Thoughts For Thursday...

Yes, your senses are not screwing with you...it IS cold outside this morning (it is November).
And, thanks to this city, I have a nice compliment of "blog-fodder" today.
I can always rely on Ft. Wayne to come through in a clinch.
Our Hoosierland weather today will have us enjoying (?) increasingly cloudy skies (as a cold front comes through), temps reaching to around 50 degrees (more seasonal for sure), and windy conditions rolling in during the day.
So, what say we get that coffee, tea. or cocoa poured to help warm us up, as we see what all is happening elsewhere, shall we?
*** First out of the duct work is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:

"People with mental health problems are almost never dangerous. In fact, they are more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators. At the same time, mental illness has been the common denominator in one act of mass violence after another."
This was spoken by another "first-timer" here, Roy Blunt (born January 10, 1950) who is an American politician currently serving as the junior United States senator from Missouri, having been in office since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Blunt
It's a rather long read (believe it or not), and is honestly worth it, because from what I gleaned, this man is a very good example of what a true conservative is.
Much of the WIKI is devoted to his stands on various issues, so you at least know his viewpoint on those things that other, more "major" players in Congress tend to shy away from or dance around.
*** Next up, time for our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
NOVEMBER 9 -
---It's Microtia Awareness Day

(it's a small ear congenital condition and not some new country in the south seas)
---It's National Louisiana Day

(still waiting for Indiana Day...wherever the hell they're hiding it)
---It's National Scrapple Day

(and I'm STILL without any around this stinking city...WTH is wrong with these people???)
*** Next, not one...not two...but THREE shootings overnight on the south side of FTW.

And you can add homicides number 32 and 33 to your totals. Here's the story (so far):
http://wane.com/2017/11/09/two-dead-in-triple-shooting/

This took place just after 0400 hrs in the 200 block of East Sherwood Terrace. There responding officers found three females out front of a house suffering from gunshot wounds. They were taken to hospital where two have died. The third is in critical condition.
The area is being canvassed by crime scene investigators and detectives to see what evidence and information they can gather. No weapon was found at the scene. Naturally, no suspects or motives are available.

Well, you know what I say to all that - "That's one way to beat the holiday rush".
Life on the Southside...or death, if you prefer.
*** Next up, a good story about that proposed AEP increase. Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20171109/im-rate-hike-deemed-too-steep

I guess someone at the IURC has a bit of a conscience after all.
((I&M is seeking more than $263 million in new annual operating income from Indiana ratepayers. The consumer office recommends that the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission grant only about $125.2 million – a 53 percent decrease.))
I said a while back that the original 20% increase wouldn't float, but I also said that SOME increase would be coming. Out of 4 recommendations by the commission (to I&M), I found THIS one the best:
((The utility should reduce the number of extra charges through trackers on consumers' bills and deny newly proposed trackers because the mechanisms allow utilities to raise consumers' costs without a formal rate request.))
Looks like someone got caught with their hand in the (our) cookie jar...lol.
*** Next, time to stop on by "Kitten Corner"...

Yes, there are those wonderful days when the kids are so well-behaved, that you actively look for them to see if they're okay. Sure, they might display some antics now and then, but they're cats and they tend to do "cat things".

Thank God they have not chosen to pursue "human things"...that might become a bit awkward.
(and expensive if they grab my credit card and the phone...LOL)
*** Next up, let's take time to check in with "Midnight and Company"...

Our furry twosome were around for a hearty breakfast nice and early (we went out to feed them at first light).
I figured since it was cold out, I'd warm the dishes and give them both some wet food at room temperature, to provide a "hot" meal for them.
Yeah, they're spoiled. You expected anything less from us?

They hung out close by all day too, and we did the same thing for their late afternoon dinner.
I do wish we had one of those enclosed porches, so we could have both of them close and not roaming about near traffic.

A "cat door" would not be an option (even on our garage), because we have possum and raccoon around.
Better to stick with cats.
*** Last back to the furnace...the mental health of America is in not-so-good shape these days.

And the mental health of her citizens isn't much better.
Now, when I think of people with mental health problems, I traditionally default to those who have trouble with the basic functions in society. We used to call such people retarded, but that word seems to have fallen out of favor, in lieu of more politically-correct nomenclatures. They're all just "challenged" in some form or fashion.
Well, whatever word or phrase is used, such people are usually VICTIMS and not perpetrators of criminal activity.
It's much easier to prey on those with less functionality in the mental arena than normal people, isn't it?

Yet today, we see clear evidence of the "other side of the coin" when it comes to mental illness.
The mass shootings - all done by people with serious mental health issues...a retardation of societal norms, values and principles.
And finally, others are beginning to see the light regarding such behaviors.
There are those still deny the truth here, for the truth is that deranged people always use the "tools of the trade" in the commission of heinous crimes, and the liberals take that as a fall-back distraction from that truth. These misinformed people will always point to guns, and to me, that makes no sense.
There are always other items readily available that can harm or kill innocent people, and in the hands of the mentally-unstable, will do JUST THAT (and quite effectively).
Sure, there used to be a time when we committed many more unbalanced people to those insane asylums, and some who were placed there were of NO harm to themselves OR others...we overcompensated along those lines wonderfully.
Now, the pendulum has swung completely in the OTHER direction, and we hardly commit any, as such facilities have fallen out of favor (with the politically-correct).
We instead medicate...and medicate...and medicate some more, never stopping to see what the "better living through chemistry" gamble is doing to these people.

We've over-medicated our children, and it's little wonder what can happen as they mature with a skewed brain chemistry, right? We could be CAUSING the aberrant behavior we wish to avoid in the process.
Perhaps it's time we stopped creating monsters among us (leave that to the novelists), and started back on the (right) road to a better society; a society that values life rather than takes it from others.
It's just a thought.

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