Friday Follies - Big Thaw Edition...

Leave it to the FWCS to wait until the LAST minute to decide to close, what with Wifey all dressed and with her hair done (gel notwithstanding).
Apparently she doesn't want to "waste" her outfit, makeup and such and said to me: "Menards?"
(ROFL)...I was thinking the breakfast buffet at Azar's...but we shall see...
Meanwhile, the weather in the Hooiserland takes another turn...ABOVE FREEZING!
Can you believe it? And it's not even APRIL!
Icicles are dripping, the snow is getting heavier due to melting, and by end of day, many of the streets should be VISIBLE once again.
Can we stand the strain?
Temps today will reach the UPPER 30s, with some RAIN later today.
Yeah, rain on top of melting snow...JUST what a low-lying area in the Midwest NEEDS, right?
Hopefully, any flooding will be minimal and isolated in nature.
So, let's celebrate this break in the uber-Winter weather with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa, and let us meander about and see what else has been going on...sound fair enough?
*** First off the slip and slide today is this new gig that our Whiner-in-Chief is proposing...
He calls them "PROMISE ZONES", and they are to be placed in FIVE locations throughout the USA to "alleviate" poverty, among other things.

This comes on the heels of that wonderfully FAILED 50th anniversary of LBJ's "war on poverty" speech (and the several hundred programs since that which has spent hundreds of billions of taxpayer bucks with little to no REAL change in the state of the poverty-stricken.

Hell, Obamacare is seeing to that a lot MORE when it comes to becoming poverty-stricken...LOL.
Anyway, here's the story link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/us/politics/obama-announces-promise-zones-in-5-stricken-areas.html?hpw&rref=politics&_r=0
This "initiative" is designed to "help" people succeed (in spite of themselves?), by aiding local governments to cut red tape to better access  that which people need...
((...rolls eyes...)) 
Here we go again.
Now, to ME, this sounds a bit TOO familiar...and that's because I'm a STAR TREK fan.
Yes, much of what I learned in life I learned from Star trek...so there.

There was a two-part episode of the series Deep Space Nine entitled "Past Tense" (pts I and II), in which a possible future was explored.
And in this future, earth cities had something called SANCTUARY DISTRICTS.
Following is a link to the Star Trek (Memory Alpha) WIKI and the specific topic I just mentioned.

ST: DS9 - A "promise zone" gone wrong?

Give it a read and tell me if YOU see ANY parallels between these "promise zones" and "sanctuary districts" in CONCEPT:
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Sanctuary_District
I'm seeing too many things in common here, at least initially when created.
Could this be a case of LIFE imitating "art"? For our sake, let's hope not.
Meanwhile, back at Starbase 45...
*** If there is one thing with this president that you CAN depend on (other than all the LIES perpetrated against WE, the people), it's that he will always have enough room up his a$$ to pull another bit of deception out, in order to get your mind OFF of whatever latest debacle he and his minions have created...

This year, it's looks to be IMMIGRATION REFORM...forget Obamacare, stimulus packages, guns to Mexico, NSA scandals, IRS scandals, Benghazi screw-ups, bailouts of anyone and his brother...THIS will be the topic of contention THIS year...or at least it seems that way
Here is s story link that appears to bear this much out...
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140109/BIZ/301099950/0/SEARCH

To me, it would seem as if the Dems want to secure their voter-base, and what BETTER way to (mis) manage that then by allowed an "overhaul" of the present immigration system...
Isn't it f$cked up ENOUGH already?
Don't we already HAVE way too many illegals here NOW, thanks to a very porous border on the southern area?
(and Lord knows HOW many come across the northern area)
This is more smoke and mirrors...designed to get you thinking of something ELSE than of all the crap that's been flowing FROM out of D.C. of late, and YOU need to be aware of this.
*** Next out the door, is a local "parent" who thought more of her keys than her child...

Here's this tale of one pathetic individual:
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/5-Year-Old-Suffers-Frostbite-After-Mother-Allegedly-Left-Him-In-A-Snow-Pile-239456921.html
So, here we have one Marquisha Whitten, 26, who happens to live at Eden Green Apartments (that alone should tell you all you need to know), who was out carousing and got nicely drunk (BAC of .29), and when staggering home, allowed her one child to fall down in the snow, to which the child could not get back up, due to the depth of the snow (during the recent frigid temps also).
Her drinking binge began at 1830 hrs and lasted until AFTER 2300 hrs.
This took place at an "undisclosed" home away from the complex.
Somewhere along the walk BACK to her government-sponsored apartment, she lost her keys.
A woman who was expecting Whitten home with her two children went looking for them (well, it IS the ghettohood) and found them outside.
An argument ensued and Whitten said to the woman "f$ck them kids...I need to find my keys."
((...ahem...))
The woman took the girl and the boy back to the apartment, and when a neighbor noticed injuries to the boys hands, called police
The boy was suffering from frostbite and was treated.
He will not lose any fingers as a result of baby-mama's neglect.

Kinda like we're here EVERY damn day, huh  Joe?

The daughter was placed in foster care, baby-mama was busted and the boy can also be expected to be placed in foster care when released from hospital. (whew)
Now you tell me that this woman has her a PRIORITIES together...not a chance in hell of THAT happening when you're too busy living the "entitled" life, and children are seen as "mo free munney from de gub'ment".
THIS is what you have on the SOUTHEAST side of Fort Wayne...and in greater numbers than you could EVER imagine.
*** Time to pimp another blog (and blogger) with a tale involving a WHITE TRASH couple cribbing at a local "no-tell motel", and the children found there in DEPLORABLE conditions...

Boyko & Clark - social Darwinism at it's best (or worst)

How this happens is anyone's guess.
The story, which can be found over at CWM's blog, Tilting at Windmills - link at left...
(go there NOW, I dare you)
I'm sure he has done an exemplary job of saying what needs to be said on THIS matter of what is clearly a case of child abuse.

CWM has got it going on.

(yes, some people need not procreate)
And you might also get to see some great pictures of a certain Beagle, and some woodland creatures and various feathered friends along the way..
(my "no"-check's in the mail, right Chris?...lol)
*** This arctic blast...the polar vortex...this gonad-numbing cold...what EVER you want to call this, has taken a toll in a lot of places.

NOT to be confused with the Polar Express!

Sure, maybe YOUR place came through unscathed, but consider all the COSTS that were incurred.
--We had burst pipes with houses that had crawl-spaces, or when people did not leave the faucets drip (ours drip anyway - bad o-rings...lol).
--We had water MAIN breaks in a few places, and several fires.
(the last thing you want in sub-zero weather is to mess with WATER...OUTSIDE)

An ISP cruiser struck

--Police (state and local) were busier than a juggler in a damn flea circus risking their lives while having to deal with ALL the slide-offs, accidents, hit/skips, abandoned vehicles, and otherwise stranded motorists and jack-knifed tractor trailers...and that was just in a 8-hour shift...we have THREE shifts per day here, so you do the math.
--Several hundred people lost power, due to fallen limbs or people taking out utility poles...not good when it's THAT cold outside either.

Even the PLOWS can get stuck.

--City plow crews put in some serious O/T for all their efforts, which (imho) turned out well.
--Wreckers, flatbed trucks and body shops are seeing "land-office" business, thanks to ill-prepared drivers and the inexperience they exhibited during this winter storm. Stupid always is...as stupid always does, right?
All in all, I can say that we at our "Fortress" fared none the worse for wear.

Our patio is under there SOMEPLACE.

Even that stubborn sink drain upstairs got CLEARED...thanks to a boiling hot pot of ice-melt and water...lol. Hey, you gotta go with the old-school methods most times, hmm?
*** Lastly today...as I stated above, we're beginning the BIG THAW (sounds like a Mickey Spillane crime novel...lol), and that can bring it's own problems,but I also feel that it often comes down to those people who STILL care, whether it's helping to push a stranded motorist, digging out a walkway for an elderly person, or whatever else happens along.

We all need to do this all the time.

It always comes down to that...PEOPLE.
We either make or break any aspect of our culture, depending on how WE behave.
You don't have to be religious to see this, either...just someone who has been paying attention in life.
Many times, the signposts we are to follow are easy to spot...other times, not so much.

Any plan requires some of this.

But, if we have been following some "plan" along the way, if we do find ourselves a bit lost from time to time...we never remain that way for long.
And one of the best things we can do in our lives, is to leave more guideposts for those that follow, so they may find their way a bit less wrought with pitfalls. We're not making things easier, but allowing others to become better.
And I believe that's one of the best ways to proceed...whatever the weather may bring.
DO have yourselves a great weekend.

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