Tuesday Tidbits...

It looks like we're starting this day off in fine style.
Loads more sunshine than we had yesterday, that's for sure.
No rain in sight for the next 24 hours. Just some smooth sailing out there. I like that.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will have us enjoying relatively calm conditions with an expected high of around 85 degrees and less humidity. We can expect a warming trend through the weekend.
So, what way we get ourselves a nice comforting drink poured, as we look at what else has been going on, hmm?
*** First out of the tomato patch is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature.
July 19 -
---Today is NATIONAL DAIQUIRI DAY

(have one on me...or several)
That's all she wrote, folks. Feel free to make today special for yourselves.
*** Next up, it's time once again for our weekly report on all those shots fired and armed robbery calls (with shootings and stabbings) that the media doesn't like to tell us about.

-----------------------------------------------------------
SHOTS FIRED / ARMED ROBBERY CALLS - 7/11 to 7/17
----------------------------------------------------------
JULY 11 - 
16F093766 23:10:24 113 SHOTS FIRED 600 MAPLE GROVE AVE E & HANNA ST S 
16F093772 23:24:33 113 SHOTS FIRED 900 WASHINGTON BLVD E  
16F093742 22:17:11 53 ARMED ROB  2300 SHERMAN BLVD  
JULY 12 -
16F094004 13:08:55 113 SHOTS FIRED 2400 SMITH ST 
16F093789 00:02:42 53 ARMED ROB  3200 DODGE AVE & HOBSON RD  
16F094100 15:35:40 53 ARMED ROB  4900 LIMA RD 
JULY 13 -
16F094604 15:34:11 113 SHOTS FIRED 1400 STOPHLET ST & RIEDMILLER AVE  
16F094358 02:24:49 53 ARMED ROB  2900 SOUTHWAYNE AVE & HOME AVE
16F094817 23:19:17 58 SHOOTING  7900 JEFFERSON BLVD W  
JULY 14 -
16F095209 19:24:08 113 SHOTS FIRED 1900 HOBSON RD  
16F095318 23:45:02 113 SHOTS FIRED 2600 RIVER COVE TRL  
((NO armed robberies))
JULY 15 - 
((NO shots fired))
16F095665 15:43:01 58 SHOOTING  8400 ASHER DR  
16F095684 16:23:50 58 SHOOTING  2500 DUPONT RD E  
16F095872 21:48:48 58 SHOOTING  200 FOURTH ST E  
((NO armed robberies))
JULY 16 -
16F095956 00:58:26 113 SHOTS FIRED 6700 STATE BLVD E  
16F095981 02:17:34 113 SHOTS FIRED 3400 BARR ST S  
16F096010 04:12:11 113 SHOTS FIRED 1200 RUDISILL BLVD E & BOWSER AVE  
16F096011 04:17:38 113 SHOTS FIRED 4100 CLINTON ST S  
16F096028 05:46:26 53 ARMED ROB  200 RUDISILL BLVD E & CLINTON ST S 
16F095979 02:14:13 58 SHOOTING  4300 WHALERS CV  
16F096304 17:32:43 58 SHOOTING  2500 DUPONT RD E  
16F096330 18:10:30 59 CUTTING/STAB 7700 EVANWOOD CT  
JULY 17 -
16F096525 01:02:41 113 SHOTS FIRED 1900 HOBSON RD  
16F096555 02:21:44 113 SHOTS FIRED 11400 MAYWIN DR & WATER WHEEL RUN  
16F096579 03:42:19 113 SHOTS FIRED 2500 HANNA ST S  
16F096580 03:42:33 113 SHOTS FIRED 700 OAKDALE DR W  
16F096619 07:24:48 113 SHOTS FIRED 4300 MARVIN DR  
16F096806 18:43:44 113 SHOTS FIRED 5200 BOWSER AVE  
16F096810 18:56:11 113 SHOTS FIRED 1800 HOAGLAND AVE & MASTERSON AVE  
16F096912 22:12:03 113 SHOTS FIRED 5400 RIVER RUN TRL  
16F096623 07:50:36 58 SHOOTING  2200 RANDALLIA DR 
------------------------------------------------------------

Set fire to your paycheck - it's the same thing.

And we can't leave out all the assholes that STILL think it's the 4th of July, can we?
------------------------------------------------------------
FIREWORKS CALLS - 7/11 to 7/17 
-----------------------------------------------------------
JULY 11 -
16F093324 02:03:45 44FW  6000 WINTER ST & FARWOOD AVE  
16F093337 03:30:57 44FW  3700 WAWONAISSA TRL & OJIBWAY TRL  
16F093421 11:03:47 44FW  2000 GLADSTONE DR  
16F093741 21:38:04 44FW  1700 WALLEN RD W & VILLAGE DR  
16F093733 21:55:47 44FW  11000 ROSEWOOD CIR E & MARCELLE DR 
16F093743 22:16:05 44FW  6200 TRIER RD & MAPLECREST RD  
16F093752 22:34:35 44FW  300 BRANDRIFF ST  
JULY 12 -
16F093843 03:39:38 44FW  300 BRANDRIFF ST  
16F093873 07:19:53 44FW  1500 BARTHOLD ST  
16F094117 16:33:22 44FW  6200 JUSTIN CT  
16F094195 19:19:03 44FW  5800 CALHOUN ST S & COX DR E  
16F094272 21:42:25 44FW  2900 ANTHONY BLVD N  
16F094283 22:05:40 44FW  4000 THORTON DR  
16F094291 22:38:38 44FW  3000 GLENCAIRN DR  
16F094293 22:39:32 44FW  2800 DEVON DR  
JULY 13 -
16F094442 09:55:00 44FW  6200 JUSTIN CT  
16F094804 22:41:37 44FW  5400 MEADOWBROOK DR & SOUTHBROOK D 
JULY 15 -
16F095630 14:47:46 44FW  4200 THORTON DR  
16F095844 20:53:02 44FW  6800 ST JOE RD  
16F095882 22:01:11 44FW  6200 BELLE ISLE LN  
16F095903 22:13:12 44FW  6600 ST JOE RD & EVARD RD  
JULY 16 -
16F095959 00:44:03 44FW  2500 CLINTON ST S & WOODLAND AVE E 
16F096341 18:42:58 44FW  6200 BELLE ISLE LN  
16F096351 19:05:05 44FW  6200 STONY BROOK DR  
16F096358 19:16:31 44FW  4800 REED ST  
16F096448 21:52:55 44FW  7500 DECATUR RD  
16F096446 22:56:14 44FW  1100 WESTOVER RD & OLD MILL RD  
16F096458 23:09:59 44FW  1400 CHEROKEE RD  
16F096460 23:11:56 44FW  400 SHERWOOD TERR W  
16F096464 23:15:41 44FW  1000 ELMWOOD AVE & ST JOSEPH BLVD  
16F096486 23:56:06 44FW  4100 SELKIRK CT  
JULY 17 - 
16F096501 00:23:44 44FW  200 HOOVER DR E  
16F096527 00:24:16 44FW  1800 RIEDMILLER AVE & STOPHLET ST  
16F096503 00:32:55 44FW  1700 THIRD ST  
16F096583 04:04:41 44FW  6200 BELLE ISLE LN  
16F096834 19:36:46 44FW  1500 THIRD ST & SCHILLING AVE  
16F096913 21:38:54 44FW  3400 IVY LEAGUE DR  
16F096927 22:28:15 44FW  500 GREENWOOD AVE & ILLINOIS ST  
===============================================
((Note: ALL of the calls above are considered illegal now))
*** Next up, I confess to watching PARTS of the RNC "show" last evening (nothing else was on, to be honest, and that included the FREE 4-day offerings on the HBO and CINEMAX channels).

I liked Melania Trump's speech. To quote Chris Wallace from FNC: "She is drop-dead gorgeous". Gotta give Trump that much. She was very well-spoken

I also enjoyed the speeches given by Rudy Giuliani and Sheriff David Clarke.

To me, these were the high points as were two others.
Seeing Marcus Luttrell (Lone Survivor) and the navy seals ("Oz " and "Tig") speaking about their night in Benghazi was both riveting and frightening as hell...welcome to war, folks.
It will be interesting to contrast THOSE speeches with the propaganda rhetoric that (her bitchness) Hillary Clinton will attempt to dredge up to counter this.
I will say that the way the RNC (and probably the DNC) is being presented reminds me (with the whole fog machine and silhouette of Trump) of Barnum and Bailey meets Hitchcock meets "300".

"Tonight...we dine in CLEVELAND!"

Something to be said for ancient Sparta, I suppose...thank God for the few voices of reason I mentioned.
*** Next, our outgoing FWPD chief is doing the "rounds" before his exit of that position.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/Police-chief-says-local-officers-on--high-alert--14198596
So, Garry has "initiatives in place" to bring the community closer to police.
Now, you KNOW he's talking about the BLACK community, right?

SE side "bling"

And, by the way many members OF that particular community conduct themselves, I'd have to concede that they are ALREADY (very) close to our local police, as many of them have already been given free rides downtown BY the FWPD.
How much closer do they need to get, anyway?
Yes, our nation's LEOS are doing an often thankless job. It's not easy to police the spectrum of people they encounter daily.
Many times, officers have to deal with the dregs of society (kinda like some of our neighbors).
Hamilton showed a video detailing the history of enforcement against, and killing of blacks during the civil rights (1960s) era in the south to underscore why distrust runs deep.
Got news for him, it JUST wasn't in the south (or during the '60s).

During the Civil War, blacks (among others) were beaten and hanged in NYC during the 1863 draft riots.

You can blame the democratic political machine (Tammany Hall) for THAT one.
As an adjunct, the same politicians sought to enroll IMMIGRANTS (mostly Irish, who were fearful of losing their jobs to emancipated blacks) as U.S. citizens, so they could vote in local elections.
Sound a bit too familiar?
Those democrats have been creatures of habit for over a hundred years and have done an exemplary job of fomenting and fostering anger.
If you're going to tell a story, tell ALL of it.
FWPD officers are responding in PAIRS (two cruisers at that) to mist calls in Fort Wayne. Well, someone listened to what I said should have been done.
My question is HOW do you build trust in a people who have a minority among them committing a majority of the crimes?

You never have to worry about the law-abiding - it's the ones "on the fence"  who are fed hate (from little on up) by those with a race-based chip on their shoulder (more like a redwood), and have never taken the time to understand how (and why) real policing works.
*** Next, another societal problem that is receiving the proper attention it deserves.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/schools/More-background-checks-for-teachers-considered-14200469

Indiana wants to conduct better background checks for TEACHERS.
I guess all those sexual encounters between students and those teaching them has become a bit too frequent.

Sexual predators can be found ANYWHERE. That's been proven, and perhaps it's time this was placed under the microscope, so we have allow students the opportunity to be educated without having the shadow of sexual deviancy  (by adult educators) following them around.
Having a SAFE environment is paramount to learning.

Now, if the school systems can do something about the young thugs causing disruption in the classrooms...
*** Last back to the flower garden...the freedom we enjoy in our nation is unsurpassed across the globe.

But, like any good thing, it can be abused.
Just like in Colonial times, when people here sought their freedom, they were opposed by the oppressor across the pond. During our own Civil War, freedom became the linchpin to maintain the preservation of our nation (the union).
And, we've fought wars not only to remain free (ourselves) but also to set other people free, including two world wars, as well as two conflicts in Southeast Asia (Korea and 'Nam).
And yet, through all those, we still seem to struggle with freedom right here in the USA.
We allow an overreaching federal government to subvert our freedoms, which of itself is a BIG deal.
People (by their own volition) seek more freedom than is permitted and take this as a pass to do whatever they want, and that often impacts on the lives of others.
It's the inconsiderate, the over-aggressive, and the chronically ignorant among us who are the center of such things.
And that is why we have created laws to inhibit those who believe freedom means something other than it's intended definition. The only people affected BY such laws are the ones breaking them.
Along the way, we also tend to want more security in our lives, and as a a result, can lose freedom to become more secure. That is a vicious cycle to break once it gets some traction.
We need to strike and maintain a balance BETWEEN the two, lest we lose both for the sake of one.
Surely we need to punish those who harm others, and deny others their freedom, and sadly, this is a single edge sword, as we never seem to reward those who harm no one and choose to live just as free.

Or for FREEDOM!

No one ever said that freedom was ever "free", and sacrifices by so many during our history have proven as much.
What we all need to remember is that freedom is alive - it's a living thing, and we need to treat it as such.
This sounds crazy, but think about it. If freedom is not nourished, it can die a painful death.
If freedom is not cared for, it loses it's ability to work properly.
And, if freedom is ignored, it may just go away and seek another master.
Those are things everyone in this country needs to take to heart.

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