Friday Follies...

Ah, yes...the end of both the week AND the month. I love when that happens. Makes things easier.

Our Heartland weather today will be a replay of yesterday (that does sound like summer a bit too much), with temps again reaching into the mid-upper 80s, a good chance of rain (like the 3 second shower we got yesterday?) and with the promise of more severe weather (like thunderstorms) forecast for this weekend.

Well, at least that should keep most of the MOOKS quiet around here.

They don't like rain...too much like bathing for them.
In the meanwhile, let's finish off our week and month with a flourish and get busy finding out what's been happening.
*** Ambiguity seems to reign in this city, and this concerns the fatal shooting out on Wisteria Lane.

The "relationship" between the two men has still not been clarified, but there aren't many choices.
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130531/LOCAL07/305319973

The victim, ID'ed yesterday as Russell Todd Jewel, 42, lived with his parents (???) at the Wisteria address. A bit OLD to be at home with mom and dad?
The story says the shooter was not ID'ed, but let's follow some logic here.

--The victim lives with his PARENTS - that means mom and dad, and the altercation that resulted in Jewel's death was between him and a "family member". Injuries were sustained to the shooter, so unless Russell has a penchant for beating up WOMEN, the logical conclusion would be that DAD was the shooter.
No mention of brothers or other members of that family was forthcoming, so you do the math here fiven what few facts we have.

Jewel wasn't a stranger to the judicial system either, but most of his busts were for misdemeanors, primarily intox with one felony arrest, so it's safe to say he had a drinking PROBLEM, right?
That type of "liquid courage" can often lead to brawls for the most innocuous of reasons.
Now, Russell no longer HAS a drinking problem, does he?
Moving on...
*** An arrest was made regarding a "doorway gunman" who shot a Fort Wayne man back on 16 May in the 4500 block of Bowser St, on the city's (where the hell else?)...SOUTHEAST SIDE.

Thristian Boykins, age 21 (ah, a punk-thug) was taken into custody while police were serving a warrant (probably for something ELSE this loser had done...that's typical down here).
Police found a 9mm handgun in his waistband (these perps wouldn't know what a proper HOLSTER was if it came up and bit them on their underwear-clad asses, which hang out of their saggy pants), AND a bag of Mary-Jane (and it ain't the peanut candy, kids).
And guess what...that gun had been reported STOLEN, according to court documents.
(big surprise there, hmm?)
Now, WHO the hell names a kid "THRISTIAN", anyway? Someone with a frigging SPEECH IMPEDIMENT?
Here's his brief (for the time being) RAP SHEET:
==================
02D06-1102-CM-000665 NA BOYKIN, THRISTIAN M 02/03/2011
Allen Superior Court 6 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Pending 35-47-2-1(a)/MA: Carrying a Handgun Without a License
02D05-1102-CM-001065 NA
NA BOYKIN, THRISTIAN M 02/22/2011
Allen Superior Court 5 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Pending 35-44-3-3(a)(3)/MA: Resisting Law Enforcement
7.1-5-7-7(a)/MC: Illegal Possession of an Alcoholic Beverage
02D05-1305-MC-001342 NA
NA BOYKIN, THRISTIAN M 05/30/2013
Allen Superior Court 5 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal (Citation)
Pending 35-42-2-1.5(2)/FB: Aggravated Battery (injury causes protracted loss or impairment)
35-43-4-2(b)/FD: Receiving Stolen Property
35-48-4-11(1)/FD: Poss. of Hash Oil/Marijuana/Hashish/Salvia/Synthetic Drug (Amounts or Prior)
35-47-2-1(a)/MA: Carrying a Handgun Without a License
=====ADDRESSES=====
2748 PAULDING RD E
Fort Wayne, IN 46816
1315 GRANT AVE
FORT WAYNE, IN 46803
==================
And so begins THIS young thug's meteoric rise into crime...well, when you ONLY set bail at $15,750, what the hell do you expect?
He'll be back OUT in no time, doing the same sh*t again, and maybe THIS time, he might actually KILL someone.
Ever notice how most EVERY ONE of these perps ALWAYS are carrying handguns...and W/O licenses?
Kinda like the way they operate motor vehicles in this city...W/O licenses!
Must be a..."cultural thang", right?
*** You folks know I'm a fan of John Stossel and last night's show on FBN was a really good one. Even for a person like me with no college degree...lol.


John Maynard Keynes

 They talked about Keynesian theory versus the Hayek theory of economics, and you didn't have to have a bunch of letters AFTER your name to wrap your brain around this.
The WIKI for John Maynard Keynes is HERE:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Maynard_Keynes
And the WIKI for Frederich A. Hayek is HERE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek
Now, both men have their share of followers, but you have to understand the BASIS for each man 's reasoning behind their own particular theory.


F.A. Hayek



Keynes is a man who would LOVE to see more STIMULUS PLANS to "grow the economy", while Hayek believed that austerity and smaller government does MORE to grow the economy.

That's the short version of the beliefs.

BTW, Frederick A. Hayek is NOT to EVER be confused with the always lovely Salma Hayek...just so you know...lol.

Personally, I'm with (Frederick) Hayek on this one, and with good reason...you just cannot spend your way to prosperity, especially when you're damn near broke to begin with...that's the "street" on which where our nation's economy currently resides.
(seems like a ONE-WAY street these days, too)
If I'm in debt, the LAST thing I would want to do is go FURTHER in debt, and that would be to SPEND money I just don't have.
Better to save, cut some corners, pull the belt tighter...whatever is needed to climb out from under whatever debt you find yourself in, right?
You don't go out and buy yourself a new car when you can't pay for what you already have...it's that simple.

Keynes, on the other hand has a decent economic theory, but it's more "provisional" in nature, meaning that as long as the government can "regulate" fiscal and monetary measure, things would be find and dandy...such is rarely the case, especially in times such as ours today.

But the government DOES regulate...too damn much, and that busts the theoretical balloon of Keynes (imho).

It's the flawed belief that having governments spend money they don't have will SAVE capitalism that brings us to the fiscal precipice we have in America, and has led to economic collapse in other nations around the world.
Hayek believed more in the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena.
His major work is THE ROAD TO SERFDOM, and was touted as "a war cry against central planning" (by governments).
To read into both men and their thoughts and theories about economics is really pretty interesting, and in today's world, money does indeed make it revolve, if not in a tangible form, than certainly in the digital realm.

I feel the best way to live in a fiscally responsible manner is BELOW one's means....and that's something that hearkens back to the days of Ben Franklin.
"Everything in moderation - nothing in excess."
And if you ever read a biography of Ben, you know he was keenly aware of his own personal financial status, as throughout most of his life, he lived a frugal lifestyle. You simply cannot drink champagne with a beer budget...that dog just won't hunt.
*** Lastly today, I heard it mentioned on the Stossel show that America is suffering from a rather curious malady, and I never heard it expressed in such a way that made perfect sense - like a moment of clarity...a revelation of sorts.

America is suffering from an IMMATURE CULTURE...think about it.
With all the technology we have at our fingertips, and how many have managed to bastardize it's usage, along with an entitlement mentality fostered by big government, and the whole "instant gratification" thing going on, it's little wonder we have a large number of "spoiled brats" in our society, as well as in government.

No one wants to seem to hear the word "no"...like when you were a child, and you wanted candy. Your parents said NO, and that was it, right?
If you were good, or ate all your dinner, you got some candy.
An easy enough prospect to shoot for.
And when you tossed a tantrum when you didn't get your way, you got spanked or otherwise punished for such behavior.
Thing is, today, no one gets "spanked" (unless you subscribe to the S&M crowd), and no one is held accountable for their "tantrums".
Everyone is catered to, and that promotes only more of that bad behavior, because people come to EXPECT their desires to be granted.
That wonderfully explains what the entire "political correctness" movement is all about.
Prime example - We don't let kids be kids anymore.

We tend to let their minds be filled with worthless tripe, make everyone a "winner" and deny true competition, allow the government "system" to babysit or raise them, permit them gender ambiguity, give them cell phones, when they demonstrate NO responsibility to have one, dress them like bums and harlots, and then when things go wrong, we all sit and wonder HOW this could have happened.
The answers are easy enough to figure out...the real challenge comes in being man or woman enough to BUCK the system, and train up children in the proper way...with a sense of self, of morality, and of decency. Let them know what integrity means, and what it means to be a truthful and honest person.

We should teach them right from wrong, the value of a dollar, how to EARN that dollar, instead of begging for it, and demonstrate by OUR lives how to get on and stay on the right track in life, as well as how to get up whenever we take a fall.
Sure, that is a lot more difficult than letting someone else do it (like a government juggernaut), but the results will be far-reaching and with a greater help to this nation, and to society as a whole.
It can be done...it should be done...it must be done.
Do have yourselves a great weekend, and we'll see you here NEXT month.

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