Humpday Happenings...

It's the middle of the week, and the end of the month of April, but NOT the end of the showers that we're supposed to get here in the Midwest.
We STARTED the day off with some sunshine, but someone down here in the ghettoland must have come and stolen it.
(wouldn't surprise me one bit)
Our Hoosierland weather will continue with party to mostly cloudy skies, some showers slated for later this afternoon into early evening, with temps topping out a bit cooler than yesterday to around the low 60s. All in all, not that bad.
So, let's see what we have going on as we top off that morning cup of whatever you're having, and set about this last day of April.
*** First off of the floor today is our WHO SAID THAT? quote of the week:
"There is a culture of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding it's way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' "
Well, now we know the liberal agenda with THAT quote, hmm?
So, who said that anyway? The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
Meanwhile, back at the Evitsble Conflict...
*** Wifey came home from work (school) yesterday and managed to surprise me (not an easy feat these days) with several bags of flowers she bought at the K-Mart along E. Coliseum (now that we can no longer go to the Anthony Blvd one since it closed early this year).

VERY nice posies...

These are the flowers we reserve for planting in various pots and containers both out front of the "Fortress", and on the patio.
They're mostly petunias, but we've got some salvia and alyssum as well.
Nice to see some color after that long white winter.
*** Next up, I was trying to avoid the whole Clippers/Sterling flap, because I (personally) think and believe this is being blown SO far out of proportion, and is setting a dangerous precedent, not just in the arena of sports, but also, knowing the way things occur these days, into our personal lives.

Very rich...and very dumb.

Let me start by saying that I believe Sterling was "set up" by his MISTRESS, which, at 80+ years old, he should maybe look for a full-time nurse/companion, rather than someone with whom he can carry on a tryst. Is Sterling married, is he a widower? None of that being mentioned.
We're not hearing anything about THAT, because these (imho) trumped up "racial" remarks are taking center stage.

And in THIS case, DAMN smart!

I always say we have to be CAREFUL when it comes to any technology we have available to us, because it WILL be misused and abused, as was the case with Sterling and his "girlfriend", who doesn't do much for me one bit (the word GOLD-DIGGER comes to mind).
But let's look deeper into that media "bread and circuses" further...
IS what Sterling said a "racist" comment?
Depends on a few things, not the least of which is (as liberals will run from)...CONTEXT.
He spoke the statement in private, rather than at some event where he was giving some speech, so in THAT aspect he DOES have a right to say what he wants and feels okay with that (as in safe and secure in his own home) as it were.
That's why we don't yell "FIRE!" in a theater.
To record what he said to use against him later is the product of technology abuse.
There is more to the whole "race" issue, as in if he was SO "racist" then WHY didn't he have an ALL WHITE TEAM?
And through all of this media frenzy over these "racist" (and I use that word loosely) statements, NOWHERE was any epithets mentioned, even in passing.

Smoke 'em if 'ya got 'em!

Never heard one reference to the euphemistic phrase "the n-word"...
But, one can recall another team OWNER that used it on more than one instance.
Anyone remember the name MARGE SCHOTT?
(Cincinnati Reds)
No one (except me) has even mentioned her, or likened this situation to what SHE said in the past (and she was white, too)
She was heard saying it a couple times, and she was cut in the mold of Sterling, but there was nowhere near the amount of media attention devoted to Schott as there is being leveled at Sterling.
Am I defending Sterling?
Not really...he SHOULD know better than to say something that "could" be used against him by some trollop, but he does have 1st Amendment rights, JUST as much as those who rail against Christianity (and prayer), conservatism, :"white pribilege", our President and this administration (as I love to do), political corruption, climate change, the economy, health care, and sundry other issues we have before us these days.

Guess this doesn't apply to private sports teams?

And while some can become hot topic issues, people have the right to speak out, and if someone wants to comment on BLACKS in private, what's the problem?
I'm sure there are a LOT of blacks (mostly libtard leftists) who speak against WHITES all the damn time, both in PRIVATE as well as in PUBLIC (Louis Farrakhan comes to mind).

Surely, an "OOPS" moment here.

And there are also race BAITERS like Jackson and Sharpton who keep racism in everyone's face because it's PROFITABLE (to them).
It sure makes you wonder if the races were REVERSED...how much the same WOULD this be treated.
I would wager it would have blown over after a couple days with none of the bans and restrictions levied against a black owner of a ball club.
I just think we're on a very tenuous path with this situation.

And keep your BLINDERS ON, citizen!

We're already banning words, so the next step is banning speech (being done at various colleges already) and then thought.
Hell, might as well burn the damn books, too...just so we can repeat history (and we all know how well that experiment in 1930s Germany panned out, right?)
Nuff said there...
*** Adam Widener aired the first part of a very good investigative story regarding police officers and the age at which they SHOULD be retiring (but are not).

Here's the story link at WANE for the first installment:
http://wane.com/news/investigative/15-finds-out-too-old-to-patrol/
I simply cannot imagine having a "set" retirement age...and then ignoring it (but, according to today's quote, we do have this CULTURE OF IGNORANCE, right?). An EIGHTY-YEAR OLD OFFICER that Rusty York says can perform the job?
That's a bit of a stretch for even ME to believe, because the streets are a damn sight ROUGHER than in decades past, and if there's a need to have some :"youngbloods" in uniform, rather than aged officers, it's right now.
But, if this octogenarian officer is driving a DESK, then I suppose he can perform his job, but there is still yearly (or bi-yearly) qualifications he must go through to remain ON the force...that's a given. And sooner or later, you know when your body is telling you that you're not a "spring chicken" any longer.

I gotta do HOW many more???

Joints ache, reaction time is slowed, concentration can become labored, and ALL of these issues can (and will) adversely affect the manner that any LEO can perform his/her job.
The STATE has a mandatory retirement at 70 while the CITY has a mandatory retirement at 60, but neither is being enforced.
Seems we have a continuing problem with ENFORCEMENT in this city when it comes to the FWPD.
The top brass doesn't enforce the retirement age...they don't really enforce the noise ordinance (or it would be a lot QUIETER around certain parts of the city), nor is window tint addressed...or walking in the street, or having an inoperable license plate bulb.
Sure, there may the occasional stop FOR those things, but it's usually COMPLAINT-DRIVEN, instead of doing patrols that nip this crap in the bud.
Again, we've more broken windows to deal with.
And, in a few cases, it's the CITY that is holding a handful of rocks...
*** Last back to the garage today, there are many wars going on , and not just elsewhere in the world, but RIGHT HERE, on our own HOME TURF.
We have the war on Christmas every year, and the war on CHRISTIANITY (which occurs the other 364 days), the war on WOMEN, the war on POVERTY (and we "fixed" that by giving free stuff out like there was no tomorrow), the war on EDUCATION (we dumbed down the subject matter and students, so that EVERYONE wins), the war on DRUGS (South America loves us), and now, we see a war on WORDS (as if we need the thought police - shades of Minority Report).

Also, as in any war, there are casualties.
A Greek from antiquity, by the name of Aeschylus (525 B.C. - 456 B.C.) once noted that "In war, truth is the first casualty".
We know this to be all too TRUE (sort of an ironic way of putting it).
We also know that sometimes, we cannot choose the battles in which we will fight, but we must fight on.
This nation is at a crossroads, and all you have to do is read the paper, turn on the news, or just look around you to know that.
The direction we take for our future WILL be an important one, and it WILL test the efficacy of our founding documents, as well as our willingness to embrace all that they stand for.
We need to stand firm upon those documents and the values and principles contained within them.
And I think that's as good start as any around these days.

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