Friday Follies...

We made it to the end of another week. Score one for our side!
You know it's hot and muggy out when the A/C runs periodically over the course of the night (we have ours set to 74 degrees). It's already the same temperature outside (and it's not even 0630 hrs).
Our Hoosierland weather for today is going to be hot and humid with partly cloudy skies once again, with temps topping out around 90 degrees.

We're also told that we can expect showers and thunderstorms from afternoon on, but no hint as to when, specifically.
Probably going to get here near dusk and continue overnight (good sleeping weather for me).
Plan ahead anyway...you know how forecasters can be (50% wrong and getting paid well for it).
Now, let's see to getting ourselves a that first refreshing drink of the day,. as we take a look at what else has been going on, shall we?
*** First out of the roasting pan is our "What the hell happens today,. Bob?" feature:
JULY 21 -
---It's National Junk Food Day

(according to some health food nutjobs, that most ANY food. Screw them, I having some today)
*** And since we are at week's end, let';s see what we can observe over the following 48 hours...
JULY 22 -
---Saturday is National Day of the Cowboy

(just as long as we keep Brokeback Mountain out of the mix)
---It's National Hammock Day

(Perhaps not when it's this hot out, though)
---It's National Penuche Fudge Day

(as long as it's fudge, it's fair game)
---It's National Rat-Catcher's Day

(with the cats around...won't be an problem here - no flute required)
JULY 23 -
---Sunday is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day

(it's not as "boring" as many think, and goes great with toppings)
---It's National Parents' Day

(this should be interesting in the ghettohood...heh)
And there you have that...enough items to observe, and don;t forget to have a designated observer...ust in case.
*** Next up, this whole story of the this Aussie woman (Justine Damond) has got me really bothered. Here's one of many stories surrounding this disturbing case:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40677856

Yeah, this shooting of this woman SHOULD NOT have happened...but it DID, and at the hands of a MN officer who happened to be Muslim, and Somali-born. He was touted for his ethnicity (being the first such officer), but for some ODD reason, all those "anti-police" groups who always go after the LEOs are quietly absent.
And that silence speaks VOLUMES (to me).
They can't come down on a BLACK officer who kills a white (unarmed) woman, but can cause the Sword of Damocles to fall on a white officer who shoots ANY black person (even if it's in the line of duty after the commission of a damn crime)?

I did not know this until now

This is the worst kind of double-standard.
Police body cameras were not activated during the shooting, and the dash came only provides audio of officer Mohammed Noor, who shot across the driving officer's body and into Justine Damond.

Now THIS is disturbing to find out.

Now, call me crazy, but I don't like firearms going off right in front of MY face, unless I'm in immediate mortal danger of being shot myself, and my partner acts accordingly.
This case was certainly nowhere close to that.
Officer Noor also had previous "calls on the carpet" for his actions (with women).
Here's more on this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4711080/Killer-cop-Noor-tells-story-Justine-startled-him.html
Amazing that UK papers have stories you can;t seem ti find in USA papers.
*** Next, The ISP steps in with a youth education program. Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20170721/kids-are-the-victims-drugs-trafficking-abuse-discussed

Cathie Bledsoe spoke to the fact that children are the victims at Parkview Health's fifth annual Child Maltreatment Symposium (held at Ceruti's Reception Hall up north.
This looked to be an interesting topic, and on in which we find too many children a aprt of these days.
((Bledsoe was followed by presentations from Judge Charles Pratt of the Allen Superior Court, Fort Wayne police detective Juan Gutierrez and Park Center's outpatient services manager, Laura Swanson.
Although Swanson touched on adverse childhood experiences, Gutierrez discussed the negative effect opioids have had on families, a growing issue in Allen County.))

Social media can also shoulder part of the guilt when it comes to the exacerbation of this problem with mistreated children.
((With the Fort Wayne area growing, Pratt and other speakers hoped to educate to reduce the problems negatively affecting what should be a healthy development for many of Fort Wayne's children.))
This story bears out the truth to such situations:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20170721/mom-accused-of-selling-drugs-child-neglect
Child neglect and drug abuse...what a heinous combination in which a child is raised.

And there are those wanting to see our area reach ONE MILLION people...with apparently no thought as to THIS type of "collateral damage" to the younger portion of our populace.
*** Next up, two cases that show how much black lives REALLY matter.
First, we have this story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/courts/20170721/65-years-for-killing-based-on-race
Second, we have the other story:
http://wane.com/2017/07/20/teen-brothers-to-be-sentenced-in-2015-homicide/
In the 1st story, a white man gets 65 years for fatally stabbing a black man, while in the 2nd story, the Underwood brothers are being sentenced for the shooting death of a black man.
Now, I'm not expecting those two black brothers to get anywhere NEAR 65 years each (they were teens anyway), and they shot to death a same-raced person, so no allegations of a "hate crime". I'd wager they may get 15-20 TOPS, which means they'll be out in about ten years (tops).
And yet, we STILL have two men dead at the hands of killers, with what will be highly different sentences for the perpetrators.
So, I have to ask WHERE the hell is the JUSTICE?
*** Next, time to put such crap where it belongs and stroll over to "Kitten Corner"...

Wifey attended a teacher workshop down in Indy yesterday, and the kids were behaving themselves so damn well, I had to wonder if we still had the same two cats...LOL.
They were good as gold, but when Wifey came home (late afternoon), they started back up...like they perform ONLY when she's around the house. That's kinda odd, if you ask me. But then again, we ARE talking about CATS, right?
*** Next up, and speaking of felines, let's peek in on "Midnight and Company"...

The glee-some twosome were right on time yesterday, and spent most of the day near our "Fortress", even during the heat of the day (the garden ground is cooler than concrete).

Whiskers even became "part" of the one flower bed for a time. Midnight shifts positions during the day, following where the shadows fall as the sun crosses the sky...smart cat.
Yeah, I do miss the squirrels and the birds, but at least the cats will come over and rub against you. "familiar", and that was the late "Mr Wrinkles".

Patches came close, but no others would cozy up to people.
Only had one squirrel that ever got that
*** Last back to the greenhouse...yesterday, I spoke about how I don't like all these agendas.

The other thing I REALLY get PO'ed at are DOUBLE-STANDARDS.
To me, it's like hypocrisy on steroids, and unfortunately, we see evidence of this every day.
Face it, we ALL have some sort of "standards" they we tend to live by, and for the most part, that's fine and dandy.
Having standards shows you are capable of getting and retaining knowledge.
Overall, most people have a basic set of standards, and they are usually predicated upon some form of laws handed down from antiquity, such as the Ten Commandments, or the parables of Christ, or the teachings of Confucius or Buddha.
Whatever the case may be, there are these "universal truths" that permeate ALL such teachings, and those are timeless as far as the human condition is concerned.
Being a good person is the overwhelming standard of such beliefs (and laws), and makes much more sense than acting in the opposite manner.
Double standards tends to assign one set of rules for some people, and another set of rules for others.
That's what I have trouble with.
I believe that laws and common standards should apply to ALL people, equally, otherwise, they mean nothing at all.
Some people don't have any standards, and our prisons are full of them. Others are products of equality through inequality, and they operate on a whole other set of standards (usually those double one).
Few are the instances where "what's good for one is good for all" doesn't apply, and that's not to mean we all become cookie-cutter humans. It means we follow the SAME laws, rules, guidelines...whatever, in order to make our society evolve...become better. If we all set our standards high enough, we wouldn't even need laws, would we?
But until then, what we have in place will have to suffice...IF we take the time to maintain the standards of civility, morality, and ethical behavior.
Sounds like a workable plan to me.
Have yourselves a good weekend.

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