Tuesday Tidbits...

You can certainly tell it's WINTER outside THIS morning, can't you?
We call that "COLD", and we can probably blame this on global warming...LOL.
Still, it was nice to see a smattering of snow yesterday, however fleeting that it was.
It caused a lot of issues along the highways around our city, because people can't seem to "adjust".
Our Hoosierland weather today won't be much warmer with temps onl;y getting up to the 30-degree range.
We might see more of the sun, though, so that's a plus.
We'll take it as a win.
So, let's get a nice hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa as we see what has been going on elsewhere.
*** First off of the sofa is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
January 5 -
---Today is NATIONAL BIRD DAY

(Must be WINTER birds - we have this one covered on our patio)
---And, it's NATIONAL WHIPPED CREAM DAY

(makes you long for times when you raided the fridge (as a youngster) and shot some Reddi-Whip in your mouth for NO reason whatsoever)
*** Next up (because it's Tuesday), is our weekly salute to the morons in our fair city who just HAVE to play with guns (and fireworks).

SHOTS FIRED / ARMED ROBBERY CALLS - 12/28 - 1/1
===============================================
DEC 28 -
15F171063 20:41:16 113 SHOTS FIRED 2100 WELLS ST
15F171130 23:24:30 113 SHOTS FIRED 300 JACOBS AVE
15F171132 23:24:47 113 SHOTS FIRED 2100 WELLS ST
15F171059 20:22:08 53 ARMED ROB 1900 ARDMORE AVE
DEC 29 -
15F171513 20:09:22 113 SHOTS FIRED 3600 CALHOUN ST S
15F171531 20:53:19 113 SHOTS FIRED 1800 YALE DR
((NO armed robberies))
DEC 30 - 
15F171604 00:41:17 113 SHOTS FIRED 3400 CENTRAL DR & OXFORD ST
15F171840 14:15:11 113 SHOTS FIRED 3700 CENTRAL DR
15F172081 23:37:56 113 SHOTS FIRED 12300 JEFFERSON BLVD W & AMBER RD
15F171693 07:48:17 53 ARMED ROB 300 STATE BLVD W
15F171907 16:53:51 53 ARMED ROB 6100 ROTHMAN RD
DEC 31 -
15F172392 18:29:07 113 SHOTS FIRED 7600 PAULA PKWY
15F172402 18:45:27 113 SHOTS FIRED 4800 REED ST & PETTIT AVE E
15F172420 19:33:53 113 SHOTS FIRED 4300 PAULDING RD E
15F172437 20:03:09 113 SHOTS FIRED 2000 TAMERA GARDEN AVE
15F172461 20:55:29 113 SHOTS FIRED 3100 CRESCENT AVE & ANTHONY BLVD N
15F172475 21:52:26 113 SHOTS FIRED 1800 MCKINNIE AVE & ANTHONY BLVD S
15F172495 22:34:01 113 SHOTS FIRED 4100 BLUFFTON RD & ENGLE RD
15F172513 23:31:38 113 SHOTS FIRED 4200 ANTHONY BLVD S & MCKINNIE AVE
15F172521 23:43:43 113 SHOTS FIRED 1200 PONTIAC ST E & BOWSER AVE
15F172271 13:26:21 53 ARMED ROB 900 STATE BLVD W
15F172465 21:13:18 53 ARMED ROB 2200 MAPLECREST RD
JAN 1 -
16F000003 00:03:28 113 SHOTS FIRED 2600 WELLS ST & RUSSELL AVE
16F000004 00:03:31 113 SHOTS FIRED 5000 HEMLOCK LN
16F000007 00:05:30 113 SHOTS FIRED 2100 WELLS ST
16F000008 00:07:25 113 SHOTS FIRED 3200 WALDEN RUN
16F000010 00:09:45 113 SHOTS FIRED 7000 PENROSE DR
16F000029 00:35:09 113 SHOTS FIRED 9100 BRICKSHIRE PKWY
16F000043 01:01:15 113 SHOTS FIRED 4000 WARSAW ST
16F000075 02:13:19 113 SHOTS FIRED 800 POPLAR ST
16F000088 02:38:40 113 SHOTS FIRED 1100 HAMILTON AVE
16F000096 02:56:25 113 SHOTS FIRED 1700 WAYNE ST E
16F000313 17:18:39 113 SHOTS FIRED 5300 SHERRILL DR
16F000375 20:34:22 113 SHOTS FIRED 3000 CENTRAL DR
16F000398 21:39:32 113 SHOTS FIRED 4000 SMITH ST
16F000419 22:32:48 113 SHOTS FIRED 1800 GRISWOLD DR
16F000428 23:03:06 113 SHOTS FIRED 1100 WALLACE ST E
((NO armed robberies)) 
...but numerous fights,vandalism, and thefts.
Jan 2 -
((INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE))
WTF???

Jan 3 -
((INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE)) 
WTF??? (part deux)
================================
FIREWORKS CALLS - 12/21 -12/27
============================
DEC 29 -
15F171411 16:11:48 44FW 4700 MANISTEE DR
(same address as LAST week on the 22nd - maybe a FWPD car parked in the area would help?
DEC 30 -
15F171999 19:17:45 44FW 1800 YALE DR
===============================
---You may notice that we don't have a COMPLETE week listed, and there's a good reason for that - The FWPD website is AGAIN not forthcoming with INFORMATION. The LAST day they have the activity logs posted is for 1 JANUARY.

Maybe THESE guys should run the show?

Someone forgot to post the last THREE DAYS...an oversight or by design? You decide.
Oh, and the "discussion forum" is STILL "down for maintenance".
That makes well over SIX MONTHS running now.
No one bothered by that anywhere in or around this city?
The FWPD claims it's TRANSPARENT?
How so?
(well, Bob...we can see right through the chief's subterfuge for one thing).
And there we are...never at a loss for ineptitude or the selectively dim-witted in Fort Wayne...are we?
*** Next up, the FWPD "lucks out" by being able to capture the perp responsible for the Lassus robbery up on the NE side Sunday night. Here's the story link:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/Fort-Wayne-gas-station-robbery-suspect-found-quickly

Now, this capture of one Mark Collar (heh, Collar got collared...that's 'effin funny) was NOT due to good police work, sad to say.
It was thanks to a witness who managed to get a photo of the vehicle and license plate that led to the eventual arrest.
Police did a lookup on the plate and tracked it to an apartment on W Creighton Ave, where police waited for Collar to show up. He tried to leave the area when he spotted the patrol car, but was pulled over and taken into custody.
And this all happened within 3 hours of the robbery.
But the story I mentioned yesterday had NO details and police were not disclosing any information...why was THAT?
They had the perp IN CUSTODY the same night...why NOT release the information? You'd think it would be a feather in someone's cap, right? There's got to be something more at work here, and it's starting to smell like bad fish.
NO QandA on the FWPD website,no up-to-date activity logs, and the LAST month they have the crimes stats for the city is last NOVEMBER.  They can't be THAT short-staffed or forgetful...can they?
*** Next up, Obummer is doing his "gun-violence" gig as can be told HERE:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/us/Obama-to-unveil-gun-violence-plan-10767099

HERE is the TRUTH.

If passed (without a whimper), then expect MORE background checks (like we don't good enough laws already?), and that our Whiner-in-Chief "believes" he has the LEGAL authority (emphasis on the authority) to make this law.

Thing is, we don't beat back the BAD guys by enacting MORE laws against WE, THE PEOPLE...we do it by arming the GOOD guys with guns to take OUT the bad guys...pretty simple, yes?
The odd thing here is the whole "what comprises a firearms dealer"? If I want to sell one of MY guns to my nephew in VA, then I am being FORCED to become a FFL DEALER, and would have to conduct a background check. That's the short version.
Again, we see the inability of those in power to fully understand the PROBLEM behind these mass shootings, while pushing for their "solution", which all but denies that the REAL problem exists, and goes after the METHOD used for that problem in the first damn place.

Nothing is mentioned AT ALL about dealing with the MENTAL HEALTH issue, which is the crux of this whole matter, because SANE people don;'perform mass shootings...do they?
BUT, sane people CAN put an end to a mass shooting by taking out the perp...right?
*** Next, While we're in the middle of a battle over 2nd Amendment rights, there comes a story that makes even ME wary of the submission of such laws. Here's the story link:
http://wane.com/2016/01/05/bill-eases-law-on-alcohol-offenders-obtaining-gun-permits/

One way to cull the herd.

Okay, so the state legislature wants to consider a bill regarding the ability to obtain and possess a firearm with a prior alcohol-abuse history. Time to tread lightly here?
I can understand the reasoning behind the bill, but I also have to think long and hard of having a DRUNK WITH A GUN, because, if for no other reason, "shit does happen".
And when you're half shot-in-the-ass thanks to booze, the SIMPLE task of cleaning a gun, or even displaying one can have LETHAL consequences, because the owner suffers a lack of responsibility due to inhibited cognitive skills. It does make a case for Social Darwinism...lol.
The math is easy to do here, and like the lawmakers say, there are already redundancies (it IS the government), to prevent such things. In Indiana, a second DUI rolls over to a felony, and we know how that affects gun purchases or ownership.
Under such current laws, a person IS restricted from driving when convicted of a DUI (not that this stops them, as evidenced by court records and arrest histories),
And yes, drunkenness can lead to violent behavior, so why hand someone a firearm during such a time like that?

NOT the brightest crayon in the box, right?

This is just a very touchy thing to try and tackle, (imho). It could work, or it could blow up in the state's face.
*** Next, the state is again messing with our license plates, but it's not a big deal.
What is planned is an EXTENSION of the lifespan OF the plates. Here's the story link:
http://wane.com/2016/01/05/new-rule-extends-life-of-indiana-license-plates/
I remember back in Philly, I had  tags seemingly forever (think it was every 5 years, and that was back in the 70s and 80s)

Cheap-ass decal plate

Here in Indiana, it's planned to change out tags every SEVEN years, rather that the (former) five years currently in place. This was extended from THREE years in the early 80s,. and before that, it was annually.

Classic embossed plate

And those were the GOOD Plates - embossed and with reflective digits, made in the USA by prison labor!
(something to be proud of, right?)
Nowadays, we basically have a DECAL on a thin cheap-ass piece of some crap metal or alloy.
And I don't even think they're made by prisoners in every state any longer (too severe punishment?)

But PRISONERS still make them - hallelujah for that!

Hell, if there's a fire, the decal MELTS off the plate, but an older plate would remain intact for identification.
We CHEAPEN the deal, and then commend ourselves for being so "efficient"...yeah, that ALWAYS works.
*** Last back to the comfy chair...I have no idea why some people (especially those living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in our nation's capital) can't seem to get a proper grip on something we call REALITY.

It's all about THEIR agenda, and what they "think" is GOOD for the REST OF US.
What about our right to THINK FOR OURSELVES?
When did that suddenly go out of vogue?
Isn't being able to do THAT a fundamental belief and a freedom we're supposed to be enjoying?

By the looks of things, it would appear NOT.
We are constantly allowing others to dictate so much to us all, and little to none of it matters a whit when it comes to making our lives safer OR better. It DOES make those who pass the laws look better and feel better about themselves.
But what about US? We're not having any dog in this hunt, and if anyone should, it NEEDS to be us.
We need to speak out, talk back, push back., and rail against the principalities that would deny us what we have been taught and what we KNOW to be RIGHT...and JUST.
I guess we can expect such things from those in power when it pertains to this secular scourge that is entrenched in our nation, but that doesn't mean we lie down and take it as it comes.
OUR voices need to be heard...and often, if we're ever to take control of that which we have given over to the wrong people. And it needs to be done before further harm is made to our country.
Just something to think about.

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