Monday Musings...

Skies are looking pretty dreary around our way (and my sinuses are acting up), and that must mean we're going to get some more rain.
That's fine by me...keeps the locals in check (somewhat).
And I thought I had everything planned for what I'd say here today, but that fell by the wayside, so we're gonna just wing it and see where it takes us.

Our Hoosierland weather for today will bring us partly cloudy skies (sun's peeking out now), temps reaching to around 84 degrees, and a slight chance of an isolated shower later on this evening.
Might even get a small one during the day.
(we did get a brief light rainfall already)
So what say get this show rolling with a nice refreshing drink  as we see what's been going on elsewhere, hmm?
*** First out of the coffee pot is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
JULY 3 -
---It's National Chocolate Wafer Day

(Always liked these since I was a kid)
---It's National Eat Your Beans Day

(well, it IS national baked bean month)
---It's National Fried Clam Day

(ONLY way I'll eat them aside from chowder)
*** Next, every wonder why some people are put on this earth JUST to suck the fun out of life?
Well, wonder no longer. Here's a story that tries to take away from our 4th of July:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/us/20170703/minorities-feelings-mixed
Minorities are at it again...bitching for no real reason. Many are even wondering why they should even celebrate the 4th.
Good, then DON'T, and stop shooting off all the damn fireworks for something you're not really into.

Enchantment? LMAO!

Of course the dateline is from NEW MEXICO, so that should clue you all in.
I thought our 48 contiguous states had BECOME (the) "new Mexico", according to the recent census and the lax illegal immigration policies that have been in place over the last couple decades.
There are those that are using this ploy to excoriate police officers who had been found not guilty in various shootings (since 2014), especially of black males (who had been involved in criminal activities). Granted there were exceptions and they WERE dealt with.

And there is the immigration issue. Sorry, but to me breaking the law by entering into this country through illegal means does not give you ANY right to celebrate OUR 4th of July, so stop yer bitchin' and go back where you came from.
Try coming into OUR country by LEGAL means...the way it should be.done.
And this is also being used to protest the pipeline in North Dakota.
The phrase "ulterior motive" come to mind for some odd reason.
*** Next up, we finally notched our 14th homicide over the weekend, and that means we're still on track to hit twenty-five by year's end, if the idiots keep up the pace.,

Might even surpass it again. Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20170701/22-year-old-found-shot-to-death-on-east-pettit
Yeah, details are "sketchy" all right. I could find NO calls that would be related in the area where the body was found.
Gabriel Buendia, 22, was found about 2330 hrs. Thursday in the 4000 block of East Pettit Avenue. He was shot to death, the coroner said, and his death was ruled a homicide.
Fort Wayne police released no information on the shooting death, and the shooting wasn't listed on the police department's activity log.
Now THAT is pretty damn weird, isn't it? What if (God forbid) it was one of your loved ones? You'd like to know SOMETHING.
*** Next up, an op-ed about the recently deceased Ian Rolland, who is being touted as a city "icon" of sorts. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/20170703/rolland-leaves-legacy-of-service

Being altruistic and an entrepreneur is a good thing, but if you're going to praise someone, you might find stuff you didn't want to discuss.
((The best illustration is found in Ian Rolland's work to desegregate Fort Wayne Community Schools. In a 2004 interview with The Journal Gazette, he recalled that he had noticed the difference between the inner-city schools and those his own young children attended. 
“African-Americans were getting the short end of the stick when it came to their educational opportunities. White students were not being educated in diverse environments,” Rolland said.))

Well, he was wealthy enough to send his kids to ANY school he wanted, and we ALL can't as financially-endowed as that, so what happens? We "level the playing field", bus kids from their own neighborhoods all over the place, and thereby lower standards across the board, rather than address specific issues in urban schools and turn them around by raising THEIR standards.

This is where Rolland and I differ...greatly.
Sure, he did a lot of GOOD things for the city (none of them on the SOUTH side, however), and tackling inequality in schools was one of them, but I feel he didn't do it in the best way possible. And maybe that's why teachers quit the job after 2 decades...because of problems with minority student's behavior and how they have become a disruptive influence. Maybe it would have been better to have them taught in black neighborhood schools by black educators who would not permit such influences to take away from the educational process.
Yeah,  integration has come full circle, and led right back to segregation "by choice" (cliques, gangs, neighborhoods, etc).
Amazing how that works.
*** Next, another editorial concerning the voucher program. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/20170702/evidence-casts-doubt-on-voucher-education

((A large and well-funded lobby pushes vouchers and school choice in spite of the evidence, “or too often to obscure the evidence,” according to Christopher Lubienski.
“Should Indiana policymakers be accountable to the public for using their tax dollars on a program that's hurting children?” he asked, “Policymakers should pay attention to evidence, and not just advocacy groups!”))
I'd say Mr. Lubienski has indeed "got it".
*** Next up, a little tale from the political notebook. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/blog/political-notebook/20170702/citys-hands-tied-by-state-fireworks-law

Not in the city limits.

Sure, when it comes to (consumer) fireworks, the CITY'S hands are "tied"? I think not.
And (councilman) Tom Didier needs to figure this one out.
((“If they don't want fireworks in the state of Indiana, then the state lawmakers need to change the law and not us,” Didier said. “Get ahold of your state legislator if you would like to change it.”))
Tom, I don't want to change the STATE LAWS...I just want the CITY laws AMENDED to protect our property, pets, and senses...that's all.
And that's where YOU and your band of merry men come in, isn't it?

Not in our damn streets.

I don't want you to touch state laws...that's NOT your domain. Just make the CITY LAWS better for everyone. We call those things "ordinances".
Let's try that one for a change, hmm?
*** Next, time to stop by "Kitten Corner".

Gonna have to stop calling them kittens...they're about a year old now, even though we've only had them for 6 months.

Anyway, the kids were doing pretty good, in spite of the loudass fireworks explosions going off.
Plenty of cuteness time (in between bouts of raucous behavior)...lol.
*** Next, time to take a loo, at our "Tales of Midnight"...

All weekend he was right on time to get his eats. Yesterday, though...we had an "incident".
Apparently, we had a small (young) sparrow/finch in the garden, and when it tried to fly away, Midnight took off after it. He managed to grab the bird after it left our yard, and of all things, he brought it back INTO our yard. Well, I managed to get the cat down to where I could snatch the bird way from him.
This little guy's heart was going a mile a minute as I held him. He seemed unharmed (so far), and it did't initially try to get away.

Midnight couldn't figure out where the bird went and that was fine by me.
I released the bird into a tall shrub we had by the back gate, and Wiiey saw the bird fly across the alley (hopefully to safety).
Midnight didn't chase after the bird, because he didn't know where it was (thankfully). He ate the cat food instead.
Still waiting for him to come by today (he's late...not like him). I hope he survived the onslaught of stupidity with all the people setting off mortar rounds nearby. God know how scared he probably gets. When the smaller firecrackers goes off, it doesn't seem to bother him when he's on our patio. UPDATE:  He finally came by around 1100 hrs. (whew).
*** Last back to the sugar bowl...tomorrow will be the 4th of July - our Independence Day.

That was when we basically told off the King of England and declared our freedom from tyrannical rule.
After all this time, I'm noticing a level of complacency when it comes to freedom in this country.
We're pretty much taking it for granted,  And when we do that, we'll probably never notice when that freedom is being taken awey from us.
What all real Americans need to do is remind ourselves WHAT freedom means, and what liberty means.
People today look at freedom and liberty as something you can get for nothing, and get it all the damn time with no problem.

Sorry, that's is NOT what it means.
The cost of freedom AND liberty is not some trifle we can summarily dismiss at a whim.
The cost to ATTAIN freedom was (and is) always high, and there is also a cost when it comes to MAINTAINING that freedom.
What people choose to do with that freedom is on them, and that will also come...with a price. Maybe we should supplant the word cost (price) with consequences.
You can fight to keep your freedoms and liberties, just as our forefathers did, OR, you can choose to let things "take care oif themselves", which is rarely the best choice, as things tend to spiral out of control with or without human intervention.
That's just the nature of things.
This is America...not Mexico "north", not Kenya "west", or any OTHER adjunct to ANY other nation.
This is OUR country...uniquely ours in fact, and those who wish to come here have to embrace that, acknowledge that, and assimilate into that concept of what THIS country was born into, and what it stands for.
To think otherwise is inviting disaster for our republic, and for our future.
We should never want that to happen.

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