Thoughts For Thursday...

Okay, I admit it...I've had enough of summer.
Now, it's not ALL bad. It's just a lot of the baggage that society has chosen to bring along for the season that's annoying as hell..
We'll get into that in a few minutes further down the post.
Our Hoosierland weather for today...HOT (again?), with a high today expected to reach 93 degrees (we're not in triple digits yet), mostly cloudy skies, and scattered showers throughout  the day.
They could be heavy at times (if they occur), so prepare yourselves accordingly

Since it will be (somewhat) wet outside, let's look to hydrating the inside, as we all pour that cool refreshing drink to get us going, and see what has been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the oven is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:

"The ego is only an illusion, but a very influential one. Letting the ego-illusion become your identity can prevent you from knowing your true self. Ego, the false idea of believing that you are what you have or what you do, is a backwards way of assessing and living life." 
This was spoken by another "newbie" (here), one Wayne Dyer  (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) who was an American philosopher, self-help author, and a motivational speaker. And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Dyer
Dyer was born in Detroit, and after hid dad walked out on the family spent much of his first ten years in an orphanage.
(yes, we had such things back then)

His religious views are interesting, considering he was brought up a Baptist.
He states: "My beliefs are that the truth is a truth until you organize it, and then it becomes a lie. I don't think that Jesus was teaching Christianity, Jesus was teaching kindness, love, concern, and peace. What I tell people is don't be Christian, be Christ-like."
It's not a long read, but I feel it shows how one can overcome adversity in youth to become a notable author and speaker.
His largest selling book was Your Erroneous Zones (1976) and is perhaps one of the top-selling books of all time with 35 million copies printed. Here's the WIKI on that:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Erroneous_Zones
It drew criticism of plagiarism from therapist Albert Ellis, who  taught workshops in Rational Emotive (Behavioral) Therapy.

Dyer's book must have found an audience, regardless where the source material came from.
Moving on...
*** Next, we bring you our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature
JULY 20 -
---It's Get To Know Your Customers Day

(does that include the druggies on the SE side?)
---It's National Lollipop Day

(talk about your all-day suckers...lol)
---It's National Moon Day

(first man on the moon, the late Neil Armstrong)
---It's National Pennsylvania Day

(Don't remember observing this when I LIVED in Pennsy...weird, huh?)
*** Next up, another shooting in Fort Wayne.

Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20170719/1-seriously-hurt-in-tennessee-avenue-shooting
This took place at the Chase Manor Apartments, in the 700 block of Tennessee Ave (sometime) during the afternoon.

Naturally, hardly anything ELSE is known or being told to news sources.
---Okay, here's an UPDATE:
http://wane.com/2017/07/20/man-21-shot-in-back-during-drug-deal-gone-bad/
A DRUG DEAL gone bad? NO! Really? You're kidding.
*** Next, This story shows the level of damage at the Eckhart Library in Auburn. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20170720/devastation-of-eckhart-fire-revealed
See what dropping some fireworks down the book return chute can DO?
And the news has the nerve to call this an "alleged" arson?
Like you're not really SURE the person you caught and charged is the CORRECT person?
I dunno...seems there was a form of PURPOSE behind this act the dipshit did by starting the fire with those fireworks.
He had a choice, and he chose poorly.
Throw the book at this perp...and make it some of those BURNED ones. That's called karma.
*** Next up, looks like the ACA "replacement" isn't going to go over well in Indiana.
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/indiana/20170720/state-medicaid-hit-49-billion

So much for "H.I.P. 2.0", right?
Personally, I think the entire medicare-medicaid system needs to go away, and that's from one getting ready to sign the hell up for it. It's just another form or "welfare", and we can thank many (if not all) the insurance companies for this, as well as the "lawsuit mentality" of the public and all the ambulance chasers connected with such things.
Yes, plenty of guilt to go around, that's for sure.
No one wants to allow the free market and healthy competition to run this show (as it used to).
Reductions in funding WILL indeed affect medicaid adversely.
Now, before all this crap hit the fan (when I was very young) we never had such problems.
It was the government that stepped in "to help", and it's been costing us (all) PLENTY ever since, right?
What a ruse the public fell for, and we're all still paying the price.
*** Next, time to stop by "Kitten Corner"...

As good as the kids usually are, they had some crazy-ass moments yesterday Wifey had the laser and squirt bottle (I think they like being squirted...cools them down...lol).
In the evening, it was all behind them, and the cats both took to taking it a lot easier in the living room.

If there was some way to channel that energy they expend chasing each other into more productive play-time, that would be quite nice.
Maybe, it's just part of those "terrible-twos"?
*** Next up, let's drop by and look in on "Midnight and Company"...

Ever since Whiskers came by, Midnight has also taken to staying "close to home", as it were.
I don't mind that in the least...not with the types of "locals" we have nearby.
It could get interesting when the weather gets cold, though.

We have the materials for one shelter.
But who knows...by then, they both may find a real (indoor) home.
*** Last back to the broiler...at the top, I mentioned this "baggage" society seems to drag with it these days.

Let me clarify...baggage in this case means an AGENDA.
And, to be perfectly honest, I am DAMN sick to death with ALL these effin' agendas (or agenda - take yer pick).
You cannot let one day pass without having some of this crapfest tossed at you. And the best we can do is try to avoid it...yeah, that's a Herculean task.
If it's not about racial equality, it's the LGBT (q-r-s-t-u-v-f-o-d) crowd with some dumbass stuff, or the climate-based shitheads and their doomsday "burning Earth, global-warming" garbage. Then there's the anti-Trump crowd, doing everything in their power to keep our President from doing the job he was ELECTED to do.

In times past, even the mention of anti-government sentiment would be enough to get you tossed in jail. And we were operating under the same founding documents as we are today.
I'm sick of all the "diversity" bullshit, too.
It's killing our AMERICAN culture...period.
We're (in fact) becoming a nation of damn societal MONGRELS; bastard children of the culture war being waged in our country.
A lot of people are okay with that. I'm not.
I STILL want the country I grew up in BACK.
People have become so damn thin-skinned these days, as well...when the hell did that happen?
Everyone is always apologizing for something, when there is little need to, and that's damn annoying, too.
The type of world a lot of people want is not going to be what they expect, if they manage to get it.
Utopia is an AUTHORITARIAN society...period.
After all this (and more) I think I'm going to get my OWN agenda - which will be to rail and fight AGAINST all these other agendas and the people shoving them down our throats daily.
After all, I really hate choking on other peoples' stupidity...don't you?

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