Thoughts For Thursday...

Welcome to another rainy day in the heartland of America.
It's also supposed to be a bit less hot outside, which is not too bad.
Our Hoosierland weather for today brings us variably cloudy skies (guess that means little to no real sunshine), showers off and on throughout the day, and temps reaching to around 74 degrees.
(that's doable)
You might want to keep that umbrella handy and take care on the roads driving, as they may be a bit slick.
Now, with that dispensed with, let's take a minute to get ourselves something to drink, as we sneak a peek at what else has been going on...
*** First out of the pencil box is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"Education is the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough toi assume responsibility for it."

This is attributed to still another newbie here, one Hannah Arendt (14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) who was a German-born American political theorist.  And here is her WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Arendt

((Arendt is widely considered one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. She escaped from Germany during the Holocaust, becoming an American citizen. Her works deal with the nature of power and the subjects of politics, direct democracy, authority, and totalitarianism. The Hannah Arendt Prize is named in her honor.))
I hope that managed to whet your appetite to read the WIKI on her, as it's pretty interesting.
Two of her works (18 books in total) are The Origins of Totalitarianism, and The Human Condition.
She also wrote a novel entitled On Revolution, in which she presents a comparison between the American Revolution and the French Revolution,. She contends the former a success, and the later, a disaster. I had a feeling she'd come to that conclusion.
It's a good read and makes me want to read more of her works.
*** Next up, time for our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
OCTOBER 5 -
---it's National Apple Betty Day

(if it's dessert, it's fair game to me)
---It's National Do Something Nice Day

(does gracing the world with my presence count???)
---It's National Get Funky Day

(never to be confused with smelling funky...got it?)
---It's National Rhode Island Day

(long live Quahog!)
*** Next, Wifey just told me about a "new" study that tells a tale I long believed. Here's the story:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-aaa-study-car-technology-distractions-20171004-story.html

The Wifeymobile 2.0 cockpit - not TOO confusing.

Ahhhhh...so the TECHNOLOGY found in our cars is the new "culprit" of driver distraction.
Seems I mentioned something about this a while back - the "rolling computers" we drive these days.
Personally, much of this doesn't impact on me...I'm too busy DRIVING.

What we're being told is that there is a PARADOX with all the tech available to drivers today.
(no shit, Sherlock)
((Despite the potential dangers, consumers are increasingly demanding tools such as text messaging, internet access and voice commands in their autos, experts say.))

And since carmakers are FOR PROFIT businesses, they have "responsibilities" to their shareholders.
That's always the bottom line, isn't it?

((“Automakers agree that hands on the wheel and eyes on the road continue to be critical to safe driving,” said Wade Newton, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, in an email.))
Thank you, Mister Obvious!

((Personal responsibility is also involved, said Jane Terry, senior director of government affairs at the National Safety Council, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. “We’re not good multitaskers,” she said. ”When you get behind the wheel of a 4,000-pound vehicle, your attention should be on the road. Get your Facebook or directions in before you leave, not in the middle a trip.”))
Personal responsibility...ROFLMAO.
And what is it that too many Americans seem to LACK these days???
That (humanity) carousel keeps going round and round, doesn't it?
*** Next up, here's a good story that explains exactly how a semi-auto rifle can be transformed into what appears to be a full-auto rifle (and for cheap):
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bump-fire-stock-ar-15-stephen-paddock-guns-deadlier/

The "bump-stock" (also known as a "slide-fire") was initially designed to aid those who were unable to properly shoulder a rifle for sport shooting. As a result, sales of this device ($200) were never high. Now, some gun shop owners can't keep them on the shelves. Gee, I wonder why?
This is precisely the device used by the Vegas shooter, and considering the ease at which a bump-stock can be put in place of a traditional stock, I'll just bet the street gangs in major cities are wetting their (saggin) pants over this one.
Now, the most prudent move here would be to ban the device outright, but they're already in the hands of a lot of people, some probably with criminal intent.

SSR-15 w/ bump stock and snail drum mag.

Accuracy suffers with this device, as could be expected, but when utilized in a scenario such as we saw in Las Vegas, accuracy doesn't matter that much.
And now you know a lot more than you did a few minutes ago...
*** Next, another rapist caught in our city. here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20171005/man-accused-of-raping-3-women

LOSER!!!

This piece of crap, one Darvon Lawan Smith, 41, of the 900 block of E. Washington Blvd, was arrested Tuesday on three counts of rape and three counts of criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon.
LOL...named after a damn DRUG...whatt joke.
He's got a thing for KNIVES, like that really matters when raping women. It does help with that alpha-male superiority thing.
The story describes how violent this perp was. And, he was using an online "dating" service (Backpage), to fuel his need for illicit sex.
He is being held in lockup on $105K bail.
*** Next up, an IU law professor weighs in on the gun (control) debate. Here's the editorial:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columns/20171004/facts-of-the-matter

Now, she does give us the nuts and bolts of the issue, which will continue to rage on ad infinitum, but she also makes a good point when it comes to the FACTS versus EMOTIONS of this discussion.
And Lord knows, in cases like this, we have PLENTY of emotion to go around.
*** Next, time to see what's happening at "Kitten Corner"...

Guarding the scratching post.

Some days are great...like yesterday. Not much craziness at all, and that's a welcome break (for me...lol). The kids spent the day doing the "suck-up" gig - acting so cute and sweet, it would give a diabetic the shivers.

Guarding the living room chair.

I don't mind that. In fact, I like when they act more on the domestic side than being like some extras on some episode of the BBC nature series: Planet Earth...lol.
*** Next up, let's go visit with "Midnight and Company"...

"What? I showed up...after you called."

We had to amend the feeding early on yesterday - the under the table location, which orked out well enough to keep the cats AND the food dry. When the rain ceased, they were both near the house for the remainder of the day.

"I told him he'd miss his food, too."

At "last call", I was the one who was late in feeding them, and had to call for Midnight to come from a neighboring property back to the house to get his grub. Whiskers just stood by and watched his return. She's a good cat.
Hell, they both are.
*** Last back to the bookshelf...I'm one of those people who like facts.
In fact, I find facts very factual, especially when I'm fact-finding...lol.
It's the whole truth gig with me...or maybe all those episodes of Dragnet I watched as a child.
Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb) was always cool to me. ("Just the facts, ma'am")
Sure, it's okay to have a level of passion when presenting the facts, too, as long as the passion is not the ONLY reason for making your side of an argument. Like everything else in life, there has to be a tempering of passion, or rather emotion when you make your case.
It has been said that the first casualty of war is the TRUTH, or perhaps we can insert the word FACTS.

Those who defend a position in a discussion or debate merely with emotion, with little to no knowledge of the facts behind their argument, usually get the most attention, because they become the most sensational in the delivery OF their argument. It's entertaining, actually.

So can the facts.

That certainly doesn't get us any closer to the truth of a matter, does it?
Emotion has it's place in society, but facts are even more important.
Such truths have to be considered first, lest we fall prey to fact-less propaganda.
That is what we need to take to heart.

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