Humpday Happenings...

It's the middle of the week, and you know what that means...(halfway home, folks)
And that late evening snow shower yesterday dumped another inch on the ground.
I have a feeling that by Friday, people will think it's springtime (silly them).
Our Hoosierland weather for today will see us with a bit of a rehash of yesterday.
Mostly cloudy skies (bits of sun here and there) will follow us around, with temps again trying to surpass the 32 (F) mark, and little to no winds to speak of.
So while traffic will help to clear the roads, never get too confident on the streets with the recent snow...still going to be worth your caution while driving, and yes, make sure to clear off ALL that snow from your vehicle if it was parked outside. It's better for you and better for other drivers.
Now, let's go grab a nice hot cup of morning comfort as we see what's been going on elsewhere...
*** First off of the salt truck is our WHO SAID THAT? quote of the week:
"It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen."
This can apply to any and every one of us, but it should be applied to presidential debates, city council meetings, and our classrooms...lol.
So WHO said that anyway?
The answer at the toip of tomorrow's post.
Meanwhile, back at the Phiilips Academy in Massachusetts...
*** Next up is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
February 17 -
---Today is NATIONAL RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY

(okay, i promise to not shoot anyone in my neighborhood who deserves it..is.that "kind" enough for everyone?)
---And, it's NATIONAL CABBAGE DAY

(since St Patty's Day is a month away, guess it's time to try some recipes?)
*** Next up, there was a rousing "discussion" about our city's Public Safety Director position last evening. The ordinance to eliminate it was tabled until this fall when council gets into the budget hearings.

I'm going to provide two stories about the meeting on this chunk of city "fat".
And then, we'll have my take, as I purposely watched this part of the meeting
First, the News Sentinel -
http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/City-Council-agrees-to-pay-safety-director-so-it-won-t-have-to-pay-attorneys
This headline makes it clear what city council decided upon last evening. By a 6-3 vote, council "agreed" to postpone the elimination of the PSD job until the fall.
Next, the Journal Gazette -
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/Council-drops-fight-to-cut-post-11533321

Just retire already

Now, this headline isn't a correct as it should be. The council did not DROP the measure...it was POSTPONED, or TABLED until the fall (as I just mentioned). And the story makes that clear, but I smell a bit of  sensationalism at work.
I also think this (J-G) story makes it abundantly clear that York is there to "coach" (they said mentor) Hamilton in his job as FWPD chief (a task that such a neophyte sorely needs). But how LONG to mentor?
Now, as to MY take on this (buckle up)...
Yeah, I agree that city council would spend more time and money (in court) than the position is worth fighting this (for now), BUT, I also believe that position WILL be going away come fall budget time.
King Henry himself stated that the PSD position was dependent upon the ELECTION results.
We knew that if Mitch Harper had won, the PSD would not exist, and if York had become 4th district councilman, the position he vacated would not be filled (according to our monarch).

These two are just bosses - not leaders.

So, there was consensus as to the (perceived) continuing "need" for a position that was originally supposed to be ONLY a mentoring job with both the FWPD and FWFD chiefs.
Hamilton (FWPD) and Lahey  (FWFD) both said they appreciated York's work and that they couldn't have accomplished what they have in the past two years (some boot-licking going on there?).
As I watched the proceedings, you could tell these two were "stumping" to keep York, and why I don't really know, other than the fact that perhaps one or both of these chiefs needs their hands held? I'd like to think different.
I can believe it when it comes to Hamilton. His (near) meteoric rise to FWPD chief says as much. Plus, it's hard to listen to him, as many times, some sentences are disjointed and don't make as much sense as I feel they should. It's like he can't get his thoughts together all that well,  and I've heard my share of police chiefs in several cities over the years. There has to be the ring of being not only in charge but also able to positively MOTIVATE the officers under him or her and exude CONFIDENCE in the position..

THIS man is a LEADER.

In essence, "He ain't no Sheriff David A. Clarke" (and will never even come close to anyone like him, and that's a shame)

MY city, MY rules.

MY supposition is that the typical democrat handling of the minorities is to appoint a (what else?) MINORITY to the area that has the highest crime rate (and see what happens).
That rarely works, especially in urban areas with high percentages of (low income and informational) black citizens, but it looks good at "pressers".
But, this is just MY opinion on these things, and it's based on the less-than-favorable conditions where we have lived for close to 20 years.
We don't have that quality-of-life our "king" talks about (that the rest of the city enjoys).
Nothing gets done to improve things, businesses leave, crime continues to rise, and the ignorant, indigent, unintelligent and self-serving flotsam continue to multiply, spreading outward.
*** Next up...I didn't mean to run long in that last segment, but it's difficult to get so much down that needs to be said.
Few in the local media have lived down here (Kevin Leininger being one of the exceptions), and he knows the score here.

All the rest do not, and if they did, we'd hear more about the way things really are.

But, we have a thriving and growing DOWNTOWN and soon enough a RIVERFRONT...who needs an entire quadrant of the city that SHOULD be contributing revenue to the city coffers when you can have a few $1800 a month apartments in the new skyscrapers, right?

Not as nice as downtown.

Our part of Fort Wayne has been "on the skids" since the Win Moses years...and that's before the Harvester move out of town, so we can't put the blame on that company alone.
Mayor after mayor never really addressed the growing issues down here, UNTIL they began affecting OTHER parts of the city, and that's a pretty damn sad state of affairs.
As the years passed, we've had crack, heroin and meth  come to town, with the usual results.
Criminals don't even brandish guns any longer...just had a note to a clerk or teller and "you get paid"...simple, huh?
Police will drive right past a boomcar thumping away WITHOUT enforcing the noise ordinance, or even telling the idiot to turn the music (?) down...and they certainly never seem to pull ANYONE over down here with blown out license plate bulbs or even headlights.
I know this because I see vehicles drive around that way FOR MONTHS (and sometimes over a year).

I miss the GOOD old days down here.

So why have a PSD when the public safety down here doesn't seem to be a real issue (let the mooks do what they want as long as they don't bother other parts of the city).
A little too late for that mindset. The horses are gone and the gate was never fixed.
*** Last back to the patio...one question that keeps burning  in my soul is "Why can't this world be a better place?"
We don't even need to be a LOT better (for starters)...just a tad better.

We can talk about the LACK of such necessary things like civility, ethics, values, principles, and the like until the cows come home. We all know the world (and mankind) could use a LOT more of those.
Then there's knowledge, wisdom, and morality...three more pillars of humanity.
We certainly need an abundance of each of those.
Then, a bit farther down the list, we have choices and decisions.
(preferably the good ones)
Lord knows that a LOT of people could take some remedial courses in those.
Instead, we're burdened (as both a nation, and as a global society) with too much of the wrong shit.
No other way to put it.

Well, we could put it THIS way, too.

People will happily go out of their way to do the wrong thing, if they feel it will get them something or advance some lunatic cause or agenda du jour.
Now, we ALL come up short in the perfection department...that's what being HUMAN is all about, right?
But we WILL try...and try again, and keep on trying until we do better, or become better.
That's what LIFE is all about.
In the arena of ideas, right and wrong are not something to be colored in "fifty shades of gray" but are simply black and white.
There's where a lot of our troubles lie.
Many out there believe that anything and everything is open to personal "interpretation" on a spur of the moment to fit whatever issue comes along.
The flaw in such beliefs is that the TRUTH of any matter really doesn't deviate from itself.
And while truth can often times be quite inconvenient, it IS nonetheless THERE.
If only people would put down their hypocrisy and delusions for a brief time, even they might see that.
And then things could be well on the road to becoming better...for everyone.

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