Friday Follies...

Well, I thought we would have a nice sunrise, but the clouds took care of that.
Still, we HAVE made it to the end of yet another week, and that's something to write home about.
Our Heartland weather today will be pretty much whatever it is you see out your windows - cloudy, perhaps some sun, and temps struggling to reach that 70 degree mark.
It will feel warmer with the humidity (rain), so plan accordingly.
So, without any further ado, let's get started with "the rest of the story"...
*** First up today, a "MAJOR drug trafficking organization" BUSTED by the FBI right here in Fort Wayne aka "River City"...with a capital "B" and that rhymes with "C" and that stands for COCAINE.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130510/LOCAL03/305109975

Now, there's a LOT of information in the article, so let's just say that the raids here in the "Fort" pretty much took place on the city's...(...you guessed it...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE.
And like I said to the lovely Mrs. Bobby G. last night, it might be black people involved....OR HISPANICS - accent on the Hispanics.
Nice to know I called that one out.

When you read the story, you'll find THIRTEEN people mentioned in the raids in Allen County (Ft. Wayne), and with only TWO exceptions, ALL busted were...HISPANIC.
This raid also covered areas in Steuben County - FOUR Hispanics there, as well as one bust in Sturgis, Michigan.
The names of all involved (so far) are listed for your "viewing pleasure".
In one Steuben County (Hispanic) bust, there were FOUR counts of selling a firearm to a CONVICTED FELON...(pssst - no additional gun laws can prevent THIS crap from occurring).

The really BIG-ticket item here for the Feds is the intent to DISTRIBUTE cocaine, and that means a nice huge CONSPIRACY.
This kind of thing is SO good, it just has to be fattening...LOL.
Add to this the distribution of Methamphetamine, and that's like icing on the damn cake.
Now, if we track back these distribution rings, how much do you want to wager we'd find ties to say...MEXICO?
The largest amount of crystal meth DOES come from Mexico...as does the largest amounts of cocaine.

(If you watch Nat-Geo's series on DRUGS, INC, you'd already know this)

So, it comes as no real surprise to me as to WHERE the drugs are coming from.

But, it DOES come as a pleasant surprise to see the BAD GUYS getting the "perp-walk" for a change, and in such nice big numbers.

I wonder HOW MANY of these dealers were also getting "government assistance"?
Perhaps we should thank our lucky stars for the intervention of the FBI (and other federal agencies) for he assist to local law-enforcement for taking care of business, and getting these thugs shut the hell down.
Nice job people...now, let's keep that foot on the neck of some MORE perps down here, and start checking into drug houses I've mentioned in the past...shall we?
BTW, the Feds are holding a "presser" downtown today around 1300 hrs at the Ross Adair Federal Bldg on S. Harrison st.
(Bring popcorn...this should be a doozey...LOL)
Moving on...
*** News-Sentinel reporter Kevin Leininger had a REALLY good article in yesterday's copy regarding the gun-control debate.

It's a really decent read and can be found HERE:

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130509/NEWS/130509653/1041/LEININGER

It's curious to not that GUN violence has actually DROPPED nationwide for the last 2 decades, although overall violent crime is on the rise.
We're also seeing younger perps being busted for violent crimes.
Now, this is not to say that Fort Wayne isn't screwing with the stats with all OUR homicides this year...we HAVE seen an appreciable RISE in GUN violence, but it's not indicative of a state-wide or even national trend.

So, it would appear that having MORE guns (in the right hands) is perhaps causing this DOWNturn in gun violence.

Personally, I'm all for making it less difficult for LAW-ABIDING people to get a personal firearm (or several).

Kevin mentions about Chief York stating that the latest shooting victim (Ryan Koontz - police action shooting) was able to get his hands on a firearm, in spite of already being a felon AND being mentally UNSTABLE.

Well, I can tell Chief York, that the gun wasn't purchased at some GUN SHOP, and, in all likelihood, was a person-to-person sale (like the felon firearms sales in the drug bust mentioned above), and NO law created will be able to track such transactions....I stated that last week.

There will ALWAYS be some people that will manage to fly below the radar over this, so the only recourse is to make it as difficult to allow that to happen, and the laws already in place can see to that nicely.

They just need to be ENFORCED more stringently.

Kevin is right when he refers to the fact that we should follow COMMON SENSE instead of EMOTION when dealing with ANY aspect of gun-control, because we already know it's NOT about guns...but about people.
*** Lastly today, and on a lighter note, the back yard and garden is bouncing back to life, and it won't be long before we start seeing our "Summer-fare" of critters stopping by. And that includes all the birds.
We already have ONE robin who has built another nest in the same tall shrub alongside out garage door. It won't be long before we hear the youngsters chirping away for worms.

Then, there's little guys like THIS one.

We have some White-Crowned Sparrows who are stopping by the patio buffet, and they stand out SO damn well, with that "racing stripe" on their heads.

We've already seen (and heard) those red-headed woodpeckers out and about, too.
I'm waiting on the nuthatches and other assorted avian friends.

But, it's the hummingbirds that we fancy, and last night on Nat-Geo Wild channel they featured an hour-long show on these beautiful little buggers entitled Jewelled Messengers.

Learned a LOT about them, including sleeping habits (they enter a state of TORPOR or hibernation) and lower their body temperature and heart rate from 400 beats a minute to around 40...pretty impressive stuff.

They spend 80% of the time perching, and the rest is eating, mating, and everything else that's left to do.

Talk about a "busy" schedule.

Found out that the unofficial hummingbird "capital" of the USA is Rockport, TX.

People down there make this a yearly event, too.
I confess that I've NEVER seen THAT MANY hummingbirds in one spot at one time...simply amazing.
And considering the VAST distances they travel to both get up HERE and then return in fall back south of the border, that boggles the mind.
Managing to cross the Gulf of Mexico (in itself an 800 mile trek) would seem impossible, but not for these birds.

What is interesting, is how subsequent generations WILL return to the same places to feed as in generations past, so it's a good idea to hang that nectar feeder outside...and "see the grand kids"...lol.
Like I say, we need to take time to notice the little things in life, and you have to admit that hummingbirds are some of God's smallest creatures.
That would seem a fine place to start from...and who knows where it can go from there, hmm?
Have yourselves a great weekend, and a very Happy Mother's Day to ALL the moms out there.

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