Saints and Sinners...

Now, this isn't a review of a Johnny Winter album of the mid-seventies (although it IS a damn fine LP), but today's post will run the gamut of good folks and not-so-good.

So hold that thought as we take a look at the Heartland weather today which will see temps reach near 70 degrees, with showers mostly on the southern half of the county. Lots of clouds and little sun. At least they didn't say hailstones, frogs, locusts, or flies...yet.

Meanwhile, back at the Doppler radar...
*** Lord knows we have our share of both good AND bad people, and the bad ones can be as far away as N. Korea, or as close as the house down the street. Same can be said to the GOOD folks...(those that escape from N. Korea for example) and they also can be found around your corner.
Thing is...these days, the bad seem to outnumber the good for some reason, and that makes the good ones have to work HARDER to sometimes even get noticed. Or perhaps we focus ON the bad ones, to the exclusion OF those good ones.
I would say that need to pay attention to BOTH, and here's why:
The BAD people in the world (or on our street) need to be called out because it shows that WE don't have to subscribe to such behavior or actions.
The GOOD people in the world (or also on our street) need to be held up to some level of esteem for being who THEY are, and how they help our communities, or nation, and yes, even the world.
Without going all "sermonesque" on you (it IS after all only Tuesday), let's just say we are ALL sinners, and those that manage to shrug off that mantle and become "saints" in some manner do so through hard work, a good life, and many times through a constant bombardment by the forces of evil.
Now, having said that, I think we're ready for some candidates of BOTH sides of that fence.
*** First up today is the person in custody for the shooting up on Hugh St.
Here's the story link:
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/Arrest-Made-in-Connection-With-Death-201759641.html

Whoa, looks like this "Buster Badass" might be doing some serious time in the hoosegow.
Love that first name, too - DEADRIAN...can't have Deadrian without the word DEAD in there, right?
It DOES appear to be a gang-related shooting (again).
I thought it was originally stated that the police didn't BELIEVE it to be gang-related?
And yes, I LIKE waffles, especially with lots of butter and syrup.
Moving on...
*** So, what do you do when you run out of LIVE targets on the SE side?
Well, you practice hitting the BROAD SIDE OF A BARN...or in THIS case, a HOUSE.
Here's the story link:
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/Police-Investigate-Afternoon-Shooting-Incident-201855691.html

I was saying that two things would come of all these homicides/shootings...
a) Other raced innocent people would be struck.
b) Property damage aka "collateral damage".
Well, half of that's come to pass. let's hope the other half does NOT.
Bet these perps wish to hell someone would invent SMART bullets...to make up for THEIR lack of intelligence.
*** Ammo still in short supply for consumers.
Here's the story link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/local-gun-stores-feeling-impact-of-ammunition-shortage-mre


Stores USED to look like this.

 Well, our Orwellian government has seen fit to make owning a gun even more problematic.
Cause a rush for ammo, and soon, gun stores will feel the pinch in sales.


Dude,where's my ammo?

 No product = lost revenue for store owners.
And why buy a gun IF the ammo isn't available?
(it makes a cute paperweight or a nice CLUB???)
Along those lines, President "That Guy" paraded out the "human shields" (this time parents from the CT shootings) once again in another erroneous speech on GUN control.
Here's THAT story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130409/LOCAL08/304099978/0/SEARCH
Da Prez keeps stating that 40% of gun sales have NO background checks...
((...ahem...))
That is an outright LIE, considering that statistic is from a NINETEEN NINETY FOUR "survey"! (wasn't that the Clinton era?)
That number is not even CLOSE to the percentage of background checks today. (try less than 5% have no B/G check)
But, don't just take MY word for it...here's the PROOF:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/03/obama-criticized-for-using-dated-disputed-gun-stat-to-sell-background-checks/
The study only used a sample size of 251 people...!
Hardly a BROAD range of cross-section of Americans.
But there you go, our Liar-In-Chief thinks HE knows everything, when in FACT...he knows little if ANYTHING about the TRUTH.
*** I love stories like THIS one:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130409/LOCAL/304099933/1002/LOCAL

Planner hears CRITICISM...imagine that.
The first plan doesn't really affect me in any way, but that SECOND one in the story is SPOT ON!
Keller Development wants to put up a $3 Mil, 30 unit duplex community at Hanna St. near Tillman Rd.
(yes, that IS the infamous SE side)
One neighbor, Cindy Shank, spoke out AGAINST that project, stating "it would create INSTABILITY for existing HOMEOWNERS".
(good for You, Cindy!)

She also said that Keller would NEVER try to grow a RENTAL community near one of SW Ft. Wayne's premier neighborhoods.

The MAIN concern here is that rental communities would attract TRANSIENT RESIDENTS.

(Imagine THAT.)
Welcome to MY world, folks, because that is EXACTLY what took place in MY neighborhood over the last 15 years!
The neighbors that spoke out feel that Keller "can only get away with this because of ALL THE CRIME that exists in this side of town."
Permanent housing is needed to create a feeling of COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP.
And that means wanting to take on all the RESPONSIBILITIES that go along with such a venue.
Good to see OTHERS speaking out for a change...very refreshing.
*** Lastly today, the world has lost two influential women, and they were both influential for very DIFFERENT reasons.

-- Margaret Thatcher, former PM of England (1979-1990) passed away from a stroke she suffered yesterday.
She was 87.
I won't link to her obit, but rather to her WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher
When you consider she was the FIRST female PM and took England from a 15% unemployment rate DOWN to around 5% by the time she left office, that alone speaks to how REMARKABLE a woman she was.
She was the right women at the right place at the right time, and it sickens me to see people laud her passing with drunken revelry.
Lady Thatcher brought England BACK from the dangerous precipice of nationalistic socialism, for lack of a better term.
Here is a link to a column by Sarah Palin (H/T to Gadfly for finding this):
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/345014/grocer-s-daughter-sarah-palin

When you read Maggie's WIKI, you can plainly see she was a scholar of the FIRST order...not bad for someone starting out as a RESEARCH CHEMIST, hmm?
I simply cannot find ANY woman with such credentials, and she is to be honored, rather than scorned.
It would be hard if not impossible to find another like her.

-- Annette Funicello also passed away yesterday after a 25-year long bout with Multiple Sclerosis.

She was 70.

And, she was probably MY first crush...(you NEVER forget your "first").
Yeah, me and millions of other pre-pubescent boys.
There was never ANY bad press about her either, but you can read HER WIKI for yourselves:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Funicello
And she is most likely the reason I have such an affinity for PEANUT BUTTER to this day.

(remember all those Skippy commercials?)

I must have seen most ALL her movies SO many times, both in theaters AND at Drive-Ins (as a youngster and as an adult).

I still tune in on cable when they show one of her many beach movies (w/ Frankie Avalon).
In every movie, she was the glue that held all the idiots around her intact, and yes, that even includes the Merlin Jones (Tommy Kirk) Disney movies as well.
I especially remember with fondness the original movie THE SHAGGY DOG (starring Fred MacMurray and yes, Tommy Kirk again)

One of her best movies (imho), was Babes in Toyland, and it was visually stunning (as was Annette).
Along with Annette in that movie were Ray Bolger, Ed Wynn, Tommy Sands, and it is based on Victor Herbert's 1903 operetta of the same name.
When doing the movie Back to the Beach (1987), she was diagnosed with MS, but kept it from friends and family until her announcement in 1992, and she became a spokesperson for the neurological disorder.
When I heard about her passing, it really got to me, because this was someone I "knew" from childhood...someone you look to with familiarity.

You can't help but get misty-eyed over such things...and that lets you know your heart is still working.

I'd like to close along those lines with something that means a lot to me...and probably to you as well.

(From the Walt Disney movie Cinderella- 1950)

A dream is a wish your heart makes,

When you're fast asleep,

In dreams you lose your heartaches,

Whatever you wish for, you keep.

Have faith in your dreams and someday,

Your rainbow will come smiling through,

No matter how your heart is grieving,

If you keep on believing,

The dream that you wish will come true.

A dream is a wish your heart makes,

When you're feeling small,

Alone, In the night you whisper,

Thinking no one can hear you at all.

You wake with the morning sunlight,

To find fortune that is smiling on you,

Don't let your heart be filled with sorrow,

For all you know tomorrow,

The dream that you wish will come true.

A dream is a wish your heart makes,

You Wake with the morning sunlight,

To find fortune that is smiling on you,

Don't let your heart be filled with sorrow,

For all you know tomorrow,

The dream that you wish will come true.

No matter how your heart is grieving

If you keep on believing

The dream that you wish will come true.

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