Tuesday Tidbits...

So, we didn't get hit with SEVERE weather overnight....that's pretty good to hear.
Yet, we're far from finished with the rainy conditions.
Our Hoosierland weather will have us with a high of around 80 degrees, and partly cloudy skies.
(dunno WHICH part...sorry)
Looks like we might get a reprieve from the rain for the time being, but we're slated for more ;later in the wee, and into early next week.
Could always be worse, though.
Guess that "axial tilt" will turn the Midwest into a tropical zone, replete with our own "monsoon season"...lol.
Who can say? Certainly not all these scientific "experts", right?
Now, let's get that morning drink topped off and parked alongside as we see what has been going on since we last met...
*** First out of the rain gutter is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" featyre:
June 23 -
---Today is NATIONAL COLUMNISTS DAY

That's funny, it USED to be April 18th - who moved it?
Well, anyone reading a paper (hard copy or online) should have no problem with this one.
---And, it's NATIONAL PINK DAY

(not to be confused with National PUNK day, which in OUR neighborhood is 365 days a year...lol)
And that's all she wrote...
*** Now, since it''s TUESDAY, let's check the old FWPD blotter and look at ALL the shots fired and armed robbery calls that the drive-by media never tells us about:

SHOTS FIRED and ARMED ROBBERIES - 6/15 -6/21
===========================================
JUNE 15 -
15F075446 04:17:08 113 SHOTS FIRED 7200 BRADBURY AVE
15F075836 22:23:23 113 SHOTS FIRED 1400 GREENE ST
15F075857 22:58:01 44FW 2400 MONMOUTH AVE
JUNE 16 - 
15F076290 20:19:22 113 SHOTS FIRED 4900 FAIRINGTON DR
15F076264 19:29:06 53 ARMED ROB 900 WASHINGTON BLVD E
15F076320 21:19:17 53 ARMED ROB 2700 HOLTON AVE
15F076334 21:59:16 53 ARMED ROB 3000 GOSHEN RD
JUNE 17 -
15F076401 00:25:14 113 SHOTS FIRED 3200 HARRISON ST S & PACKARD AVE W
15F076697 16:19:00 113 SHOTS FIRED 3500 GLENCAIRN DR
15F076874 22:24:26 113 SHOTS FIRED 5600 LAFAYETTE ST S & PAULDING RD
15F076516 10:10:44 53 ARMED ROB 1800 INWOOD DR
15F076761 18:05:06 53 ARMED ROB 2700 PAULDING RD E
15F076909 23:49:51 53 ARMED ROB 1900 CHARTWELL DR
JUNE 18 -
15F077156 13:39:20 113 SHOTS FIRED 7000 EMBERS CT
15F077343 19:52:09 113 SHOTS FIRED 2900 WEBSTER ST
15F077360 19:52:40 113 SHOTS FIRED 3100 HOAGLAND AVE
15F077408 22:21:51 113 SHOTS FIRED 500 BRACKENRIDGE ST E & MONROE ST
15F077236 16:14:41 53 ARMED ROB 3200 PAULDING RD E
15F077440 23:40:18 53 ARMED ROB 1200 BARR ST S
15F077099 11:20:31 58 SHOOTING 4300 MAPLE GROVE AVE E
JUNE 19 - 
15F077450 00:11:37 113 SHOTS FIRED 7000 BRADBURY AVE
15F077906 21:35:40 113 SHOTS FIRED 2100 FOX AVE & POPLAR ST
15F077915 21:50:48 113 SHOTS FIRED 1200 CALIFORNIA RD E
15F077925 22:08:45 113 SHOTS FIRED 2500 EDSALL AVE
15F077962 23:05:12 113 SHOTS FIRED 900 MADISON ST
15F077456 00:30:07 53 ARMED ROB 800 COTTAGE AVE
15F077522 06:31:09 53 ARMED ROB 2300 CLINTON ST N
15F077936 22:22:59 58 SHOOTING 4400 ARLINGTON AVE
JUNE 20 - 
15F078040 01:14:45 113 SHOTS FIRED 7400 MILL RUN DR
15F078062 01:56:12 113 SHOTS FIRED 2500 TRENTMAN AVE
15F078100 03:46:00 113 SHOTS FIRED 1000 TENNESSEE AVE
15F078294 15:12:07 113 SHOTS FIRED 600 HARRISON ST S
15F078296 15:13:56 113 SHOTS FIRED 7200 WADINGTON RD
15F078304 15:38:07 113 SHOTS FIRED 4900 FAIRINGTON DR
15F078414 19:50:50 113 SHOTS FIRED 1200 CALIFORNIA RD E
15F078531 23:23:48 113 SHOTS FIRED 2300 BOWSER AVE
15F078549 23:53:59 113 SHOTS FIRED 5700 KELSO LN
15F078093 03:17:38 53 ARMED ROB 2600 PAULDING RD E
15F078204 11:28:08 53 ARMED ROB 3300 DUPONT RD E
15F078214 12:13:29 53 ARMED ROB 1300 ZOLLARS AVE
15F078226 12:28:26 53 ARMED ROB 2000 CHARTWELL DR
15F078511 23:01:46 53 ARMED ROB 900 WILDWOOD AVE 
JUNE 21 - 
15F078594 01:24:29 113 SHOTS FIRED 2100 GILMORE DR
15F078643 03:36:50 113 SHOTS FIRED 1600 REED RD
15F078651 04:01:38 113 SHOTS FIRED 3000 WINTER ST
15F078945 20:20:36 113 SHOTS FIRED 2800 NEW HAVEN AVE
15F078665 05:07:31 53 ARMED ROB 3100 MAUMEE AVE
================================
And since we keep getting close to the inevitable celebratory time of year (sighs...again), let's see how many signal "44FWs" (fireworks) went down across the city last week:

Get out of the street, you dumbass!

=========================
FIREWORKS CALLS - 6/15 - 6/21
JUNE 15 -
15F075857 22:58:01 44FW 2400 MONMOUTH AVE
JUNE 16 -
15F076297 20:23:30 44FW 00 COUNTRY FOREST DR
15F076294 20:24:50 44FW 3500 WALDEN RUN
15F076340 21:40:19 44FW 3400 GLOUCHESTER DR
15F076369 21:40:37 44FW 00 COUNTRY FOREST DR
15F076371 22:31:29 44FW 6300 BAY TREE DR
15F076391 23:42:47 44FW 2400 MINER ST & HUESTIS AVE
JUNE 17 -
15F076790 19:07:42 44FW 1400 SWINNEY AVE
15F076843 21:13:31 44FW 700 DIAMOND POINT PL
JUNE 18 -
15F077426 22:34:18 44FW 2700 FOX AVE
JUNE 19 -
15F077449 00:01:01 44FW 10100 LIBERTY MILLS RD & MIDDLE GR
15F077879 20:20:15 44FW 9900 SERPENTINE CV & GRASSY CREEK
15F077959 22:16:01 44FW 500 DOUGLAS AVE E
15F077983 23:19:34 44FW 3200 EUCLID AVE
15F078000 23:52:17 44FW 3100 PORTAGE BLVD
JUNE 20 -
15F078353 17:09:34 44FW 1900 CLINTON ST N
15F078437 20:48:27 44FW 7500 GLENOAK PKWY & GLOUCHESTER DR
15F078461 21:34:15 44FW 1300 SPRING ST
15F078507 21:53:24 44FW 900 HOLLYHILL DR
15F078505 22:14:08 44FW 2600 WAYNEDALE BLVD
15F078501 22:33:57 44FW 600 DUPONT RD W
15F078494 22:37:16 44FW 1000 DEARBORN ST & LAKE AVE
15F078515 23:07:20 44FW 6100 PHEASANT PASS
JUNE 21 -
15F078589 01:04:11 44FW 2400 FAIRFIELD AVE
15F078640 03:13:34 44FW 1000 LAKE AVE
15F078678 06:36:41 44FW 1000 LAKE AVE
15F078876 16:57:39 44FW 2700 SOUTHWAYNE AVE
15F078964 21:13:53 44FW 4700 WEISSER PARK AVE
15F078965 21:14:07 44FW 1400 SWINNEY AVE
15F078994 21:32:29 44FW 4700 NORTHCREST DR
15F078989 21:52:41 44FW 1200 POLK ST & DEGROFF ST
15F078988 22:02:53 44FW 2600 INDIANA AVE & GRACE AVE
15F079006 22:17:14 44FW 800 WALLEN RD E & NEWBERRY DR
15F079015 22:42:12 44FW 1300 SWINNEY AVE
============================

Typical weekly haul for the "locals".

Wow, seems to be a city-wide run of STUPIDITY and IGNORANCE, doesn't it?
What amazes me is how all these non-working asshats manage to buy HUNDREDS of dollars worth of the loudest ordnance available every damn year.
This goes on for WEEKS prior to and LONG after the 4th of July, too.
Well, we DO have the 2nd highest "disposable income" for the city in the SE quadrant...
Might be better utilized to feed ALL the babies these mooks keep making, rather than blow the wad on rims, car stereos, booze, drugs and fireworks.
It's just a thought...
Moving on...
*** As a child, I was fortunate enough to have a CIVIL WAR PLAYSET (made by Marx toys - best damn plastic soldiers around at the time).

Wish I still HAD it, too.

I even met the man who once worked for the company and sculpted the molds used for the soldiers...great eye for such detail.

Francis J.Barnum

He went on to sculpt PEWTER figures (for Chilmark) of both the Civil War and the Old West...fantastic person - got to have dinner with him in (of all places)...GETTYSBURG.
That was a couple lifetimes ago when we both were younger,
Now, this "Blue and Gray" army set had both UNION and CONFEDERATE flags with them, and even had a southern "mansion" (tin with plastic roof) and it was a great playset.

Now, that innocent paper flag, along with it's larger, cloth brethren are in jeopardy, because of what I saw on the news yesterday.

It's NOT about the flag...

In the wake of the church killings in Charleston, the governor of the state wants to have the "stars and bars" REMOVED from the statehouse.
And the media is all for this, and they way they explain it, it sounds as if the flag is right alongside OUR nation's flag...NOT TRUE.
The Confederate flag USED to fly ON the statehouse building in SC, but was moved to the GROUNDS of the statehouse and placed at a Confederate SOLDIER MEMORIAL.
It does NOT fly OVER the statehouse proper in any way, shape or form.
I have no problem with that...it's good to remember the fallen, whatever side they fought on.
Plus, these were AMERICANS.
Now, you have to understand history, as well...and the history behind the secession of the "south" from the union did NOT mandate that ALL those states HAD to have slaves...no state was expected to be a slave state, so let's make that clear.
So, if you take a little time and check THIS WIKI out, you'll get a much better understanding of what's NOT being said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America
((WARNING - EDUCATIONAL ALERT: YOU MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING!))

---There was a man from Georgia, one WIlliam Tappan Thompson, who, among other things was a RACIST, and white supremacist, and, after the war, he SUPPORTED the Southern DEMOCRATS, who opposed the Republican's efforts in southern states (reconstruction) as well as granting the CIVIL RIGHTS and FREEDOMS of African Americans and former slaves.
Here's his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tappan_Thompson
When it comes to Confederate flags, Thompson originally wanted to see a mostly WHITE flag, to symbolize the "heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior and colored race", so you can see, it was largely the result of southern DEMOCRATS and their sympathizers behind all of this.
But enough of the history lesson...back to the PRESENT.
WALMART has just decided to STOP carrying items with the Confederate flag emblazoned upon them...so I guess those "stars and bars" auto air-fresheners will be relegated to back-street "head shops", or black-market purchases?

Another Confederate flag.

This is a tricky path to tread.
To have all but an outright (and mandated) "ban" on a part of our history, even if it's a part we're not all that fond of, starts down a road of denial (which would remain the sole realm of the LIBERALS...they do that SO damn well).
All this stems from some mentally-deranged punk who psoed with a Confederate flag...the same punk who killed 9 in Charleston, SC.
I understand what that flag means, but I also understand the CONTEXT behind flkying it at a war memorial, rather than on a state of federal building.
This whole thing (about that flag) that was suddenly tossed at us just smells WRONG, and we should question all aspects of this.
What if the shooter in Charleston had posed with an AMERICAN flag?
We would not even be HAVING this discussion, would we?

This is a can of worms taken from the shelf of or very own FIRST AMENDMENT.
Am I flying a Confederate flag, or have the notion to DO so?
No, I may not even like it, but I freely acknowledge the right of others to free EXPRESSION and free SPEECH.
And to think ...ALL those years ago, playing with plastic civil war soldiers...and that paper flag of the Confederacy.
Who could have thought we find ourselves in such a non-political "political" predicament?
*** :Last back to the rain barrel... those are just my thoughts on this whole flag issue. I just don't think we need to sweep all this Confederacy stuff under any rug for any reason.
And yes, maybe it does stick in the craw of some blacks...I'm sure it bothers a number of whites as well.
But what about those blacks who looked BEYOND that southern flag, through the oppression of the past, the denial of god-given rights, and instead, when they saw that flag, it empowered them to rise ABOVE their current circumstances...become better individuals, and to never allow such things to happen in this nation...ever again?
Not a word is said about THOSE people...the ones who have succeeded and not succumbed to the falsehoods and race-baiting rhetoric of the liberals out there...and that is perhaps a greater crime, which goes unpunished.
Personally, when it comes to symbols and words, we need to move PAST this constant need to "ban" things.
That's how Nazi Germany started it's slide into hell...extremist bans on one thing, then another...and so on.
Anyone remember the book burnings?
We are literally DROWNING in all this "PC" bullshit, and it's counterproductive if we, as a nation and people are to move FORWARD.
We need to look at the PEOPLE rather than the Confederate flag...or the words...or whatever other symbol is presented to us.
TRUE freedom does not mean a BAN on things...or all the regulations, and yes, even some laws.
If anyone thinks that by removing a flag will stop EVERYTHING connected with that flag...it won't.

If anything, it might start a counter-culture that embraces that symbol, as we have seen with other symbols in our past.
I truly believe we can DO much better, and we can become much better, if we stop feeding the beast we call EVIL.
But we might never find that out...unless we earnestly try...right?

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