Friday Follies...

It's the end of the week (finally) and Wifey and I are still alive and kicking (but not each other).
Tell 'ya, when you're under the weather, time takes on a whole other state of reference...some of it passes way slower than normal, while other bits pass too damn fast...absolutely NO continuity, and that makes feeling ill that much more bothersome.
But, since we're banging along on MOST cylinders today, I'm giving it my best shot (which ir probably better than a lot of rookies on the qualifying range)
The Hoosierland weather today will find us with a high in the upper 30s (maybe 40), so more melting going on, and that's proving fun on some streets that were NOT plowed properly (thanks Frank Suarez), unlike the DOWNTOWN area (where few of us really live).
It's going to be a bit on the windy side, as well, so if you have a kite...well you'll know what to do...lol.
So, fill up that warm, comforting morning beverage of choice as we see what's been going on and I ask some fairly straight-forward questions.
*** First out of the chute today is an overnight police pursuit that resulted in the arrest of two known gang members on the city's...(...all together, kids...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE.

Here's the story from Rod Hissong at WANE:
http://wane.com/news/local/two-apprehended-after-pursuit-hit-and-run-crash/
Now, before we get into the specifics, let's state that the INITIAL call was for a 30T/S (traffic stop) to be performed because a FWPD officer noticed that a person in a Chevy Avalanche was recognized as someone with an active "14" (warrant).
The officer then ran the tag and found it to be a vehicle that was registered to a person with active warrants (as in multiple).
The driver of the SUV failed to yield to the officer and evaded police for several miles starting from Hanna and Lewis Sts, winding through residential areas.
Stop sticks were deployed by other officers, but were unsuccessful, as the SUV driver disregarded traffic signals, stop signs, and displayed no regard for the safety of others, according to the FWPD PIO.

It was when the vehicle ran a traffic signal at S.Anthony Blvd at Rudisill that an unsuspecting pickup was t-boned by the SUV, ejecting one passenger in the pickup.
EMTs arrived on scene and took both occupants of the pickup to hospital in serious condition.
The Avalanche jumped a curb and slammed into a tree in the front yard of a house in the 3900 block of S. Anthony.

It was there that the driver was taken into custody, while the passenger bailed on police into a nearby alley.
A FWPD K-9 unit (Django) tracked the suspect to a house on Lillie St, but officers could not locate anyone.
Thirty minutes after the crash, 911 dispatch notified officers of a "50 in progress" (burglary) at a house in the 3900 block of Lillie.
Sure enough, it was the SAME house the K-9 hit on earlier.
Officers took off down the alley to the location of the burglary.where they apprehended a man outside the house.
FWPD have ID'ed both men as KNOWN gang members (big surprise there).
Now, the gang unit HAS been called in as for protocol (and to make Garry and Rusty look good), but it was the keen eyes of a "BEAT COP" in a regular cruiser that got this ball rolling to it's inevitable ending...and a HAPPY one, I must say.
And now, I have to toss in my 2 cents, that I believe, even adjusted for inflation, pays off nice dividends.
*** One thing I can see coming soon enough will be the black community saying how "dangerous" these police PURSUITS are...they've tried this tactic before, and met with little success, even in residential areas. I used to hear (when we had a police scanner to listen to) that very few pursuits were "called off" due to safety. The officers are TRAINED in how to drive under such duress, and I was with an officer when we went "Hollywood" (lights and sirens) and tore through some residential streets at better than 60 MPH to intercept a vehicle...(pretty cool and it helps to have a 2nd head on a swivel).
Another aspect to this whole gang unit thing comes down to one simple question in my mind...
"WHY?"

-- If we used to have a gang unit, WHY did we have to "reinvent" it?
-- And WHY was it apparently rendered ineffective UNTIL Rusty and Garry got their new jobs?
-- WHY do we have these other state and federal agencies involved NOW when we ALREADY had similar agencies within the Safe Streets Task Force...that we've had in place and active for several years?
-- If the FWPD KNEW about these gang members for YEARS, then WHY only NOW is there a determined decision to DO something about it?
There are a few more "whys" to add, but you can clearly see the reason I have to ask such questions...as I'm sure many OTHER citizens might also be wondering the exact same things.
Also, not to knock the left-of-center regime here, but the ONLY two media sources that covered the above story were WANE and The Journal Gazette.
Everyone else is an "also-ran", and it makes you wonder who is playing footsie with who.
I will admit that WANE has two DAMN good investigative reporters - Rod Hissong (overnight reporting) and Adam Widener (Patriots or Panhandlers - a great story), and if anyone in this city can get to the bottom of a story, it's these two.
And I freely admit that neither of these gentlemen seems interested in political agendas...they do good, honest reporting.
So where does that leave the rest of the city's reporters?
We know that WPTA and the News-Sentinel tend to be more conservative, and I say that because Kevin Leininger always seems to rub the libtards the wrong way (not that they don't deserve it...lol) He has a finger on the pulse of this city in ways many don't realize.
But, I digress...

Still ANOTHER aspect to what goes on down on the south side of town has a lot to do with demographics.
And this has a definitive impact of the entire gang problem.
The SE quadrant is predominantly BLACK...them's the facts, so get used to 'em.
Also, the SE side has the greatest number of known gang members...again, only the facts.
So, if one were to invoke deductive reasoning (logic) to this scenario, we can determine that the greatest number of known gang members are...(you guessed it, kids)...BLACK.
This isn't to say it's ENTIRELY within the purview of one race, however. The HISPANICS are making their OWN presence known, as are other "diverse" groups such as the BOSNIANS (the goon squad gang, who we haven't heard much from of late). I would also wager that we even (now) have Burmese cliques that are making their appearance, so you can see that with diversity comes the criminals that are associated with every group.

The meth-heads are their own "gypsies" and aside from any "blue ice"(crystal meth) that comes up from Mexico (and out from the Hispanic community) these one-potters and backyard cooks are the perps that keep ALL facets of law-enforcement on edge, because you don't know WHERE the hell they;'re gonna show up next (like in a motel room down the hall from you if you're visiting this city), or at a stoplight in a car alongside yours.
It's these thirty-plus gangs (including the cliques) that are known to be within Allen County that need attention, and WHY it has taken SO damn long to get around to this baffles me.
Phil Marx had a KNOWN drug dealer (who, if he WASN'T in some gang, would surprise the sh*t outta me) that police , for some reason could not...or WOULD not put in jail (Rico Parrish). The whole family seemed to be 20 miles of bad road, and multiple crimes including shootings, were barely enough to get this thug off the damn streets (for long).
Finally, I guess even the feds had enough of his crap (he was supposed to be a C.I. - confidential informant), and he got a federal rap and is finally off the streets of Ft. Wayne.
But it took SO damn long, and sometimes, the FEDS can be a larger impediment to locking up these thugs than our prosecutor's office, who casually plea-deals them back onto our streets faster than you can say "pass the crack-pipe".
If this new gang unit can expeditiously remove this human refuse from our streets, fantastic.
But I still have to wonder WHY now?
Why not 10, 15, 20 years ago when this crap first reared it's ugly head?
Wouldn't that have SAVED more lives than these thugs have taken?
It would seem we still have far too many questions left unanswered, but perhaps they will be forthcoming.
*** Next up, this cold/flu/illness...whatever the hell it is...is finally moving off, but not without leaving one tired...as in DOG tired.

It wears you out...and down. I'm still not back to total solid food yet (little appetite), and I've managed to make a pack of smokes last THREE days...hey, maybe I can quit now? I still like my cigars now and then.
The aching has gone (thank GOD), and that alone was enough to drive you nuts. If I had a fever, it was a low-grade one, so no harm there.
As long as you don't dehydrate, you're OK...learned that from experience as a child.
Wifey went back to school today, and I think I've managed to get the rug she decorated the other day cleaned well enough so that we're not reminded of that event. I'm thankful it wasn't SHAG carpet...LOL.
Like I said...gonna take about a week to get to rights again...or as close to that as I can be at my age and state of mind...!
*** Last back to the barn...we have to be very careful about HOW our lives are being changed underneath our very feet.
It's a shadow of the world we grew up in as children, and Lord only knows where this is all headed.
We still live in America, but it's not the one our parents left to us, and that's a damn shame.
While some would believe that we have made this nation better, I would answer that we've only made it more complex, and to me, that's far from better.

As we strive to make things easier, we forget that with such things comes a complacency...a cruise-control mindset.
The ability to WORK at something...towards a goal, common or specific, collective or individual, seems lost these days.
We need to keep paying attention...every day for those who would have us believe that things are fine when indeed...they are not.
And we need to remind each other of that as well, for I'd much rather be damned for doing something, rather than for doing nothing.
Let that be our guidepost for today.
Do have yourselves a good weekend.

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