Coming In Like A Lion...

It's all how you look at things...isn't it?
Welcome to Tuesday, which happens to kick off a brand new month for everyone.
And the forecast just might have you roaring (not in a good way).
Our Hoosierland weather will see some freezing rain early, than changing over to rain. Expect a cloudy day with the winds picking up, and a high close to 40 degrees. And, if you think we're done with Winter...think again.
There's some snow in our forecast (not much, thankfully) for the bottom end of this week, so stay prepared.
Now, what say we get ourselves a nice hot cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa and take a look at what's been going on elsewhere, hmm?
*** First off of the campaign trail is our look at all the things going on this month.
MARCH  is
Irish American Month
Music in Our Schools Month

National Craft Month
National Frozen Food Month
National Irish American Heritage Month- designated by Congress in 1995.
National Nutrition Month
National Peanut Month

National Women's History Month
Red Cross Month
Social Workers Month
WEEKLY OBSERVANCES:
2nd Week National Bubble Week
2nd Week Crochet Week
*** Next, we have our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature.
March 1 -
---Today is NATIONAL PIG DAY

(that's the swine, and not your teenager who NEVER cleans up his/her room)

---It's also NATIONAL HORSE PROTECTION DAY
(every horse needs protection - mostly from idiot humans)

---It's NATIONAL "DADGUM THAT'S GOOD" DAY
(dadgum HAS to be a Midwestern thing...lol)

---It's also NATIONAL FRUIT COMPOST DAY
("what a wonderful smell you've discovered, Princess")

---And, it's NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER LOVER'S DAY
(Now, a PB and J sandwich sounds like a good lunch to me)
*** Next up, it's time once again to bring you ALL those police calls the media won't let you in on regarding shots fired and armed robberies that took place last week:

SHOTS FIRED / ARMED ROBBERY CALLS - 2/22- 2/28
===============================================
FEB 22-
16F022804 01:22:01 113 SHOTS FIRED 3100 WELLS ST
((NO armed robberies))
FEB 23 -
16F023429 14:30:56 113 SHOTS FIRED 3200 HOLTON AVE & DREXEL AVE
16F023242 05:34:54 53 ARMED ROB 4800 MONROE ST S
16F023647 22:36:30 53 ARMED ROB 4200 THORNGATE DR
FEB 24 - 
16F023689 01:12:37 113 SHOTS FIRED 1900 ANTHONY BLVD N
16F023703 03:07:27 113 SHOTS FIRED 4900 LAFAYETTE ST S & DECATUR RD
16F023713 04:04:19 113 SHOTS FIRED 2600 REPTON DR
16F023938 17:30:49 20 PROBLEM UNK 800 LEWIS ST E (TRIPLE HOMICIDE)
((NO armed robberies))
FEB 25 -
16F024433 22:26:11 113 SHOTS FIRED 5800 ST JOE RD & ST JOE CENTER RD
16F024470 23:41:48 113 SHOTS FIRED 5600 ST JOE RD
16F024385 20:31:24 58 SHOOTING 1200 FAYETTE DR
((NO armed robberies))
FEB 26-
16F024485 00:22:44 113 SHOTS FIRED 4700 ST JOE CENTER RD & REED RD
16F024943 23:54:10 113 SHOTS FIRED 2800 SMITH ST & MCKEE ST
16F024782 16:52:53 53 ARMED ROB 3800 STATE BLVD E
FEB 27 -
16F025348 21:08:02 113 SHOTS FIRED 4300 WAYNE TRACE
16F025373 22:15:46 113 SHOTS FIRED 600 WALLACE ST E & HANNA ST S
FEB 28-
16F025527 05:51:11 113 SHOTS FIRED 2900 WARSAW ST
16F025561 08:09:42 113 SHOTS FIRED 3100 SMITH ST
16F025814 19:41:13 113 SHOTS FIRED 200 PURSLEY DR
16F025851 20:46:50 113 SHOTS FIRED 6000 BUNT DR
((And NO FIREWORKS CALLS...for a damn change))
*** Next up, American actor GEORGE KENNEDY passed away yesterday at the age of 91.

Here's his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Kennedy
I've been a fan of his since I was little, and that's quite some time ago.
Always giving a good performance, he was a mainstay of the cinema for decades.

And, he was just as good on the small screen (in shows like SARGE, where he played a former cop who became a priest, or THE BLUE KNIGHT, another police show). I don't think there was a series from the late 50s through the 60s where Kennedy did NOT guest star.
I will, however, always think of him as "Joe Patroni" in the classic movie Airport.

"I'll have this mother outta here by midnight..."

Not bad for a two-time Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor (when it WAS acting, and in many better movies than we have these days). Gonna miss you, George.
*** Next up, the FWPD does some "damage control" over the triple homicide (I called) last week. Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/Religion-is-ruled-out-for-slayings-11767543

I might agree that religion MAY have nothing to do with these killings, but two of the victims were SUNNI, and "if" there are SHIITES in Fort Wayne (and nothing would lead me to think otherwise after this), then we may have a problem, because those two sects of Islam tend to not play so well together.
What bothers me is that FWPD spokespeople say this was a crime of "opportunity".
What the hell OPPORTUNITY are we talking about? Execution-style slayings in a PARTY HOUSE doesn't sound like ANY sort of opportunity to me. Or has crime become THAT convenient on the SE side?
Maybe the police should start going after the OWNERS of this crib (who moved to Indy).
Plus, the police "knew" about this house...and didn't do anything to CLOSE it down?
Guess it takes a HOMICIDE (or three) to motivate the top brass in the department these days?
Nice job from the (after the fact) Rusty and Garry show.
*** Next, Kevin Leininger has a really good column about Village Woods Middle School, and how in just 30 years, you too can have serious blight in your neighborhood, waiting to be torn down.

Here's the story link:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/Good-intentions-paved-a-rocky-road-to-long-vacant-school-on-city-s-southeast-side

This is what a LOT of areas down here have become, thanks to the lack of vision and the allowance of the criminal element to set up shop.
Then, you wind up with neighborhoods that see the type of stuff like Lewis St.
Lord knows you can't depend on business owners to shore up the area now...because THEY ALL LEFT, too!
*** Next, the Ft. Wayne Parking Control (who NEVER seems to come down here to cite anyone) have some new technology designed to help them (when they cover downtown, because that's the ONLY place they seem to be these days). Here's the story link:
http://www.21alive.com/news/local/FW-parking-control-officers-get-new-technology-370570351.html

Mayor doesn't want illegal parking DOWNTOWN.

If they'd apply such devices where we live, maybe ALL those cars parked the wrong way, or are disabled and sitting at curbs for WEEKS (if not months), or blocking sidewalks could be ticketed (or just removed outright).
Cleaning up a neighborhood is paramount to keeping it from slipping down the crapper, right?
*** Next up, this whole "regional cities" master-plan bill is developing some PORK (as we knew it would). Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/indiana/Funds-for-Regional-Cities-tied-to-road-funding-bill-11769456

We know what's best for you.

The lawgivers are tacking on a huge transportation deal, which they SAY is about roads, but can easily open the doors for the much-coveted high-speed rail.
You have to think how these legislators (just another type of criminal in many cases) would think to fully understand such things.

Some lawmakers aren't sure how the two things relate, and this is raising some contention in the Indiana statehouse.
My whole thought on this is "Do we HAVE to become sort sort of Midwest "megalopolis"?
Whatever happened to Midwestern charm and preserving the long-held heritage of this area?
*** Last back to the bunker...in so many instances, we see those we have elected wanting what's best for the "us" (read the STATE)...and that means those of us living IN that state (so they say).

But, is all the fol-de-rol ACTUALLY being used for OUR benefit, or to feed our wants and desires, rather than our immediate needs as residents and taxpaying citizens?
Maybe we should ask the people of Flint, Michigan how that mindset worked out for them?
Or perhaps the people of all the urban areas filled with blight and crime how THEY have fared over the years?

Government ignores that which needs fixing, and constantly looks for ways to fix that which needs no fixing. Sound about right to you?
What we can clearly see, is that with more intervention by governments, the worse it has become.
One can look to our educational system to see that much has been true.
Liberalism has it's place, I will grant you that, but it's NOT in a democratic constitutional republic such as ours.
(Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, China, and North Korea come to mind)
Spending our way to prosperity has never worked, and the last 7 years should have shown us that much, unless our faces were buried in some "smart" device, which is intended only to make the people dumber and distracted.
The younger generations are being brought up without the values we had, or our parents had, and yet, we tout this as a "success" for our society.
We need to wake up as a nation, and pretty damn soon, before what's left of our country becomes unrecognizable to those of us who still remember how things used to be (which was a lot better for everyone).
People need to learn that they have real potential and that they should challenge themselves to use it once in a while, rather than rely on Big Brother to know what's "best" for us all.

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