...that still creeps me out...being on such a huge ship and then having it sink right under you in the freezing cold and moonless night...not the best way to spend an ocean voyage, that's for sure. And that's why you will NEVER catch me on ANY of those modern-day behemoths.
*** Last to the barn today...more violence on our streets, more taxes in Obummercare, more strife in our lives in general.
Yeah, we kinda feel like Stretch Armstrong...pulled in too many directions every single day.

We want to be able to address the issues that directly affect US and our families, but how the hell can we address them ALL with the same degree of concern? THAT becomes the overwhelming issue, doesn't it?
Well, truth be told, ALL of the above problems impact US at some level...we can't escape that.
What we CAN do is attempt to sort out and prioritize things and work on them one by one, as best we can.
We certainly cannot solve ALL the problems we will encounter each day, but we CAN make some headway with perhaps one or two of them.

Our biggest hurdle in all of this is ourselves....we have to get motivated and set about taking on these challenges.
If we can overcome our own shortcomings, and our eagerness to just turn away, and instead FACE these problems, we're already halfway to solving them.
That in and of itself can be a victory...if we allow it to be.
And, it's a damn good place to start any day.
Have yourselves a great week.

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